Page 28 of The Grump I Loathe
He sighed, and for a beat he seemed more human. Just a stressed-out dad doing his best instead of the no-nonsense CEO who couldn’t even make time for a joke. His features softened, the mask cracking, and something about that realness was ridiculously attractive. A silly part of me wanted to reach out and smooth the lines from beside his eyes. I curled my hands against my sides.
“Hey, listen. I was about their age when my parents got divorced, and I turned out okay.” His brow rose, and I huffed out an exasperated breath. “Youmight not think so, but I’m actually pretty awesome. So, I guess, don’t be too hard on Grace. And don’t worry that she’s hurtling down the wrong path or anything. I’m sure this was just a blip.”
I shrugged. “Plus, kids fight. They’ve got big feelings and don’t always know how to handle them. But they’ll figure it out. It’s part of growing up and learning how to communicate.”
Connor tilted his head, giving me a smile. It was a tiny, controlled flick of his lips, but itwasan honest-to-God smile. “Was that your first time getting called into the office?”
I barked a laugh. “For Alannah? Yes. She really is a good kid. But for me? Not even close. I was a bored kid, and that led to mischief.”
His eyes narrowed, not in anger, but amusement. “Why does that not surprise me?”
“Your first time?” I asked.
He rubbed at the back of his head. “Yeah, actually. It’s worse than a board meeting after a bad quarter.”
“Well, practice makes perfect.”
His scowl returned. “I don’t want this to become a habit. For any of us.”
“The last thing I want is to get hauled into Ms. Marilyn’s office a second time. But for the record, Mr. Model Student, we both ended up working in the same cement tower. So keep that in mind.”
He inclined his head. Maybe it was my silence, or maybe Connor realized we’d been lingering too long, but his face shifted, his default seriousness creeping back in like a dark cloud rolling across the sky. “I’ll see you at the office.”
“Yeah, see you,” I said as Connor went hurrying off around the SUV. All I could do was stare after him, perplexed, because there he went again with the damn whiplash.
“Is Grace’s dad mad?” Alannah asked as I got into the car. “He looked mad.”
“He’s…concerned about why you two are fighting. And so am I.” I leaned against the seat. “Okay, truth time. Did you actually start the fight?”
Alannah’s face scrunched, angry tears welling in her eyes. “No! Grace did.”
“I believe you,” I said immediately—because I meant it and because she needed to hear it. “Tell me what happened.”
“She walked into class after gym, and we started talking about multicultural day. We have to set up food stalls and bring food and…” Alannah huffed. “It’s a lot of work, and they were asking for parent volunteers. Grace kept volunteering her dad foreverything. She saideven though he’s so busy he’d still be there because he never misses anything she does.”
“Oh,” I said softly.
Alannah’s voice grew thin. “She just kept bragging and bragging, right where I could hear. About how he always drops her off in the mornings and always picks her up—and that he’s never late, not ever. I just wanted her to shut up!”
My heart broke, recognizing the helpless anger of a kid facing adult problems. I could tell Grace had rubbed salt in the wound Alannah was carrying—that she was an afterthought. I knew Dad and Valentina didn’t set out to make her feel that way, but they did. “That really sucks, Lana. It’s hard seeing other people have the things we want.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“No,” I said. “You’re allowed to be upset about that. I think maybe we need to find better ways to deal with those feelings though, huh?” I wasn’t here to punish her. The kid got enough of that at home. “Dad and Valentina are going to want to know what you’re going to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again. So we should brainstorm on the way to your house.”
“Fine.”
“And you might be grounded.”
Alannah wiped at her eyes. “It’s not fair!”
“You sure about that?” I said, giving her a knowing look. She squirmed in her seat, looking away. “I’m never going to be mad at you for feeling what you feel. And right now, I’m not even mad at you for losing control and acting out. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay. We need to find better options for you when you get overwhelmed.Pulling hair isn’t the answer. If we all went around pulling hair every time we got upset, we’d all have bald spots.”
Alannah snorted, rolling her eyes at me. “That’s dumb.”
I nudged her, trying to get a smile. “But once you’re free again, how about we go shopping?” I gave her a wicked grin. “I know a place that needs some sparkle.”
9
