Playing in Shadow (21 page)

“And are you okay with that?”

“It’s giving me a lot to consider. Something tells me life with you isn’t going to be boring.”

“I’ll do my best to keep you entertained.” Scarlet nudged her with a shoulder playfully.

“And I’ll do my best not to let the shadows overwhelm me.” Bryce smiled as Scarlet pressed a warm kiss to her forehead.

“I couldn’t ask for more.”

“Show me the rest of your photos and I’ll show you more later.”

Scarlet made as if to close the album, but Bryce, laughing, took it off her, and continued turning the pages. She came across a picture of herself. Its inclusion surprised her. Bryce studied herself.

“I look haunted.”

Scarlet rested her chin on Bryce’s shoulder. “Yes, you do, lover. But look at today.” She put her drawing beside the black-and-white photo. “Look how far you’ve come.”

“I still have a long way to go,” Bryce said.

“I’ll be right beside you,” Scarlet promised.

Bryce rested her head against Scarlet’s. “I’ll do my damnedest to be worthy of your belief in me.”

“You won’t always have the burden of grief, Bryce. You’ve got so much happiness to look forward to in your life. I intend to play a large role in that.”

Bryce settled into Scarlet’s side. “You already do.”

For a moment, the shadows lifted off her heart and the crippling pressure shifted from her soul. She closed her eyes, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Bryce faced the future with a little less fear weighing her down.

*

With the last stroke of paint applied on a very happy Yoshi, Scarlet put down her brush and took a satisfied step back. She did one last check over the whole mural to make sure everything was as it should be. She’d been painting every evening for the past week, and it was now completed.

“Finished.” She slipped out of the room in search of where Trent and Juliet were camped out. She followed the noise of heavy gunfire and Juliet’s exuberance.

“Blow it up! Blow it up!”

Scarlet stepped into Trent’s gaming room and hung back. The TV screen dominated the room, and on it she watched Trent piloting a very large robot armed with massive guns.

Juliet let out a triumphant “Yes!” as an enemy machine was blown to pieces in a raging fireball. She then spotted Scarlet. “Everything okay?” she mouthed.

Scarlet mouthed back “I’m done,” and Juliet’s face lit up.

“Trent, last mission, sweetheart.”

Trent nodded and continued playing. The fight didn’t last much longer, and Trent’s pilot was soon racing for his evacuation ship, his body cloaked so he couldn’t be detected by the enemy camped out to pick off the remaining fighters. As her scores for that round came up on screen, Trent gave a satisfied grunt and then with the press of a button, she exited the game. She laid her controller down and shifted in her seat, looking behind her at Scarlet.

“Is it finished?” she asked.

At Scarlet’s nod, Trent was on her feet and helping Juliet up off the sofa.

“What are you playing?” Scarlet asked, looking at the TV screen that displayed a futuristic looking soldier standing ready for action.

“Titanfall,” Trent replied, “It’s kind of like a Call of Duty with added robots.”

“Do you always have a cheering squad when playing it?” Scarlet nodded toward Juliet.

“Not usually, but I think Juliet likes the Titans the best.”

Juliet followed them out. “It’s addictive viewing, and I’m just grateful not to be asleep. All I seem to do lately is sleep.”

“Babies are body draining experiences, or so I’m told,” Scarlet said as she ushered them into the nursery and stood back to watch their reactions. Trent didn’t disappoint.

“Oh my God. It’s freakin’ awesome!” She left Juliet’s side to go check out the colorful display. She walked around the whole room following the pattern of gamboling Yoshis so she didn’t miss a thing. “It’s fantastic, absolutely fucking fantastic, and yes, I owe a dollar for that, but it’s worth it. I love it, every single piece of it.” She reached out but pulled her hand back. “I’ll wait until the paint dries before I start touching. Christ, they look so real.”

Juliet was just as excited. She oohed and ahhed over the adorable little characters. “It’s perfect. Scarlet, you are amazing.” She gave her a hug and Scarlet delighted in the press of a very hard baby bump against her.

“Wow, you put off some serious heat with that thing.”

“She’s one hot mama period,” Trent said. She captured Scarlet’s face between her hands and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. “This is just so beautiful. Thank you.”

Scarlet knew she was blushing under Trent’s hold. “You are both very welcome. Now you just need to finish baking that baby so we can all meet him or her.”

“The way I’ve been feeling this past week, I think it’s going to be sooner rather than later.” Juliet shifted uncomfortably.

“She’s been getting false contractions. Those are so much fun in the middle of the night.”

Juliet just grinned at her. “We’ve been in the car twice and halfway off the drive the last time. Trent is excellent at snatching the baby bag up under one arm and having me under the other.”

“It’s a good thing I learned to drive now that you can’t fit behind the wheel.” Trent rubbed Juliet’s stomach gently. “No better incentive to get me on the road.”

“Well, with all these false alarms we’re going to find the quickest route to the hospital before we have to go for real.” Juliet patted Trent gently on her chest. “How about you go back to your game while I grill Scarlet here about her lovefest weekend with Bryce?”

Trent spared Scarlet a pitying glance. “She’ll have you spilling intimate details in three minutes.”

“I might prove impervious to her interrogation techniques.”

Trent laughed at her. “You haven’t been so far.”

Scarlet had to concede to the truth in that. She had spilled her teenage crush on Trent to Juliet within minutes of meeting her.

“I feel so sorry for your child. It’ll never get away with anything.”

Juliet tucked her arm through Scarlet’s. “Come make me a cup of tea and tell me all about your weekend alone with Bryce. This is only Monday; the details should still be fresh in your mind.”

“Like I could forget any of it. I kind of told her I was falling head over heels for her.”

Trent’s voice sounded from her game room. “Ladies and gentlemen! It’s a new world record. You never even made it to the top of the stairs.”

Scarlet met Juliet’s sparkling eyes.

“Even I thought you’d hold out longer than that.” Juliet chuckled. “I want details, lots of them. The more salacious the better.”

Scarlet was making the most of a quiet lunch break outside in the company of Bryce and the landscapers. She was scouring the Internet on her phone, checking if any new vacancies had opened at the photography studios she had earmarked on her list. She’d already sent off her résumé to a few. She knew her father was only going to keep applying the pressure the longer she stayed in his employment. She’d started ignoring his daily text messages. He’d soon caught on to this and had gotten his secretary to call her instead. Scarlet was fast reaching the end of her patience.

“Scarlet, I need you to come into the office Friday so I can have you meet some new clients we’re taking on.”

Scarlet looked up from her lunch as her father headed her way. Bryce, seated next to her, hesitated in taking the next bite from her sandwich. Scarlet tensed as a feeling of dread filled her.
Oh, Dad, please don’t do this again now.

“I have Friday off, Dad. I’ve just booked it.” She was going to a photography exhibition and hoped to pick up some new contacts there.

“That’s great, then we can make a day of it.”

Scarlet stared at him. “No. I have the day off work as in I will not be working here at the site or with you in your office. I have other plans.”

“But I’d like you to sit in on the meetings I have scheduled. They’re important.”

“No can do,” Scarlet said shortly, her annoyance starting to grow. She felt Bryce shift by her side, obviously aware of the storm brewing.

“You have to learn what all this entails one day, so why not Friday? Whatever you have planned can wait, surely?”

“No, it can’t. I’ve told you, Dad, I didn’t come back here to learn the running of Tweedy Contractors. Not today, not tomorrow, nor next week. I came back because my last job finished and I wanted to come home.” She looked around her. Monica was well within hearing distance and was looking over at Scarlet with concern. “Dad, are you dying?” Scarlet asked baldly.

He blustered. “Not that I’m aware of. What kind of question is that to ask?”

“Then why the sudden need to have me take over your place in your company? If I’d have known you were going to constantly badger me to fill your shoes, I would have seriously thought twice about coming back.” He physically flinched at her words.

“Maybe we should discuss this another time,” he muttered.

“No.” Scarlet had had enough. “You’ve brought it up every time we’ve crossed paths and I’m tired of it.” She stood, laying her lunch down before she threw it. She was beginning to tremble with anger and an underlying fear. She was standing up against her father, the man who had raised her from the day her mother had died. She loved him. But she couldn’t stand being pushed into a role she didn’t want to take.

“Tweedy’s has always been your company. It’s not my dream, Dad. I want to take my photographs and paint portraits and make a name for myself doing what
I’m
good at.”

“But this business was always meant to be yours. It was always going to be passed down to you. It’s my legacy to you.”

“But I don’t want it. It’s not my dream job. It’s not what I’ve studied for and worked hard to achieve for myself. My photography is. That’s
mine
. I’ve earned that by myself.” Scarlet took a shuddering breath. “I’ve got the day off Friday to try and find a new job doing what I enjoy doing best. My
own
work.”

His face fell. “You’re leaving me?”

Scarlet shook her head.
There
was the root of his pressing. “No, but I’m leaving your business if an offer comes up. This is what I was working toward when I was away from home, Dad. You didn’t keep pressuring me with running your company then.”

“I was hoping you’d grow out of it and come home and take your rightful place here,” he said sheepishly.

Scarlet’s frustration reached its boiling point. “This is not some phase I’m going through. I’m an artist, and a damn good one too.”

“I know. I’ve seen your work. You’re fantastic. The best I know.”

“Then don’t stand in my way to pursue that,” Scarlet pleaded. “It’s what I need to do. Because it’s what I’m going to do, whether you approve or not.”

“You’re just like your mother. Too artistic for your own good.”

Scarlet heard the disappointment in his voice. It broke her heart. “You should have realized then that you never stood a chance. While you let me run wild on the building site, she taught me how to do those paint-by-numbers kits.”

“And the rest is all your own God-given talent.” He shook his head. “I recognize how good you are. I understand your need to strike out on your own. But this business is yours whether you want it or not because you’re all I have. You’re my only child. I’ve built all this for you.” He gestured around the yard. “It’s always been yours.”

“But I don’t want any of it. I want to follow my own path, make my own name.” Scarlet forced her temper to cool. “I told you when I accepted the job here that it was only until I found something else. Decorating is my fallback job. It pays the bills, but it’s not my career.”

“You told me you wanted to work by my side. Just you and me.”

“I was ten years old when I told you that!” Scarlet couldn’t help but raise her voice at him. “We’d just lost Mom. All we had was each other and Grandma. I didn’t want to leave my daddy’s side. But I had to grow up eventually, Dad. I have to live my own life and you have to let me.”

The whole yard was silent. All the workers in earshot were pretending they were going about their jobs and not listening in. Bryce had edged closer to Scarlet. She pressed her knee against Scarlet’s leg in a silent show of support.

Scarlet watched her dad as he stared her down. He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned abruptly away.

“Well, it’s too late now. I’ve had the lawyer draft the papers for you. You need to sign them on Friday.”

Scarlet reared back like she’d been physically slapped. She willed her voice not to shake when she finally spoke.

“Then I quit.”

His shock was plainly visible when he spun back around. “You can’t do that!”

“Yes, I can. I’m just another employee here. I’ll work my notice and leave. You’re not having me sign away my dreams because you’re worried you’re going to lose me. You won’t ever lose me, Dad. I’m your daughter. But you’ve pushed me far enough away with this constant badgering that I just can’t take it any longer.”

“But I won’t be able to fill your spot for at least a couple of months,” he argued weakly, desperate to use any excuse to keep her there.

Scarlet shrugged. “That’s your problem, not mine.” She gathered up her things and began walking away. She had just one last thing to say. “After all,
you
run the company.
I don’t
.”

*

Bryce returned to her apartment that evening to find Scarlet in the kitchen. She followed the unearthly racket Scarlet was making banging the saucepans around. To ensure she had pans left to use, Bryce stilled Scarlet’s hands then guided her into the living area. Scarlet wrapped herself around Bryce, clinging to her tightly.

“I quit my job today.”

“I know.” Bryce ran a hand through Scarlet’s hair, hoping to soothe her. “You were very restrained though considering what your dad pulled. Though your leaving as you did meant you missed seeing Monica give him a piece of her mind.”

Scarlet groaned into Bryce’s shoulder. “Oh God, she didn’t did she?”

“Just a little, but at least she didn’t stick him with a fork, so that was a blessing.”

“She’s seen how much he’s been expecting of me. He turned up at the apartment a few times out of the blue, just ‘dropping by’ to talk business. Why won’t he hear a word I say when I tell him I don’t want the company on my shoulders?”