The Ranch Ch. 05

"Who is she, Dominique?" George asked his son softly.

Dom's black eyes flashed with malice, and he shrugged sulkily. "She's nobody."

"Well," his father replied mildly, raising his eyebrows, "she must be somebody for you to abandon your job at the drop of a hat and drive for many hours to retrieve her. So, I ask again, who is she?"

Dom's jaw tensed, knowing his father's rage was building. If there was something George hated, it was having information kept from him - whether it was a business associate, a rat, or his son. But it had never been difficult for Dom to hide things from him, because George was not exactly an attentive father. All George needed to know was that his schemes would not be disrupted by Dom getting into trouble, and that Dom's monetary needs were taken care of.

For a whole year Dom had deliberately kept Katie a secret from George for two reasons. Firstly, he knew his father would be disgusted that his son had lost his head over a woman. Secondly, and most importantly, Dom knew that George, with his interest in family pride, would insist upon meeting his son's chosen girl, and given Katie's unique beauty, there was a high chance he would take her for himself.

"Well, we can come back to that question," George continued gently. "What I'd really like to know is, why is Greg screening my calls?"

"I'm going to marry her," Dom growled, preferring the first question to the second, though they overlapped.

"Oh?" George's eyes slightly widened with curiosity. "She must be special, then. What is her name?"

"Katie," Dom spat.

"Katie," George echoed with a sigh. "That's a very lovely name." George approached the bed and casually slipped his hands into the pockets of his beige trousers as Dom reluctantly shifted his gaze from the window, uneasily recognising the signs of an approaching tirade.

"Evidently I have been neglectful, not taken enough interest in my son's affairs. Perhaps I should have known, given your scandals with women had reduced to nil over the last year. So, she must be as lovely as her name, hmm? I take it Greg's mysterious absence has something to do with this Katie?" George inquired, and the gentle politeness began to leave his voice, replaced with an edge of violent rage.

"I don't know," Dom mumbled, casting his eyes down to the bed. He yelped in surprise as George suddenly punched him, re-breaking his healing nose.

"You didn't think to come to me?" George shouted, kicking the bed as Dom howled in agony, clutching his face. "I didn't get to where I am by recklessly chasing women across the country!" He spun from the bed and overturned a pale-blue chest of drawers, and several crystal ornaments that had been sitting atop it shattered as the drawers crashed to the ground.

"Do you think power is gained by acting invincible? When you just take off without notice, people ask questions! You don't have to do any work, all you have to do is stay out of trouble! Do you understand you could have jeopardised everything I have worked for? You stupid, arrogant schoolboy!" he roared, stamping his foot, fists clenched.

"I love her," Dom whined in pain.

"Gregory works for me!" George replied fiercely. "Not you! My jobs always come first!" He kicked the bed again before he began to settle down. "I have others who can tend to my tasks, but I don't like surprises," he said, still shaking from his diatribe. "Greg is one of my best, and I will not have him dispatched from the city upon foolish errands. If you hear from him, make sure he contacts me. Evidently he had quite an incentive to leave without informing me."

George stepped over the broken furniture and stalked to the door, ripping it open before turning to glare at his cowering son. "I look forward to meeting this Katie girl," George barked, and in the depths of his angry gaze, Dom recognised the gleam of lustful curiosity that he had wanted to avoid. Before he could argue his case, the whole room shuddered as the door slammed shut.