Page 84 of Some Kind of Forever
I giggle at her ten-year-old logic, shaking my head. “You’d make a pretty good spy. But you probably shouldn’t record people anymore without them knowing about it. Deal?”
She nods. “Deal. Can we watch a movie now?”
“Yep.” I stand and hold out my hand to help her. “Totally.”
She picks a cute movie about a group of friends who start ababysitting business. While it’s easy to follow, I find my mind wandering back to the video and everything that happened in San Francisco.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHASE
My office door creaks as it opens and snaps my attention away from the sales proposal I’ve been reviewing all morning. In steps Trevor, leaning against the doorframe. His arms are crossed like he means business, and it’s convincing, except for the friendly smile on his face.
“Oh, good. I caught you before you left. Were you able to take a look at those numbers from CellularSpeak? I was hoping to get back to them by end of day.”
“Yeah.” I turn in my swivel chair to the stack of papers on the shelf behind me, pluck a blue folder off the top, and hand it to him. “Everything looks good on our end. We should be able to move forward at the start of fourth quarter.”
“Nice. Thanks. You excited to be going home? Your dad’s getting an award, right?”
I nod, eyes shifting back to my screen briefly. I want so badly to turn back to my computer and brush him off, but I don’t. Trevor’s a good guy. It’s not his fault my interest in small talk, or anything else, really, has disappeared. I plaster a grin on my face, the new facade I present to everyone at work lately, and drum my fingers on my knee. “Yeah, it should be a good time.”
He takes a beat, looking around my office before standing upstraight. “Well, I won’t keep you,” he says, slapping the side of the door frame. I feel bad as he turns to leave, knowing full well he was trying to be friendly and connect.
“Hey,” I call after him. He slides his head back into the doorway, eyebrows perched with interest. “You still seeing that mystery girl of yours?”
“Uh, yeah.” He rubs the back of his neck as a goofy smile spreads across his face, lost in a memory I’m glad I can’t see.
He doesn’t know I know this, but he’s hooking up with Marla, our corporate trainer. I saw them cozied up in a corner at the shareholders’ event.
“And you’re not going to tell me who she is?” I ask, playing along as I save the proposal file and power down my computer.
“Nope. I don’t kiss and tell.” He tips his finger toward me before walking off down the hallway, shouting, “Have a good one!”
The speaker crackles overheadas the pilot announces our ascent into the sky.Finally.It’s the last bit of permission I need to drop the “friendly guy” mask from my face. Being an early Friday afternoon flight, the plane is empty enough that almost every row has a vacant seat between passengers. I could use the space. Scrubbing my face with my hands, I take a deep breath before pulling out my headphones.
With almost two hours to zone out before landing in LA, I just need something loud in my ears to drown out the thoughts a quiet plane would likely lead to. It’s not getting easier yet, that part where I’m supposed to slowly stop thinking about Kayla every minute of every day. If I’m not actively trying to shut thoughts of her out of my brain, her face occupies everything. Forcibly trying to forget her feels uncomfortable and miserable, so sometimes, I give in and let her memory seep backunder my skin. It doesn’t necessarily feel any better, but at least it doesn’t feel wrong. The only thing I’ve found to completely drown out everything is music where the bass is heavy enough to reorganize the atoms in my body.
The flight is so quick, I almost slip into a relaxing doze before we’re heading back to the ground. With only a carry-on and my laptop, I make it to the pickup lane outside in no time, squinting against the bright sunshine as the busy sounds of the city come to life. I take a deep breath, preparing myself for this weekend of pretending around my family.
“Chase!” Dad waves from several cars to the right of where I’m standing. Hitching my bags higher on my shoulder, I walk toward his car as he opens the trunk wide. He has a giant smile as he claps my shoulder, making it easier for me to slip that mask over my face.
“Hey, Dad,” I say, tossing my bag in before climbing into the passenger seat.
He slides behind the wheel and stares at me for a few seconds, eyes assessing. “Hey, kid. How was your flight?” He pulls into traffic, driving through the shadow of a departing 747 on its way up to the waiting skies.
“It was good. Short.” I shrug.
“Speaking of short.” He rubs my head. “Look at you with your new hotshot haircut over here. I haven’t seen it this short since you were little.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I say with a chuckle, running my hand through the mussed-up strands of my new crew cut. “It was time for a change.”
He turns his head, continuing his assessment from before until traffic moves again. I look out my window, not wanting to entertain any conversations about how I’m doing. “Well, your mom has us on a tight schedule for tonight. She’s so nervous, I wonder if she thinks she’s the one getting an award.”
“That sounds about right.” I shake my head, snorting as I imagine her running through the house, panicking aboutspeeches she doesn’t have to give and stages she doesn’t have to walk across.
“We’re headed straight to the tailor, where we’ll meet Ken and Hunter for final fittings on tuxes. Then, home to get ready. The car will pick us up at five o’clock. Can you let them know we’re on our way?”
I nod, blowing out a puff of air and looking at the clock on the dashboard. It’s just before one-thirty now, meaning we’ll be running all over town until after the gala. I’ll be lucky if I get any rest this weekend before my flight back on Sunday. The seatbelt digs into my collarbone as I lean to the side, reaching for the phone in my front pocket.
