My father shrugged. "I do happen to see him more because he works for the company. He is very dedicated. He has no life outside of the office.” His eyes watched me, like he was assessing my reaction.
I did my best not to squirm under the scrutiny. "I'm dedicated to my career as well. I don't have anything to share."
His gaze went to the box of wine from Lara sitting under the table next to the door where I kept my purse. "I understand you were out of town not that long ago. It looks like you closed that deal you were looking at getting."
I studied him, wishing I could read his mind. I couldn't help the feeling that he was a cat and I was the mouse that he was toying with. "I did. Between that and the holidays, my team and I have been really busy. I haven't had a lot of time for anything else."
He gave me an expression that was a mixture of hurt and disappointment. "It pains me that you don't feel you can tell me what's going on in your life."
"I just told you the biggest news. My life isn't that interesting." It had never been interesting to him, so it was nerve-racking that he was taking an interest now. "So, you're all caught up. Maybe on Christmas afternoon, I can stop over and visit again." I had to get him out of my house. Max would be here soon.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at me, the fake pain and disappointment morphing into the piercing stare of a cat before it pounced. "How come you haven't told me about Max Clarke?"
The proverbial other shoe dropped. "Who?"
My father got a feral gleam in his eyes. "You don't really think you can do anything in this town without my knowing about it, do you?"
Shit. It was just as I feared. Why hadn't I been more careful? Why didn’t I say no to that second date with Max? But even as I thought it, my hand went over to my belly and my heart rolled in my chest. I couldn't regret my time with Max or this baby.
"I happened to meet him and gave him a tour of the city. We had dinner. That was it." I don’t know why I thought he’d buy that. He knew the truth. I could see it in his face. The remnant of my father's fake concern for me was now gone.
He stared at me with the hard eyes of the ruthless man he was. "You and he seemed to get along well. He's a good match. So why are you trying to pretend you're not married?"
It was never a good idea to let my father know when he had surprised me or somehow gotten to me, but I couldn't stop my jaw from dropping.
My father laughed like he was in on a joke that I knew nothing about "Who do you think made it happen?"
I went completely cold inside as my father's words sank into my brain. Now I knew why Max and I couldn't remember that night. My mind quickly scanned what I’d learned about that night. The hotel hadn’t sent the driver. My father had. Max and I both felt more inebriated after the champagne in the limo, which meant only one thing. My father had drugged it or the glasses we consumed the bubbly from.
My father was capable of unscrupulous deeds, but I would never in a million years have thought he would've done something like drug us and force us to get married.
"How could you? Why would you?" I couldn’t stop my eyes from welling with tears that my own father would do something so heinous. But I did my damnedest to not let them fall.
He shrugged like it was no big deal. "Like I said, you two looked like you were getting along, and he'd be a good match. Imagine all the things I could do with a man like Max Clarke in the family."
"It's always about you, isn't it?"
"To be honest, Amelia, I don't know what you're griping about. The guy is good-looking, he's rich, and he's nice to you. How can that be so bad?"
My father wasn't wrong about any of that. The truth was that I had fallen for Max. And if I were ever going to get married, he'd be the man I’d want. "It doesn't matter that Max is all those things. What matters is that you took away our choice. We don't want to be married. We’re going to get the marriage annulled."
His brows drew together. “If you two really wanted an annulment, you would have filed already.” He laughed again. “Both of you have resisted it. Why do you think that is? You love him. And I bet he feels the same. Come on, Amelia. This is good for you.”
“For you, you mean.” But was he right? Had we unconsciously not filed for the annulment so far because of our feelings? I pushed that away. The whole reason he was coming tonight was for the papers. While I planned to tell him about my feelings and the baby and my hope to pursue a relationship, I had no illusion that we’d stay married. Marriage, if it happened for us, would be in the future. It would be our choice, not because my father set it up.
“We’re ending the marriage.”
My father scowled, giving him a sinister appearance. "You will not annul the marriage. It took a lot of finagling and money to get you two married. You’re going to stick to the plan. Now if you want to divorce him and get a settlement and alimony, we can consider that."
I could only stare at my father in horror. Even if I did that, how did he think he’d get the money from me? Oh, who was I kidding? He’d find some way. He hadn’t come this far with his plan without having figured out how he’d get a settlement and alimony.
He reached out, grabbing my arm. His fingers dug in, making me wince. "Do you hear me, Amelia? We stick to the plan."
The situation was so putrid that the contents of my stomach rose up. I pulled away from my father's grip and rushed to the bathroom, dropping to my knees in front of the toilet and emptying out my stomach. I should've known my father was behind our marriage. But I couldn't imagine he was the type of man to drug people and pay whoever he had to pay to get us married. I’d underestimated him. In that moment, I knew I would have to move to New York. There was no way I was going to raise my child in Las Vegas, the same city my father lived in.
I rinsed my mouth out and brushed my teeth. I looked at myself in the mirror and almost didn't recognize myself. The horror of what my father had done had made the blood drain from my face. I gently pinched my cheeks to put color in them.
When I came out of the bathroom, my father was gone. I sank to the couch, trying to figure out what I should do. Of course, I wasn't going to follow through on my father's plan. I didn't want or need Max's money. And I certainly wasn't going to give my father access to it or to Max's clout.