Page 12 of Can't Win 'Em All
“That’s not going to happen.” Mom was calm as she regarded my father. We were in a family meeting rather than a board meeting, but the atmosphere was hardly warm and welcoming since we were doing it at the office. Mom didn’t want Dad in her house, and I didn’t blame her.
Dad leaned back in his chair. The fact that he wasn’t at the head of the table, which would’ve been his spot for previous meetings, obviously grated. He tried to pretend it didn’t, that we were the ones being petty. Nobody was falling for it, though.
“I happen to think it’s a great idea,” Dad countered. “Building a new theater and getting regular shows will add to our bottom line.”
“But only after we take a big financial hit,” Zach countered. He sat between Olivia and Mom, playing with his ink pen. We’d told him multiple times that he couldn’t lose his temper with Dad because that’s exactly what Dad was going for, so he was embracing a calmer demeanor. Of course, under the surface, he was positively steaming. I didn’t blame him for that either. Dad was … such an ass. He was just the king of the asses.
Sadly, he enjoyed being the king.
“I still think it’s a good idea,” Dad argued. “Let’s take it to the board and see what they think.”
At the far end of the table, Tasha Birchwood sat in her chair and diligently took notes. She was our assigned representative from Lapidus Communications. That meant she was our own personal crisis management manager. She showed up for meetings and big events at the casino. She showed up for special occasions when my father was present. Honestly, she was kept very busy.
“I said no,” Mom fired back.
“Well, last time I checked, you didn’t haveallthe votes.” Dad’s eyes narrowed. “Not for lack of trying or anything.”
“Right, because it’s all Mom’s fault that we’re in this situation,” Zach drawled, letting his irritation get the better of him. “She’s the one who forced you to cheat on her and knock up your secretary.”
“Your mother was a cold fish in bed,” Dad fired back. “If she’d showed me even a hint of warmth, I wouldn’t have had to look elsewhere.”
“Shut your mouth,” Zach barked. It wasn’t that he wanted to take up for Mom’s warmness in bed. We were all sick of Dad talking badly about her, though. He was doing it on purpose … and the more he flapped his lips, the more he got under our skin. At this point, the best thing for all of us would’ve been for him to make himself small. Ryder Stone wasn’t about to do what was right for anybody else, though. That’s simply not who he was.
No, he was the king.
“Did Mom make you embezzle money to take care of your pregnant mistress?” Pearl asked blandly.
Dad glared at her. “There’s no proof I embezzled anything. Your mother made that up because she was jealous.”
“Don’t,” Zach warned, his face turning a mottled shade of red as his rage increased. “Just … don’t. You know exactly what you did. You know what you tried to do at the end. You need to stop.”
“Oh, listen to you.” Dad rolled his eyes to the ceiling, giving off the appearance of being bored. “When did you turn into such a snowflake?” His eyes darted to Olivia. “Actually, don’t bother answering that. I already know when you turned into a snowflake.”
“Don’t look at her,” Zach growled. “Just … don’t even look at her.”
Just to be an ass, his perpetual state even before he was ousted from power, Dad stared at Olivia a beat longer. Then he turned his attention to me. “You’re the smartest of all my offspring.” He said it as if I should be grateful he was finally acknowledging me. “Don’t you think a theater would be beneficial to the casino? I mean … you are essentially in charge of everything entertainment related on the property.”
I forced myself to keep from clawing his eyes out. He was searching for a reaction—any negative reaction would do—because he wanted to earn points in front of the crisis manager.
“I can see where you might think that,” I replied blandly. “Everybody wants a residency to tout in their advertising. Our problem is that the construction would take a year and then it would take another year to book in the talent we want. I don’t think we’re in a place to wait two years to recoup the money we would be spending. I mean … we’re still recouping the losses from your embezzlement.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “If you don’t stop saying that, I’ll sue you.”
I snorted. “With what money? You don’t have access to Mom’s money any longer. Word on the street is that your mistress is sucking you dry. She’s due any day now, right? I certainly hope you plan to have a paternity test once she pops out that baby.”
“Claire and I are quite happy,” Dad replied primly. It was a lie. Anybody who had ever met the man could pick up on his tells. He liked to gamble but was terrible at it.
“If you say so.” I turned to Zach. “I don’t think now is the time to take something like that on. If we want to put together a five-year plan, then maybe I can see bringing it up again down the road. For now, we’re making a nice profit and we don’t have a lot of outlay in the entertainment department. We have good relationships with the other casinos so we can get tickets for our whales on short notice. I think we should stick to what’s working right now.”
Zach nodded in agreement. “Thank you. I was thinking the same thing.”
“You never did have any imagination,” Dad complained, drawing my gaze back to him. “I thought maybe you had a spark when you were a little girl. Turns out, I was wrong. Actually, I’ve been wrong a lot in my life.” His attention moved back to my mother. “So very, very wrong.”
My irritation got the better of me and I stood. “Why can’t you just be a decent human being and go away?”
“What fun would that be?”
“You’re just … terrible. Like, you’re the worst human being in the world. Why can’t you just leave us alone?” Suddenly I was hot. Like…really, really hot. I was too young for menopause—or at least I hoped that was true—but I’d heard about hot flashes. Apparently, I was having one now. “Geez.” I waved my hand in front of my face.
