“You didn’t even read a story last night. You forgot. Daddy came to read for us,” Arron complains.
Selene’s face flushes with guilt. She steals a very quick glance at me, and her cheeks flush instantly brighter. “I, um, I’m so sorry, munchkin. I have been a little… um… distracted,” she mutters.
I groan out loud before I can stop myself. I know exactly what this is about. It was the kiss. And now she regrets it. It’s made everything awkward, and she’s probably thinking about a hundred ways to escape.
Pushing my unfinished breakfast away, I stand up, rubbing my hand over Solenne’s unbrushed hair. She laughs and ducks away.
“I’m heading into work today. I trust you will all be fine here. Call me if you need anything,” I say, looking right at her even though she refuses to look at me. She nods, smiling. “Thanks. I might ask you to order us some food at lunch time.”
“Of course, anything you need. I’ll see you all later.”
I lean over and kiss Solenne on the cheek, then Arron.
They both jump up and follow me to the door, clinging to my legs to stop me from leaving. I laugh and scoop them up, hugging them again.
“What do you two monsters want for dinner? If I’m not home on time, I will have them deliver it for you?”
“Pizza!”
“Chinese Spaghetti!”
I pack up laughing. “I don’t think that’s what it’s called, little man,” I muse.
“But I want it,” he knows his brows.
“I’ll make sure to order it. Hopefully I am back before it arrives. Love you two little munchkins. See you later, Selene,” I add politely before slipping into the elevator.
Once I am out of her presence, I take a deep breath. She clearly hates being around me, and it’s driving me crazy that she feels that way. Where is the logic? We had such an incredible moment the other night. I thought… I thought things were better between us. I even dared to think we had a chance…
Sighing, I push my hand through my hair and push the thoughts from my mind. I can’t dwell on it. It’s going to make me crazy. Instead, I should get some work done. I’ve been neglecting things because I was so focused on her.
Throughout the day, I prove to myself that it is a lot harder than I thought it would be tonotthink about her. But I do the best I can by burying myself in the work. I knuckle down and stay focused until late afternoon when Adrian and Matvei walk into my office on the platform of the warehouse.
“Can we talk for a minute?” Matvei asks, rapping his knuckles against the door.
I sit up and lean back in my chair. “Well, this can’t be good. Since when do you knock before coming into my office?” I say with a dry chuckle.
Matvei laughs too, as dry as mine.
“It’s about your girl,” he says, sitting down opposite me while Adrian stands next to the desk fidgeting with a paper weight.
“What about her?” I ask, wishing I could actually call hermygirl.
“We’ve been digging into her and…”
“And?” I huff, getting impatient.
“She doesn’t exist, Simon. Nothing. Zero. No bank account. No credit cards. No social security number. Not even a fucking library card from when she was a kid… You know… nothing.” Matvei slides a folder across the desk. I open it, agitated.
It’s got one page titled “Report Generated”.The rest of the page is blank.
I slam the folder closed. Why bother showing me this?
Adrian raises his brows. “She’s a ghost,” he says.
“Well,” I stand up, too annoyed to sit anymore. “Her father isn’t nicknamed The Ghost for nothing. It’s his job to make people invisible. He made an entire career out of it. Obviously, he’s really good at it…” I shrug.
“Or…” Matvei glances at Adrian. “Or she isn’t who she says she is?”
