Page 46 of Bad for Business (Pembroke Hills #2)

FORTY-SIX

CAMILLE

My dad hasn’t said a word to me in over an hour.

It was silent when we both climbed into the back of the SUV that picked us up from the Davenport house.

It was silent the entire ride to the airport.

It stayed quiet as we sat at our gate, waiting for our plane to board.

I’ve always been too scared to talk to Dad when he’s quiet. If he’s quiet, it’s bad. It means his anger is so far gone that he doesn’t even deem you important enough to have a conversation with.

That used to be okay with me, but something in me has changed. I don’t want to walk on eggshells around him the way I used to.

“Dad,” I say, my gaze pinned on him as I sit across from him at the gate.

He doesn’t look at me. Instead, he stares at his phone as if whatever is on there is far more important than his daughter trying to get his attention.

“Dad,” I repeat, my voice getting tighter. I know he’s mad at me, and he has a reason to be. But if he was insistent on me coming with him, then he’s going to have to at least have a conversation with me.

When his angry glare meets mine, I try not to react. I’m not going to back down from him. Not this time. Not anymore.

“I’m sorry,” I say, wanting to get the apology out before he decides to ignore me.

“I didn’t mean to disappoint you. I met Ryker before this summer and we had a bit of history.

It started out professional. It remained professional for a long time.

I tried fighting the feelings, knowing he was my client, but eventually, I just couldn’t.

” My words stay strong and confident until the very end.

The last sentence comes out quieter than the rest.

“I’ve always only had one fucking rule, Camille. You don’t get involved with a client. Especially not a client as high-profile as Ryker Davenport.”

I nod. “I know. I messed up, but the job still got done. He’s getting approved by the board. Shouldn’t that be what counts? We succeeded, Dad. That’s a good thing.”

He looks back at me with a scathing glare. I try not to back down from it, but I don’t know if he’s ever looked at me with as much venom in his eyes as he does now. “I can’t even celebrate the accomplishment because you had to sleep your way to success.”

I try not to wince at his words. I don’t want him to get away with speaking to me like that. I don’t want his words to have power over me. Not when I know they’re wrong.

I push my shoulders back and take a deep breath.

“I didn’t sleep my way there. I put in the work.

I could tell you an ungodly number of details about every single member on the Davenport Media board.

I worked hard to make sure Ryker had positive media attention and that he put in the effort to earn the confidence of the board.

I didn’t sleep my way to success. I earned it. ”

Dad scoffs and it’s one of those moments I know I’ll remember forever.

It’s a moment I realize that even though I’ve spent my entire life wanting his respect, I’m not so sure if I even actually respect him. And I don’t even know if I even want to be accepted by him anymore. Who cares about the opinion of someone who talks to their daughter like this?

“You made Vaughn PR look bad. I should’ve sent someone else for the job. They would’ve gotten the job done and wouldn’t have slept with their client to do so.”

I’m normally pretty good at hiding my reaction to things. I’ve learned to have a poker face with this job. But my jaw drops and the smallest gasp passes my lips.

He didn’t just say that. Surely I’m not hearing him correctly. My father can be mean, but that was just cruel. Maybe he’s always been cruel; it just took Ryker pointing it out to me to finally realize it.

“Dad,” I whisper, shaking my head. I stare at him in disbelief, wondering what I did wrong in my life for him to care about me so little.

I’m his daughter. I idolized him. My entire life, I’ve done everything he’s asked of me…

and now, I can barely even stand to look at the man sitting across from me.

“Don’t use the ‘dad’ card on me. At work, you aren’t my daughter and I’m not your father. You’re just an employee. One I expected better from.”

I nod. Fine. If he wants to treat me like an employee, then he shouldn’t be shocked by my next question.

“When can I expect to be made partner?” The question has been at the back of my mind since the moment we left the Davenport beach house.

At first, I was worried about my job, but as I had time to gather my thoughts during the car ride to the airport, I realized Dad won’t fire me.

He might not admit it, but he knows I’m an asset to the business.

I’m damn good at my job. Better than anyone else at Vaughn PR.

I know I still have my job, despite how angry he is with me. What I don’t know is if he’ll hold up his end of the deal now that I’ve succeeded with my half.

He’d been looking at his phone, so disinterested in our conversation that he was no longer looking at me. My question catches his attention, and his eyes immediately find mine as he raises his eyebrows. “Is that a joke?”

I press my lips into a thin line to hide any kind of reaction. “No. I fulfilled my end. I got Ryker his board’s approval. You said if I did that, I’d make partner. I did it. I want to be made partner at Vaughn PR.”

He laughs and the sound makes my skin crawl. It’s condescending and cruel. Nothing about what I said was funny, but the way he throws his head back and claps his hands, you’d think I was a comedian.

Finally, he gets control of himself and focuses on me once again. “Of course not. You’re lucky to still have your job, Camille. You’re not being made partner. Not even close.”

I was prepared for his answer. It’s exactly what I was expecting him to say, but it still stings to hear. I can’t deny there was a small, naive part of me that was hoping that maybe he’d stick to his word.

But deep down, I knew better. I was never going to get the promotion.

Ryker was right. My dad never intended to make me partner.

I just made it easy and gave him a way to deny me the position, even after holding up my end of the bargain.

No matter how good I’ve been at my job, no matter how much I’ve dedicated my life to Vaughn PR—to him —none of it was enough. It was never going to be enough.

And it was about time I realized that, accepted it, and did something about it.

I refuse to spend the rest of my life trying to accomplish the impossible. I’m never going to earn his respect, and I don’t even think I’ll ever impress him. He’s never going to be proud of me, and that’s something I have to be okay with.

Because it doesn’t matter.

He’s my father, and I’ve tried my entire life to be the perfect daughter so maybe one day, he wouldn’t see me as a burden, but all of it was pointless.

I’ve been the perfect daughter.

But he’ll never be the perfect father.

He’s never really been a father at all.

And it’s about damn time I stop wasting my time trying to pretend that will change.

I put in the work. I became one of the most sought-after publicists at only twenty-four. I’m good at my job. I don’t need him. I’ve never needed anything from him.

I stand up as a freeing feeling takes over.

“Where are you going?” Dad asks, his tone bored and nonchalant, as if he hadn’t just said some of the cruelest things imaginable to me.

“I quit,” I answer, enunciating the two words.

Dad sits up straighter, the hand holding his phone dropping to his lap as he looks at me in shock. “What?”

I shrug. “I quit. I don’t want your stupid promotion and I don’t want to work at Vaughn PR at all. I’m done.”

Dad shakes his head. “You can’t just quit. What are you going to do?”

I laugh. “What I do next isn’t really any of your concern.”

“You can’t quit.”

All I can do is shake my head. My entire life, I’ve wanted to earn the title of having my name up on the wall with his.

I felt like I had to earn being a Vaughn, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth.

I didn’t need to earn anything from him.

“I’m quitting, Dad. I’m done. Good luck without me. ”

I stare at him for a few moments before leaving. I don’t know the next time I’ll see him. I hope it isn’t for a long time. Now that I’ve freed myself of needing his respect, there’s nothing I really want from him at all.

“Camille, we can?—”

I don’t listen to him finish whatever he has to say. Whatever it is isn’t important. It won’t change my mind. I grab my bags and walk away.

I can’t help but smile as I hurry through the small airport.

I can’t believe I just did that.

I’ve never felt so free.

I’ve spent my entire life trying to make him proud, but now I realize the only person I need to make proud is myself.

And today, I did that.

I feel so proud of myself. It’s the best feeling in the world, and all I want to do is call Ryker and tell him everything that’s happened, but I hold off.

I want to tell him in person.

I want to see his face when I tell him that I quit. That I finally decided that I don’t need validation from my father at all.

I’d like to think that, no matter what, I would’ve finally walked away from the toxic relationship I had with my father, but I know the timing of this is because of Ryker.

He’s the first person after Mom passed who really believed in me. Who told me I deserved better. He defended me when he didn’t have to. He gave me the courage to stop accepting how my father treated me.

He’s been there for me. He’s shown up for me the way no one has before, and now all I want is to get back to him.

I’ll figure out what I’m going to do about a job later.

I know I’m one of the best publicists around.

Every single one of Vaughn PR’s competitors will jump at the opportunity to hire me.

I have options and things I’ll figure out.

But I can make those plans later. Right now, my only plan is to get to the man who has captured my heart.

The feelings I have for him are strong and scary. I’m someone who hates unknowns, and there are a lot of those when it comes to him.

But I have a lot of knowns when it comes to Ryker too. I know I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I know he cares for me. I know he’s been there for me. And I know he’ll stay.

Right now, that’s all I need to know.