Laird’s POV
I took several deep breaths and let them out. I couldn’t help but feel uneasy and anxious, and various bad thoughts were raging in my mind. My hands repeatedly smoothed my tie or combed my hair. Hell, I couldn’t calm myself down!
This wasn’t the first time my father had gone this far. Using bodyguards to pick up other people by force, who does he think he is?
I hate his methods. He’s called the shark of the legal world for a reason. This is how he acts. Stalking, coercing, and making people bend to his will until they’re crushed by Hugo Evans’ ambition.
Now he was after Fenella. He flew from Boston to New York for her. I just knew it.
I almost know what my father wants from my girlfriend. Maybe he wants to tell her to stay away like some of the girls I dated at university. It could also be that he wanted to ask about the case involving me and Malgolm Golden together.
Whatever it was, I was waiting for a call or message from Fenella. I hoped she would tell me everything my father had said or done to her.
The photocopy machine worked as I tightened my grip on my mug of lukewarm coffee. I stared blankly at the cell phone I had placed on top of the copier. I knew working half-heartedly was a bad thing, but at least it distracted me from the thoughts in my head.
The cell phone rings. Dad.
I took a deep breath. The third ring, I picked up the phone and answered the call.
“Hello,” my voice sounded strained despite my efforts to contain my nerves.
“Laird,” my father called my name on the phone.
“Yes, father,” I straightened my posture, preparing to face my father.
“I want you to break up with her, marry Lady Hawksmoor instead, then move to the London branch as soon as possible.”
“I’m sorry?” I furrowed my brow as I heard a series of orders from my father.
“Do I hear a yes?”
“Fuck no!”
I wrinkled my nose and exclaimed loudly. My dad was silent on the other side of the phone.
“Are you high on drugs?”
“No!”
“Then why are you being difficult like this?”
I let out a long sigh.
In my entire life, I had never said a harsh word to my father or contradicted him. I was always afraid of disappointing him or making him angry. Even worse, I always tried to keep his spirits up after mom left us.
It seemed to have become a habit that my father had expected throughout my life. This time it had gone too far. He had acted out of line and pushed me closer to a decision I had long considered.
“What did you do to her?” I asked in a low voice as one hand held my forehead.
“Nothing.”
“Please don’t lie to me, dad.” I growled between my clenched teeth.
Silence passed on the line. I sharpened my hearing and waited silently. Only the sound of our breathing could be heard between the phone lines.
“I asked her to help me get you back to where you belong, and she refused. So I had to ask for her to stay away from you. She got angry, stood up, and left me alone with her disrespectful attitude.”
Is he for real? I snorted in exasperation.
“You’re the one being rude to her.”
“What do you mean? Are you defending that girl and trusting her more than me?”
“Yes. I trust her more than I can trust you.”
“But I’m your father, Laird. I raised you alone as a single parent all these times.”
“Yes, but he didn’t control me like a string puppet like you did to me.” I wrinkled my forehead and growled lowly.
Oh, God, I wish I could be good to him. I wish I could be whatever he expected me to be. I wish I would be enough.
“It’s for your own good, Laird. You should’ve taken a lesson from my achievements. Moreover, you can’t literally side with her. She’s with that Golden jerk, and you should have known by now how I despise him.”
“We did the right thing. If I hadn’t helped capture Peter Morgan and his men, then that man would still be running around with his ill-gotten money.”
“You made the wrong move, Laird. You should have sided with me. You’re a lawyer at my law firm, and you should have obeyed me. This is unethical.” My father’s voice sounded angry through his teeth chattering on the phone.
I fell silent again. I blinked my eyes and tried to think about what he said. Unethical?
“You don’t say…,” my chest rumbled. My breath hitched at the thought of this possibility.
“We are lawyers, Laird, not prosecutors. We are the best lawyers in Massachusetts, and it’s only natural that Peter Morgan is our client. How could you have missed this?” He hissed in his raspy voice.
My mouth dropped open slightly. I took a deep breath and held it.
Oh, shit.
“Is this what I think it is? Are your hands on that money too?” My heart sank as I confirmed the truth.
“No. Peter Morgan is just up and coming recently, but our firm is already on top long before that money goes around.”
I let out a long sigh after hearing my father’s confession. Thank God. Had he been included in that vicious circle, perhaps I really would have turned to his side and defended him. He is my biological father after all. I didn’t want him to get into trouble.
“So, you’ll only defend him in your professional capacity as a lawyer?”
“Yes. That’s why you should be on my side, assisting me in settling these charges. We can fight against Malcolm Golden together. Don’t you hold a grudge against him for taking your mother?” My father took a breath before continuing his words.
“Wake up, Laird. That man is the one who made your mother leave you, us. He’s a homewrecker.”
I remained silent with one hand over my mouth. My breath, which had been ragged, was now calm. My father was still talking at length about his feelings, his emotions, and various other nonsense about how he wanted to see me succeed with a partner of equal status and economic standing as ours.
“Laird? Are you still there?” My father finally realized I was no longer answering him.
“Yes.”
“Then it’s settled. You’ll go to London tomorrow.”
“No. I’ll quit.”
“Pardon?” My father’s voice rose. I was silent again for a long time before declaring my decision that I had been harboring for so long.
“I quit.”
“What do you mean quit?”
“I will send my resignation letter now to Rebecca.”
He gasped.
“What on damn earth are you talking about? Don’t you dare to do it.”
“It is what it is.”
“Laird!” he exclaimed loudly. It seemed that he was now furious to hear me.
“If you do it, I’ll fire Rebecca for accepting your resignation letter.” He hissed with the threat of dragging someone else into our problems. He was always like that, never changing.
Hearing that I snorted.
“Well yeah, you should have fired her a long time ago, dad. She harrased every living person walking on her sick earth.”
“It’s a baseless accusation.” My father now tried to speak calmly.
“No, it’s not. There were too many victims to make it just a baseless accusation. You knew about it, but you just shut your damn mouth. Then you just made her behave to me, but that’s not making her behave to others.”
“Listen, Laird-”
“No, you listen, dad! I quit, and that’s final.”
I hung up the call. My steps moved quickly to my desk. I sat in my chair, typed a short email, and sent it to Rebecca with the attachment of the resignation letter I’d been keeping for so long.
Finally, I’m free.
Without looking back, I walked out of the office.