Page 96 of Eleanor & Grey

“Done,” she said, setting down her crayon. She picked up all of her drawings and stared at them with such pride in her eyes.

“They’re perfect,” I said softly, proud of the hard work the young girl had put into her crafts. There were so many memories with her, Karla, and her parents, and it touched my heart deeply. I was happy she still remembered.

After Mom passed, I had struggled to hold on to a lot of my memories.

She leaped up with the biggest grin on her face and hopped up and down. “I’m going to give it to him now!” she exclaimed.

“Wait, no, he’s work—” I started, but she was already dashing out of the craft room toward his office. “Lorelai, wait!”

I hurried after her and witnessed her barging straight into Greyson’s office. The door swung open so quickly it slammed against the wall, making me cringe.

“Daddy! Daddy! Look what I made you!” Lorelai squealed, her voice dripping with excitement as she bounced up and down.

Greyson swiftly turned around to face his daughter, his cell phone held up to his ear, obviously on a phone call. His eyes widened with shock as he covered the receiver with his hand. “Lorelai, not now.”

“But Daddy! I made—”

“Not. Now!” he hissed, sounding more annoyed than ever. He locked his stare with mine and there was such a look of anger there that I took a step back. He looked at me as if silently commanding me to do my job before I no longer had a job to do. He then turned his back to us and returned to his call. “No, my apologies. It’s nothing.”

No, Greyson, it is something.

It’s everything.

I moved over to Lorelai and placed comforting hands on her shoulders. “We should come back after he’s done working.”

“But he’s always working.” She sighed, shaking her head. She then bounced up and down, still hopeful. “Daddy, I made you these pictures!” she exclaimed.

Her hopefulness made me sad.

I used to hold out that same kind of hope for my own father.

“Lorelai, I am not kidding! Now is not the time!” Greyson snapped, immediately dissolving his daughter’s joy.

Her shoulders rounded forward, and her eyes watered over. “But, Daddy, the pictures…”

Greyson mumbled and turned his back once more. “Leave it on the desk.”

Lorelai was completely defeated. She no longer danced when she moved, and her smile had faded. With slow steps, she moved toward her father’s desk and lay down the art project she’d been working on with so much care. Then she turned and walked out of the room, completely heartbroken and scarred.

Wow.

There was seriously no way I could bite my tongue in that moment.

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let that slide. Lorelai was the sweetest girl alive, and the fact that her father had just treated her in such a disgusting way made my blood boil.

Therefore, it was best if Greyson quickly hung up that phone, because I wasn’t going to leave until I’d given him every piece of my mind.

“Are you kidding me?” I hissed, still standing firmly in his office. He looked my way, his stare completely baffled.

He glanced once more before going back to his phone call. “I will have to call you back in a bit, Mr. Waken. Yes, I know, and I do truly apologize. There is a disruption I must handle immediately.”

“Yes, Greyson,” I stated, my arms crossed. “Handle this.”

And just like that, we hit episode six of the Greyson and Eleanor show: “The Fallout.”

He hung up the phone and narrowed his eyes as he turned to me. “What in the world do you think you are doing?”

“What am I doing? No, what are you doing?”

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