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“I can’t imagine I’ve made that any easier.”
“Did Paula physically threaten you?” I ask, because this side of my dad isn’t something I’m used to seeing at all, much less so freely.
“Not in as many words.” He joins his fingers over his belly. “But she told me to get my head out of my ass, or else.”
“Or else?”
“Or else I’m going to completely push my children, push you, away.”
There’s a knock on the door behind us, and we both call “One minute.” He smiles at me, because he knows as much as I do that the response is automatic, timed almost exactly the same.
“If you think Paula is scary, you should be terrified to see her and Bianca Delmonico together,” I say finally, because I’m not sure what else to add to the conversation. I am spiraling, but I think it’s going to take longer than the few minutes before we’re late for our lunch reservation for me to figure it all out.
“I heard Piper is also quite the spitfire when she wants to be.” He taps the side of his nose, and I sigh, shaking my head.
“She’s… something else, that’s for sure.” He looks at me again, that same appraising stare.
“You love her a lot, don’t you?” I nod, swallowing.
“I think more than I ever loved Liv.” I blink back at him. “Is that horrible to say?”
“No.” He pushes himself up, out of his chair, buttoning his suit jacket. “It can be a different kind of love, too, Will. It’s not all the same.” His throat bobs as he stares down at me. “Take it from someone who has been lucky enough to have two great loves in their life. And from someone who went through something very similar to what I hear Piper experienced.” He scratches at the corner of his eye, and part of me wonders if he’s trying to hold back a tear or two. I haven’t seen him cry since the day his father died, and that was really just the aftermath of him locking himself in the bathroom for four hours before coming out bleary eyed and red faced.
I stand, meeting him around the corner of the desk, and when he reaches forward to open the door, I see Piper and Frannie standing strangely close to the doorway, almost like they’d had their ears pressed to the door. From behind my father, I raise a brow, and my sister laughs nervously, smoothing over her pencil skirt at the same time Piper runs a hand over her hair. It’s still tamed and straighter than normal, big bouncy curls that don’t look like the Piper I’ve grown so used to, but I’m not about to say that to her. Still, there’s a part of me that can’t wait for wash day.
My God.I can’t wait for wash day?
“Uh,” Piper says, “Hi, Mr. Westfall.”
“Chris, please,” Dad corrects, putting a hand on Frannie’s shoulder. “Are you two lad-" He seems to catch himself, looking at me before continuing. “Are you two ready for lunch?”
“Starving,” Frannie whines, grabbing her purse from Georgia’s desk. My assistant is staring at the lot of us like we’ll put her in an early grave, which isn’t totally off base with the way we’ve been trying to pull reports for the last several months. She may throw her computer out the window if I ask her to cross-check one more spreadsheet.
“How’s your first day going?” I ask, falling in line behind my father and sister, reaching my hand down to squeeze Piper’s.
“Good.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and it feels shy, feels reserved.
It feels so not Piper.
“We’ll meet you down there in a minute,” I call to Frannie and Dad, and they both look at us as they step into the elevator. “Go ahead and get our drinks.”
“Dr. Pepper and water?” Fran calls, and Piper nods, just in time to see my sister roll her eyes as the doors slide closed. I take Piper’s hand, pulling her into a quiet corner of one of our conference rooms.
“Fitz, what are you…?” I put a hand on either of her shoulders.
“What’s your name?” She looks at me like I’ve grown another arm, but I stare down at her. “What’s your name?”
“Uh, Piper.” Her eyebrows crease in the middle.
“And who are you?” I ask. The crease gets deeper. “You’re a badass, Piper. A badass who told a whole cluster of people to go fuck themselves yesterday.” She laughs, one hand coming to cover her mouth. I bat it away. “Stop it. You are a badass, with a beautiful laugh, and you’re going to have to admit one of those two things to me before I let you leave this room.”
“Or else?” Her eyes sparkle, even in the dim light, and I do my best not to notice the way her skirt hugs at her waist, the length highlighting her toned legs.
“Don’t distract me.” I set my jaw. “Who are you?”
“A badass,” she mumbles.
“What was that?”
