Don’t Mind If “I Do” by Everly Ashton

Forty-Three

Mazzy

I didn’t schedule a meeting with my dad, but I’m in the elevator headed up to his office anyway. Nick is at the hospital today, and while I was home alone, running over everything that’s happened in the past couple of days, I decided that I need to see my dad and get his blessing to tell Nick the truth.

Luckily, Dad’s in his office when I arrive and his assistant announces me, though it’s clear I’ve caught him off guard. He’s flustered as he stands from behind his desk to come say hello.

“Sweetheart, I wasn’t expecting you.” He hugs me and kisses my cheek as he always does, but I swear I smell alcohol on his breath. It’s not like my dad to drink midday.

“Sorry to just show up, but I need to discuss something with you.”

He holds me at arm’s length by the upper arms. “Is everything okay with you and Nick?”

I can’t decipher if the worried expression on his face is because Nick might break my heart or because our marriage might end prematurely. “Sort of. That’s what I’ve come to talk to you about.”

“Have a seat.” He gestures to the couch and chairs. I sit in one the chairs while he heads to the bar in his office. “Would you like a drink?”

“Um… no. I’m fine, thanks.”

He pours three fingers of whisky and brings it over to where he sits down on the couch, taking a big sip from the glass. “So what’s going on then?”

“Nick and I have been getting close lately and we have… feelings for each other.” Neither of us have named our feelings, but we’re on the same page—at least I hope we are.

“Well that’s good, isn’t it?” He leans back and crosses his ankle on his opposite knee.

“It is. But it presents some challenges since I’m keeping something from him. Namely the reason I wanted to get married in the first place.”

He cocks his head. “You didn’t tell him anything about Pembrooke’s troubles, did you?”

I shake my head. “No. But I want to. It doesn’t feel right to keep it from him anymore now that our relationship isn’t fake.”

“Absolutely not.” My dad tosses back the rest of his drink and stands abruptly. “No one can know.”

“Dad, I understand your concern about employees finding out and jumping ship, but Nick and I are doing well, and this is an issue between us. He won’t tell anyone. He’s as trustworthy as they come. Plus, he doesn’t even like this world.”

He stops pacing and whips around to face me. “Yes, he’s made it very clear that he despises the wealthy. I’m sure he’d take great pleasure in seeing Pembrooke fail.”

Now I stand. “That’s not true. Not if it hurt me.”

He pushes his hand through his thinning hair. “He can’t know, Mazzy. This is to stay between us.”

I toss my purse on the chair and step toward him. “I can’t continue to keep this from my husband. What’s really going on, Dad? There’s more to this, isn’t there?”

“It’s exactly what I told you.”

But I don’t believe him. Because the dad I know and have looked up to my whole life doesn’t day drink alone in his office or ask me to lie to people I care about. Now that I think about it, that dad wouldn’t ask me to marry someone to further his gain either. “Bullshit.”

My dad’s eyes flare and mine probably do too because I’ve never cursed at my father. “Mazzy—”

I put up my hand. “No, if you want my help with this and you want me to fork over a bunch of money to you, I want the truth. What’s really going on?”

He stares at me and I hold his gaze so he will see that I’m serious. Eventually his face crumbles and he slinks back to the couch, collapsing on it with his head in his hands.

I sit beside him and place my hand on his back, leaning into him. “Tell me.”

When he looks up, there are tears in his eyes. I’ve never seen my dad cry. Not even when my grandfather died. It strikes a spark of fear in me because I wonder what could possibly be worse than his father dying.

“Will you still help me if I tell you the truth?” His voice is raw, and my throat closes up.

Emotion overwhelms me and tears well in my eyes. “Just tell me the truth.”

“I did something stupid, damn it.” His fists lands on the coffee table with a bang and his glass bounces. “Richard said it was a sure thing.”

Richard? Head of Finance Richard?

“What happened?”

“He had the inside scoop on an investment that was supposed to be a sure thing. I didn’t have enough liquid equity of my own to buy in, so I borrowed from the company thinking I’d pay it back. It went bust and I lost it all.”

I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.

My father stole from the company?

“Dad, how could you?” I stand and pace. I can’t believe this.

“I didn’t expect to be in this position. Richard said it was a sure thing!”

“Nothing is ever a sure thing!” I shout.

“I know, I know that. But I really thought this would come through.”

Then another question dawns on me—why my dad would need so much money?

“But what did you need the money for that you risked so much?” I stop with my hands on my hips and stare at him.

“Nothing specific, but Mazzy, it’s always good to make more money. It’s not like you can ever have enough.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “It’s not good if you’re screwing a bunch of your employees in the process! Don’t you have enough already? You and Mom have everything you could ever want. Why wasn’t it enough?”

“I don’t know!” he yells back. “I wanted to make more.”

We’re both silent for a minute. Competing thoughts swirl in my brain as I try to make sense of this situation.

Eventually he speaks. “Now you understand why you can’t tell Nick. If this gets out, I’m ruined.”

“Maybe you should’ve thought of that before you did what you did.”

He sighs and falls back into the couch, shoulders slumped. “Will you still help the company or not?”

“I don’t know. My head is spinning. I need to think about it.”

“Mazzy, you’re the only one who can save it. I’m a desperate man.”

I feel as if a lightbulb goes off in my head. The will being changed so close to Grandfather’s death… “Wait. The will…”

My dad nods slowly. “Your grandfather caught wind of what I did. That’s why he changed the will.”

“To punish you?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. I assume so. We had an argument about it before he died when I went to him to bail me out.”

“And now you want me to bail you out.” Jesus. I’m such an idiot. “I gotta go.” I grab my purse from the chair and rush to the door.

“Mazzy? What are you going to do?”

I don’t turn around when I answer. “I don’t know.”