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‘I’m sorry,’ I said, trying to look apologetic. ‘I have plans for that week, and a lot of work. I’d have loved to help out, but I can’t.’
‘Charlie,’ my dad sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose as if I were being particularly difficult. He looked up at me while Kimberly stood next to his desk.
I could already feel the walls closing in one me, and I realized it didn’t matter what plans I did or didn’t have.
‘What plans do you have?’ he asked. ‘Work-related?’
‘No. I have a date.’ I didn’t, but Gayle had said that Ralph was waiting to hear back from me, so just to get out of the babysitting thing I could very well go out on a date. So I had a date.
He raised his brows, disbelief apparent in his eyes. ‘You’re dating again?’
‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘Is there a problem with that?’
He lifted his hands up. ‘No. No. Just surprised, that’s all. Is it new? Or did you start talking to Craig again?’
He had liked Craig. I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t snap. ‘Craig cheated on me, Dad. You know this. Why would I talk to him? It’s someone new.’
‘I’m just asking, you don’t need to get defensive.’
‘If that’s all, I need to get back to work,’ I continued, ignoring his words, trying not to let it get to me. I took a few steps forward to leave, but I wasn’t that lucky.
‘Reschedule your date to another week, Charlie,’ he ordered and this time it was my turn to raise my brows.
‘Don’t look at me like that. This is important for the company. What does it matter if you go out with someone on a different day?’
‘Dad…’
Kimberly’s phone started to ring and after she glanced at the screen, she looked at Dad. ‘Dad, I need to take this. Can I go? You got this, right?’
‘Yes. Go, go.’
Kimberly left the room, and I stared after her in astonishment.
‘Charlie,’ he sighed. ‘I know you’re still pissed at her and you have every right, but this is work.’
‘I’m not pissed at anyone,’ I muttered, but we both knew it was a lie. ‘She is back to being okay with her husband, right? That’s all that matters.’
‘We both know you don’t feel that way.’ He stood up and came to my side, fixing the collar of my shirt when it didn’t need to be fixed.
I closed my eyes, tried not to fidget and took a deep breath.
‘You need to make up with your sister. She feels bad about everything that happened.’
Not so surprisingly, she had never told me she felt bad. Suddenly I couldn’t breathe in his office anymore. Just so I could get out, I gave in. ‘I’ll change my date to a Saturday and meet her client on Friday. I can’t promise on the babysitting. I don’t work in her team.’
He pressed his lips into a thin line. ‘You can be so stubborn sometimes.’
‘Can’t change who I am,’ I muttered, tilted my chin up higher. I had no problems with myself.
‘Okay,’ he commented, letting out a breath. ‘Okay. Let it be your way.’ He gave me a hug and I tried not to stiffen in his arms while I hugged him back. I loved my dad, but sometimes he made it hard to like him. ‘I’m glad you started to see someone again. Hope you’ll make a good choice with this one. You’re still making your lasagne for dinner at your grandma’s place tonight, right?’
I barely held back my groan. I’d completely forgotten about the monthly dinner at Grandma’s place. So that explained why I had so many missed calls on my phone from her.
‘Dad,’ I started, pulling back from his hug. ‘I have a lot of things to do with the new case we got today and Laurel Nielson as well.’
‘It’s okay. I’ll talk to William and you’ll leave a little early. He and his team can handle things without you.’
His phone started ringing at the same time someone from accounting knocked on his door.
‘Mr Davis, I have these ready for you to look over.’
And just like that I’d missed my opportunity to weasel out of tonight’s dinner.
When I was finally out of his office and in my own again. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and tried to let out all the bad energy that was clinging to me. I repeated it a few times to calm myself down. Then I took out my phone to text Val, but my eyes landed on the book I was reading. I couldn’t help but smile when I picked it up and found a note between the pages.
Why didn’t you have lunch Charlie? I’m willing to share my sandwich this time around. I might also have a brownie for you. And some extra fries if you’re interested.
