Page 47 of Undeniable
Shit!I immediately put my phone to sleep, feeling like a teenager caught texting a girl. I only hoped my aunt hadn’t seen much of our text exchange. Though the fact that she’d referred to Olivia by name told me she had been there longer than I’d realized.
“A friend,” I said.
Damn. I’d been out of the field for six weeks, and my skills were going to shit.
“Really? That’s it—a friend?” Lucy asked. “Because I’ve never seen that look on your face when Decker or Zeke texts you.”
I rubbed the back of my neck.
“Oh.” She grinned, taking the seat next to me. “You really like this girl, huh?”
“Yeah, but it’s not like that.”
“Not like what?” she asked.
“You’re going to laugh if I tell you.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Try me.”
“I, um, I’ve never actually met her.”
“Ah. Online dating.”
“Something like that,” I said, figuring it was easier than explaining the truth.
Plus, I knew if I told my aunt about Spines for Soldiers, then I’d have to tell her what had happened with George. She already had enough going on with my dad and his bullshit; I didn’t want to add anything else to her plate.
But it was more than that. I worried she’d be disappointed in me. That she’d see my father’s mistakes repeating in me. That I’d be another statistic—the worst possible kind.
“So,” Lucy said as we sat down to eat. “Tell me more about Olivia.”
So, I did. I told Lucy about how kind and good Olivia was. And all the while, I thought about my father—that piece of shit. I thought about how he was dying and I still didn’t want to see him.
And I wondered what Olivia would think. What she’d do if she were in my situation. Knowing her, she’d probably find it in her heart to forgive him. But I couldn’t. Wouldn’t.
Did that make me a bad person? And if so, would I ever be good enough for someone like Olivia?
CHAPTERELEVEN
“Hey, Seth.” I kept my body angled toward the computer, typing out a business email, as if that would deter him from staying.
Lately at work, it felt as if I were walking a tightrope. I didn’t like that Seth had put me in this position—making me feel like a promotion I’d worked my ass off for was now conditional on my dad’s cooperation.
“Olivia.” He took a seat. “I wanted to check in with you. See how things are going.”
“They’re great.” I brightened, turning to face him. “Everyone seems to be enjoying the Spines for Soldiers program.”
“Excellent.” He rubbed his hands together. “Have you, uh, had a chance to speak to your father? We’re really hoping to get the ball rolling on this before football season. Which means that something would need to be decided in the next two weeks.”
I gathered my courage, channeled my inner badass Olga—the one who flirted with former Navy SEALs, who told my mom what she thought, who was confident—and said, “I think you should start looking for someone else.”
It wasn’t a firm no, but I wasn’t leading Seth on either.
Seth leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “Your annual review is coming up. You might want to consider how the biography could affect your position—for better or worse.” He stood, not giving me a chance to respond when he left my cubicle.
Oh, so now he’d moved on from incentives to threats.Great.
While I’d sensed that Seth’s patience for my dad’s biography had been wearing thin, this was the first time he’d made his position clear. If I wanted that promotion—heck, if I wanted to keep my job—I needed to get my dad to agree. What a mess.