AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wished more than anything I could see the expression on Brandon's face.
"Then I have to ask," Cory continued. "Is there anything else we need to know about her? Anything else that might come up in a character attack? I'm not saying you can't run, my friend. If there's anything we know from this last election, it's that literally anyone can get elected. If I can't get you elected, I have absolutely no business being in marketing. But it will be a whole hell of a lot easier if we can control the narrative."
"There's nothing." Brandon's voice was pulled tight as a drum.
Cory waited a few beats, then sighed.
"All right," he said, although he clearly thought it was anything but. "Just...be careful, will you? Keep it casual. Take it slow. Maybe don't be seen making out on the street together?"
"We'll take it exactly the way it needs to go," Brandon said.
I clutched my groceries tighter to my chest.What did that mean?
But he didn't say anything else, and the conversation turned to discussing a press release planned for Ventures. I entered the house and walked up the short flight of stairs to the main floor.
Brandon and Cory both turned from their seats on the balcony, beers in hand, with completely opposite expressions: a dark cloud over Cory's pointed features, while Brandon's chiseled face brightened immediately. Even with Cory sitting there, I couldn't help but smile back. The twisting in my belly lessened.
"Hey beautiful," Brandon said as he stood up to greet me with a kiss.
I didn't have to look at Cory's face to see the irritation at the affection.
Brandon looked eagerly into the bags I had set on the dining table. "What do we have here?"
"Oh, you know, the goods. Wine, cheese, bread, charcuterie. A bunch of local fruits and veggies." I sighed as I pulled out the food. "I'll never get enough of French markets."
Brandon walked into the kitchen to grab dishes for the three of us. Cory meandered in and looked suspiciously at the food.
"Isn't the cheese here unpasteurized?" he asked with a frown.
I rolled my eyes. "Christ. The best cheese in the world is from France. You might actually like it if you gave it a chance."
The words came out before I could stop them, and Cory flashed me another look of blatant irritation. Behind us, Brandon chuckled.
Cory narrowed his beady eyes. "I'll try it," he mumbled.
As Brandon set down our plates and glasses next to the impromptu buffet, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
"Hold on, it's Bubbe," I said, and stepped out of the room, leaving Brandon and Cory to take their loaded plates back to the balcony table.
"Hi Bubbe," I said once I was in the bedroom. "Is everything all right?"
"Hi sweetheart," came my grandmother's low, thickly accented voice. "Everything is fine, it's fine. We were just calling to...check when you were coming back."
I frowned as I sat down on the bed. "Really? That's all?"
There was a brief silence, then a sigh.
"Well...your father...it's nothing, but I think he'd like to see you."
There was some shuffling, like she was moving to a different room. In a slightly hushed tone, she continued.
"I just think he could use a pick-me-up from his daughter is all," Bubbe said.
"Katie hasn't been coming back around, has she?" I asked sharply, my hand twisting the edge of the bed sheets. There had been no word from the security team, but that didn't mean she wasn't texting or contacting Dad in other ways.
"No, no, no," Bubbe assured me. "Not since you were here last." She paused again, and something about the reticence in her voice made my heart beat a little faster. "But the thing is, bubbela," she continued, "he missed his group therapy session two days ago. He said he just went for a walk, but honey, I don't know...I couldn't reach him for several hours, and he lost the security."
My spine prickled with the thought of where my dad might have ended up, depressed, upset, and alone. I toyed with the end of my ponytail and made a decision. This had gone on long enough.
