Page 9 of Ms Perfectly Fine
“I wasn’t suggesting a set up. Autumn is like a daughter to me, and I think it will do her good to be around others. Did you tell her about our situation?” Tim inquired.
Elijah felt like a cold bucket of water had been thrown over him. Tim might belikea father to Autumn, but he washisactual parent.
“No. I don’t think she needs to know. I know how you like to keep your personal matters private. I wouldn’t want her to have a poor opinion of you,” he said, clenching his jaw as he heard Tim sigh in relief. He wished his father cared more about their relationship than the opinions of others, but after thirty-two years, he wasn’t expecting any miracles.
“Good. I don’t want her to misunderstand,” Tim said.
Sure, he might have looked after his son financially growing up, but it had been mostly in exchange for his and his mum’s silence. The day he’d graduated, Elijah had left Wickford to put as much distance between them as possible. If it hadn’t been for one of his investors pulling out at the last minute, he wouldn’t be at his father’s mercy now.
“I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to make it work. Agree to cohabit? You’re both adults,” Tim said.
Elijah rolled his eyes. “I don’t think she’ll agree to anything I ask for, unless it’s to go for a long walk off a short pier,” he said, swivelling in his chair. He didn’t have the time to pack up his life once again while he was working on the biggest deal of his career. His company was relying on the sale of his latest game so they could pay off their investors.
“I’ll talk to her, and I’m sure once she understands we didn’t mean to blindside her, she’ll be more accommodating,” Tim said.
“The sooner you talk, the better. I don’t want to be the villain in anyone’s story.” Elijah stared through to the kitchen and remembered to take the plants off of her piano. He would put them in the conservatory Autumn apparently only used for fake plants. He considered it a crime to waste such a beautiful space on plastic. “What about her own family?” he asked.
Tim hesitated, which piqued his curiosity.
“They live in the countryside. They are rather close,” Tim said, and it was clear from his tone that he wasn’t going to elaborate. “If you want to know more about her, then ask her.”
I don’t think she would answer if I did.Elijah noticed a box of Autumn’s belongings in the corner of the room. Unable to resist the urge to pry, he wandered over. Inside was a photo of two girls in their teens. One was clearly Autumn—the red hair was a dead giveaway—and she had her arm around a girl with thick glasses and dark hair.Mollie and Autumnwas scrawled on the back.
Feeling like he was invading her privacy, he put it back in the box and pushed it under the couch.
“She’s protective of her space, but she’s all bark. We had a deal, and I won’t let you back out,” Tim said. “I would hate to have to pull my investment.”
Elijah sighed. He regretted taking the investment, but once the deal was closed with Nirosoft, he’d pay him back and that would be that. “There’s no need for that. I’m not going anywhere,” he said, hoping Autumn would understand that he was just as cornered as she was.
“Good. Now get settled. I don’t want this matter to distract you from your work,” Tim ordered, always thinking about the bottom line.
“You don’t need to worry about my work ethic,” Elijah said dryly. “But before you go, the alarm wasn’t set when I came in this morning. I have a meeting later, and I don’t want to leave without setting it. You don’t know where she would keep any information like that, do you?”
“Sorry, I haven’t a clue. Odd that she didn’t set the alarm last night; she’s usually very careful,” Tim said, sounding concerned. Elijah frowned in disappointment, hunting around the kitchen for the fiftieth time in case he stumbled across a sheet of paper with the information on it. Tim was still talking, but Elijah only came back to the conversation when he said,“ She didn’t tell you before she left?”
“No, she didn’t, and took great pleasure in leaving me in the lurch. I don’t want to leave without setting it after the whole street has seen movers,” he admitted, frustrated. He smoothed his hands over his suit trousers, dusty from the move. He was only wearing the damn thing to meet with his investors; he much preferred his jeans and hoodies.
Tim laughed, enjoying his misery. “Sorry, son. I didn’t think she would react this way, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out. I have to get to a meeting. I’ll send you the number for the alarm company.” He hung up, and Elijah noticed one of the movers at the door to his office.
“We’re all finished here, but I wanted to let you know that the lock on the back door is broken. Do you want me to call someone to come and fix it?” he asked.
Elijah’s phone dinged with the number for the security company. “Yes. Thank you for noticing and for all your work this morning,” he said. Inspiration struck. If he was fixing one lock, why not solve his own problem? “If Autumn doesn’t want to tell me, then I’m going to have to go around her,” he said to himself, knocking the bobblehead of Darth Vader on his desk. He placed it with the rest of his bobblehead collection on the wall over the plush grey couch. Picking up his signed motorcycle helmets, he organised his office as best he could as he rang his business partner. Francis didn’t answer, so he left a message.
“I can’t make it to the morning meeting. Could you stop by the house once you’ve finished the pitch? I’ll send you the address.”
“Having a good day?” Francisasked, coming up the path to greet Elijah that afternoon.
“It’s been interesting, I don’t know about good,” Elijah said, watching the locksmith finish up. The alarm company had already changed the code, and the locks were the final touch.
“Do you want me to make you a spare? I can have it sent to you later,” the locksmith said.
“Yes, just one.” Elijah would have to give one to Autumn, but he looked forward to making her sweat a bit first.
“I’m all finished here, so I’ll get going. I’ll drop the spare key ‘round later,” she said, packing up her gear. Elijah was impressed by how little time it had taken.
“Thank you,” he called after her, and she waved goodbye.
“What are you up to?” Francis said, studying his best friend and business partner.
