My mother’s expression changed, as if she liked that answer. “Are you from New York?”
“No.” Cleo didn’t have a lot of opportunity to eat her food because now she was getting waves of questions. “I was born in Seattle. My parents passed away almost ten years ago, so I decided to move here.”
“Oh,” she whispered. “I’m sorry…”
Cleo shrugged. “Yeah, it’s rough during the holidays, but one day, I’ll have my own family, so it’ll be alright.”
“Very true, dear,” Mom said. “And how long have you been at this job?”
“Over seven years. Kinda just fell into it.”
“And is Deacon your best or worst client?” Mom asked.
Cleo smiled. “The best—definitely.”
I ate my food, wishing my mother wouldn’t interrogate her.
“Are you seeing anybody?” Mom asked, getting inappropriate again.
I glared at her. “Stop trying to set me up with every woman who has working ovaries.”
“Honey, I’m not trying to set you up.” She turned back to her food. “You’re the one who brought her…”
Ten
Cleo
I didn’t mind his mother’s intrusive questions.
If she straight up asked me how I felt about her son, I would probably tell her the truth.
With my emotions so raw, I didn’t think I could lie about it.
Deacon didn’t bring it up to me or address it at all. He acted like it never happened.
A few days went by before he texted me. I need a favor.
Sure. What can I do? It was the middle of the week now, and I hadn’t seen him or Derek. I assumed Deacon dropped off Derek with his mom on the way to work, that they were having dinner together every night and watching TV afterward. Deacon was the one I’d met initially, liked initially, but now I had a strong attachment to his son. So, when I missed Deacon, I missed Derek too.
I’m in the lab today. Could you bring him lunch?
Sure. Pizza? I made a joke over text and he probably wouldn’t get it, but I did it anyway.
LOL.
Did Deacon just write LOL?
Get him a vegetarian sandwich with hummus, cheese, cucumbers, and lettuce. I don’t want him to eat deli meat.
I didn’t ask why. Alright.
And milk, grapes, and some carrot sticks.
You got it.
Thanks.
I’m guessing he’s at your office?
Yes. Couldn’t leave him with my mom any longer. Every time I pick him up, he’s eaten nothing but cakes and cookies all day.
LOL.
Can’t ask Tucker to watch him. He’ll be worse.
We’d never had this long of a conversation over text before. He usually just said what he wanted, and that was it. My message box only contained very few messages from him in the months that I’d known him. I don’t know about that. Tucker seems like a good uncle.
He didn’t say anything.
I’ll get this to him by noon.
After I checked in with his assistant, I entered his office.
Derek was sitting on the floor of the seating area, on top of the rug in front of the coffee table. There were parts all over, like he was trying to build something. He turned to look at me. “Cleo?” He got to his feet at the sight of me.
“Your dad asked me to bring you lunch.”
His smile dropped. “It’s gonna be lettuce or something, isn’t it?”
I chuckled. “No. Looks pretty good, actually.” I put everything on the edge of the table, pulling out the sandwich on whole wheat, the fruit, and the carrot sticks. Then I set down the milk.
He lifted the piece of bread and looked inside. “Ew, what is that?”
“Hummus.”
He gave me a blank stare, looking just like his father.
“Beans.”
He rolled his eyes. “Dad is annoying…”
“He just wants you to be strong and healthy.”
“Grandma lets me eat whatever I want.”
“Yeah, but she just wants you to like her. Your father cares about you so much that he’ll do the best thing for you, even if you don’t like him.”
Derek was quiet as he hung on to those words, like he was really thinking about what I’d just said. He put the sandwich back together and took a bite.
I smiled. “Attaboy.” I sat on the floor beside him, tucking my heels underneath my ass. “Whatcha working on?”
“I’m building a remote-control car.”
“Building it?” I asked in surprise.
He nodded. “Dad got me all the parts and told me to put it together. But he won’t help me.”
“He wants you to learn on your own.”
He grabbed a wire and inserted it into a box. “You want to help me?”
“I gotta be honest, Derek. I’m not smart enough…”
“Dad says anyone can do anything, no matter how smart they are.”
I smiled. “He says that because he has a big heart.”
He took bites of his food and kept working.
I decided to stick around since he probably felt neglected in this office all alone. “What do you think of Daddy’s office?”
“It’s big.”
“Did he show you around?”
He nodded. “Took me to his lab and showed me what he’s working on.”