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My impulse is to race in and shield her. I watch carefully as they begin their conversation. I have to strain to hear them, especially over the roaring chatter from my father’s group.
“Well brava, Dylan. What a rousing assessment today.”
“Thank you, Elyse. I’m glad you liked it and were able to follow along. If you have any questions, you can send them in email to both Skye and me, or if it’s foundation related, Eli and I.”
“That won’t be necessary, dear. So how are things going with your other venture? I haven’t really been seeing much about you and Jill in the trades. Such a shame.”
“Working hard and keeping a low profile isn’t a shame. It’s flying under the radar and waiting for our turn. You know what that’s like, don’t you?”
I want to fist pump the air so hard right now. The sarcasm dripping from Dylan’s lips isn’t something I hear often, if at all. It seems this rattlesnake brings out the nasty in my girl and I’m absolutely here for it.
“Honestly, I don’t. I’m always out front. The lead story last month was all the rising stars we selected in this class. It’s been an exciting time.”
“You know, I did see that article. I saw you selected Alicia Witt for your lead. What a good choice. She was my understudy at NYU several times. She works hard. I’m sure she’ll do well.”
Okay. Now I just want to shout with pride. I’ve never seen anyone give this… bitch… the subtle thrashing she deserves. I can visibly see Elyse’s stature melt into a slight submission. This round to Dylan.
“Yes, well. It will be interesting to see what next quarter brings. Know I’ll be watching carefully.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Elyse. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
Dylan collects the folders left behind as she walks past me to get to the door. “See you at lunch, Mr. Sawyer?”
I fucking love you.
“I wouldn’t miss it, Mrs. Sawyer.”
I ask Anna to order in for Dylan and me. Initially, I wanted to take her out for lunch but with an emergency call before and a meeting set directly after, it just wasn’t in the cards. I want her to always know my time with her is important and I’ll do whatever it takes to make it work.
I hear Dylan talking with Anna and asking about how she’s feeling. My wife. She cares more about everyone else before herself. When Dylan finally makes her way into my office, I motion for her to close the door. As she does, her face becomes brighter.
“Listen to that almost silence.”
“It’s glorious, isn’t it? I got you a surprise. Egg roll in a bowl and a power protein shake for lunch.”
“That had better not be a comment on my performance last night or this morning.”
“On the contrary, I followed suit with a double shake for myself, because I should have listened to you about being tired today. I think I should start running more with Wes because, my darling wife, you’re… exceptional.” I give her a kiss on her plump lips before we sit together on my office couch.
“I like my report card, Goose.” She winks.
“What I should have done was follow this up with a piece of chocolate cake for your controlled performance in the meeting today. Fuck. Well done!”
“I was not about to let that bitch get to me inside these walls. It’s bad enough I feel like I'm being followed to the studio or Jill’s rehearsals.”
“I don’t know how you manage your schedule. I get tired just listening to you run it down, then when I see our synced calendars I cringe. I feel bad we were up until three in the morning.”
“Don’t be. I’m not. Eli, I’m used to running on fumes. I can catch up on the weekends. I’ll be fine.”
“You know it’s my job to worry about you, right?”
“I know it is and I love you for it. We have so many other things to focus on instead of my sleep.”
“We have a large foundation meeting next week. I think Sam and his mother will be appearing via video. I have next fiscal year’s planning starting on Monday. I also got an email from my mother. She’s organizing an anniversary celebration for Gran and Pops.”
“I love it. How many years have they been married? I don’t think I’ve asked.”
“This will be fifty-two years. Can you imagine that?”
