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“Luke, how long have we been doing this? I don’t need you standing right next to me to cope.” Marcus gulps at his beer again. “Besides, with our job you can work from anywhere that you want. You can set up in a hotel room as long as you have wifi and a laptop. There’s no need to rush back to deal with the office. I can do that.”
“Are you sure?” I grimace. “I feel like I’m putting a lot on you, Marcus. After all, I’ve just found out something that’s going to change everything.”
“You focus on yourself.” Marcus clasps my shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “When was the last time you did anything for yourself? I certainly can’t remember because it was that long ago. Don’t worry about the business for now. Focus on this.”
He’s right. Nobody’s going to care as long as I make myself known when necessary. I don’t have to be at everything for every step. Marcus is capable of looking after things on his own. All I have to do is take a step back.
I need to settle this with Elle. Get the answers she was dodging me on. And find out who that guy is to her. Is that her boyfriend? It would explain why he was angry with me. If he isn’t Elle’s boyfriend, he looks as if he wants to be.
The thought of Elle being with anyone else makes me angry. I don’t like it at all.
Over the loud noise that is giving me a headache, I can hear a phone ringing. A moment later, my pocket is buzzing. I get it out, hoping that it isn’t Mom calling. I don’t want to talk to her right now.
But it’s Dad’s name instead.
“I need to take this.”
My phone stops ringing before I get outside, so I call Dad back. He picks up on the first ring.
“Hey, son.”
“Hey, Dad. Sorry, I was stuck in a loud place. I was finding a quiet spot.”
“It’s fine. You always get back to me. How’s Cleveland?”
I think I’m a father, Dad. You might have a granddaughter.
I don’t say this, though. This is not something I can throw on Dad until I know the truth. I don’t want to get his hopes up. I lean against the wall, the cool evening air tickling my face.
“Eventful.” I finally settle on this word. “I might be out here a bit longer than expected.”
“Nothing bad?”
“No, not like that. It’s just how the job is.”
Dad grunts.
“I’m sure there’s more going on, but I’ll ask about that later. Right now, I need to talk about your mom.”
“Mom?” I groan. “What has she said now? I’m getting fed up with this.”
“She’s been upset today, and she’s shut herself in the bedroom saying something about how ungrateful people are. She’s not talking to me, but your name was mentioned a few times.” Dad pauses. “Did something happen between you two? What did she say?”
I sigh and close my eyes.
“She set up a blind date for me for a date tonight.”
“What?”
“She called me this morning to say that she had a date ready for me, and I just needed to turn up. I told her off for planning something without my input or consent, and she got upset about it.”
Dad gives a heavy sigh.
“Oh, great. Not this again. How many times has she done this to you?”
“I don’t know. I lost count a while ago.” I rub a hand over my face. “This is getting stupid, Dad. I’m forty next birthday, and having my mom setting up dates for me is getting embarrassing. Can you just tell her to stop?”
“You think I haven’t tried? I’ve told her to stop setting these up and to leave you alone, but you know how your mother is.”
