Page 9 of Sins of the Father

“What are you talking about?”

Quinn’s voice drops. “Did you not look at the paper this morning?”

“Not yet. I just finished getting ready. Why? What’s wrong?”

“Why does something always have to be wrong?” Quinn asks.

“Quinn, I’ve gotta get moving here. I have a lot to do so I can enjoy the festivities and not deal with bs all weekend. What are you referring to?”

“My big brother is Mr. National Bigshot!” she boasts.

“I’m confused about this conversation. Jamison, can you translate in English, please?”

Quinn laughs.

Jamison booms, “Steven, you made the list.”

“What list?”

“Thekick ass and take nameslist!” my sister brags.

“Quinn,” I groan, still clueless about what is happening in this conversation.

“You’re one ofMarquis’sTop Ten Under Forty Professionals.”

My mouth goes dry, and my heart races. “Are you serious?” I put the phone on speaker and pull upMarquis’swebsite. A picture of a brain with ten thought boxes above it and photos of all the ten professionals fill them. One of them has my photo from the company website.

“Did you seriously not know?” Quinn asks.

“I had no idea.” I scroll through the article, which has a page on each of us. There is a full-body picture of me from work, along with basic information and things my co-workers said about me. I quickly scan some of the comments on the, “What’s Steven like?” question.

“Scheduled like a superhuman.”

“Puts in more hours than anyone else in the company.”

“The first to arrive and the last to leave.”

“Very professional.”

“Super helpful guy.”

“A great boss. Very fair.”

“Very motivated by numbers.”

Motivated by numbers? I sound like a complete bore.

You are a complete bore.

Hope cries out again.

“I have to feed Hope. I’ll see you tonight, Mr. National Bigshot,” Quinn teases.

I groan. “Please do not call me that all weekend.”

“Hey, it’s not every day I get to brag about you.”

“Yeah, you’re normally complaining about me,” I mutter and read another comment.

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