Bitter & Sweet

9. Introducing ...

Wayo's POV

"I need you to come with me," Pha said, grabbing my hand and pulling me after him at breakneck speeds. I didn't even have time to grab my phone, so I shook free and ran back to my desk, getting my necessary items before walking calmly back.

"Okay, where are we going?" I asked, taking his hand and walking the way were going before.

"There's a party tonight with a bunch of investors," Pha explained. "I need you to get dressed so you can come with me."

"Okay, just take me home to change, what time do I need to be ready?" Business parties I could do, I had a lot of experience handling the posturing and boredom.

"No, no," Pha shook his head, opening the door of his car to let me in, "I'm taking you to my personal tailor. We only have an hour and I want you to be comfortable and look the part. I've got my suit with me, I can get ready at the tailor shop."

"You're kidding, right?" I asked, looking at him like he was insane, which he must have been. "Your personal tailor doesn't have my measurements and can't possibly put something together in an hour. You know who my father is, so you should also know that I've been going to business parties with him since I was 12 years old. I probably have a nicer suit in my closet than you do."

"Are you sure?" Pha asked, glancing at me from the driver's seat. "I didn't want to assume and make you feel pressured."

"Just take me home," I rolled my eyes at him. "You can change at my house if you want, then you don't have to waste the extra time driving home and back again."

"Thanks, baby," Pha said, smiling at me. Then he seemed to change his mind, "No, I can't change at your house with your dad there. He doesn't know we're dating. I need time to prepare for that."

"We can tell my dad we're dating," I disagreed. "We'll be late if you go home and you hate to be late."

"I can make an exception," he said, shaking his head a little while he navigated through the traffic. "I'd rather be late than make a fool of myself in front of your dad. I can't leave an important meeting like that to chance."

"Pha, will you please stop being silly?" I asked, realizing that I wanted my dad to know the truth. My dad and I were so close, I didn't want to keep my relationship a secret. It occurred to me that maybe Pha didn't want my dad to know that not only had he hired me as requested, but he'd also asked me to be his boyfriend, which certainly wasn't something my dad requested.

I thought it would be better for my dad to know now. The longer I kept it from him, the more hurt he would be when he found out. Perversely, I understood that if Pha was only dating me to get in my dad's good graces, this was likely to be the end of our relationship. I didn't want that, but at least I would know for sure if Pha loved me for me or if it was for my relationships and status. I didn't believe that about him, but this was one way to know for certain.

As we pulled up to my house, Pha didn't even turn off the engine before he moved to open my door. I suppose he thought that was his answer, but I wasn't having any of it. I reached over, turned the car off, and took the keys out of the ignition while Pha was walking to my door. He stared at me, shaking his head as he opened my door.

"Baby Yo, I know you don't think this is a big deal, but I really don't want to screw up with your dad," Pha tried to take the keys back, but I wasn't budging. I guess it was time to put the advice Beam gave me a few days ago into practice.

"I want to tell my dad about us," I said, trying to let him see from my face that this was important to me. Maybe the timing wasn't perfect, but I didn't want to leave my dad out of any big decisions in my life. And though I knew that Nate would never intentionally hurt me, if she accidentally said something to him my dad would be hurt that he didn't hear it from me. The more I thought about it, the more I realized this was the right choice. "He's my dad, I don't want to keep any part of my life secret from him. You're a big part of my life now, I want him to know you."