"You what?" I gritted, gripping my fork tight in my hand. "You had no right to talk to her."
Immediately, I wanted to pick up my phone and warn Spencer before she got there, but my dad stood there watching me, leaning against the counter sipping his coffee. Brittany was miserable at the best of times. I could just imagine what her reaction would be to this news.
"My ruling stands: no more babysitting, no more being around him when you are unsupervised. I have no idea how long the two of you have been sneaking around behind my back, but I am sure it’s been a while."
"Why on earth would you have spoken to Brittany?" I questioned. "Besides, it's not like that."
"Really, what's it like then?"
I slammed my fork down on the table. I was tired of listening to it. It had been utter hell at home since Dad had found us, and it got worse every single time Spencer tried to talk to him.
I'd snuck out of the house yesterday when Dad had gone to a work meeting and met Spencer for coffee. He assured me he had tried to talk to him, but every time he would bring up the subject of us with my father, he would immediately shut the conversation down.
"Dad, I can assure you this was all very consensual. He didn’t force himself on me."
"Ainsley, please, I should have the man charged. He's taking advantage of you."
I shook my head. "No, Dad, he isn't. We are in love."
My father threw his lunch into his bag and let out a laugh. "Ainsley, your inexperience wouldn't allow you to see it. You’re impressionable, and I can assure you that he is taking advantage of you. Besides, you wouldn't know what love is. You’re just a kid. Now, I have to go to work."
"I'm an adult, Dad," I mumbled under my breath. "Why would you have spoken to Brittany?" I murmured, placing my face in my hands, my stomach rolling at the thought that she was going to ambush Spencer this morning without warning.
"Well, to be honest, I felt it was only fair that she knew what was going on behind closed doors when her daughter was involved."
Spencer and his ex-wife weren't on the best of terms. They had never been on the best of terms, and I could only imagine what her finding out this information may do. I glared at my father, "I hate you," I spat.
"Good, hate me. That's fine. One day when you realize what this really is, you will thank me."
"Dad, you're not being fair. Be angry at us, hate Spencer but you didn't have to say anything to Brittany."
"Oh, but I did. Her daughter spends weekends there and you spend nights there when you babysit. That means shit has been going on while she is there, and since you are an adult, as you put it, I hope you're prepared because she was angry."
I could feel the anger boiling over inside of me as I watched Dad grab his bag off the counter and walked out the back door. I looked down at my breakfast, my stomach turning, saliva flooding my mouth. I picked up my plate and carried it to the garbage, dumping the contents, and placed the plate in the sink when I heard the back door open. Dad walked back in and looked at me. I turned my back on him and looked out the back window.
"Ainsley, I forgot, make sure you prepare your resignation letter today. I want to see it before you hand to Spencer when you return to work on Monday. I know he will be expecting it."
I balled my fists tight, jumping as the back door slammed. I stood there staring down at the mess of egg yolk all over my plate and buried my face in my hands, trying hard to fight back the tears. I pulled my phone from my pocket. I was about to message Spencer to see if we could meet for lunch, but there was already a message waiting for me telling me to call him as soon as I had a minute.
I looked out the back door to make sure my father was gone then quickly dialed his number. I'd hoped that he still had a few more hours alone. I needed him.
"Spencer Brooks," his sexy, deep voice came over the phone, instantly calming me.
"It’s me," I said, doing my best to sound happy, even though every aspect of my life was in turmoil.
"One second," he said.
I waited, listening to the noise in the background, and knew he was in the office. "Sorry, had to shut the door."
"That's okay."
"Listen, I would prefer to talk to you in person, but since that isn't possible right now, this will have to do."
"I can meet you somewhere," I said. “Or I can come to the office.”
"No, it's fine." His voice cracked, then he went quiet.
I knew something was wrong just by the sound of his voice. I took in a deep breath, "What is it?" I asked, alarm filling my chest.