Her Dirty Bartenders (Men at Work #5) - Mika Lane Page 0,51

a father-in-law for whatever benefit it might bring him.

He clearly wasn’t going away easily, and I had to come up with something drastic. I needed to buy some time and to talk to the guys. They’d offered to help me, and it was time to call in that favor.

I took a deep breath to prepare for the line of bullshit I was about to deliver. “All right, Vaughn. Give me some time. I need to think about it. Get used to the idea. My yoga instructor training starts tomorrow and goes for two weeks. I’ll finish that and then maybe go back to Philly. Are you okay with my staying that long?”

I wanted to throw up. Placating this creep did not come naturally.

He sat back in his chair, arms crossed, like he’d achieved a victory.

If he only knew.

“I guess we could do that.”

Big of him.

“I want you to stay with me at my hotel.”

Wow. He really was delusional.

“No. I'm… not ready for that. I’ll stay where I am, with Marni.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’ve never understood how you could stand her. She’s such a bitch.”

Ha. I knew he was jealous of my friendship with her. I knew it.

“Well, she never had a bad thing to say about you. Until you… fucked up, that is.”

An expression passed over his face that I couldn't quite define, but that let me know he didn’t like being reminded of his wrongdoing.

Tough shit.

I looked at my watch and stood. “Gotta go.”

He looked me up and down like I was his property.

Dick.

“I’m glad we made progress today. I really am, Stell. I’ll never do anything like that again.”

Didn’t matter to me. The bastard was never going to get the chance.

“Oh my god, Marn. Can you talk?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

The sounds of the gym filled the background.

“First, I got my car back.”

I couldn't lie any longer. And riding a bike had gotten old.

“Great,” she said.

“Also, I just had coffee with Vaughn.”

She gasped. “Really? Why?”

“I thought I could get him off my back. Talk some sense into him. But no go. He says if I don’t go back to Philly with him, he’ll expose some photos he has of me dancing on the platform at Tableau.”

A door clicked, and I knew she’d gone into a private office. “Oh crap. How did he get those?”

“I don’t know. He must have sneaked in somehow.”

She exhaled a loud breath, and after a moment, spoke. “You know, Stell. What’s the worst that can happen if he goes public with that? Who cares? You’re a grown woman and can dance wherever you want.”

If only it were that easy.

“But Marn, you know my dad is up for reelection.”

She was silent for a moment. “I know. And I know this will sound kind of cold, but that’s not your problem. You have your own life to live.”

“They’d never forgive me.”

I could see it now. Drama of the nuclear variety.

“So what? Seriously, Stell. You’re out on your own now. If they’re so willing to write you off for living your life, is theirs a club worth belonging to?”

Damn.

I loved that about Marni. She always helped me see through the dark. But I had a lot to think about. If I left the club of Mom and Dad, what club would I then belong to?

I had a couple ideas.

34

Cab

“Marn, you won’t believe the bullshit Dad is pulling.”

I filled her in while she swirled a teabag around her cup, slowly shaking her head in disbelief. “Unfuckingbelievable. Maybe I can talk to him.”

It was sweet of her to offer. But that sexist old man had no interest in advice from any woman, much less his daughter. He loved Marni, but looked at her as a sort of pretty accessory who he was happy to invest in until she married and started squeezing out babies.

“Thanks, Marn. But I think that would make things worse. You know how he is with women.”

With a faraway look in her eyes, her gaze wandered over the as-yet empty club. It was early yet, but the crowds would start showing up soon.

“I wonder if he’s gonna pull the plug on me and the gym at some point?”

God, I hoped not. That would break Marni’s heart. She’d worked her fingers to the bone on Altitude, and she’d surpassed all her goals for membership and revenues. She was a smart cookie and could actually run any business she wanted to.

“He might, Marn. I don’t say that to be a dick. It’s just reality.”

She looked stricken at the thought,