All characters are at least 18 years old.
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Charles Rochester scrutinized me, bringing back bad memories of childhood. Memories of never being good enough. Memories of always doing the wrong thing. Memories of... loss. And I refused to squirm under his gaze.
"I don't remember giving you a passcode," I said airily as I strode to my desk. While I seated myself, he remained standing. He probably wasn't used to being on the wrong side of a desk and refused to sit in a guest chair.
"I don't need permission to visit my daughter," he said scornfully. "Least of all from that oaf of a butcher you call a doorman." He began slowly pacing the room like a newly caged tiger. Because God forbid he sat in the smaller seat.
"You should at least have some courtesy, though," I remarked. "And I'll have you know that Tony is perfectly capable. Properly vetted, trained, the whole shebang." I leaned back and shook my head derisively. "All I'm saying is you should give a girl a holler before showing up. It's just uncouth, considering you swore you'd never set foot here in this particular establishment. How did you describe it? You said something rather good the last time we spoke."
"A repulsive cesspool of degenerate freaks," Charles supplied.
"There you go, poetry."
"And it has only devolved further since then," he sneered. "The kind of perversity you let in here. It's shameful."
I rolled my eyes. "It's only a hop, skip, and a jump from your own empire. I might have even seen a couple of your elite buddies swing down here once or twice. Or a dozen times, depending on how often the mood hit."
"We at least stay on the right side of the law, Alexandria."
"Easy when your friends are writing the laws," I scoffed. "Don't act like you getting in good with certain clients wasn't to expand your influence. Remember that guy you suicided last year?"
His head snapped to glare at me. Finally, a decent reaction. "That wasn't me," he said stiffly.
"Exactly my point." I leaned forward and weaved my fingers together. "The others, who had too much to lose if the guy talked. They're the ones who gave the order, and you still accept their business. So don't talk to me about lawfulness."
"And isn't that what it's all about with Senator Barnes?" Charles shot back, arching an eyebrow. "Influence?"
"It's a blind eye," I corrected.
He pondered it for a moment, then chuckled. "I thought you more ambitious than that."
"What, you thought I was collecting a cabal of sympathetic politicians to help change the law in favor of my clientele? Why would I do that?" He raised his brows as an indication to continue. "If that happens, and the niche I entertain becomes mainstream, I lose my selling point. I mean, I doubt it'll get that far; what is lawful and what is considered moral are still miles apart. But still, seems like a fruitless gambit."
He stopped pacing to look at me again, and for a second, the disdain in his eyes seemed to waver. My eyes saw a glimmer of respect, but my brain didn't believe it for a second. The only way this fucker respected anybody was in a Machiavellian sort of way, and even then, you never saw it in his face.
Then the second passed, and he spoke. "I didn't come here to debate your clientele or practices."
"Why not? It's been pretty fun so far."
He sighed impatiently, then clasped his hands behind him.
"You're getting married."
I stared at him, waiting for the punchline. When I realized that was it, I began laughing, almost maniacally. He maintained a solemn expression, and it just made me laugh harder. This bitch really thought he could marry me off like we were in the Middle Ages or something.
Wondered if I had a dowry. Wondered how much it was.
I had to hand it to him, he was patient as he waited for me to collect myself. Probably expected that kind of reaction. Eh, I'll entertain him, I thought. I wanted to see how far he was ready to take this. "When?"
"Whenever you and this boy deem appropriate."
"Ah, okay." I nodded with fake amicability. "How about... never? That seems appropriate enough."
"You will not drag this engagement on forever. I was being generous before." That cold look in his eyes. It was making my blood boil. "You will be married by year's end."
"God, this is so weird. Usually it's the mom pushing for her kids to settle down, 'cause she wants grandkids or something. Did mom put you up to this?" He sighed again, and I tittered. "Nah. Mom just does whatever you tell her.
"So help me out here. Can't be for connections, since you already have plenty of those. Unless he's a prince or something. Is he? No, didn't think so. Hm, you have enough money already... What's left? Progeny?" I snapped my fingers in epiphany. "You want some pure blood master race kids."
"Are you finished?" Charles bit out.
"Yeah, I'm stumped. Why don't you tell me his name, at least I'll have some clues to go off of."
His nostrils flared and he ground his teeth, but at least he obliged. "August Nova."
"Sounds like a fighter jet in a video game," I commented. "'Lexi Nova.' Hm, actually sounds pretty cool. Maybe I will marry this guy after all."
"Alexandria--"
"You know I hate being called that," I said, shaking my head. "If you're here to convince me of something, the smart move would've been to stay on my good side, at least."
"You will marry him, one way or another," he announced, and I felt myself lose my temper. He wasn't somebody I was playing games with. I didn't have to listen to this shit, or keep my composure. I could just sweep all the chess pieces onto the ground if I wanted. But we were adults. Besides, nothing would please him more than for me to act childish and prove him right.
"Good joke. Now let me tell you what's actually going to happen." I lowered my arms onto the desk, affixing him with a humorless stare. "My friends and I are going to community college together in the fall. And I will continue to run this business alone, without you or anybody else interfering."
"Community college," Charles scoffed. "That's beneath you."
"It's for optics. You, of all people, should understand that."
"You're a Rochester."
"Oh God, we're getting into family pride now? It's not like we plaster our name on our buildings. That would defeat the purpose, don't you think? Because I thought being a Rochester was about being invisible."
"You enjoy generalizing when it suits you," he noted.
"I do anything when it suits me. And right now, it's kicking you out of my club."
"I suppose that suits us both. I was just here to deliver the message." He turned and began walking away without even a goodbye.
"Demoted to messenger, now? What a tragic decline," I quipped, but he was already gone. I ground my teeth.
Asshole.
I let out a breath of relief, wiping a bit of sweat from my forehead. I would have preferred dealing with five more Senator Barnes than one fucking Charles Rochester. My eyes stung, and I threw my head back to watch the ceiling as I gathered my thoughts. I was just... so tired.
But the work never ended. I had to be ready for whatever came. I had to prove the old man wrong.
I picked up my phone and dialed Alain. Before I chewed him out for not warning me about my father visiting, I said, "Background check for August Nova. August, like the month. N-O-V-A."
--
"Then he said all life is a gangbang," Drew said.
Stef burst out laughing, while Brie groaned and facepalmed. Cherry just looked confused. My friends and I were sitting at lunch at school, talking about nonsense. And they were all patrons of Taboo, I thought with a grin. I was delighted to find that they all shared a common... 'interest,' shall we say. One after another, I had discovered and helped them realize their fantasies, and now it was no exaggeration to say we were the best of friends. My best friend Brie was sat together with her twin Stef, holding hands under the table. Drew was animated as ever, telling a story of some crazy discussion he had online. Cherry, on the other hand, was still pretty shy, especially when it came to sex stuff. All we were missing were Drew's mother and Cherry's father, and we would have three lovely incestuous couples sitting together.
And me. I suppose I was the odd one out. Couldn't be helped though. Nobody else could walk the path I walked.
