Page 35 of Accidental Dad's Best Friend

You have no idea…

I don’t say that, obviously. I can’t. Honestly, the question comes so far from left field, I don’t know how to respond.

“It’s been a while.” I lie, though it’s not really a lie. It’s vague. “Why do you ask?”

Liam rubs his chin pensively. “I haven’t talked to her in years. Not since she went rabid for that fashion magazine”

“It was a bold move for sure.”

Liam’s brow arches to his hairline. “Bold? It was insane. Do you have any idea how bad that was for press.”

“I can imagine it ruined her career, yes.”

“Who cares about her career. It was a tantrum at best and I’ve been mopping up the Sloane family name ever since.”

I chuckle at that, reaching for my drink again. If the food doesn’t come soon, I’m going to need another round just to keep my hands busy. “I think that’s a little dramatic. Sure what Izzy did was a little risky–”

“It was reckless and asinine. That girl always was a spoiled brat. I’m sure you can attest to that, what with the way she’s mouthed off to you all these years, paying no respect at all for you being my best friend.”

Mouthy she is. But spoiled? Izzy is a lot of things. Driven, stubborn, determined to name a few. But I wouldn't actually call her spoiled. Even with her dad being well off–very well off– he never gave her anything. Never did her any favors. In fact, he had little to nothing to do with her getting the job at Slay in the first place. That was all Izzy.

I would, however, call her a brat…but that’s between Izzy and me…

“Izzy has a mind of her own.” I say as a busser sets our food down for us. Liam looks annoyed at him for existing, probably mad that it’s not the young waitress doing it.

He cuts carefully into his cedar plank salmon, inspecting it for flaws. When it seems satisfactory, he takes a bite. “I have a mind to hunt her down. See what other trouble she’s gotten into.”

I’m in the middle of spreading mayo on my BLT and drop the knife onto the plate at his words.

“What makes you think she’s gotten into trouble?” I ask, keeping my tone as level as possible.

“The girl is a loose cannon, always has been. Kind of pisses me off that she just up and left town, what was it? Five? Six years ago?”

“I doubt she’s up to anything worth worrying about.” I say, picking my knife back up.

Not unless you count having a kid, hooking up with your supposed best friend slash business partner and then going in on an article with that business partner to bring down your empire.

“Still. I don’t like secrets. I want to know where she is and what she’s up to.”

I take a bite of my sandwich and talk around it. “You could call her. It’s a wild idea, I know.”

“And appear to be groveling to my daughter?” He shakes his head with a laugh. “That is one satisfaction I won’t give her. Besides, I don’t want to talk to her.”

I narrow my eyes at him, chewing more slowly. “Then what do you want with her?”

“Just to have eyes on her. She shares my name, Savage. And if she’s still dipping her pen in the journalism industry, it reflects on me. I need to do some digging and see what that girl is up to.”

I clear my throat and wipe my mouth with the cloth napkin before resting my elbows on the table. “That’s going to be a lot of work, brother.” The last word tastes bad in my mouth. It’s something we used to always say, something I haven’t said in a long time. But I need to say it now. It’s detrimental that he heeds my advice right now. Not for him, of course. But for Izzy.

I go on. “I recommend having someone else do it. Someone who knows her. Someone who can be quiet about it, with good intentions and nothing more.”

“You mean like Rose?” He asks.

“No. I mean like me.”

“You?” He spits the word out, taking another bite of fish. “Why would I have you do it?”

“Because I know her. I’ve known her since the day she was born. Like you said, she’s a bit of a loose cannon but I can predict her movement. I practically helped you raise her, Liam. I canhandle her and you can focus on more pressing matters. We both know how full your plate is.”

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