Page 44 of Damaged Mogul

I bite the inside of my cheek.

“You’re willing to go that far so your own father accepts you? That’s fucked up. Your insensitive older brother goes out of his way to ignore you. You think he’s going to warm up to you when you start working for him?”

My shoulders slump.

“Lily, these people don’t care about you. They’re going to use you and break your heart.”

“I keep hoping things will change,” I say.

“The mighty Fisher Edgington couldn’t be bothered remembering his only daughter’s twenty-first birthday,Lily.”

I shrug.

“My father has his cross to bear, but he was there when I hit that milestone four months ago.”

I know. I was there, envying your good fortune.

She soldiers on. “You’re more thanune bâtarde. You’re his daughter. His blood runs through your veins.”

I keep hoping he’ll stop treating me like his bastard child, but so far, my wish hasn’t been granted.

“I’m being harsh,” she says, “but I’m the only person who cares about you, and we’re not even related by blood.”

I don’t have a comeback because she’s right.

Nadine Whelan and I are bothbâtardes––the product of an affair. Our fathers and their families have treated us as such. The nonexistent relationship she was accustomed to with her dad has been transforming into a something civil. She still isn’t sure what happened, but it’s as if one day, he had a change of heart.

I was hoping my father would wake up to an epiphany, but it looks like that’ll never happen. I’m still the dirty little secret thatallowed his ex-wife to walk out with half his fortune thanks to an ironclad prenup.

Je suis labête noire.

Translation:I’m the black sheep.

“Until I agree to a school, there’s still time for me to change my mind about heading the PR company my father wants to buy,” I say.

“Why not put your foot down now? Do what you were born to do.”

She’s been adamant about this since I discovered my father’s real agenda in summoning me back to New York. He had my future mapped out, including schools I should check out. He never once asked if I had other aspirations for myself. Knowing that none of my father’s dreams for me include anything I remotely want, cuts deep. It’s as if he’s cashing in hischips, requesting payback for supporting me financially since my mom died. Putting my foot down, could mean him turning his back on me.

“I was hoping my return to New York would be the beginning of a father-daughter relationship and the opportunity to form a closer bond with my half-brothers.”

Nads stares at me long and hard.

Her lips part in a sad smile. “If anyone on this planet understands your desperate need to be accepted by someone you share DNA with, it’s me. Had my father not had his come-to-Jesus moment, I was done begging for him to give me the time of the day. He might not shower me with love––I’ll never get that from him––but he no longer ignores my existence. I don’t care if my half-sisters and half-brothers still lift their noses at me.Papaand I have a weekly standing lunch date. He’s making an effort. It’s the beginning of something. I’m more than an expense line on his ledger his Champs Élysées accountant has to finesse to camouflage an oopsie baby the President was supporting.” She brushes a strand of hair behind her ear. Her gaze darts over my face, and something passes over her brown eyes.

I brace myself.

“I’m not going to even bother to bring your half-brothers into the equation, because they’re morons. But you have to decide when you’re no longer willing to grovel for your father’s love.”

Chapter 15

Gage

Icould blame today’s foul mood on a few unexpected bombs Blanche Hyman dropped this morning in an interview on the East Coast. The fame monger is still wreaking havoc on my show host’s life––and now mine.

I choked when the headline to the video clip my PR point person sent me landed in my inbox.

‘GAGE HOLLINSGWORTH AIDING AND ABETTING A CHILD MOLESTER’