Page 56 of Seeing Grayscale

Emboldened and concerned with his line of thinking, I close the space between us and lay my hand on his shoulder. He stiffens but doesn’t move away. Dazzling blues glance up at me, cautious but alert. “Let me ask you this,” I start, and the bump in his throat bobs with a rough swallow, “what doyouwant to do?”

Those eyes of his never leave mine. His lips part, making the hoop in his nose wink in the light. When his tongue pokes out to swipe across his upper lip, revealing the silver barbell I’ve noticed before, I give his shoulder an encouraging squeeze.

“I want a day off.”

A laugh bubbles out of me. “A day off?”

He nods fast. “From…everything. I want to…not worry for a day.”

My smile widens. “Honestly, that sounds wonderful.”

“Can we do that? Just…take a day off?”

“We can, and we are.”

When he beams up at me, little sparkles dancing in his irises, my stomach swoops aggressively.

There’s no way I can ignore anything about this man, and with one sweet little request, he’s derailed my entire plan. I’m just the sucker along for the ride.

My phone vibrates obnoxiously while I’m in the shower. The persistent buzz echoes off the walls, and I groan in frustration. Whipping the glass door open, I peer over to where it sits by the sink. My dad’s name flashes across the screen.

Being a company shareholder, he’s privy to my comings and goings, so I’m sure he’s calling to find out why I’m not at work again. Panic shoots through my system, forcing my legs to obey, and I jump out of the shower to answer the phone.

“Hello?”

“Are you aware that O’Connell is trying to blackball my candidacy?”

Why the hell would I know that? “No, I wasn’t. What happened?”

“He’s spreading lies! And I was just made aware that he’s doing everything in his power to slander my name, sully my chances, and demand I be impeached! I’m going to need you by my side, Hunter. We are scheduling press conferences. You are a young Democrat with a perfect track record.”

I swipe the water off my face, push my hair back, and grind my teeth. “When?”

“Candy is trying to get something going tonight if a spot opens on the six o'clock timeslot.”

No.

Today is my day off.

Grayand I’s day off.

I’m not rushing down to fucking Seattle for a conference to try and counteract thetruthscoming to light about my dad. I highly doubt anything O’Connell has said is anything but. “I won’t be able to make it tonight. It’ll have to be tomorrow.”

“What are you doing that is so important?” he growls. “I know you aren’t at work. I know you’ve been screwing off left and right. No. Youwillbe here, or so help me,son.”

Thinking fast, I play on the one thing I know will get him off my back. “I…have a date.”

“What?” There’s genuine shock in his voice. “A date? Who?”

I swallow hard, scrambling to think of an unrecognizable name. “Brianna.”

“Brianna? Do we know her?”

Fuck.The urge to slap myself is strong. “No. But she’s…sweet,” I say through a locked jaw.

“Why didn’t you start with that!?” My dad is rarely excited about anything, and I’ve dug averydeep hole. But at the same time, the child inside me is desperate to make him happy. My chest pinches painfully, knowing it's a lie. “That’s fantastic, son. Alright. Here’s what we will do.” There’s some muffled whispering, but Brianna's name is clear as day, followed by an excited squeal—he’s told my mom.Great.“It’s about time you found yourself a decent woman. I’ll handle this evening. First thing tomorrow, 8 am, be at the house, and we’ll go over the bullet points.”

I want to tell him no. I want to tell him the truth—beg him to love me. Instead, I mumble, “Okay.”

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