Mercy

"I need a little more information than that." he says opening her door. "I decided to sell my share of stock in one of Dad's companies, he found out, and now he's pissed off." she yells from her closet as she changes clothes.

"Why would he care, he has money to waste. Whats a little bit of stock gonna matter?" he questions, as he sits down on her bed, watching her change into nicer clothes that she was wearing. A black pencil skirt, a matching top and high heels. "Sexy." he says as she comes out of her closet looking like a different person.

She ignores his comment as she fixes her hair. "Its not the money that he cares about, surprisingly. Its majority ownership in the company that he's concerned with, and now that Ive sold my stock to James Scott, my family no longer has majority ownership of that company; James has fifty five percent ownership."

"Well, well, well, I didn't know you were such a spiteful girl." he says playfully, wrapping his arms around her waist as she applies her makeup. "I didn't do it to spite my father, I did it because he offered me twice what the stock was worth." she explains, meeting his eyes in the mirror.

"Right..." Duane Lee says laughing as he kisses her neck.

"So, now my father has called a meeting and insists I attend, although I have no stake in the company. Maybe I'll go and say my goodbyes and be forever banned from my family!" she says wistfully.

Duane Lee rolls his eyes and follows her out of the bathroom. "Well, that f**ks up my whole day too." he says, crossing his arms and pouting.

"I'm sorry." she says as she kisses his pouty lips. "I didn't know he would find out so soon...I shouldn't be that long, if you wanna come back in an hour or so." she says grabbing her purse and throwing it on her shoulder.

"We'll see." he says as they walk out the door, headed their separate ways.

Downtown Honolulu wasn't Nikki's favorite place to be during the day. There were too many tourists, too many drug dealers and just too many people in general. She parked her car in a reserved parking place that had been designated for her mother's visits, which were few and far between.

"Good morning Miss. Murdock." the receptionist says cheerfully as Nikki walks through the large glass doors of her father's office building. "Hi Elaine." she says, forcing a smile before getting onto the elevator and stepping off when it reaches her fathers floor.

"Nicole." her father says as she enters his office unannounced. "Nicole, sit down and tell me what the hell is going on!" he demands, pushing her into the nearest chair.

"There is nothing going on. I just sold my stock at double its worth, which was a damn good price." She tells him, holding her ground.

"I don't understand why you're doing this to me!" Her father says, raising his voice.

"I'm not trying to stab you in the back or run your company into the ground as Mom so lovingly suggested when she called to bitch at me on the drive over." She stands up, meeting her father eye to eye, "I believe I can do what ever the hell I want to do. The last time I checked I was well over 18, you no longer control me!"

"Young lady, you better watch your mouth." he says before slapping her across the face.

She instantly grabs her cheek, tears welling up in her eyes. Too stunned to say anything, she runs from her fathers office and out to her car. Somehow she manages to make it back to her house without having an accident.

Two hours later there's a knock at her front door. Nikki sighs and pushes her self out of the chair she had been sitting in since she came home. Glancing out the small side window next to the front door she sees Duane Lee standing there.

"Hey." she says quietly, with her head down; opening the door and letting him in.

"Ive been calling you all afternoon. How did it go with your dad?" he asks, walking through the door. She looks up, turning her swollen cheek toward him.

"What the hell!" he says touching it lightly. She winces, moving away from him. "The meeting didn't go as planned." she says with a sad laugh. "I think it hurts more now than it did when it happened." she tells him, feeling the tears well up in her eyes.

"Who hit you? Your father?" he says, still studying her face. Nikki nods, lowering her head once more.

"I shouldn't have sold my stock." she says sadly. "Maybe I deserved it."

"Do you hear your self? This is not the same Nikki that I met a few months ago. You're always strong and sure of yourself. What he did to you is not your fault. Do you want me to go down to his office? I will." he says seriously, crossing his arms. "I'll whoop his ass if you want me to."

She smiles, silently thanking him for trying to protect her. "Let me show you what I want you to do." she say leading him to her bedroom. All she wanted at the moment was to be close to someone, even if he didn't love her.