“Cost of doing business,” I shrugged. “I’m not going to bribe a judge to save money only to find out the consequences of the water table are disastrous for the people who live around it.”
Cutting corners might save money in the short term, but a bad well with contaminates could cost a lot of money in lawsuits. It could shut down the business.
I didn’t give a damn if it was the way it was always done.
“Fuck, Wyatt. Just contribute to his campaign for re-election. He’s got two fundraisers next month. Buy a table at both, bid on his shit.” I cringed at his use of language. He was always fast and loose, even with his mouth. My mother had never let him swear around me, and I made it a point to save those words for when I was genuinely angry. And right now, I was damn livid.
I sighed. “I told you, I’m not going to play your little games. You have a business to run, dad. Hell, you have multiple.” It was the truth. This small agro-business was nothing compared to his factory and operations in Denver. He didn’t need to come up here every few months and try to tell me how to do my job.
I was doing just fine before him.
“Do it or I’ll fucking stay. You want that?” My father was an asshole. He cussed and swore and acted like a dick just to get what he wanted.
“Fine, but if I do it it isn’t because of the water rights, it’s because I genuinely like his no-nonsense rulings. Usually,” I admitted. He was being unreasonable, and we both knew it. I hated being reduced to this. I was wedged into this responsibility to begin with, and now I was being forced to make these decisions.
My father huffed.
“Think I’ll stay around until Monday, Minnie keeps telling me she wants to head to Cancun. I’ll meet her there.” My father was always running off, chasing his latest conquest and her little friends. The name and the face changed, but not much else.
“Is this your latest?” I asked. I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes. Anyone else might say this was the one thing we had in common, but the truth was I could never be like him. I could never string along a woman and then dump her after weeks or months when I got bored.
One night. That’s all I gave women. A single night and clear boundaries. I wasn’t about to let anyone walk in and take over. I wasn’t going to be like him, going from one woman to the next, always making promises that he was going to keep them then dropping them when they least expected it. I couldn’t do it.
The only person I ever thought would fill that spot walked out on me a long time ago.
“You could say that. She is okay with sharing.” He raised his eyebrows in two quick motions, and I fought the urge to wretch.
Everything worked so much better when he didn’t stick his fucking nose in the business.
“Now tell me about this new land you’re looking at buying? Jack’s old place?” he asked. Dammit, the last thing I wanted was for him to go poking his nose around Rose's property. The slow smile on his face meant only one thing. He was scheming. Trying to get a better deal out of the situation.
“I’m not budging on the price. You agreed to it,” I reminded him. It was a generous one, we both knew that.
“I know I did, but I hear there is an underground spring. Tell me more.” He tried to look uninterested. “How did Miranda look?”
Ah, the age old question. How did the girl who turned him down for Jack Shannon look. Predictable.
“Only if you promise to leave tonight.” I had to figure out a way to get Rose to spend time with me, and I wanted him to be as far away as possible.
“Don’t think you’ll get rid of me that easily. Besides, we have that investors’ dinner tonight, anyway. ” He chuckled and leaned back against my office chair.
I groaned.
"Oh, you didn't think I knew about that, did you, son? I was the one who set it up. I want to introduce you personally to a few of my friends. Some people who have their eyes and ears to the ground."
"Dad," I started.
He slammed his hand on my desk. "I won't hear of it. I've invested everything I have in this business. Into you. You need to start taking charge-"
"And controlling the business the way a good rider controls the bull." I didn't need to see his lips moving. I didn't need to hear the rest of it. I knew exactly what he was going to say.
The old man couldn't resist.
“Get changed, we’re going skeet shooting then to lunch.”
Shoot.
He’d get bored with me after a week or two, and then he actually would join his mistress in Cancun. I just had to wait it out.
I rummaged through my new desk trying to find some semblance of order in it. Whoever worked here before me had left everything there, not even bothering to clean up the candy wrappers in the drawers. And there were a lot of them.