Page 54 of Office Affairs

“Morning, Mrs. Appleby. I’d like to see my father.” I prided myself that my voice didn’t shake, and I made it all the way to her desk without the slightest hesitation in my step.

Gum popping, she waved me on with her nail file. “Go on in, sweetheart. He’s not busy.”

What the hell? Why was it that I could walk in and see him without a problem, but every phone call got redirected, or I was hung up on, or I sat on hold for hours? Even though it made no sense, I decided not to push my luck but hurried to Dad’s closed door and pushed through before the woman changed her mind.

The place hadn’t been updated in years. Same bland white walls and scratched-up glass and chrome desk. Same leather sofa with the stain I’d given it five years ago from a cup of coffee.

Dad sat stooped over his work desk, his fingers tapping across the keyboard and his gaze focused on the screen. He glanced up at the sound of the door clicking closed, then did a double take. “Sabrina? What are you doing here?”

While it wasn’t a warm or enthusiastic welcome, I took it as good news that he didn’t throw me out of the office. “We came to see you.” I inched closer. “Can we talk?”

“Sure. Sure.” He motioned me closer. “Keith, Markus is in the room right through there if you want to say hello.”

Keith looked at me for approval. I granted it even though I wished he could stay with me. Markus’s influence was minimal, and of my half brothers, I preferred him.

The door closed behind Keith and I dropped into the chair closest to Dad.

“So. What’s wrong?” Solemn and serious, he eyed me over his glasses. His hair had grayed more this year, and the rumpled lines in his suit looked too old for this time of morning.

“Dad, I need to know why you’ve been avoiding me. Why do you ignore my calls?” I crossed my ankles and tucked my hands against my stomach to hide the tremors racing through me. I’d never confronted him like this before. It was time for some answers, and I’d be damned if I left without them this time.

Twin lines appeared between his eyebrows as he picked up his phone and unlocked the screen. “Did you call today? I’m not seeing anything.” His frown deepened. “Sabrina, I don’t have any calls from you since New Year’s.”

“What?” My voice screeched up an octave. I palmed my throat and winced. “I called you last week. Like a dozen times. I was sent straight to voicemail.”

“I swear it, honey.” He locked eyes with me, and in the depths, I saw his honesty. “Here. See for yourself.” He passed me the phone and locked his fingers together on top of the desk. “I’ve been busy lately. Too busy.”

The weight of his words, and his concern, tempered the anger rising within me. “I agree. You’re so busy that you didn’t even notice when Bailey kicked me out of the apartment. Didn’t seem to care that she cut me off from the bank account.” I left the phone lying there. “I expect that kind of bullshit from her. She’s always hated me. But I expected better from you. I deserve at least one parent who loves me.” Damn it all. That was not what I came here to say, but now that I’d started, it was the thing that mattered most.

“Hold on.” Dad’s voice sharpened. He held up both hands, his eyes cold with fury.

I waited for him to tell me not to talk about Bailey that way. He’d done it before, demanding that I respect her as my mother. I’d bitten my tongue until it bled back then. Not anymore. There was nothing else she could take away from me. “She’s blocked me from your phone. Check your contacts. I’d bet every last dollar I own that my name’s not there anymore.”

Dad’s lips thinned, but he picked up the phone and scrolled. Each second that ticked past on his Rolex churned my stomach tighter and tighter. I’d managed not to be sick this morning, but that might not last much longer. “Why do you think Bailey would do this?”

I waved off the question. “Forget it. You always take her side, so it’s not worth my breath to argue. I came here to talk business.” I’d let myself be sidetracked by my emotions. Time to reel it all back in. “Are there any updates on the stolen tech?”

Dad blanched, sweat beading on his brow. “I’d rather not talk about that.”

“Come on, Dad. It was all you could talk about two months ago. Are you still losing tech? Have you made any headway in figuring out who’s taken it?” My pulse skipped and my head throbbed at the surges of emotion colliding together.

“It was a one-time theft. We never recovered the tech, but we’ll do okay without it. I have a new line on more apps that will put us back on top.” The phone hit the desk and skidded off to the side, where it lay spinning.

I pursed my lips. “Dad, are you buying tech from other companies or creating it in-house?”

“Why do you ask?”

The question left me on the edge of discovery. Swallowing hard, I took the leap. “I’ve heard that Grady International is suffering the same kind of problem. It made me wonder if others are too. First you, then Grady? It’s suspicious.” I held back before I revealed that I knew Chase had lost tech first.

If they knew I was here, or even suspected who I was … I attempted to quiet my mind from the churning what-ifs.

“How do you know about Chase?” Dad’s knuckles whitened where he gripped the edge of the desk.

The best way to tell a lie was to pepper it with as much truth as possible. “You talk about him sometimes. Complain, mostly.” I tried a smile that fell flat. This was my chance to tell him the truth, to come clean about all of it. By doing so, I risked everything. We were talking for the first time in years. He might understand me going to work undercover at Grady to find out if Chase really had stolen from him, but the rest of it? No, he would never understand how I’d managed to fall in love with his three best friends. I loved them so much it hurt to realize we could never be together in every way that mattered until I told everyone the truth.

God being an adult sucked sometimes. There was no easy way out this time. I hated to ruin the confidence we’d built, even if it was all stacked on a hill of lies.

Dad loosened his grip. “You heard me talking about Chase at dinner.” A thoughtful expression crossed his face. “I was angry and I said I thought he’d stolen from me.”

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