Chapter 88

I shake my head, my lips drawing to a firm line, and then I cross my arms over my chest, just as they’re both doing. There’s silence between us as we all glare around in a circle.

Daniel gives first. I see him sigh and loosen his arms, putting his hands in his pockets instead. He sees that I have a point and he looks down at the floor, a little ashamed of himself.

Kent, however, doesn’t give an inch.

“Leave us,” he says to Daniel, not looking at him.

Daniel opens his mouth to protest, but Kent cuts him off.

“Leave us,” he repeats, not taking his eyes off of me.

Daniel just shakes his head and leaves without another word, not even looking at me. I watch him go and then turn back to Kent.

“You’re on dangerous ground, Fay,” Kent says, his voice low.

“Wha – why?” I ask, honestly confused. “Because I still can’t see anything that I’ve done wrong – I just went to a party and talked to my father’s guests. If you didn’t want me to do that, then you shouldn’t have let me go to the party!”

Kent slowly shakes his head at me then. “No, Fay,” he says evenly. “You misunderstand. You’re not on dangerous ground with me. You’re on dangerous ground in this world.”

I frown at him, confused. So, he obliges me with an explanation.

“You see, Fay,” Kent says, unfolding his arms and looking down at his desk. “Your father changed the game tonight, and you let him do it.”

He takes a handful of change from his pocket and scatters it on the desk. I look between him and the money, confused. Then he slides one penny forward out of the mix.

“The only thing that was protecting you in this world, Fay,” Kent continues, “was your engagement to Daniel. As a soon-to-be member of my family, you had my protection.”

He takes two quarters, placing them next to the penny, blocking the penny off from the rest of the change.

“But,” he continues, “tonight your father opened the opportunity for you to show the world where your allegiance lies. And, in leaving Daniel behind,”

he moves the penny around the quarters so that it mingles again with the rest of the cash on the table, “you’ve left yourself open. For anyone else to claim, should they wish it.”

I stare at the cash on the table, realizing, suddenly, the seriousness of what happened tonight.

“You see, Fay,” Kent continues, picking up a little dime and holding it towards my face. “Your dad, in this world? He’s not a penny like you, but he’s small shakes. And he’s getting weaker. I want him on my side, because he has resources I’d like to use.”

Kent puts the dime back on the table, mixing it with the rest of coins. “But,” Kent continues, “Alden’s trading you,” he slides the penny to sit next to the dime, “to the highest bidder. For his allegiance. Seeing if he can get a bigger fish than me to bite.”

I look up into Kent’s eyes, then, understanding.

“Ivan is that fish,” I say quietly.

Kent nods and I look back down at the desk, the money scattered there.

“I’ll let you think on it, Fay,” Kent says quietly. “About where your allegiances lie. About where it is that you want to be in this world.”

I don’t look at him then, but I hear his footsteps cross the room. Hear him open the door, hear it close behind him.

I stare, instead, at the coins on the desk. I reach forward to touch the penny, thinking deeply about where it is that I do want to be.

Again, I’ve greatly misunderstood and miscalculated the complicated politics of this world. A party is never just a party, and I’ve again fallen into that trap.

One thing in Kent’s little metaphor doesn’t quite add up.

I reach out, picking up the little shiny penny that represents me, my eyes glancing at my million-dollar engagement ring as I do.

If all of these men are going through all of this effort to figure out where I land, then I’m certainly not a one-cent piece. I’m certainly not the least valuable coin on the table.

And everyone – Kent, my father, Ivan, Daniel even – they all want me to think that I am, that I am some penny or some pawn.

But what I’m starting to realize, through all of this, is that I’m worth much more to them, and to myself, then they’d like me to believe.

After all, if a pawn crosses the entire chess board...she becomes a queen.

I smirk, slipping my penny into the pocket and quietly leaving the room. I head upstairs to bed, not bothering to say goodnight to anyone.

Fall For My Ex's Mafia Father Chapter 0087