Page 66 of Random Encounter

Was I being childish? It was possible. Did I care?

Not anymore than Phillip did when he decided he needed to hide the fact that he was leaving. Not anymore than Nolan did when he manipulated me and stole my work.

But that was the problem—I did care, and I didn’t like how much it hurt.

I managed to avoid contact with Phillip the rest of the day. Not a practical thing going forward, especially if I wanted to be the boss, but he wouldn’t be here long enough for it to matter.

Daria invited me to dinner that night at Buck E. Cheese. Which meant she wanted to apologize to the girls for the last-minute business travel, and she wanted a second set of eyes there to help watch them.

I was fine with that, but surprised with the location. “I thought Alana was too old for Buck E. Cheese.”

“It was her request,” Daria said. “She told me she had to enjoy it before she was old and gross.”

That sounded right.

We picked a table with a clear view of both the ball pit and the arcade, depending on which direction one was facing. The rule was, the girls had to eat at least one slice of pizza before they played games.

Harmony ran off to jump in the pit, and I handed Alana a twenty for tokens. Daria raised her eyebrows, but didn’t say anything.

“Who’s Addie?” Daria asked when the girls were both out of hearing range.

The question tugged at so much more confusion than Daria probably meant it to. “New woman at work,” I said, my attention focused on Alana wandering between video game machines. Was I a proud uncle when she stopped at the Star Wars game? Damn straight.

“Uh huh.” Daria didn’t sound convinced. “Alana told me that if Joe and I both had to work during her next swim meet, it was okay. Adrienne would take her.”

I glanced at Daria, one eyebrow raised, before turning my attention back to the arcade. “Wonder where she got that from.”

“I have this tiny nagging fear that never goes away.” Uncertainty slipped into Daria’s voice. “That whoever Joe’s new girlfriend is, they’ll like her better than me. It’s silly, I know. But the fear is there. I didn’t expect them to replace me with your girlfriend.” Her laugh landed flat.

“She’s not...” The denial died in my throat.

“Mommy, Uncle Dustin, watch.” Harmony’s shout carried above all the other screaming kids.

I turned to see her hop into one of the larger slides and squeal as she flew into the pit of colorful balls. Daria and I both cheered, and Harmony looked satisfied.

“Does Phillip know?” Daria asked.

Not who I wanted to be discussing. “Know… Adrienne?” Intimately. “She works with us. With me. He’s leaving.” My bitterness leaked into the words.

Alana skipped back to me and held out her hand. “Can I have money for skeeball?”

“What happened to the other money he gave you?” Daria asked.

Alana shoved her hands in her pockets and stared at her shoes. “I spent it on Star Wars.”

“You spent a couple bucks on Star Wars. You pocketed the rest.” I’d taken my eyes off her for a minute or two, but not twenty-bucks-in-quarters minutes.

Alana scowled.

“Stop trying to fleece Dustin, and apologize for lying,” Daria said.

I stared at Alana expectantly.

She huffed. “I didn’t—”

I raised my brows.

She slouched. “I’m sorry.”

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