Free Fallacy (Apprehensive Duet Book 1) by Kimberly Bracco Page B

it go, she also let go of a little bit of the wall she has built up around her.
    Our relationship seems to have gotten a little stronger from one small fight. I think it has something to do with the fact I owned up to my fuck-up. I noticed the surprise on her face when I apologized. Seemed like it was the last thing she was expecting. But something about my apology thawed her a little. Like it wasn’t something she was used to.
    “What happened this time?” I ask, returning my thoughts to her shitty day at work. I wonder what way her father found to undermine her now.
    “He overheard my secretary relaying a message that a client called while I was at lunch. They had a question regarding the profit margin,” she explains. I can hear her pacing as she talks. “He stormed into my office and demanded the file. He told me he was transferring the file to Simon since I apparently couldn’t explain things to them properly. It was such a crock of bullshit. I didn’t even get to speak to the client to find out exactly what their question was. He just pulled it from me.” I hear the frustration in her voice.
    “Angel, why do you put up with all this shit?” I ask. “Because I’ve been wondering for months now. I’m sure you can find a position with another firm where you’re valued and treated properly.”
    Quinn’s an incredibly driven woman. Her work ethic and desire to succeed are commendable and sexy. But I hate that she takes all her father’s shit. She loves her work, and she’s excellent at it from everything I’ve heard her say, but her dad keeps holding her down.
    “Because if I do that, he wins,” she grumbles. “It means I gave him enough power to push me out of what’s supposed to become mine. It has always been a known thing I’ll get the company. But he’s making me work for it and really putting me through the shit along the way. If I give up, then I prove his point that he doesn’t think I can handle it.”
    “But at what point do you decide enough is enough?” I ask wondering how much any person can handle, let alone Quinn. She’s not one to bite her tongue. I’ve seen her tell someone, on more than one occasion, things your average person wouldn’t say. With the way she’s described her father, he seems like the type to push her buttons until she explodes, giving him an actual reason to punish her.
    “I’m not sure honestly. I’m just so used to it I’ve learned to deal,” she explains with a sigh. “Whenever Daddy has his panties in a wad, he gets his rocks off by making my nine-to-five life a living nightmare. This week has been one of these times. Everything is wrong. Nothing I do is good enough for him, when in reality it’s me who’s not good enough for him. But I’m proud of the fact I can make the man crazy. He deserves crazy because he’s a piece of shit. He doesn’t have any other way to control me and keep me under his thumb, so this is how he tries to accomplish that.”
    Seems he has more control over her than she thinks. I don’t know how the backstory between the two of them goes, but it appears she wants to hate her father and convinced herself she does, but in actuality, she does everything to prove herself to him. He seems like the kind of arrogant asshole who enjoys making her jump through hoops for his approval. I don’t know enough to judge, though, so right now isn’t the time for me to interject my opinion on the situation.
    “Just do me a favor and promise me if it gets to be too much, you’ll consider other options. It’s all I’m asking,” I say.
    “Starting over somewhere else is a scary thought. Have you ever given thought about moving up the chain with the Jets or moving to another team?” she inquires. I can sense she needs to focus on something else by the way her voice drops down. Almost as if she’s embarrassed for not wanting to start over somewhere new.
    “I’d love to be considered for a head trainer job, but I don’t think I