Shay's POV
The tension in the room thickened with every passing minute. My mind went blank as I tried to think of ways to escape this situation, and I couldn't help but fidget with my fingersâit's the only thing I could do to keep myself calm. Dad had been giving me a death stare for the past five minutes as I sat in his study, and I knew why. He had found out about my job through the news article.
"Now I know the reason why you didn't want to work at the company. How long were you planning to keep this from us?!" he roared angrily.
"I already quit my job," I answered monotonously.
"That doesn't make this situation better! The fact that you were sneaking around behind our backs and kept your job a secret is beyond the limit, Shay-Lina. And on top of that, you were working at C&E Holdings! They're our main business competitor, and now that this news about you is circulating so fast, the press is going to bombard us with chaos. What were you thinking?!"
He slammed his hand down on the table, making me flinch. I finally looked up and met his eyes, swallowing the tight knot in my throat before speaking.
"I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't know." He scoffed sarcastically.
"You're sorry? Do you have any idea how much your mother and I have put up with you lately? You've done nothing but cause problems for this family! You don't want to work, you laze around at home, you've caused a mess with this news article, and you always clung to your brother like a leech. It's a good thing he's not here to clean up your mess anymore!"
His words hit me like a ton of bricks. A sharp pang in my heart pierced through me at the mention of Shawn. It reminded me again that I was alone now, and I had to take care of my own problems.
"I'm sorry," I apologized again, my voice wavering slightly, but he leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily.
"Start preparing yourself for next week. You'll start work on Monday."
"What?" I said, a little too loudly.
"Did I stutter?" he snapped angrily.
"But Dadâ" He raised his hand to silence me.
"I don't want to hear any more of your excuses! I've given you enough time, and that's it. You'll start working at the company. End of discussion."
I could feel the panic rising inside me. The situation was no longer under my control, and if I didn't come up with something fast, I'd lose everything.
"I already told you that I'm moving out. You said it yourself, remember? That if I move out, you'd take away everything that belongs to me. I'm okay with that! So I'm not going to work at the company, Dad, and that's my final decision."
He chuckled, and I frowned, annoyed.
"Unfortunately, you won't be moving out anytime soon, Shay. You're staying here, and you'll be going to work."
"You can't make me do that! I'm old enough to decide what to do with my life!" I shot back.
He leaned toward the table and gave me a stern look.
"I'm pretty aware that you and Jason Cartwright have been seeing each other lately." I stared at him in surprise.
"He's a great guy. Very straightforward with business. But that's what I hate about these competitorsâwhen they're trying to meddle with my business. You know how I always win against all these companies when it comes to work? I always know how to play my cards right when dealing with my rivals. I study them carefully, find their weaknesses, and when the time comes to strike, they always lose and I win. I keep close tabs on everyone who works against me in case they try anything. And guess what? I also have a folder with Jason's name on it. Want to see?"
My heart was pounding loudly, my hands growing clammy. He was really going to use these underhanded tactics just to keep me here, and every word he said made me angrier.
"You'd be surprised at what Jason is really capable of. I must say, he's a real pro at handling this shady stuff. If I reveal all this, he could lose his company, and his business would go bankrupt. Both he and Evans would have to start from scratch. Now that you've disagreed with my plan, you're giving me no choice but to expose all this valuable information about Cartwright. You wouldn't want him to lose everything, would you?"
I clenched my fists tightly in rage and glared at him.
"Why are you including Jason in this?" I demanded.
He shrugged casually.
"He seems important to you, so why not?"
"You can't do this!" I practically shouted.
"But I can, sweetheart. So, which one is it going to be? You move out and cause Jason's downfall, or you stay and start working to save both him and your relationship?"
This couldn't be happening. I couldn't let him destroy Jason just because of this. I couldn't start living my own life knowing that I was responsible for everything Jason would lose. He was the only person who truly mattered to me, and I couldn't let anything happen to him.
But what was I willing to sacrifice? Was I ready to give up my happiness for all of this?
"So, what's it going to be?" he asked again.
I stared at the desk in front of me, closing my eyes. Slowly, I calmed my breathing, released my clenched fists, and looked up at him again.
"I'll do it. I'll stay and start working on Monday." He grinned triumphantly.
"Good choice."
"But you can't use whatever you have on Jason. Don't ever involve him in these kinds of situations again!" I shot back, my teeth clenched.
He smirked and folded his arms across his chest.
"Don't worry, I'll pretend that his file doesn't even exist. But if you start keeping secrets from me again, or try anything that could cause trouble for the company or this family, Jason will get it."
I felt my teeth grind harder while glaring at him, the tension in the room suffocating me. The sound of his phone ringing suddenly startled me, and he reached across the table to answer it. After a minute, he hung up and stared at me with a blank expression.
"Let's head to the living room. Shawn's lawyer is here."
I frowned in confusion, feeling a twinge of surprise.
"Why?" I asked, still trying to process everything.
He stood up, glancing at his phone one more time.
"To read us Shawn's will."