Chapter 19

Tanner

Getting drunk was fun, waking up Sunday with a massive hangover was definitely not fun. My body did not recover from the liquor like it used to. I groaned, hearing Dean up in the other room. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, but he was all over the place. The light shining in around the blinds on my windows was painful, and my head felt like it had its own damn heartbeat. I looked down at my phone and growled, remembering the conversation I had the night before with Ava. We were both really wasted and couldn’t help but flirt with each other. I was just glad that phone call came after I had shut myself in my room, too drunk to really function any longer. Dean decided after that first bar that he needed a day when he didn’t have to be responsible for anything. He was ready to take it back to our college days, the only problem being the fact that we were old dudes, and our bodies were definitely not used to consuming that much alcohol. I was pretty sure Dean had thrown up in an alley off of Fourteenth and proceeded to then whoop and holler the entire walk back to the apartment. Why we didn’t grab a cab, I will never actually figure out.

I sat up in bed slowly, every inch giving me a new reason not to ever drink again. The shots at the last three places had sent me over the edge. I’d tried to drink slowly, knowing that Dean really gave no fucks, but after the first four places, I stopped caring anymore as well. It was a downhill slide after that.

“Tanner,” I heard Dean shout. “Wake the fuck up.”

I didn’t know why but there was something in his voice that was not okay. I looked around for my phone but remembered that I left it on the kitchen counter after getting a glass of water and hanging up with Ava. I groaned and pulled myself from the bed, grabbing some shorts and attempting to put them on as the world spun below me. I needed an IV of coffee pumping right into my soul in order to survive this Sunday morning. What the fuck was Dean doing up so early?

I walked out of the bedroom and turned the corner, freezing as Dean stood there, staring angrily at me. I shook my head, trying to figure out if I was dreaming or if Dean was standing there looking like he wanted to punch me in the face. Nope, he was definitely standing there with his hands on his hips and his hair wild on his head. He was holding my phone in his hand and gritting his teeth, and immediately, I knew, he had figured it out. But how?

“What are you doing?” I walked over and took the phone from his hand, walking into the kitchen and flipping on the coffee maker. “You normally go through people’s phones?”

“I was curious,” he said angrily.

“About what? My life is dead boring,” I replied. “Take a deep breath and relax. You’re still drunk.”

“No, unfortunately your phone sobered me up really fast,” he replied.

“Okay, what the hell is all of this about?” I turned toward him and put my phone on the counter. “Just get it out, whatever it is you are looking to say.”

“I know what girl you were talking dirty to last night,” he said angrily. “It wasn’t just some random Ava. It was my Ava. It was my damn daughter.”

I turned toward the coffee pot and sobered up really fast. He had found my messages to Ava, and he knew I was seeing his daughter. This was bad, really, really bad. I turned back around to face him, and I could tell I had very little time to explain myself before this turned really awkward. However, as I stood there staring at him, no words came from my mouth. I had fucked up, and he knew I was sleeping with his daughter. When I’d thought about telling him about Ava, it was supposed to be the other way around where he found out she was working for me, and not that I was sleeping with her. But there I stood, faced with the reality that he got the worst of the news before I could even preface it with anything.

“Dean,” I said putting up my hands. “I can explain.”

He gritted his teeth and shook his head, walking into the living room. But I really couldn’t explain, not in any way, shape, or form. I could sit here and confess my undying love for the girl, and he would still be absolutely livid. There was no easy way around any of this. I had fucked up, and now Ava was going to be so pissed, I was sure I wouldn’t ever have a chance to fix what I had done.

“I heard you talking dirty to some girl last night,” he said. “I was wasted and figured I’d do a little flirting with her, too, after you went to bed, so I looked up who it was. I can’t fucking believe you’re sleeping with my daughter.”

He stood up and walked over to the window, staring out into the city. He was shaking with anger, and I wasn’t sure how to diffuse the situation. There was only so much I could do without making everything worse. I walked into the living room and stood there, not sure whether to approach him or not. I took in a deep breath and walked over, putting my hand on his shoulder. Without realizing what he was doing, he whipped toward me, grabbed me by the throat, and pushing me up against the glass.

“You were supposed to be my friend,” he growled. “I trusted you, and the whole time we were making up, you were fucking my daughter. You didn’t think it would be a good idea to let me know that when I was apologizing for all of those years of anger and bitterness between us? You didn’t think that it would be a good idea to be forthright and honest with me?”

“Dean,” I said grabbing his arms. “At that time, we weren’t even sure there was anything between us. We still are trying to figure that out.”

He loosened his grip and shook his head, laughing. Suddenly he reared back and punched me straight in the jaw, sending me to the ground. He growled over top of me and turned, walking over to the couch and sitting down, his face in his hands. I shook my head, trying to loosen the dizziness from my vision. I guess I deserved that, no matter how much I wanted to lie to myself. I probably deserved a lot more than that. I pulled myself off the floor and wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth.

“How did that happen?” Dean sounded a bit calmer as he sat there.

I walked over to the other couch and sat down, resting my elbows on my knees and leaning forward. At that point, I needed to just tell him the truth, there was no place for any more lies. Ava and I had buried ourselves in lies since the first time we met, and it was part of the reason why we couldn’t seem to have a normal go at any sort of relationship.

“When Ava finished her internship, I hired her to work for the company,” I said quietly. “She felt it would give her a leg up in the business world. We didn’t plan for any of this to happen. It just kind of did.”

“So, wait, not only are you sleeping with my daughter, but the two of you have been lying to me about the fact that she works for you?”

“She wanted the opportunity to work on the merger,” I said. “She felt terrible for lying to you. It was eating her alive. When we became friends again, I thought that would give her a good way to tell you about her job, but she was afraid to hurt you.”

“If you think that’s supposed to make me feel better, you’re wrong,” he said angrily. “The only two people in my life that I felt I could lean on have been lying to me this whole time. Did you even want to be friends again? Or did you do it so that Ava could feel better about keeping me in the dark?”

“No,” I said firmly. “It was very important to me that we became friends again.”

“Well, you have a fucking funny way of showing it,” he said, standing up. “I feel fucking sick over all of this.”

Dean walked over to the table and grabbed his jacket, shoving his wallet and keys into his pockets. He smoothed down his hair and stood there silently for a moment. I knew I should say something, anything, but I had no idea how to handle this situation. This was definitely one of the worst ways he could possibly find out about everything. He turned back toward me, his face a mix of emotions.

“Stay out of my life,” he said pointedly. “And leave my daughter alone. She’s young, and she doesn’t need you messing with her head. She deserves someone so much better than you.”

With those words, he walked to the door and left, slamming it behind him. I sat there for a few minutes, feeling the pain of his fist surging through my face. Everything was a complete and total disaster. I grabbed my phone, knowing that Ava had no idea any of this was going on. I didn’t want to tell her. I didn’t want to start her Sunday the same way she started her Saturday but she needed to know. I dialed her number and held my breath.

“Hello?” She sounded tired but awake.

“Ava,” I said, shaking my head. “Your father knows.”

“What?”

“He looked at my phone last night after hearing our drunken conversation,” I replied. “He put two and two together. He’s mad, real mad. I told him about you working for me. I had no choice. He wanted to know how the hell we ended up together, so I told him.”

“This isn’t good,” she sighed. “This is worse than that. This is terrible. He is never going to forgive me for what I’ve done.”

“He loves you,” I whispered. “Of course, he will forgive you.”

“I have to go,” she said, hanging up before I had a chance to apologize.

I dropped the phone on the couch next to me and groaned, pulling my hands through my hair. Everything was a damn mess, and I was at the center of all of it. I should have listened to my gut and just left Ava alone, no matter how much I wanted her in my life. I should have been the adult in that situation and pushed her away like I did every other woman in my life. But no, I had to give in to these intense emotions and act on them, sending Ava’s life down the drain. Sure, it affected me, but not in the same way that it was going to affect Ava. She had to deal with her family, her career, and everything else in between. To make matters worse, it all took place right after she found out her mother was cheating on her father. I couldn’t even imagine how she was feeling at that moment, but I knew how I felt, completely powerless to do anything to fix the mistakes I had made. I cared for Ava more than I wanted to admit, but I had this very good suspicion that the events that just took place were going to ruin my chances forever.