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wondered if he expected me to explain. Accepting his job offer had been a mistake from the get-go. My heart wasn’t in it, and never had been.
    “I’m here,” I reminded. “I work hard for you every single day. Yesterday was a one-off, not a lack of enthusiasm.”
    “I trust that you’ll make up the hours,” he said curtly.
    “I always do, Dad.” I stood, gearing up to escape. “If you’ve no problem with my work, perhaps we should leave it at that.”
    “Sit down, Adam.”
    I slumped back down as if I’d been socked with a brick. The performance appraisal was over. He was about to attack the way I managed the rest of my life, starting with Bridget.
    “I think you need to consider alternate child care,” he began. “The current arrangement isn’t working.”
    I suppressed the urge to let loose and really speak my mind. “Mrs Brown is –”
    He cut me off. “Nothing to do with Mrs Brown. It’s time Bridget became more independent.”
    I was livid. I’d spent years of living under the king’s rule, and now he was pulling my daughter through the castle gates.
    I leaned forward, drumming my finger on his desk with every word. “I decide Bridget’s path, not you,” I said. “And a four-year-old girl doesn’t need independence.”
    Dad gathered the stack of papers on his desk and neatened them, avoiding looking at me. “She’s smart, Adam,” he said calmly.
    “I know she is.”
    “She reminds me of you at the same age.”
    Aware of where the conversation was headed, I got in first. “She’s not ready for school or tutoring or whatever it is you’re about to suggest.”
    His eyes locked mine from across the desk. “I was going to suggest mainstream day care.”
    Of all the things I expected to hear from him, that was not one of them. “She’s not ready for day care,” I muttered.
    “Her parents are not ready,” he corrected. “You can’t keep Bridget all to yourselves and expect she’s going to benefit. She needs friends her own age – or a sibling.”
    “We’re working on it.” The words tumbled out of my mouth and I broke out in a cold sweat at the realisation that I’d just given him leverage. “And if you could keep that to yourself, I’d appreciate it,” I added.
    My father looked everywhere but at me. “Of course,” he muttered.
    “She’s only little, Dad,” I added. “Let her be little.”
    “It will serve Bridget well to mix with others her own age.”
    Despite the fact that he’d made my daughter sound like a mongrel puppy, his intentions were probably good. Broadening Bridget’s social horizons had never occurred to me, perhaps because we’d spent so much time doing it geographically.
    I promised to think about it. He didn’t object when I stood this time. “Is there anything else?” I asked.
    “No.”
    “Good.” I made my way to the door before he changed his mind.
    Hearing him call my name at the last second wasn’t unexpected. The last word was always my father’s. “I only have her best interests at heart, son.”
    “I do too,” I replied, walking out.
    ***
    Being the son of the boss meant that I was practically a leper. Every single person was nice to me. That was the problem. There’s nothing genuine about overly polite conversations and false smiles, which was all I seemed to get from my co-workers.
    Grayson Daniels was the exception. He was an asshole – sarcastic, forthright and bolshie, which is why I liked him. He called out as I passed his office on the way back from the king’s chambers.
    “Hey, jerk.”
    I stuck my head through the doorway. “What?”
    He grinned. “Are you in trouble with Daddy?”
    “No more than usual.”
    “You’re going to get fired one of these days.”
    A man can hope. “He has no reason to fire me.”
    “Well, he has reason to fire me,” said Grayson waving a piece of paper. “Settlement on the Channing case isn’t happening. I think it’s going to get ugly.”
    Grayson was a career lawyer. He’d