Chloe: I need to get my coat from the valet station.
Valet: Right away, ma'am. Here is your ticket.
Chloe stood on the concrete driveway outside the mansion, her dark blue dress fluttering in the breeze. Behind her, the heavy brass doors burst open.
David: Chloe! Stop right there!
Chloe: Don't come any closer, Dad.
David: Chloe, please just let me talk to you for one minute.
Chloe: You had four years to talk to me. You didn't call me once during my final exams.
David: I was busy running the family business! You know how demanding the company is!
Chloe: You were never too busy for Jessica. You paid for her three-week trip to Paris last summer.
David stopped five feet away from her, his tux collar slightly unbuttoned as sweat beaded on his forehead.
David: Jessica needed that trip! She was stressed about planning this wedding!
Chloe: And I was working forty hours a week in the biochemistry lab while taking twenty credits!
David: Why didn't you tell me you were working at a lab?
Chloe: I tried to tell you at Thanksgiving, Dad. Do you remember what you said to me?
David shuffled his shoes on the pavement, looking down at the ground.
David: I don't remember...
Chloe: You told me to pass the gravy and stop talking about boring school projects while Jessica was explaining her wedding flower arrangements.
David: Chloe, I'm your father. I love you both equally!
Chloe: No, you don't. You paid Jessica's full tuition at a private liberal arts college without asking questions.
David: She's delicate, Chloe! She needed the help!
Chloe: And when I asked for help with my textbook fees sophomore year, you told me I was a financial drain on the family estate.
David: I was stressed about the market crash back then!
Chloe: You bought a new luxury boat two weeks after you cut off my college fund, Dad.
David winced, reaching out a hand to touch her arm, but Chloe took a sharp step backward.
Chloe: Don't touch me.
David: Chloe, please. Come back inside. We can sit at the head table together.
Chloe: So you can show off your high-earning daughter to your business partners?
David: That's not why! I want to celebrate your success!
Chloe: You didn't even know I graduated. The ceremony was three weeks ago in Boston.
David: You didn't send an invitation!
Chloe: I sent three invitations to the house by certified mail. Mom signed for them.
David froze, his jaw dropping open slightly as he processed her words.
David: Your mother signed for them?
Chloe: Ask her yourself. She threw them in the trash because she said my graduation date interfered with Jessica's bridal shower week.
David: She... she didn't tell me.
Chloe: Neither of you cared. You just assumed I was slacking off because I wasn't posting my life on social media like Jessica does.
David: A hundred and eighty-four thousand dollars... at Calder Biotech? That's the biggest pharmaceutical firm in the state!
Chloe: I know what company it is, Dad. I earned the position over eight hundred other applicants.
David: My friends inside... Arthur Calder was sitting right at table three! He heard everything you said!
Chloe: Good. Mr. Calder is the one who signed my offer letter last month.
David took a deep breath, adjusting his silk tie as his mind began to race with possibilities.
David: This is amazing, Chloe. Do you realize what this means for our family name?
Chloe: It means nothing for your name, Dad. It means everything for mine.