fight back. But now that we’d talked, I felt closer to her than I had in years. We’d reached a silent understanding, and instead of being angry with her like I usually was, I found myself blaming her less and loving her more.
When I’d called Sunny to fill her in on everything, she had practically burst into tears on the phone. She was so overjoyed to hear that I was mending fences while I was home. She’d said she was proud of me and wished she were here.
I was grateful she wasn’t.
I never wanted Sunny to step foot in this fucking house. But when she sent me an X-rated voice message after seeing a picture of me in my tux for the holiday party, I started second-guessing that idea. I decided that she could be here as long as she was underneath me or on top of me or her legs were wrapped around my shoulders, cutting off the circulation to my head. Only under those circumstances.
“You almost ready?” My mom poked her head inside my bedroom and saw me fidgeting with my tie. I knew how to tie one, but I always made it crooked. She walked over to me, reached for it, and fixed it. “There.”
I looked in my full-length mirror and nodded. “Thanks,” I said before giving her a once-over. “You look gorgeous.”
My mom was wearing a floor-length red gown with deep slits in the front. Her auburn hair was done to perfection, not a single hair out of place, and her makeup looked like she belonged on a magazine cover.
“Thank you.” Her eyes softened with my words as she pressed a kiss to my cheek. “You look debonair. Did you send Sunny a picture?”
“I did.”
“What do you kids call them? Self-something?” she asked, and I knew she couldn’t be that out of touch with reality. Then again …
“Selfies,” I corrected.
She nodded, her mouth forming a big, “Ahh.”
“Let’s go,” DD shouted from the bottom of the stairs. He sounded like he was outside already.
“Such a gentleman,” I said sarcastically.
She gave me a disapproving look. “Mac, don’t. Just behave. It will make tonight easier.”
I groaned but said nothing back. She hated putting on a show as much as I did, and I only had to do it once a year. My poor mom had to do it constantly.
The holiday party was a nightmare. And I couldn’t even get any solace from my girlfriend since I wasn’t allowed to bring my cell phone inside. Texting her all night would have been a thousand times better than being here and pretending to give a shit while watching everyone kiss DD’s ass.
All the higher-ups in the company eventually introduced themselves to me and told me they couldn’t wait until I was officially a part of the company. They all seemed to be under the impression that I had a firm start date when I’d never agreed to shit. Unless you counted the deal that I’d signed when I was eighteen—and we knew that Dick certainly did. To be honest, the whole night felt like a sales pitch, filled with old guys faking excitement at me coming on board, telling me how great my old man was and how fun it was, being rich. They were so out of touch with reality that I wanted to rip my hair out and throw a tantrum. I almost did, but my mom stopped me.
She had done her best to stay sober during the event, but when I noticed her doing shots at the bar, I walked over and paced her before it got out of control. I hadn’t done it for my dad’s sake, but for my mom’s. I knew that DD would have punished her once we got home, and living with him was punishment enough for anyone.
“It’s not worth it,” I whispered toward her as she put the glass down.
She smiled at me. It was big and fake. “I hate this more than anything,” she admitted, and I could relate. “And he’s been putting on the charm for the ladies all night long.”
I turned around to see what my mom was talking about, and it didn’t take me long to see what she meant. DD was standing next to some girl who was definitely younger than him, his hand touching her lower back every few seconds. I couldn’t be the only one who noticed. Maybe he was just flirting, or maybe he was a cheating prick. I had no idea, but I’d