Page 88 of One Bossy Date
Knock. Knock.
“Hey, man.” Dax walked in, looking back and closing the door. “What’s up with Mom?”
I leaned against my desk. “I think she’s onto me.”
“Well, we’ve learned before,nothingescapes her.”
“Yeah, nothing. I really want to tell her the truth. Now.”
Before I could get to the door, Dax grabbed my arm.
“Hang on for a second,” he said, shaking his head. “Now that the Humphries are involved with this lie, shouldn’t you keep it up? Until after you seal the deal?” He plopped down on an armchair.
“Well, I figured I’d have to. I don’t want him turning me down because he thinks I was lying to gain sympathy.”
“But the lie has nothing to do with him, so that doesn’t factor in. I just think it will make things very awkward at the presentation if you tell Mom. She’ll be angry, and he’ll see that. That woman has no poker face. You know that.”
“But what if I just say the pregnancy was a false alarm?”
“Honestly, it would still be awkward. Mom would be sad, Mr. CEO would feel bad for you because you lost a child, and it would just be a whole-ass thing. Shitshow par excellence.”
Rounding my desk, I sat down, not wanting to give in but knowing when the battle was lost. “True.”
“I think you should leave it alone until after you land the contract. Bros before hos, my man.”
“Did you just call Mom a ho?”
“This conversation never happened. I will deny it with the confidence of a tiger.”
“Since when are you so business savvy, huh?” I sat back with a smirk.
“I’ve always been smarter than you, I just wasn’t interested enough to invest my intelligence in anything.”
“Until now?”
“I was just monitoring and reflecting,bro.”
“Yes, but doesn’t it still interest you? Don’t you think you’ll enjoy pushing this project ahead from a public relations or social media marketing point of view?”
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Well,” I stood and squeezed his shoulder, “bro, you’re usually good at whatever you set your mind to. Whether it’s this project or not, I know you’ll do great.”
“Thanks, man. Now, before you whip out the Kleenex, let me get the fuck outta here.”
I followed him from my office, back into the party.
* * *
By the time everyone left, I felt exhausted. The hired staff had cleared away most of the dishes and glasses but would be in early tomorrow for the full clean-up. I was on the patio again, which was partially covered with a thick blanket of snow, when Zoe let me know she was going to go shower.
Even in my fatigue, I wished I could’ve asked to join her, to make her body mine again while the hot water streamed over us and washed all the lies away, but I held back.
I wasn’t entirely sure why. However, I had a feeling it had to do with that comment my mom had made about me not loving Zoe. Even with the rest of my current problems, that one sentence kept bouncing to the forefront of my mind. While most of what I’d been telling my mom about Zoe and me were lies, I felt extremely reluctant to lie about that.
Why? Was I protective of her? Did I not want her feelings to be fucked with? Or was I falling for this sunny girl? Maybe.
The truth was, things had definitely changed. Mine and Zoe’s union didn’t seem as crazy as it had a month ago. Having her around was easy. I could easily imagine being with her, truly living with her, even marrying her. It didn’t seem that bizarre anymore.