An embarrassment.
A shame.
A weak link.
Not once did he mention replacing my position, however. So learning this, I realize that I now need to not only find the runaway b*tch, but watch my back from my own father and his posse of aging d**k suckers.
My mouth flattened. My father did not understand the reality of this work. He had built his life on tradition, on lineage, on the fantasy that blood alone made a man powerful. He had never been the one to sit across from smiling enemies and pretend civility while planning the destruction of a family line. He had never had to stand in a room full of old money and older secrets, nodding like a loyal son-in-law while waiting for the right moment to arrange the moments that would erase the McCready name once and for all.
That was my burden. My
