“Thank you!” Jada squealed.
Seeing how excited my daughter was made me feel like a hater for telling her dad he was doing too much. I knew he was only trying to make up for lost time. It was my fault that hehad to do that in the first place. Just before I talked myself into accepting Reed’s nonsense, I spotted a child-sized piano among the boxes.
“Uh-uh, Reed, you’re going to have to take that piano to your house. My nerves can’t take that.”
“That’s fine with me.”
“Where do you live, Daddy? Can I go to your house?”
“You sure can. We just have to wait until your mom has time.”
Jada’s head whipped in my direction in a flash. “When do you have time, Mama?”
I meant what I said when I told Reed that I felt like things were moving too fast. At this point, I knew it wasn’t a call I could make with a clear conscience. Reed had missed six years of Jada’s life. How slow did I want things to go?
“I have some work stuff, but I’ll be done with it soon,” I explained, hoping that would buy just a little bit of time.
“You’ve always been a workaholic. Remember when the fraternities had that big block party, and I found you in the library writing an article about it for the school paper?”
“Yes, I do. I was in there because my work comes first.”
“Or so you thought. How were you going to write about it when you hadn’t even been out there?”
“I was just giving the rundown of what it was.”
“Until I drug you out of that dungeon so you could experience it firsthand. You had a good time. Admit it.”
“I did.” I nodded my head, smiling at the fond memory of dancing in the street and eating so much barbecue that I thought I would pop.
“How do you like your job?” he asked, catching me off guard.
“I used to love it. I get to work behind the scenes and bring Cassidy and Barbara exclusive information. These days, everything is about what you can sensationalize. Nobody caresabout anyone’s feelings or their reputation. They don’t even care about the truth half the time. They just want a good story.”
“So basically, you hate it,” he deduced.
“I didn’t say all that. It’s not always fun, but I love what I do.”
“But if you had the chance to leave, you would?”
“Are you asking this because my current assignment is to find dirt on your business?”
“Not at all. I’ve already told you there’s nothing to find.”
“Yet, just a few days ago, counterfeit chips showed up out of nowhere,”I mentioned.
“So you think we had something to do with that?” he asked.
“How the hell else would they get there? I’ve seen the top-of-the-line financial security systems you guys use. Nothing is getting in or out without someone knowing it. That’s why I know it was an inside job.”
“Well, when you find out who’s behind it, you make sure to let me know.”
“I sure will.”
“Now back to my question. If you had the chance to quit your job, would you do it?”
“Quit and do what?”
“Anything your heart desires.” He shrugged.
