“One mistake is still a mistake,” my father says, frowning. “And mistakes can cause many accidents, even if it was only one mistake to start with.”
“Right…” I say.
His calmness is oddly unnerving.
“Well, it was a mistake,” I say. “So, can I go now?”
“Who is the father?” my Dad asks, ignoring me.
Did my mother tell him, and he’s testing to see whether I’ll lie? Or did she not tell him yet, leaving that dubious honor to me?
It doesn’t matter either way. I won’t lie about who I’m with.
“Lyle Thompson,” I say quietly.
“Lyle Thompson…” my father muses. “Not the same Lyle Thompson who’s the snot-nosed brat that took over from David Thompson when he and his wife died?”
“That’s him,” I say.
“I see.”
I glance at him. He’s picked his pen back up and is signing papers.
“Dad?” I ask.
“What?” he grunts.
“Are you mad?” I ask.
He laughs bitterly. “Mad? Why would I be mad? I mean, I only sent my daughter to start an alliance with a rival company, and now I’ve just found out that she decided to sleep with the bastard who runs the company.”
My mouth falls open. Did my father seriously just say that to me?
“I’m not… I didn’t get together with him just to spite you,” I say, so incensed that I can barely speak. “We met at a club. We liked each other. We decided to go on a few dates. Now, I call him my boyfriend. The baby is an accident, but it’s ours.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” my father demands, looking up from his work. “Because it doesn’t.”
“No, but it makes me feel better,” I retort. “You can think what you want. I know what really happened.”
“It’s not like it matters, anyway,” my father huffs. “Since you’ll be breaking up with him.”
I reel back. What?
“I’m a grown woman,” I say, indignant. “You can’t tell me who I can and I can’t date.”
My father sighs and leans down to open a drawer. I wait, fidgeting uncomfortably as he rummages around before sitting up again.
“See this?” he asks, patting the folder almost fondly. “This is everything I need in order to take down Energy Plus Co.”
I freeze.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“I have the resources,” my father says. He looks at me. Shadows are falling across his eyes, which is strangely fitting. “I know people in many different sectors. In a word, they would take this information that I’ve collected…and spread it. Newspapers, internet, magazines… Everyone would be talking about Energy Plus Co.” He smiles grimly. “And if the story doesn’t spread quickly enough, then I have ways of making sure it does.”
I stare at my father. For a second, I’m not sure who I’m looking at. Who is this evil mastermind who’s masquerading as my father? Has he always been like this and I’ve just never noticed?
“You can’t,” I croak.