Page 109 of The Version You Hide

“Yes. And you are no longer an employee here at the Abbott Group so that information is off limits.” He takes a seat in the armchair over in the corner. “I trust you saw yesterday’s newspaper.”

My lips part with an exhausted sigh. Of course, I’d seen it. Yet another article about my exit from the company. Yet another means to drive a wedge between me and my parents. Maybe a subject change is in order. “How was golf last weekend?”

“Fine.” His answer is short and to the point.

“I heard the new restaurant over on the course is amazing.”

“Dylan, I’m trying to work here.” Clearly, he has no interest in small talk, and I’ve had about more than I can take.

“Fine,” I say through gritted teeth. “I was just trying to make conversation with you, Dad. I figured that now that you aren’t my boss you could maybe just be my father instead, but whatever.”

I begin shutting down the desktop in front of me, tossing the pens into the drawer to my left and slamming it with a little too much force.

It’s my actions and not my words that have finally caught his attention. “What are you doing?”

“I’m your son and I’m not going to stay here and have you treat me like some sort of second-rate citizen. I’m going home.” I tuck my phone and keys into my pocket and storm toward the office door.

My father is on his feet now, his jaw set in anger. “You promised me three days here, Dylan. Claire still needs help transitioning.”

“No, Dad. She doesn’t,” I retaliate. I don’t believe Claire needs my help at all and I can’t figure out why my father is putting me through this for any other reason than just to torture me. “Claire has everything under control and all I’m doing here is assistant work, like filing and answering phones. If I didn’t know better, I’d think…” I stop talking, shaking my head in amusement, because I think I’ve finally figured out exactly what this is all about. “Oh my god. That’s it, isn’t it?”

“What are you talking about?” My father is losing patience now but so am I.

“You want my presence in the building known. You’re hoping it will get the media off our backs if they catch me walking into headquarters. That they won’t suspect any more family drama.”

He stands with his hands on his hips and lets out an exasperated sigh. He isn’t going to admit that I'm right, but his silence says more than words ever could.

Finally, after a long pause, he repeats, “You promised me three days.”

“I’ll come back next week for the final day,” I tell him firmly. “But right now, I have somewhere more important to be.”

And someone I need to be with.

I take the stairs down from the fifteenth floor, too impatient to wait for the lift. I don’t want to spend a single second longer in this building than I need to. I rip the tie from around my neck, tossing it into the trash can outside the automated glass doors. This suit is suffocating. I strip off the jacket and throw it into the back seat as I climb into my car.

It’s not until my tyres are crunching down her gravel driveway that I feel as though I can breathe again. I slam the door shut, rounding the corner of the house to the backyard where I can see Mackenzie lost in concentration as she drags her paintbrush across the canvas nestled upon an easel down on the jetty.

She doesn’t see me until I’m barely ten metres away. She does a double take when she finally looks up, the suit pants and business shirt no doubt out of place in this setting.

“You’re here.” She drops the paint brush into a jar of cloudy, coloured water beside her. “I thought you weren’t coming back until tomorrow night.”

“I needed to see you.”

“But what about your dad?” she questions. “I thought you had stuff to tie up in the city.”

“Yeah, I do. But this is more important. I’d choose this any day of the week.” I don’t wait for her to respond before I wrap my arms around her. I hold her, breathe her in, as she brings her arms up around my neck, but when she pulls away from me there’s uncertainty in her gaze. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She shakes her head and forces a weak smile as she stares at the ground between us.

“Hey,” I say, tilting her chin up with my forefinger. “You can tell me.”

“It’s nothing. I’m fine. It’s just…” She hesitates. “I’ve never been somebody’s first choice before.”

The way her eyes prick with tears kills me. The fact that this amazing woman hasn’t known unconditional affection kills me.

I cup her cheek in my right hand, drawing her body closer with my left. “Then you better get used to it.”

I lean in until our foreheads touch before she brushes her lips against mine, lingering there long enough to test my patience. I don’t give in though, wanting her to be the one to make the next move. My chest rises with every ragged breath, my need for her excruciating.

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