Too Good To Be True Ch. 17

"Honestly, they love him. They say we're so cute together and a couple are jealous that I found someone I click with so well. I mean, he really won them over when I said I was bored and I wished I had a better way to review older classes materials and he asked if I'd consider a job as a grading TA. Daddy, you know I've never had a job before, and they were always after me to start building my resume, so I decided to go for it. And Tom was friends with one of the teachers and since he'd been tutoring me for a couple of weeks at this point so he could vouch for me, so the teacher took a chance and hired me as a grading TA." Courtney related, "Sarah is especially happy for me because she says he helped me overcome my mental hurdles and begin really growing as an adult."

"I have to admit, when I heard my little girl got her first job, it did make my day. I've been worried that you were going to graduate with no prospects for employment, despite my efforts, because a blank resume is hard to make look good, no matter how rich a parent is." Robert admitted. "So Tom, you have my gratitude for that."

Robert shifted again, "I feel like we should get to know each other better. Say what we go to an indoor driving range tomorrow? You golf much?"

"I haven't, but I did learn how in high school." I told him.

"Good, more big deals are struck on golf courses than in meeting rooms." Robert told me, sipping his brandy. "It's a life skill to be able to play. Now, I'm hungry, let's see what the chefs cooked up tonight." And he stood, finishing off his brandy.

I downed my mango juice and followed his lead. We entered the smallest dining room Courtney had shown me, and sat at the six person table. Almost immediately, the wait staff started bringing in the food. There was salmon and steak with a slightly spiced rice dish. It was delicious.

Throughout the meal, I made a conscious effort to follow the best etiquette. Robert and I made small talk. He was too busy to keep up with a lot of things and asked me about sports, entertainment and politics. I told him what I could about sports, explaining I didn't follow sports too closely. For entertainment most of his questions were about the Marvel movies. Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Spiderman: Far from Home had just come out this year and he wanted my perspective. I told him they were fun movies, each with their flaws, and gave him a few brief opinions. People were starting to worry that Marvel was more concerned with being woke than telling good stories, I wasn't ready to make that leap yet, but was starting to see warning signs. As for Politics, it was getting pretty polarized, with both wings of American politics pulling further and further apart from each other.

"Well, you seem to have a pretty good grip on things. You'll want to stay up to date on sports, even if you don't care about them. Like golf, the private boxes at sporting events can be another great business opportunity." Robert told me.

"So you were just checking to see my opinion on things?" I guessed, "I didn't think you'd be so out of touch."

"Well, you can learn a lot about a person by their opinions on sports, the latest movies, and if they'll talk about politics." Robert laughed.

I seemed to at least be acceptable to Robert and the meal finished peacefully. Robert advised me to get to bed, since we'd be going out the following day for guy-time.

Courtney walked me back to where our rooms were. "You did great." She told me and gave me a kiss. "Daddy's gonna really fall for you tomorrow. I'm sure of it."

It was hard, falling asleep alone in a strange new place. Every sound and sight was new and strange to me, but eventually I fell asleep.

The morning dawned bright and early and Courtney and I got up at about the same time and went down to breakfast where Robert was halfway through his meal.

"Good morning, sleepy heads." Robert teased.

"Morning, Daddy."

Good morning, Robert."

I had my breakfast and Robert said it was time to head out for our day.

We took the limo to the indoor driving range. The way it worked was that the golfer hit the ball into a specially designed alcove that would catch the ball measuring its speed, angle and spin and calculate how your stroke would have gone on an actual course.

Robert was obviously more experienced than me, and his results beat mine every time. What he clearly wanted was a chance to talk to me without Courtney around.

"So, how long have the two of you been having sex?" He asked after a couple of swings.

My gut dropped and I had two options: feign innocence, or admit to the deed. I quickly surmised that he would already know we were having sex. He hadn't asked 'were we having sex' the question was 'how long were we having sex'.

"We had sex for the first time in early October." I admitted.

"Good! Honesty. I like that. Your cleaners told me when they found the sheets with blood and semen stains on them. I respect you for admitting to it. Most men would have tried to claim they weren't having sex with my daughter." Robert laughed and swung hard.

"So, what makes you think you are worthy of my daughter?" He asked, a bit of anger in his voice.

I deflated, "Honestly, sir, I don't think I am. Courtney insists I am, but I don't feel I am. I'm trying, but..."

He looked at me. "Clarence spoke with me last night."

I hung my head. I know he seemed to be okay with me, but I couldn't imagine much of a glowing recommendation.

"You sit there, having gotten my daughter building her resume, you got a job from me as a tutor and in A SINGLE SEMESTER you got my daughter caught up in her classes after two years of cheating through college, not to mention the tragedy my wife made of her primary education, and she is happier with you than I've seen in five years. Clarence wasn't lying, you are seriously mistaken as to your value to me." Robert informed me.

I looked at him confused. "You mean you aren't livid with me for sleeping with your daughter?"

"I would have preferred you waited until after marriage, any parent would. But I'm not stupid. I know when everyone her age has given up their virginity years ago, I knew it would be hard for her to hold out. And from the sounds of it, she approached you about it, not the other way around, so I can't reasonably be too angry." Robert admitted, "And you've had the decency to not flaunt it under my roof, which is something. I even tempted you by putting your rooms so close together. So you, son, have my respect for that. Though I had hoped she would go for a good catholic boy, you at least are a boy with reason and morals."

I took a swing, my distance was less than a quarter of his last shot.

"Now, I may have had to miss a fair amount of her growing up, but I do like to think I know my Sunshine pretty well." Robert told me. "And I know that if I tried to push you away I would probably just alienate her. So I have a few requests for you, and I hope you will find them reasonable."

"Sure, let's hear them." I said, sitting down so he could take his turn.

"First, I want the two of you to marry in a Catholic church." Robert said, then swung. "I will pay for everything. But I want her married properly, in a catholic church."

"That seems reasonable. I can't promise Courtney will agree, but I can say that I am all for it." It seemed like a reasonable request.

"Good. Secondly, I would like you two to marry as soon as possible." Robert said, returning to his seat.

"So, Courtney and I have discussed that, and we want to wait until we've both graduated. That gives her enough time to make sure I am not some fling she will regret in a year's time. But after we graduate, I plan on proposing soon after." I told him.

He thought on that for a minute. "I'll take that. Your shot."

I stood to take the shot, and Robert continued.

"Third, I would like you to get a minor in Business. I intend for Courtney's husband to take over for me some day, and that will require at least some business training. I have looked into it and it will be six extra classes, and as your math credits should count as should your econ credits. I believe two extra classes a semester for your last three semesters is workable. Then I can know that there will only be minor objections to your appointment, and I can ignore those fairly easily."

Business courses sounded like they sucked, but if it was the price I paid to be accepted by Courtney's father, I could manage.

"I will do that." I told him.

"Finally, can you promise me you will do everything you can to give me at least three grandkids?" Robert asked.

"Well, that will kind of be up to Courtney, but I think three or four kids sounds great." I told him.

"Wonderful." Robert said, "I'd ask for more, but I don't want my Sunshine thinking I am squeezing her man out."

"What else were you thinking of asking for?" I asked, curious.

"Well, Courtney will give up the Carmichael name, so you can't exactly name your children after me. I have beat that drum before and Courtney would have nothing to do with it." Robert sighed. "And as helpful as it would be, I don't want to drag you into the mess between me and my wife, though I do need to warn you about that."

"I'd be happy to help. From everything I've heard, your wife doesn't deserve to be a part of your life, or Courtney's." I jumped in.

"Oh?... Really?" He asked, surprised by my gusto. "Well, if my predictions are correct you could be a great help to me. But are you sure you want to get involved?"

"I think I am involved where I like it or not, but I'd rather be on your side, because I am pretty sure that's where Courtney lines up." I told him.

"Well, sport, you could be just what I need." Robert told me. "You see, I have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen tonight. That's what I was going to warn you about. If you are going to help me, we're going to have to keep this from Courtney until after this is done. She is great at many things, but she is a terrible liar, if you know her well. Her mother would see through her in an instant."

He strummed his fingers on his golf club, "Brooke has proved to me recently she doesn't actually care for me at all. She's humiliated me repeatedly by making sure that any infidelity on her part could be blamed on me 'trapping her' in a setup. But I think she's going to make a lapse in judgment tonight. The staff says she has acquired caffeine pills strong enough that if given to Courtney, given Courtney's caffeine sensitivity, it would lead to a major headache. One of my business partners overheard one of the officers in my business and he believes I will be pulled away on bullshit 'urgent business'. That means it will just be you and Brooke, and the staff, and she has been known to give the staff a 'night off', which basically just means she wants to be alone. I believe she is going to try to strike a bargain with you and her only real bargaining chip with you is her body and her sex appeal."

He stood to take his swing, "I believe she will attempt to do it tonight, since she has arranged to have me out of the way and won't want to have the caffeine pills where I could find them. She also will want as much time to work on you as possible, in case you reject her tonight. She is confident of her sex appeal, though I preferred the way she looked when we first married. But I think the safest way to proceed would be to set you up with some hidden cameras and a hidden microphone. I have ones that will connect directly to the house network and save the footage where only I can access them. You do not have to accept anything she offers, but the more you can get her to offer, and the more explicitly you can get her to state what she is... offering you, easier it will make things." He swung, but his heart wasn't in it.

"I've spoken to my archbishop, and if I can bring him proof that my wife isn't who I thought she was when I married her, he will push through getting our marriage annulled. Given that I have tried to make this marriage work for over twenty years, and Brooke has only shown more and more that the marriage was just a fraud to get my money, he believes even the Defender of the Bond will have to concede and the marriage will be annulled." He sat sadly. "I know there is a chance this will go poorly, and could even be detrimental to your relationship with my daughter. Are you sure you are willing to do this?" He pressed.

"I am." I told him. "You deserve better than this.

"Then when we get back to the car, I'll show you what I have. I've been carrying them just in case." He sighed, "But let's try and have some fun.