Chapter 1
ASHLEY
It didn’t matter that he was my father or that I had once loved him. It didn’t matter that he used to tell me he would protect me from any man who would try and break my heart.
Right then, as I stormed his office building in a rage, my heart trying to keep up with my rapid steps, none of that shit mattered. Because it was him who broke my heart, not to mention my mom’s as well.
Mitchel Radden, father, serial cheater, and abandoner. I was fourteen when he left my mom and me without a word and ten years later, I’m still feeling the effects of his pathetic choices.
Two days ago a letter landed inside my mailbox, asking… no, begging me to allow him back into my life. What the hell? Mitchel had the nerve to tell me he had missed me and regretted everything which I didn’t believe for a single second.
Hell to the fucking no.
I only knew he worked in downtown LA because he left a phone number on the bottom of the letter asking me to get in touch. After a quick reverse search, I found that the offices of Gold Enterprises were located about a forty-five minute subway ride from my house in West Adams.
My dad, whom I hadn’t seen in ten years, only now decided that I was good enough to be his daughter. Boy did I have something to say back to him too, except I wasn’t going to do it with a measly letter. What I wanted to tell him had to be done face to face. He needed to see my expressions and hear the tone of my voice when I finally tell him to fuck off.
Mitchel was a coward who cheated on his wife and abandoned his family leaving them to wonder for years what they had done wrong. Mom blamed herself for his actions except it wasn’t her fault. I blamed myself until I was old enough to know the truth. She hid his infidelity from me at first just so I wouldn’t hate him, but what she didn’t realize was I hated him anyway for leaving us both.
And now he got to play husband and father with the woman he had cheated on mom with. Mitchel had two kids with her, but I have no intention of meeting either of them.
Ever.
I hated him.
And he was just about to find out how much.
I’d never been to the office tower and it looked like a place he would work at. Mitchel was wealthy, arrogant, and looked down at people who struggled financially. He believed that money was power, never really spending anything on mom and me. I was looking forward to breaking it to him that no matter how much money the fucker had, he didn’t have any power over me.
The building was immaculate, with gold trimmings around the reception desk and a marble base which lit up. The tiled floor was shiny, white with black veins and appeared new. In fact, the entire structure was only built within the year. There were two sets of elevators at the end of the hall. Not knowing which floor he was on, I checked the directory signage and noticed his name right next to number fifty, the highest in the building.
Bypassing the receptionist who began to protest, I heard the elevators ding. A swarm of people walked out and I hid between them, greedily pushing my way through the crowd. I hurriedly pressed the button hoping that the doors would close before she could reach me. Thankfully, they did.
Once my heart steadied, I let out a deep breath, tilting my head up to watch the numbers rise. The music over the speakers was that classical shit you get when you’re waiting on a call with your telephone company. A rich place like this could definitely do better than that.
The quick ride was lonely. Once the doors opened, I glanced both left and right, surprised that I wasn’t stopped by security at any point.
A brown-haired girl with glasses sat at the reception desk. Her head was dipped low and she was focused on her computer screen. When she finally noticed me, a soft smile appeared on her face. “Good morning.”
“Hi. I’m looking for Mitchel.”
“Oh, Mr. Radden is in a meeting right now,” she replied. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
I heard the click of the door connecting the reception area to the inside of the offices. Someone walked out at the exact moment I needed to go in.
It was my chance.
“No, that’s okay,” I said to the receptionist, pushing the metal frame wide open before it closed on me again. “I can find him myself.”
She rolled her chair back as I stormed in, glancing in every direction, looking through each room to find my poor excuse for a father.
“Hello! You can’t be back here!” she called out. I heard her footsteps following me close behind, but she wasn’t as quick as me. Her heels were no match for my sneakers. “I’m going to call security!”
“That’s okay, I have something of his,” I said, waving his letter in my hand without looking back.
Hopefully I still had enough time to blast my not-dad before I got dragged away and kicked out of the building.
As I turned the corner, following the natural path that took me around the office, an unfamiliar voice spoke out behind me. “Looking for someone?”
When I spun around, I noticed a man with his arms folded right up against his chest. His hair had a slight salt and pepper tinge through the strands but it was barely noticeable. He was tall and muscular, with turquoise eyes and a five-o-clock shadow. It was Friday after all so perhaps he was lazy with the shaving, yet he still wore a high-end suit that probably cost more than my entire house.
I had to admit his dreamy eyes held me captive for a few unspoken moments until I remembered what the hell I was doing there in the first place. Suddenly, the rage I felt before came back tenfold and I sneered back at him. “No.”
“Well, can I help you with something?”
“No,” I replied drily.
“Well, you see we have a problem because I don’t think you belong in this office.”
Seeing as though I was in sweatpants and an off the shoulder sweater he was absolutely right. Everyone I had seen going through this place had money written all over them. When I glanced down at myself and back up at the judgmental prick, I realized he had the same piece of shit attitude as my ‘dad.’
“And why’s that?” I asked, testing him, realizing the more I spoke with him, the more dangerous it was for me because I was sure that bitch had already called security. “Are you saying I don’t belong here because of what I’m wearing?’
He drew his eyes closer and shook his head. “No, because I don’t recognize you and secondly, I heard the receptionist yell out about calling security. So, I’m going to ask you again. What are you doing here?”
Oh. He was a guard. That explained it.
I figured I might as well tell the fucker the truth. “I’m looking for Mitchel,” I said, glancing around the space I was in. Toward the end of the office, there was a large boardroom. The door was closed, though the blinds were wide open. I could see through the clear glass windows and noticed Mitchel’s head leaning forward. His hair was slightly gray and receding. I could also see bags under his eyes even from where I stood. You’d think he’d have gotten enough sleep all these years even after being a total douchebag.
“Well, Mr. Radden is in a meeting right now, and I don’t think his boss would appreciate you interrupting that for any reason.”
I turned back to look at the man in front of me and allowed my lips to curve into a playful smirk. “Well, his boss can suck my dick.”
And then I turned and ran towards the boardroom as quickly as my legs could take me before pushing the handle down. The door barged wide open and it suddenly went quiet as I took in the sight of the man I hated for so long.
There he was, dressed in his Armani suit, a smug look on his face until he realized I was there. “Can I help you?” he asked, taking his focus off the projector and glancing toward me.
My soft laugh turned into a loud cackle. My ‘father’ wrote an entire letter telling me that he missed me and the asshole didn’t even know who I was.
“Miss, are you lost?” he spoke again, though his facial expression didn’t show genuine concern, just frustration and annoyance.
I stalked closer toward him with his letter in my hand, ready to shred it to bits right in front of him. Instead, I slammed the worn out paper right on the stained hardwood desk and growled. “Do you seriously think I want anything to do with your pathetic ass?”
It hit him like a truck carrying a ton of bricks. Mitchel’s eyes widened and he let out a deep gasp, finally giving me a once over. “Ashley, is that really you?”
“Leave me the hell alone.”
Mitchel’s face flustered, and I could see a red hue coming up from his collared shirt toward his cheeks. From what I remembered he was never able to go out in the sun for too long because he always burned easily. “Look, can we talk in an hour?” he asked, glancing at his watch. “I’m just in the middle of a meeting.”
And that’s when I peered around the entire room. Five men and one woman were seated around the table that I hadn’t noticed before. They were quiet, watching the personal exchange between Mitchel and me.
The only issue with that was I didn’t really give a fuck.
The more people who heard what I needed to say, the better. “No. I don’t want to talk to you,” I snapped, after finally turning my attention back to him. My nerves weren’t as steely as I hoped they were. I was so angry, trembling because all I wanted to do was hit the man who stood in front of me, calling himself my father. My heart raced as I spat out my venom. “What the hell gave you the impression that I wanted you back in my life? Stay away from me and stay away from mom.” I picked up the letter again and tore it in my hands, watching the white papers drift toward the carpeted floor. “I hate you.”
Feeling like I managed to get even a little bit off my chest, I turned away from Mitchel and stormed out.
“Wait!” he called out.
“Fuck off, asshole!” I flipped him off, ignoring the rest of his chants. He had no right to use my name, he had no right to talk about me, no right to ask me to be his daughter again because it was far from what I wanted.
And definitely not what he deserved.
As I marched back out of his office I heard Mitchel let out a few curse words behind me. Sure, it wasn’t a professional look on him but I was way past giving a shit.
Mom had to work two jobs as a single parent to try and make ends meet. As soon as I could, I scored a job at the local fast food joint, flipping burgers before I worked my way up to a managerial position. Mitchel left nothing for us because they had signed a prenup before they were married. He was a grade A selfish asshole and it felt good to finally tell him that.
Bypassing that guard, he had a half impressed, half angered look on his face. I wasn’t sure whether he wanted to give me a high five or put his hands around my neck and choke me, the latter sounded more appealing I had to admit.
Quickly pulling out my phone from my back pocket, I dialed Holly’s number hearing her voice answer on the first ring. “Let’s go out tonight,” I told her. “I’m in the mood to party.”
