Matthew had arranged for us to eat on the outdoor terrace of his Weybridge mansion, and the sun was shining as I followed Caldwell to the large paved balcony that overlooked the back of the property. My father wasn’t out there yet, so I walked past the elegantly laid table to the edge of the balcony and took in the view. Beautiful old trees and sprawling lawns surrounded the house, and the terrace overlooked a pool that was just as big as the one at school.
After a week at Weybridge Academy, I was slightly less overwhelmed by the obvious wealth surrounding me. Slightly. But I still found it almost impossible to believe that my father could afford a place like this. That my mother had known how rich he was and had still chosen to struggle through raising me on her own. It was so hard to understand; I couldn’t help but think there must be more to the story or something I was missing.
“Isobel, I’m glad you came.”
I’d started to relax a little as I admired the scenery, but the sound of my father’s voice caused my body to tense once more. I had mixed feelings about meeting him today. Part of me wanted it to go well, but mostly, I expected it to be a disaster. I was still so angry with him for forcing my hand and railroading me into attending boarding school. I hated having my decisions stolen from me, so even though I’d quite liked Weybridge Academy so far, I wasn’t sure how to forgive him.
I slowly tore my gaze from the beautiful garden to face my father. It was the weekend, but he was still wearing a suit. I wondered if he owned any casual clothing at all. I tried to picture him in a pair of jeans and had to smother a laugh at the thought.
“Hello, Mr. LaFleur.”
His jaw gave the slightest twitch in response to his name. It was the only hint I’d had that perhaps he didn’t like the formality between us.
“Please, take a seat.” He gestured toward the table that was set up for lunch. An impressive buffet of salads and sandwiches was laid out on top of a pure white tablecloth. As I took a seat, a server appeared out of nowhere and poured a glass of water for me and placed a napkin across my lap.
“Would you like something else to drink?” Matthew asked.
“Water’s fine.” I took a quick sip before placing the glass back on the table. Matthew had convinced me to come, and now I was curious to see what he wanted with me. I felt quite sure he didn’t plan to spend our time simply chatting.
“How was your first week at school?” His voice was slightly gentler than the first time we’d met, and his expression seemed a little less hard. It didn’t stop my skin from itching with irritation at his question though. No matter how he framed it, I was always going to be annoyed when he brought up the school he was forcing me to attend.
“If I told you it was horrible, would you let me go home?” I asked.
He barely batted an eyelid before he responded. “I’d suggest you give the school a little longer before you make up your mind about it.”
I scoffed. I was fairly certain that was his way of saying he would never let me leave Weybridge Academy.
“Was it horrible?” he asked.
“Does it really matter?”
“Of course, it matters.”
I let out a sigh. I had a feeling he wasn’t going to let this go, so I answered honestly. “It wasn’t horrible.”
He relaxed when he heard my answer. “Good. And you’re making friends?”
“A few.”
“I hear you’ve been getting close to the Montfort twins.”
I frowned across the table at him. How did he know I was hanging out with Sawyer and Wes? He must have teachers watching me and reporting back to him or something. The thought made me want to cut all ties with the twins just to avoid being spied on by my father.
“I wouldn’t say we’re close,” I answered. “It’s only been a week.”
“Well, I have to say I approve of that friendship,” he said. “They come from an excellent family. The Montforts are good people.”
My feeling of discomfort only increased as I listened to him. “I didn’t realize who I was friends with mattered so much to you.”
“Of course, it matters. It’s important to surround yourself with good people in any walk of life. You should be mindful about which friendships you are furthering.”
I couldn’t tell if he was offering genuine, supportive advice or just trying to control my every action.
“I’m sure I can figure out the friendships I want to further,” I replied. I didn’t exactly have a great track record when it came to making good friends, but I liked to think I’d learned from my mistakes. And I refused to build relationships with people simply because my father approved of them.
“Well, you seem to be doing well so far,” he agreed. “Though you should be careful. Not everyone who attends Weybridge Academy can be considered to come from a good family.”
For a moment I wondered if he was warning me about Noah again, but I quickly disregarded the thought. Noah was from one of the wealthiest families at the school. And if I’d learned one thing this week, it was that money was all that mattered to people like my father.
Maybe he was talking about Lily and the other scholarship students. I gritted my teeth in response. “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, but I had no intention of giving his warning another thought.
Matthew took a sip of his water before he continued. “How’s your ankle feeling?”
His question threw me for a second. How many teachers did he have on his payroll? Or maybe he was having me followed. “Oh, uh, it’s fine,” I stuttered. “How exactly did you hear that?”
“The school nurse called to let me know you’d injured it on a run.”
“Right.” That made more sense. Still, I really didn’t like that he was getting updates on me, even if it was about something you’d expect the school to call a parent for.
“So, it’s healed? Because I could send for my doctor to give it a look…”
“No! No, that won’t be necessary.” The last thing I wanted was to see Matthew’s doctor.
“If you’re sure.”
“I am. It feels good today. I’m sure I’ll be back running again come Monday.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Matthew gave an approving nod. “I used to enjoy running too. I was on the track team at university, but I never have any time for it now. I’m always far too busy with work. Are you thinking about joining the track team?”
I could tell he was trying to open up and connect with me, but it was hard to talk to him about myself like this. As my father, he should already know these things about me.
“Competing takes the enjoyment out of it for me,” I said before I quickly tried to divert the conversation back to him. Seeing as Matthew seemed to want us to get to know each other, I thought it might be a good opportunity to find out how the hell he was so ridiculously rich.
“So, what is it exactly that you do?” I asked as I loaded up my plate with food. If I could stuff my mouth full of food, I wouldn’t have to do as much talking.
“You don’t know about my work?”
I shrugged. Mom had briefly mentioned Matthew had taken over his family business, but I hadn’t been particularly interested in anything to do with my father at the time. I honestly thought our meeting last week would be the first and only time I’d ever see the man.
“I run The LaFleur Corporation,” he said. “We’re a biotechnology company with a primary focus on cancer treatments.”
“You’re helping cure cancer?”
“Among other things.”
Damn. It was a little harder to hate the guy when he was trying to help people with cancer.
“I’ve only taken over the business full-time in recent years,” he continued. “My father passed last year, and his shoes are quite difficult to fill.”
I felt a lump in my throat as I realized he was talking about my grandfather. I didn’t know the man, but I couldn’t help but feel sad, and I wondered how Matthew was dealing with it.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I murmured. “About your dad.”
He gave a solemn nod. “Yes, well, we weren’t all that close. But we did share a love of science. Your mom says that’s something you’re interested in too?”
“Yeah, I guess.” I was still trying to process the fact my father wasn’t a total villain. I wasn’t quite ready to come to terms with the knowledge we also shared a common interest.
“Well, from what I’ve seen of your grades, you’ve got a true talent for it. I hope you’ve been enjoying the business subjects I enrolled you in as well.”
“They’re okay, just not really my thing.”
“Business studies were never my thing either, but they will certainly be helpful in whatever field you decide to go into later. Maybe you’ll be like me and find that side of things more enjoyable with hands-on experience.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just that I think you’ll be able to learn more on the job. I’m sure you’ll make a great addition to the company when you’re ready.”
“Your company?”
“Of course.”
“You want me to join your company,” I repeated.
“You’re a LaFleur. It’s as much your company as it is mine.”
My hands started shaking as my anger got the better of me. I wasn’t a LaFleur, and I never would be. He thought that by sending me to the right school and helping me choose the right friends he could turn me into the daughter he wanted rather than the one sitting before him. I hadn’t even graduated high school, and already he was talking about me joining his family business like it was inevitable. I wasn’t just some pawn he could mold as he pleased, and if I was going to work for one of my parents, it was most certainly going to be my mom. He’d know that if he actually bothered to try and understand who I was.
I wasn’t sure I could take another second of lunch with Matthew, and I let out a hard breath as I pushed my chair back from the table. “Coming here was a mistake.”
“Have I said something wrong?”
I stood and placed my napkin on the table. I was crazy to think Matthew deserved another chance. I thought he wanted to get to know me, but clearly, he didn’t actually care about that at all. We’d only just met and he was already planning my life out for me.
“Isobel, I can see that I’ve upset you,” Matthew said, leaning forward in his chair. “But if you tell me what’s wrong, I’m sure I can rectify it if you give me a chance. Please, sit back down and talk with me.”
“That’s just it.” I shook my head. “We can talk all you want; it’s not going to be enough to make up for all the years you’ve missed. You seem to think that a little conversation about school and sports makes us father and daughter and gives you the right to start controlling my life. You don’t even know me.”
“I understand that, but this is a start.”
“Yeah, well, we’re starting seventeen years too late.” I turned from the table and stormed away, but the scrape of Matthew’s chair sounded behind me as he hurried to catch up. I’d almost reached the patio doors when his hand touched my wrist.
“Please, Isobel, give me a chance.”
“Why?” I spun to face him. “Why do you deserve a chance after all this time?”
He seemed taken aback by the question, and real emotion shone through his eyes. He was hurt. I could see that clearly, but I didn’t know why he would be. I was nothing more than an inconvenience to him, and he was trying to make the best of it by forcing me to fit into his world.
He cleared his throat before he spoke. “Because even though I don’t know you, I still care about you,” he said. “I know I’ve made a terrible first impression, and I’ve absolutely no idea how to be a father, but I’m trying.
“Trying?” I repeated. It seemed to me like I was the one doing all the heavy lifting. Leaving my home and my school, changing myself to fit the LaFleur framework. Sure, he had made an effort to see me again this weekend, but did that really mean he cared? It felt like this visit was simply another opportunity for Matthew to make me into something I wasn’t.
“I know it’s too much to expect you might see me as your father,” he continued. “But I would like to be a part of your life.”
“If you wanted me to be a part of your life, you should have done something about it before now.”
“That was out of my control,” he replied, his voice almost a whisper.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” I shook my head. If he couldn’t even take responsibly for being absent my whole life, there was no hope for us. “Look, I should really get back to school.”
“But…”
“No, I need to get back to school.”
A defeated look fell across his face when he saw the determined glint in my eyes. “I’ll have Caldwell fetch your driver for you.”
“Thank you.”
The two of us walked through the house together, and the small distance between us felt like miles. Our lunch had only served to push us further apart, and I wasn’t sure if there was any coming back from it. I didn’t know how to move beyond the bitter feelings that welled up inside me whenever I was in Matthew’s presence. It felt like an impossible obstacle for us to overcome. He could have been the nicest guy in the world, and I still would have held it against him.
Matthew waited with me on the front steps as the black SUV that had brought me here pulled around to the front of the house.
“Isobel, I just want to try and explain…”
I lifted a hand. I didn’t need to hear any excuses or explanations. I just wanted to leave. “Look, I’m going to go to your school, mostly because I haven’t been given any choice. But please stop trying to change me. And stop trying to get to know me. It’s only going to hurt us both more.”
I turned from Matthew and walked down the steps. He didn’t try to stop me.
When I got in the car, I tried to keep my gaze on the shiny leather of the seat in front of me. But as the driver pulled away from the house, I glanced out the window. Matthew was still waiting on the steps. I was used to seeing him stand with a straight back and his chest puffed out with importance, but he seemed deflated now, and his shoulders slouched as he watched the car leave. He probably wasn’t used to people biting back at him or not giving him exactly what he wanted.
I tried to put Matthew from my mind as the car drove through the front gates and continued on to the academy. But, despite my dramatic exit, I couldn’t help but wonder what excuse he was cooking up for taking seventeen years to reach out to me. He’d said it was out of his control, but if he truly cared about me and wanted to get to know me, as he claimed, what was it that had prevented him for all these years?
