Hooking - Kristine Allen Page 0,11
seriously sucked.
“Sydney, I have an interview for you Monday at nine in the morning with our human resources director,” my father announced at brunch. My fork clattered to the table.
“What?” I asked in shock.
“Now that you’ve graduated, you need to find a job. I’ve arranged for an interview. What’s not clear about that?” he asked as he took a sip of his mimosa.
My brothers all stared at their plates. They knew I had no interest in working at my father’s company. Network security held absolutely zero appeal for me. But did any of them stand up for me? Of course not. Because none of them wanted to piss our father off. In their defense, they’d all told me a million times that they were waiting for me to stick up for myself first.
They were right. I knew it, but it didn’t make it any easier to tell my dad “no.”
“Dad. Why wouldn’t you ask me first?” I didn’t mean to sound disrespectful, but I’m pretty sure I did anyway.
“Because the odds that you’d find a job with that history degree you got are about the same as me moving to Pluto.” Though I knew he was right, it didn’t mean that I wanted to hear it. I’d started in the degree program because I loved history and thought I wanted to teach. It didn’t take long to realize I didn’t have the drive to be a teacher, rendering my degree a little pointless. “All that money to send you to TCU, and you come back with a degree in history, for Christ’s sake.”
“I have some interviews lined up,” I blurted out. Then I inwardly cringed. It was a lie, and if he called me on it, I was screwed.
My father raised a brow at me and stilled. “When?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mother lay a calming hand on his arm. She was on my side to a certain extent.
“Next week,” I added to the big fat lie. My twin brother, Jake, flashed me a look. He knew almost everything about me. He knew if I’d had an interview scheduled for next week, I would’ve told him—we were that close.
I squirmed in my seat a little as my father’s penetrating gaze bored into me. “If you don’t have a job by the end of the month, you’re talking to HR. Are we clear?” I nodded. When he relaxed and resumed eating, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Jake whispered under his breath, “You are so fucked.”
“Shut it,” I whispered back. Thankfully, my dad’s attention had been diverted to my uncle Simon. They sat discussing something that didn’t interest me, so I tuned them out.
The rest of brunch was uneventful. When our parents moved out to the poolside to visit with my aunt Beatrice and my uncle Simon, my brothers said their goodbyes to them.
“Hope you really have interviews lined up,” chuckled my brother, Theo. He was there without his wife and kiddos, which was odd.
“She doesn’t,” Jake confidently piped in. With an expression of mirth, he watched me slouch in my chair. “And why were you at the Four Seasons last night?”
Eyes bugging, I stared at him with my mouth agape. “Were you spying on me?”
He snorted and he rolled his eyes. “Please. You think I have nothing better to do? I had a date. We ate at Ciclo, then had cocktails in the bar. I saw you walk past with some dude with longer hair hanging in his face.”
“Oh, God,” I groaned as I covered my face with the cloth napkin.
“Jesus, Sydney,” my brother Diego said on a sigh. Theo growled, and I knew he was ready to kick someone’s ass. As my oldest brother, he was extremely protective of me. Oh, who was I kidding? They were all ridiculously protective, he was simply the worst of the lot. I dropped my hands to my lap.
Caleb slapped a hand on the table as he narrowed his eyes at me. “Who was he?”
“None of your damn business! I’m twenty-two years old. You don’t get to dictate my life any more than our father does, nor do you get to question who I hang out with.”
“Hang out with? In a hotel room? Alone? Okay, sure.” Jake gave me a droll look as he drew out his last word. My eyes narrowed as I glared at him for stirring the pot further.
“Look, it doesn’t matter,” I argued. Then to change the subject, I turned to Theo. “Where’s Wendy and