Page 20 of Claiming Her Cougar
The three of us work well together, and after filling the carts twice, we get all the files upstairs where they belong.I leave Daphne and Mallory to do the organizing and go down to Dad’s office.
“Hi, Allison.”
Dad’s assistant smiles and waves.“Hey, Liam.”
“Is he available?”
“I think he’s getting coffee.”
“Are you looking for me?”Dad calls out.
“Yeah.Checking in before I head out,” I reply.
“Okay, come on in.”
I follow him into his office, closing the door behind me.He raises his brow at that but doesn’t say anything as he takes a seat behind his desk.
I sit in a chair in front of his desk.
“Daphne and Mallory have moved their current files upstairs.”
“That’s good,” Dad says.“It’ll be nice having them up there.”
“Did you know they have crickets down there?”I don’t know why that bothers me so much, but it angers me they had to deal with bugs, especially when it scares them.No one should have to work where they’re afraid.
“Liam, what is going on?”Dad leans forward and rests his forearms on his desk, lacing his fingers together.
“We have employees dealing with mice and crickets, and that’s unacceptable!”
“Yes, it is, and we’re handling it.I wasn’t aware of the situation until recently, or I would have done something.This isn’t about a mouse or crickets.I repeat, what is going on?”
“I…I don’t know.”How do I explain all this to him and not sound ungrateful?
“Is it the time of year?”Dad asks.
“What?”I look at my watch to check the date.Oh.
“I know the first couple of years, you would get anxious as the anniversary approached.So would your mother.The past few years have seemed better for both of you.”
He’s talking about the car accident that took my hockey dream away.It’s been eight years today.
Teagan, Jake, and I were on our way home from college for the weekend.We had just been home the weekend before for Thanksgiving, but my girlfriend at the time wanted me to take her to a party since I had a rare Friday night free, and I wanted to make Tiffany happy.Our university was only ninety minutes away, so coming home wasn’t a big deal.I was driving my truck down a rural stretch of highway when a farmer driving a tractor-trailer full of whatever pulled out from a side street without looking and slammed into my driver’s side, seriously injuring me and Teagan, who was sitting behind me.Jake was uninjured, other than some bruising from his seatbelt.Thank goodness he was okay.He was able to get us out before the engine fire did more than give me a couple of superficial burns on my leg.Teagan and I both recovered but my injuries ended my hockey career.
“No, I didn’t even realize the date.”I shrug.“Nothing’s going on.Is the box full tomorrow night?Daphne and Mallory were planning on going.Me and Logan.I’m assuming you and Uncle Mike.”
“Mallory is going?I didn’t know she was a hockey fan.She’s never gone before.”
I don’t mention she didn’t go because she never knew tickets were available.
“Yeah, Daphne invited her.If there was room, I figured I’d offer tickets to Teagan and Jake too.”If I have my friends there, it won’t seem as much like a double date, and maybe Mallory will be more comfortable.
“There’s always room for those two.Invite them.Your mom and Aunt Holly are coming too.They crush on that player from Dallas.”
I roll my eyes.The guy is my age, a fact they choose to ignore because it’s “icky.”
“I’m here if you need to talk, Liam.About anything,” Dad says earnestly.
“I know, Dad.Thanks.”I really am fortunate in so many ways.I adjust my position in my chair.“I went to the Atlantic City property.It’s interesting, but it would need an overhaul.They’ve tried doing retail before, and it didn’t work as well as they hoped.I really think it needs to be a mixed-use property.”
