Page 94 of Ace of Spades

I nod stiffly, but it feels like the ground’s slipping right under me.

The world’s shifting again. And I don’t know if I’m ready for it.

“Yeah… okay. I’ll think about it.”

My phone vibrates on the desk, lighting up with Sienna’s name. I flip it over, before Brody has a chance to notice.

“Was that all?” I ask him.

Lucky for me, he’s distracted looking down at his own phone.

“Hmm? Oh yeah, yeah. Well, almost. I’m gonna need Sienna for a bit if you don’t mind. I’m sure you won’t considering how bad you fought me to get rid of her,” he says with a grin across his face.

“Sienna? What–why do you need her?”

He gives me a confused look. “Aha,” he says, pointing a suspecting finger at me. “I was right, wasn’t I?”

“About?” I say, raising an eyebrow at him.

“She’s grown on you. I told you she’d be just what you needed.”

Oh, Brody. More than you can imagine.

“Let me guess, she’s the magic behind all the sudden increase in business, isn’t she?”

I roll my eyes to play along. But fact is, it’s true. Since Sienna started working here we’ve been more productive, making more money, and finding a new rhythm that makes working here–I don’t know–good again?

“She is your daughter,” I say. Wanting to internally facepalm myself for the stupid reminder.

“Yes, she is. And–” he takes a separate piece of paper out from another pocket. “It’s official.”

“Are you just going to pull a paper out from every pocket today?” I ask as he hands it to me.

“Nah, unfortunately, that’s the last surprise. Open it.”

I do. At the top of the page in bold are the wordsDNA Test Report.

“Is this a–”

“Yep!” Brody nods, enthusiastically.

I look down at the paper. There’s a series of letters and numbers that I don’t understand but at the very bottom, it saysProbability of paternity: 99.9998%

I look up at Brody, whose smile widens even more.

“So you’re saying there’s a 0.0002% chance that you’re not.”

Brody laughs and snatches the paper back, stuffing it into his pocket. “You’ve always been the glass half empty one of our relationship. But at least you’re funny.”

I give a weak laugh.

“Yeah, at least.”

I don’t think I’ve ever hoped for the odds to be true for something harder in my life.

“And she agreed to this? The test?”

“Sienna? Yeah, man. She asked for it.”

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