Son of a fucking bitch!

David took a deep breath as he stared at the fucker who had been dating his daughter. Mason. The man he trusted like he was his own brother and yet, he’d been screwing his daughter.

“So, I figured with you and Lisabeth having a new relationship you’d be happy for me and Mason. What do you think?” Rachel asked.

This was why she’d been so accommodating. He should have known. Rachel had always had something to say about any woman he dated. Why had she changed her tune for Lisabeth?

“It’s nice to see you’re happy with Lisabeth,” Rachel said.

“I hope you can accept this,” Mason said, holding out his hand to David.

He shook his head. “I can’t shake your hand. Not right now.” He spun on his heel and moved down the hall to his study. Grabbing his whiskey, he poured himself a large shot and tossed it back, relishing the burn. Doing himself another one, he swallowed that down.

“David?” Lisabeth said.

“You knew?”

“I had my suspicions.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wasn’t sure and I didn’t want to start anything if I was wrong. It wasn’t my secret to tell. She’s my best friend.”

“She’s my daughter and there’s no way in hell she should be with that fucker out there.” He gritted his teeth. “This is why she was okay with us.”

“Does it really matter?”

“Of course it fucking matters. She’s my daughter. My flesh and blood. I fucking love her and I don’t want to have anything happen to her. I know Mason. He’s going to break her heart and I don’t want her to have to go through that kind of shit. She’s better than that. He’s an asshole.”

“Dad,” Rachel said. “People change.”

He hadn’t seen his daughter there.

“I’ll leave you both to talk,” Lisabeth said, probably sensing the tension in the air. Hell, it was thick enough to cut with a knife.

He watched Lisabeth go and he hated himself for shouting at her. Fucking hated it.

“Well, that didn’t go as well as I’d hoped.”

“What the fuck were you expecting?” he asked.

“I don’t know but it certainly wasn’t that.”

“I don’t get this, Rachel. Why Mason? Why him?”

“It just happened, Dad. It wasn’t planned. I know he’s got a reputation.”

“He screws around on everyone. There’s no one woman for him. I even have to force him to take fucking male fucking PAs because of this problem.”

Rachel shrugged. “He’s different.”

David burst out laughing. He truly thought his daughter was better than that but still, she was falling for the same old tricks and he didn’t buy it, not for a second.

“You think you’re the first woman to say that?”

Rachel shook her head and he saw she had tears in her eyes. “You think I don’t know what kind of reputation he has, Dad? That there are not a lot of women who have said that this will be different, that he’ll stop his ways or something?” She took a deep breath. “Dad, I don’t … This may not last forever, okay? We’re having some fun and rather than keep it a secret from you, I decided to tell you because seeing you with my best friend, I actually thought you’d understand. Really understand what it means to fall for someone who you probably shouldn’t. At the end of the day, she’s young enough to be your daughter. I didn’t overreact and this is not because of my relationship with Mason either. I’m happy for the both of you. It’s a little weird, not going to deny that, but I can accept it. I hope, you’ll accept this, for however long it lasts.” She walked toward him and placed a little kiss on his cheek. “Love you, Dad.”

He watched her go but didn’t call her back. Right now he needed to get his head together.

Staring down at his glass, he wasn’t impressed, not even in the slightest.

Tonight should have been a nice meal when he saw someone with Rachel that was her own age, not his.

Hypocrite.

Now he’d upset his daughter, shouted at Lisabeth and he still wanted to go and shoot Mason.

He’d have to go out there soon, as he was fucking starving.

“Knock, knock,” Mason said.

David stared over at his business partner and once friend. Hell, he couldn’t be the latter after this shit.

“I can see that you’re pissed.

He didn’t say anything.

“Yeah, you’re quiet and that means you are pissed.” Mason sighed. “I never expected this to happen. I hope you can believe that. I respect Rachel.” He watched as Mason smiled. “Your daughter is a beautiful woman, David. I will do everything to keep her.”

“You think I’ve not seen and heard your shit before? How you get bored and dump them? That you have no interest at all. You think I’m going to accept you being with my daughter? That I’m going to be okay with that?”

He and Mason stared at each other for what felt like eternity but in truth was only a few seconds. In the distance he heard Lisabeth and his daughter talking. They were probably serving dinner for themselves.

“I don’t expect you to be okay with that now or ever, to be honest. I only hope that in time, like Rachel, you’ll see that all it took was the love of a good woman.”

He snorted. This was all the crap he’d heard before. He didn’t believe it, not any of it.

“Rachel is mine, David. Whether you like it or not. We can fight or we can go back in that room and have a nice meal with our women. We both know what they want.”

He’d been focused on Lisabeth and growing his relationship with her and in doing so he’d not paid close attention to his daughter.

Walking past Mason, he didn’t stop but kept on moving. Entering the dining room, he went to Lisabeth, who smiled at him a little sheepishly.

“This looks amazing, baby. I love it when you cook for me.” He kissed her lips as he stroked her cheek, letting her know he wasn’t angry with her. Lisabeth and Rachel had been friends for a long time, and he wouldn’t hold that against her. He’d deal with this soon. Mason would show his true colors and he’d deal with the mess.