Page 56 of Abyss

Maddy

Speaking of tables, I have you at the one with Brie’s parents, her sister, and Uncle Jett. Are you going to be okay with that? I can move him if you aren’t comfortable.

I bite my bottom lip, knowing none of this has been easy on my little girl. Sure, she’s not little anymore, but that’ll never change in my eyes.

No matter the differences between me and Jett, he’s always been a doting uncle and one of my daughter’s closest confidants. It hasn’t been easy for her to see the two of us on bad terms, feeling like she’s been tossed in the middle with all our baggage.

Perhaps if he hadn’t come to the office this week to apologize, I might have grumbled about sitting next to him, but given the sincerity of his words, the least I can do is not make a fuss.

As for his business proposal to collaborate on the RCS project? I’m taking my time deliberating on it. I emailed him yesterday to send me a proposal of what his team would be willing to sign up to do and any other stipulations. I consider that as leaving the doors open for further chat.

His words have tumbled around in my head hundreds of times over the week. It’s not that I’m not aware of my high standards when it comes to my staff, but perhaps it was that he called me out for it right after he saw the way I treated Kavi, or that I’d heard it several times from people close to me, but since that day, I’ve made a concerted effort to be more—I shudder even thinking it—warmto my employees.

I even managed not to snap at someone who glanced at his phone during one of my staff meetings today. Then, I refrained from telling a group to get back to their desks when I saw them laughing in one of the kitchenettes.

I’m really turning over a new leaf in my book.

Me

No need. I’m fine sitting beside him. Is he bringing a plus-one?

She already knows I’m not, though she’s asked me to reconsider.

Besides my friends and their wives being on my ass to find someone, my daughter does the same thing. I can’t count how many times she’s asked me if she can set up an online dating profile for me. I’ve said no—not only because I’m not looking to find anything serious right now, but also because it’s fucking weird to have your daughter set it up for you!

She’s relentless though, so I’m positive once the wedding is off her mind, she’ll be back to being a pain in my ass.

Maddy

He is, actually. Someone named Alaria. They’ve been dating for the past few months.

Something like sorrow or remorse gnaws inside my chest as I read her text and Jett’s words—because there’s nothing worse than not having the big brother you’ve always loved in your life—play back inside my head like a doleful melody. Of course, Maddy would know, given she stayed in touch with him, but if I hadn’t decided to cut him off two years ago, without listening to anything he had to say, then perhaps I could have, too.

Another text comes in from her before I can respond.

Maddy

You probably already know, but Kavi is coming, too. How are things going with her?

I run a hand over my stubble, contemplating her question. Howarethings going with my new admin? It’s a question I’ve been pondering for a while.

We’ve made progress this week, getting into a decent routine, especially since our little disagreement and the subsequent dinner on Monday. We got into it again when I tried to pay for her dinner, and she told me she didn’t need any more of my money than was agreed upon contractually. I told her dinners were part of the contract, as were any other expenses while she was living with me.

She then told me I was a jackass, and I decided I really liked her company. I liked it so much, I wished we could have continued talking for hours, sitting at that same table. Everything, from her upbringing to the reasons why she always had a fruit dangling from her ears, to where and how she grew up intrigued me, kept me wanting more.

It also occurred to me how much trouble I was in, given she was leaving at the end of the summer.

I’ve gotten used to her humming in my kitchen while she bakes and the way she leaves a trail of socks all the way to her room from the laundry room.

We generally eat together in the dining room with our laptops open, and I pretend not to watch the way she chews, or the way she licks her lips, or even the way she leans back inher chair and rubs her stomach, claiming she’s stuffed before finding a way back to the kitchen for a bowl of ice cream, taking it to her art room and humming once again while she works.

I still haven’t mentioned our living situation to Maddy. It’s not that I can’t now, but with both her and Brie under pressure with last-minute details for their wedding, the last thing I want is for Maddy to concern herself with changes to my living situation.

I don’t expect her to be upset, but I imagine she’ll be curious. And with that curiosity will come boatloads of questions, similar to those asked by Garrett. Questions I don’t have the answers to, but questions I’ll be forced to consider before I’m ready.

I’m not ready to be under that kind of magnifying glass just yet.

Me

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