Tiny Dark Deeds: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Court Legacy Book 3)

Dorian

I skipped my next therapy session and instead got Ronald to take me to see my dad. Our butler hadn’t been happy about it. He had orders, but I guessed, since the destination was to see my father, he didn’t put up much of a fight.

My father was at his office today, Prinze Financial. Our family owned several banks, but only one held my dad’s office. He typically wasn’t in much these days, busy with the search and everything, but he did dedicate one day a week to help out at the office. He had plenty of faces on the company, so he didn’t need to be there.

That was just my dad, though, and the office was open to me when I came. Outside of Reed Corp. and Mallick Enterprises, my family’s bank took up the largest real estate on the block. Thatcher’s and Wolf’s dads were in real estate, moguls just like my dad. Wells’s dad, Jax, was too, but in his own space. Besides his burger franchises, he held businesses in other culinary sectors around the globe.

My father hadn’t expected to see me when I arrived at the top floor of the city skyscraper, but that was a given. I was supposed to be at therapy today.

In a gray suit, my dad was rushing out of his office with several people, but the party stopped upon seeing me. Dad cut around them, his hand raised, and he immediately noticed Ronald flanking me. He directed a look to him before me. “Why aren’t you at your session?”

Everyone in the office had grown silent, Ronald too. I was sure he’d hear this for not taking me where I was supposed to be, but coming here wasn’t his fault.

“I need to talk you,” I said, and right away, my dad spoke to the other suits with him. I recognized them from his board of directors. Our family name was on the bank, but the Prinzes did answer to others, shareholders. My family maintained the majority stake, and I had my own shares as well. I’d get even more over time, and I had to get through school first before I could start getting involved.

I’d caught my dad in a busy moment, clearly. His time was valuable, and though I didn’t want to waste it, this was important. He must have felt that way too because he dismissed the others, and Ronald left last. Our butler closed the door, waiting outside it.

Dad glanced through the glass walls toward the people waiting for him. “What’s going on? You okay? We were just about to head to a meeting.”

I bet he was. Again, his time was valuable. “I want to talk to you about everything with the search.”

“What about it?” Dad smoked out his glass walls, giving me his full attention. He sighed. “You’re still not getting involved, son. And you know, as soon as we know something, we’ll inform you.”

I trusted my father. I really did, but I also knew my friend was hurting. Wolf was threatening shit, and I wasn’t doing all right either. “I want to work with Grandpa.”

It took a lot for me to come here today, to actually talk to my dad instead of going behind his back, but I was taking a chance here.

I didn’t want to lie anymore.

It physically made me ill, and I literally couldn’t take my dad or mom being any more upset with me. If I was going to go to my grandfather, I wanted to do so with his blessing.

Right away, my father severed our gazes. He looked at everything but me in his office in that moment. “We’ve been over this.”

“I know but—”

“We’ve been over it. We have, and I won’t repeat myself. You know my position when it comes to this, so stop pushing it.”

He wasn’t listening to me, ignoring me. “Dad, you asked me to talk to you. You did, and this is me trying to do that right now.” Like I said, this was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do. Normally, I did listen to my dad.

Which meant something that I wasn’t right now.

I could count on a hand how many times I’d actually defied my father, and I think he knew that as well. I hadn’t before everything with Charlie.

His attention shifted in my direction, at least listening.

I decided to speak quickly.

“I understand why you don’t want Grandpa involved,” I said, swallowing. “I do, and I don’t expect you to work with him.”

This really got his attention, his arms folded.

“That’s why I’m begging you to let me,” I rushed. “I want to take on that burden, so you don’t have to.”

This was hard for him, which was something I completely understood. My grandfather was a son of a bitch.

He’d hurt him.

The two had a history I’d only heard whispers about, and I think my father had actually only talked to me about it once. The other conversations I’d snuck up on, intimate conversations between him and my mother. My father wasn’t open much with his feelings, and once he and I had talked about it, he buried it. He’d wanted to let me know about those whispered conversations I’d stumbled in on, said he felt he owed them to me.

His chest raised with a large breath. “What do you mean, Dorian?”

“I mean, contact can be through me. Like I said, Grandpa wants a relationship with me. I don’t think he’d hurt me, but you can have Ronald go with me. Hell, you can have a whole fleet of cops come, but I need to do everything I can to find Sloane. Wolf’s really not doing well, and I…” My voice shut down, tight and my throat raw. “Just let me do this please. I’m coming to you, but I’d never make you work with him. I won’t, so let it be me.”

My father unbuttoned his jacket in that moment, his hand sweeping over his head. He stared at me for a long time, and next thing I knew, he was directing me to sit down.

We sat on his leather furniture, him on his easy chair and me on the loveseat. His lips pulled together. “I know you want to find her.” He lifted a hand. “Brielle talked to me about that day you introduced Pilar…”

My mouth opened, and his hand lifted higher.

“Apologies. Sloane.” He sat back in his chair. “She talked to me about that day you introduced Sloane to her. I know she means something to you and probably more than you’re willing to share with me right now.”

I hated he assumed that, but he did because he knew me.

I was a lot like him.

It was hard enough for me to feel what I was feeling. Let alone talk about it.

Dad pulled a hand over his face. “And even if we were working with my father, you have to know you’d never be the one to do it, son.”

I said nothing, Dad’s sigh heavy.

His hands came together, and before he could shut me down again, I leaned forward. “I don’t care if it’s me. I don’t care about any of that, but I’m begging you to let our people work with his. I’ll do anything you want. I’ll go to therapy, and I’ll be happy about it. I swear to God I will, but we just need to be doing everything we can.”

It was like I was a fly on the wall in the moment, looking at myself pleading with my dad. It was like I was outside of myself. I wasn’t acting like myself.

“You talk as if we’re not,” he said, his expression tight, serious. “Like we’re not doing everything we can.”

My mouth dried. “That’s not what I…”

“Because we are.” His chin lowered, nod firm. “We are, and as I’ve stressed before, the lines of communication are open. Our people are in contact and your grandfather knows to contact us if he has anything.”

My father got up then, and after he unsmoked his glass walls, he waved Ronald inside. Dad took his phone out of his pocket. “I’m going to call Dr. Singh. I’ll let her know you’ll be coming late because Ronald’s on his way with you.”

I got to hear that exchange when Ronald arrived at my side, and when he asked if I was ready, I knew where I was going next.

I mean, Ronald heard my dad as much as I had.

Dad tapped off his phone when he was done, his head cocked, eyebrows narrowed. “I understand this is hard for you,” he said, and I noticed a tightness in his voice. He ended up running a hand over his mouth before looking at me. “But I’m begging you to do what I ask. You need to let me handle this. Be your dad and take care of you and our friends. They’re my family too, and we are all doing everything we can.”

I hated that what I said came across that way, and I did think he was doing everything he could do. That was why I wanted to take on the burden, protect him and deal with Grandpa.

I only nodded to my father because he needed me to. He was walking along his own ledge here.

We apparently all were in our own fragile houses.