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“My mom and I have our problems and haven’t spoken to each other in awhile.” Kendall shrugs and crosses her arms. “My dad died when I was little.”
I swallow hard, torn between telling her the truth and continuing to pretend that I know nothing about her parents.
“I’m sorry for that.”
“It is what it is. I never got the chance to know him. As for my relationship with Mom, it’ll get better one day. She and I just had a lot of shit to sift through when I was a teen and we didn’t see eye to eye.”
My phone starts ringing. I pull it out to see my dad is calling. With a sigh, I give Kendall an apologetic smile.
“I’m sorry. I have to take this and then I have to get packed for my flight.”
Kendall nods. “Have a good trip.”
I watch her walk away, counting to ten before I answer the phone.
As soon as my father starts talking, I know that it’s going to be a long call.
Kendall glances at me over her shoulder before heading up the stairs. I sigh, barely paying attention to what my father is saying.
The sooner there’s distance between Kendall and me, the better.
7
KENDALL
Igethomeaftermy last day of classes for the semester and nearly sink into the couch with relief. The first year of graduate school has been hell but I know that the second year is only going to be worse. Thankfully, I have a couple months off before I have to deal with going back.
Kicking my feet up on the table, I open up the banking app on my phone and check my accounts. It’s the end of May and I’m nearly done saving for school. Although, I have to put money away for a new place to live and all of the other costs that go along with university as well.
By the end of the summer, I hope to have enough money tucked away to cover my tuition and my cost of living for the entire school year. It would be nice to not have to work and instead spend my time focusing solely on school.
After a moment, I get up and head to my room, changing into a pair of shorts and a baggy shirt before heading back downstairs. This morning, I got an email from Evan asking me to sort through some of the files in his office and organize them.
When I walk into the office, my mouth nearly drops open at the piles of paperwork spread across his deck.
He’s messy for someone who has to run a business.
I sigh and pull out my phone, connecting it to the speaker system that runs throughout the house. Within seconds, a heavy bass is pounding through the speakers and I’m singing along with the song as I work.
As I sort through the papers, I glance at the notes written on them. Most of the pages are photocopies with his father’s writing on them.
I sigh and put everything with his father’s writing on it into a pile. I might send Evan an email later and ask if he wants me to burn them.
It was clear before he left a week ago that he is frustrated by his father’s input into his company. There isn’t much I can do to help him on that front though.
Healthy family relationships haven’t been my thing in a long time.
I often miss my mom but I don’t know how to reconcile with her. Things were toxic when I was a teenager and both of us said a lot of things that we didn’t mean.
With a sigh, I tuck the papers to the side and start working on another pile. I glance at the papers, noticing that the figures on them are wrong. Those papers go into a separate pile that will have to be addressed later.
Spending days digging through spreadsheets to find the correct numbers is going to give me a headache, but at least it will keep me from thinking about Evan.
At this point, I’ll welcome any distraction from him that I can get. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my son’s house?” a sharp voice says.
I jump and spin around, my back pressed against the desk as I look at a woman in a flowing skirt and silk blouse. Her gray hair is pinned back in a low bun and her glare is icy enough to freeze the Caribbean.
“I’m Evan’s housekeeper, Kendall.”
