Contractual Obligations

The next day brought a cold front I wasn’t ready for, both in my relationship and the weather. I had sweaters that looked cute in photos, but were all itchy when worn for more than ten minutes. I suffered through them when Sebastian was home, then went and bought a cheap hoodie from Target the moment I could.

Sebastian was with Heather, supposedly working, and I had been avoiding him since our big blowup. We’d been falling back into old habits, and the cold, quiet state of our marriage felt somberly familiar.

I had been writing again, which was the only benefit of this whole ordeal. I was about halfway through my book, and I wouldn’t be getting it done if I hadn’t been fighting with Sebastian.

I was at the coffee shop most of the day, and by the time I got home, Sebastian was there with Heather. It was late, and the sun was setting. There was no reason for her to still be working.

I bit my tongue as I walked in. Sebastian looked up at me, and then back down at his work, which was nothing unusual for the last few days. He didn’t bother to take a second glance. They were working on something, the details of it I didn’t know. I felt left out.

I retired to my bedroom without worrying about if Heather would ask. I could tell Sebastian was angry about it. I was flirting with danger, considering she could rat me out, but there was no reason to hide anything if he was going to tell her anyway.

The next morning, I was gearing up for an angry run. I threw on makeup, even though I was going to work out, because I had a sneaking suspicion Heather would be here.

And when I walked down the stairs, I found I was right.

“Hi, Lily,” Heather said, her hair in her usual ponytail. She grinned too brightly at me, and I wondered if he had told her everything.

“Hey,” I replied, trying to be as patient as I could.

“Are you and Sebastian okay?” she asked.

“We’re whatever he tells you we are,” I said. I hadn’t gotten confirmation that she did know the whole truth of our relationship, and I wasn’t about to spoil it.

Heather crossed her arms. “You sound like he does.”

“What does that mean?”

“He’s secretive too.”

I shrugged, about to leave. But she cleared her throat. I turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m not stupid,” she told me. “I know something isn’t right with you two.”

“Is it with any married couple?”

“Not like this. Do you even like each other?”

“We like each other enough to stay married,” I replied.

Heather narrowed her eyes. I didn’t know what to tell her though—not since I wasn’t entirely aware about her and Sebastian.

“Treat him right,” she said with a glare. “Because if this ever fails, then someone else will.”

My brain stopped for a moment.

If this ever fails, was the first thing I thought about. He hadn’t told her.

Then, I realized what she had said.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Come on, you have to know,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“I have a feeling I do,” I replied. “I want to hear it from you, though.”

“He would have been mine if you hadn’t shown up when you did.”

“Okay? I knew that.”

She laughed incredulously. “It doesn’t bother you that I have feelings for him?”

“I’ve known,” I told her. “I’m not dumb.”

“Shouldn’t you be jealous? I’m in love with your husband! I’ve loved him the whole time I’ve worked for him!”

“What am I supposed to say?” I asked bitterly. “No, don’t? Am I supposed to ban you from seeing each other when you’re his assistant?”

“Do you even care about him?”

“I moved across the country with him.”

“Oh, like that was so hard. Try driving two—two cars across the country.”

I pressed the bridge of my nose. “I offered to bring mine, and you were paid for your time. You said it was fine.”

“I said it was fine because I care. You don’t even seem like you care at all!”

“Of course I care!” I snapped, my control evaporating at her prodding. “Why else would I keep my mouth shut when I’ve known this whole time something is going on between you two?”

She opened her mouth to say something else, but then paused. “Wait, you think something is going on?”

“I’m not blind.”

“So you think he likes me back?” she asked, eyes bright.

What the hell was I supposed to say that? Tears blurred my vision. My body tightened. I wasn’t sure if I should fight or run.

“What do you want me to say?” I muttered through gritted teeth.

“I want to know if he feels the same way I do! Has he told you anything?”

“You expect me to answer that question?” I said, horrified. “You do realize he’s still my husband.”

Heather shook her head. “I knew him first, and I know him way better than you do.”

I looked away, anger fading into pain. That was probably true.

She worked with him all the time. Unlike me, she got to see him at the office. What did they talk about? What all did she know about him?

Plus, Heather didn’t carry the baggage I did. She wasn’t a bottle-blonde girl forced into modeling. She didn’t have the four years of tense silence and anger that he and I had cultivated.

I wanted him, but I knew I couldn’t win.

I wasn’t the kind of girl to start a battle I knew I’d lose.

“I don’t know what he feels for you, but . . . you certainly have a better shot with him than I do.” The words hurt, but they were true.

“Really? You think that?”

“Yes,” I said miserably.

“Oh man,” Heather said, letting out a long breath. “I’m so relieved. I’ve been wondering what he thought of me for years—way longer than he’s known you.” 

My eyes were watery and my eyes stayed glued to the floor. She did know him for longer than me, which only made me think about how much better they could be suited to each other. They probably talked. They weren’t saddled together like he and I were.

The front door opened and I was mortified to see Sebastian walking in.

It was a weekday morning. There was no reason for him to be home. I turned away from him, hiding the unshed tears.

“Heather?” Sebastian said, shocked. “Why are you here? I thought you were supposed to be at the airport.”

“I, uh, forgot something.” Heather said. “I used the emergency key you told me was under the mat on the porch, and I was just chatting with Lily while I got it.”

Heather gestured in my general direction, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sebastian turn to look at me.

And he never looked away.

I was barely holding back the tears, but I hoped he didn’t notice them. I was unable to stand tall with the weight of the conversation sitting heavily on me. My shoulders sagged, my head hung low. It was impossible to look fine.

“You should probably go, Heather,” he said, his voice distant.

“Actually, I need to talk to you about something important before I do.”

Was she seriously asking him to talk right in front of me? I glanced over and saw her touch his arm, then I looked back down at my feet.

“We can talk later.”

“It’s really important,” she urged.

A single tear fell. I just wanted them to leave and get it over with.

“Heather, not right now.”

Dimly, I noticed his tone was sharp.

“Please?” she said, her voice alluring.

“No,” he said loudly, turning to her. “Can you not see I’m trying to make sure my wife is okay?”

Silence.

I knew I needed to speak up and say I was fine; he didn’t need to worry about me. I had my writing, and by the time he was done hearing Heather profess her love for him, I would have written away my pain.

But the words never came.

“Sebastian,” Heather said, “we need to talk about us.”

“What?” he asked.

“You and me.”

“There is no us.”

“I love you,” she continued, and the knife in my chest twisted. “I think we could be great together.”

I blinked back more tears. I wanted to go to my room so I didn’t have to hear the rest of this, but I’d have to walk past them to get up the stairs.

I wondered if I would hear Sebastian talk to her in a soft voice, like he had when we were at Cheekwood. Maybe he’d take her to his room and make love to her in the same way I craved.

And I’d sit upstairs by myself.

What I didn’t expect him to say was, “Heather, this is extremely inappropriate.” But he did.

“What?” Heather asked. “How is me being in love with you inappropriate?”

“Because you’re saying it in front of my wife.” He said it slowly, enunciating the word wife like it meant something to him.

“She said I could tell you.”

“I didn’t say you could do it in front of me!” I snapped. When they both turned to look at me, I shook my head. I needed to get out of here. I was about to lose what little control I had.

Sure, he’d said it was inappropriate, but never that he didn’t feel the same. I figured that once I was out of the room, he would say what he truly felt.

But he grabbed me when I tried to rush past him.

“What is going on?” he asked under his breath.

“Go with her,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s fine.”

“No,” he said stubbornly.

I didn’t understand. Why was he still here? Why did he care about me at all? I wasn’t someone he chose. I was just some girl that he got stuck with.

Sebastian sighed, tension in his face. He turned back to Heather.

“Heather, I am not in love with you,” he said. “I am in love with my wife. Coming here and upsetting her is inappropriate. I know we discussed you continuing to work under me, but I think you should go back to LA and work for my father.”

“What?” Heather croaked.

“What are you not understanding about this situation?”

“You . . . you can’t love her.”

“Why not?”

“Because she told me you didn’t.”

Sebastian froze. His shoulders tensed, and he looked at me with a look of betrayal on his face. I couldn’t look him in the eyes.

I didn’t know what I did wrong. He told me he was going to tell her. He told me she would move in. Why wasn’t he going after her?

“If that is what she thinks,” he began slowly, “then I’ve failed her as a husband, and I’ll spend every day attempting to make up for it.”

I slowly looked back up at him. This had to be for show. There was no way this was real.

And yet, my traitorous heart raced. I wanted it to be real. I wanted it so bad.

“You’re really in love with her?” Heather asked.

“Yes,” he said. “Why would I not be?”

“You never seemed like you were. All those late nights in the office . . .”

“I’ve always been only professional with you. Those late nights were because of the workload my father placed on me, and you were the one who volunteered for the overtime.”

What? Was he saying what I thought he was? Some of the aching pain in my chest cleared.

“Do you think I enjoy being away from my wife whenever my father has a project he needs done?” Sebastian continued. “Do you think I liked leaving her to fend for herself while I was with you? No, Heather, I wanted to be with Lily. All of those nights, I wished I were with her.”

“You . . . you never talked about her. You never seemed to care about her when we were together at the office.”

“Do not assume anything about me. You’ll be wrong. Now go back to LA. I need to fix the damage you caused.”

Heather was red in the face and darted out the door without another word. I released a breath of relief after she was gone.

“Thanks,” I said shakily. “I don’t know how much of that was true—”

“What happened?” he asked as he turned to me with a pinched expression.

I gulped, instantly aware of his gaze. “She was here when I got up. She told me I wasn’t a great wife, and she could do better. I . . . couldn’t disagree with her.”

“You said that?”

“You can’t exactly blame me. The last time we talked you said you were telling her.”

Sebastian’s anger melted off of his face. “Lily, I wasn’t serious.”

“How was I supposed to know that?”

He deflated. “You’re . . . you’re not. I’m sorry. I was angry because you were with whoever you’re seeing and . . . never mind, it was stupid.”

I blinked. “Whoever I’m seeing?”

“Yes. I know about them.”

“Wait, you’ve said that before. You said it when I was sick.”

“I did.”

“You’ve thought I’ve been seeing someone else this whole time?”

“Lily,” he said, sounding exhausted, “please don’t deny it.”

“You think I’m having an affair?” I repeated, offended at the accusation.

“I know you’re having an affair.”

“What? I’m not—”

“Just tell me the truth. You owe me that.”

I shook my head. “I am telling the truth. I don’t know how I could prove to you—”

“Lily,” his voice grew hard again, “I’d love to believe that you’re reading or whatever you say you’re doing when you’re not here. But I know you’re lying. You were dropped off by a car that isn’t yours. You’ll say you’re one place when you’re not. What you tell me doesn’t add up.”

I didn’t know what to say. I’d been caught lying, but not about what he thought.

“Sebastian . . .” I trailed off again. I wanted—no, needed—to prove my innocence. I’d never do this. I’d never put him through the pain I thought I was going through, but I didn’t know what else to tell him.

I couldn’t lie my way out of this.

“Why can’t you be honest with me?” he forced out.

I struggled to come up with an answer. “I—”

I was writing. That was it.

Sebastian shook his head, looking more disappointed than I’d ever seen him.

“I’m done,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about me ever doing this to you. I wouldn’t wish this feeling on anyone.”

Sebastian turned to walk away, and I knew I couldn’t let him. I didn’t want him to believe I was cheating. I didn’t want him to sit with the pain I had for years. I didn’t want him to turn away and look at me like I’d betrayed him.

“I’m writing.” My voice cracked on the words. I’d never said them out loud, and they sounded strange to my own ears.

When he turned back around, I knew I couldn’t take it back.

“Writing what?” he asked slowly.

“I . . . write about the things that hurt me,” I said lowly. “And I do it often.”

“Why would you hide that?”

I sighed, knowing any more lies would result in him turning away again.

“Because I’m published. Under another name.”

There. Most of my secret was out.

“Is that a bad thing?”

Yes, it was.

I’d somehow turned my pain into something more than it was. I’d written him into the story, making him the worst version of what I saw.

And he would hate me when he found out.

Then anger would turn into revenge, and revenge could be anything. He could blackmail me. He could be disgusted with me.

He could tell everyone.

I couldn’t let it happen. Not when I was so close to my goal.

“It’s based on my life. If people found out I wrote, they could figure out . . . everything.”

Sebastian blinked, shocked. The anger melted off his face and was replaced by curiosity.

“And why couldn’t I know?”

“Because I’m terrified. I haven’t told anyone about my writing. It is the one job I’ve had that’s mine. My parents got every dollar I earned until now, and the minute they see that I have an out, they’ll take it too.”

“I wouldn’t tell.”

“I want to believe you,” I said, and I did. I wanted to think he’d never betray me. I wanted to trust every part of him. “But I just spent four years thinking you were in love with Heather.”

“What?”

“On the honeymoon,” I said, my hands shook as I remembered it, “the way you answered her call, I thought I was just an inconvenience, and that she was the one you wanted.”

Sebastian looked, horrified. “So you thought I had sex with you while I loved someone else?”

“I thought I was just the one around,” I admitted. The pain was still fresh, and tears brimmed my vision. “Especially now. When you said you wanted her to move here, I thought I could step out of the way and give you what you wanted.”

“But that day at Cheekwood . . .”

“I figured you missed her, and I happened to be the one in front of you.”

Sebastian’s jaw dropped. “You think I’d do that to you?”

“It wouldn’t be the worst thing done to me.” I shrugged. “We barely talked for four years. I figured you were spending your time talking to her.”

“Lily, you’re my wife.”

“Not really,” I said, shaking my head. “We signed a contract before the marriage papers. We pretended to be in love.”

“I took a vow, and I was serious about it from day one. There was no one else.”

“But that call on the honeymoon—”

“My father was pushing work on me, and I had a ton of important emails she was messaging about.”

“The late nights?”

“Work. Genuinely, it was work. I never wanted to involve her, but it all got to be too much for me, and I needed someone to take some of it off of me so I could even get home at all.”

“What about when we first moved here, and she drove our cars down? You were gone for hours with her.”

“She asked me if she could transfer because she didn’t like working under my father, and then we got stuck in a lot of traffic.”

“The other morning? She was here in a robe.”

“Her shower did break,” he said, but then his forehead creased in thought. “Or I think it did anyway. I let her use mine while I worked outside. When I saw her, I immediately told her to get dressed. I thought it was inappropriate from the very second I saw her.”

“I didn’t even know she was in town,” I muttered. “So when I came downstairs and saw her, I ran. I almost hit the fucking neighbor when I was trying to get the hell out of here.”

“Wait, the one that lives right next to us?”

“Yes. Her name is Amy, and she was really nice about it. She invited me to her house when she saw how upset I was and I . . . I kind of told her everything.”

“Everything?” He looked horrified.

I tensed. “Yes, but I trust her. I really do. It’s been days and there’s not a word of anything. Besides, she was already noticing when Heather was here. She could have talked a long time ago.”

“Why would you take a risk like that?”

“Because I thought we’d finally connected and then you brought your assistant here because you were in love with her. I needed to talk to someone, Sebastian. I have no one in my life to vent to.”

He sighed, some of the worry leaving his expression. “No, I understand. I can’t imagine the headspace you were in when you left. Actually, I can, considering I thought you were cheating too. I can’t explain it, but it’s like . . .”

“It’s like all logic is gone,” I finished for him.

“Exactly,” he said. “I never would have let Heather stay in the house, by the way. Nor would I have told her. I was . . . I was so angry. We had that day at Cheekwood, and then I call you and hear you with someone else.”

“I was with Amy.”

“And the other times?”

“The coffee shop. I write there because I was worried you’d come in and see me writing.”

“The one where you took me the day before Cheekwood?”

I nodded. “It’s a nice place.”

“I thought that’s where you took the other person you were seeing,” he said, laughing tiredly.

“Oh no,” I said, shaking my head. “They know me because I write for hours there. I was worried someone would rat me out.”

“Thank God.”

“I’d never cheat on you,” I said. “I can’t. It’s in my contract, remember?”

“I do remember,” he said. “I just thought you didn’t care.”

“I may be cracking, but not that much. I took a vow too.”

“Good,” he said. “After seeing my dad cheat on every girlfriend he had, I couldn’t stand to see any more.”

“I don’t need to find someone else anyway. For one thing, I can’t with the contract, but also . . . for other reasons.”

“What other reasons?”

“I’ve never . . . you know, come for anyone else.”

Sebastian blinked, and then he turned red.

“That’s a shame. You’re beautiful when you do it.”

I blushed, unable to form words at his much-needed compliment.

“One more question,” he asked.

“What is it?”

“I have to know why you’re doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“The marriage. Is it really for money?”

“Yes,” I admitted. He looked disappointed, but I continued. “I need my inheritance in order to escape.”

“Escape what?”

“My family, my name, modeling . . . everything. I can’t do this anymore. I was forced into being a child model. My parents spent all that money on themselves. I was told that if I did this, I would be able to stay out of modeling for the five years, and I’d get an inheritance. It’s not everything I made as a model, but enough to get me away.”

Sebastian stared at me, the tension back in his shoulders. I sighed. People usually got angry when I mentioned the money.

“I’m sorry, I—”

“Why are you apologizing?” he asked, his voice hard.

“Because this isn’t the answer you wanted.”

“I don’t have an answer I want.”

“Then why do you sound mad?”

“Well, for one, I thought you did this for the money.”

“That’s kind of true.”

“No, it’s not. You wanted to escape everything, even the modeling. I thought you loved it. Lily, when we were thinking about getting married, your mother told me I needed to have a certain amount in my bank account at all times to meet your standards in this marriage.”

“Yeah, that sounds like something she would say. I don’t care how much money you have.”

He blinked, as if this was the most shocking thing I’d said all day.

“I bought that house in LA because I thought you’d want the one with the best view.”

I shook my head. “I would have been fine anywhere. My family moved around all the time when I was kid. My mom wanted the newest of everything, but I just need a room. The only place I wouldn’t have liked was if it was in the residential part of the Miller Industries tower in LA. That thing is ugly.”

I said it before I could stop myself, and I wondered if he would be offended.

Instead, he nodded. “It is really ugly. The apartments are even worse.”

“You really believed I cared that much about money?”

“You were a famous model. You only stepped out of the house in designer clothes. You did so many covers and fashion shows that you could have made the company’s revenue in less than a year.”

“Yeah, I never saw a penny of that money. My mom is my financial manager. She said she gave me a cut, but she never did.”

“What?” he said sharply.

“My mom wanted mansions and money. I was pretty, so why not sell me? I’m still shocked they let me out when we got married, but I have no idea how much Martin offered them. It’s money I’ll never see.”

“Is that why you volunteered for this?” he asked. “To get out of modeling?”

“Oh, I didn’t volunteer. I was told I could do this or continue being photographed next-to-naked and being leered at by the shadiest photographers my mother could find. That, and they offered me part of the money I’d earned as a child as an inheritance.”

“So they lied to me. They told me you wanted this because my family was rich.”

“Of course they lied. And I was never in a position to correct anyone. My mom told me men didn’t want a mouthy woman who read too much. They wanted someone who was blonde, skinny, and didn’t have a care in the world. So I was that. Until I couldn’t be.”

“And you couldn’t leave because your mom was on everything.”

I nodded. “And even if I did, what would I do? Go be a server and have men hit on me constantly? I was an object from the moment I was old enough to be. I’d rather finish this out and go to a place where no one could find me.”

“So that’s all you want? To be anonymous?”

“Yes,” I said. “That’s all I want. I planned on finding some cabin in California when I got out, but now that we’re in Nashville . . .”

“You could go back.”

To what? Jessie? She didn’t want to hear from me until I had my life in order. I definitely didn’t.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I’ll figure it out when it’s closer to time. I’ll probably need tons of therapy for the last four years.”

“So you were never happy, then?” he asked softly.

I slowly shook my head.

“Really?”

“Why would I have been? You were always at work and never wanted anything to do with me.”

“But what you posted said you were happy.”

“The social media I keep up is a part of my contract. I have to make it look like I’m happy.”

Sebastian shook his head, jaw tight. “That was in it too?”

“Of course it was,” I said, shaking my head. “But why would you care if I was happy anyway? You thought I only married you for money.”

“Because I still cared, Lily.” He paced the length of the living room as he spoke. “I hated being in the office until ten every night. I hated that I was so overwhelmed with work that by the time I got home, I had no energy to talk to you. The only thing that told me I wasn’t a terrible husband was what you posted. That was all fake?”

“Of course it was. Did you think I did it for fun?”

“Yes,” he said. “I really did. So you’ve never once been happy to be with me?”

“I mean, the sex was good. Even if it was rare,” I said, my heart racing at how hard he was taking all of this.

“Wait, you slept with me when you thought I was cheating and when you were unhappy? Why?”

“I’ve always thought you were attractive,” I said. “And because I knew that at least for the first time, I had to. My mother told me we needed to consummate the marriage so I was prepared for it on the honeymoon.”

“What?” he said sharply.

“It’s fine. It was better than fine. It was the best sex I’d ever had, actually.”

“But then I went back to work.”

“Yeah,” I said. “That didn’t feel great, but I got over it.”

By writing bad things about him.

“How can you even stand to be in the same room as me? Why even have this conversation with me? You could hate me if you wanted to.”

That, I didn’t have an answer for. I opened my mouth, and then closed it.

Why did I continue wanting him? Was it residual duty?

No, this didn’t feel like a chore.

Was it because he was hot?

No, because he was more than that.

I racked my brain for an answer and came up with nothing.

Then I remembered that feeling I used to get whenever we wouldn’t connect, the pain in my chest, the feeling that I’d missed something.

And the burning desire to find out we were both trapped.

Had I sensed something about this without realizing?

Sebastian sighed when I didn’t answer out loud. “I feel terrible.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine.”

“Just now, when Heather was here, you were going to let me cheat on you in front of you, weren’t you?”

I blushed. “If you were happy, then yes.”

“Is that all you wanted?”

I looked at my hands, unable to meet his eyes. “I think so.”

“And what if I told you that being happy is what I want for you?”

I took a shaky breath. No one wanted me to be happy.

“Then I’d say I don’t know how to be.”

“You’ll learn,” he said.

“How?” I asked. “Is there a book I should read or—”

I paused when he grabbed my hands, interlacing his fingers with mine.

“Lily, I should have never spent so much time at work. I should have never assumed you were okay when you weren’t. I’m sorry.”

My face heated. “It’s okay, I—”

“No, it’s not okay. I should have tried to get to know you. I should have asked more questions when we moved here and I saw you struggling. You have every right to hate me.”

“I don’t hate you,” I said meekly.

“I want to make it up to you,” he said, tightening his grip on my hands. I didn’t know what to think. “You can say no, and I’ll respect it. But I want to make things better. We’ve never allowed ourselves to connect in the four years we’ve been together. I want to try now.”

I stared at his hands, not comprehending what I had heard. Not only was I getting an apology for something that hurt me, but he was offering to connect and to try to be better.

And that was the one thing I wanted more than anything else.

I slowly nodded, feeling like my face was on fire.

“Thank you,” he said, leaning his forehead against mine.

A single tear escaped my tightly shut eyes, but it wasn’t sadness.

It was hope. Sebastian saw it and wiped it away with his thumb.

“Do you still hate me for wanting the inheritance?” I asked quietly.

“What? No.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re doing this to escape. After all you’ve given up for your family, you don’t deserve to walk away with nothing. If they’re offering enough for you to live off of, then I understand.”

“You’re not judging me for it?”

“No. I’d never.”

“Jessie did.”

“She knew?”

“Yes. She always wanted me to back out. She said it would be easy to walk away, but I have no job, no talents, and I felt like I’d done all this work already, only for all of it to be stolen.”

Sebastian growled low in his throat. “You could sue them for that.”

“I can’t wipe away all the savings I do have. Not when I don’t know how ending this contract will go.”

“I understand. I have savings—”

“No,” I said, firmly. “It’s fine. I’ll think about it if they pull something with the inheritance. For now, I don’t have it in me to fight.”

“I do,” he said, voice hard, “but I understand. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”

I nodded, another tear falling.

Sebastian brushed it away again. “I miss seeing your freckles.”

“You like them?”

“I like them.” His eyes met mine again. “I like you.”

I wanted to remain composed, but my breath was ragged. He didn’t say anything else, only leaned over to kiss me. It was a soft, tentative kiss, like something from a first date, but it had me sinking into his weight.

He took it easily, wrapping his arm behind my back. We stood there for a moment, and I couldn’t help but wonder if this would end in sex like it usually did.

He pulled away slowly, almost like it pained him. “I need to get back to work.”

My heart sank.

“Not because I don’t want to be here,” he said firmly. “My dad wants detailed reporting of Electronic Point’s sales in the last two months. He wants everything down to the last penny. The problem is, he sold the database we used to use to store that info and now no one has it.”

I blinked. “That sounds like a huge problem.”

“I know you probably couldn’t care less about this.”

“No,” I said. “It actually helps to know why you’re working so much. It seems like a fruitless endeavor though. If he sold the database, then why would he expect you to have all that information?”

“He wants us to pull it. Manually.”

“That sounds tedious.”

“It is, and if I want to get back here at a decent time tonight, then I need to get going.”

“It’s okay. I understand. Thank you for telling me what is going on.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t before. I didn’t think you’d care.”

“Of course I care.”

He smiled, eyes bright as they gazed at me. He opened his mouth to say something, but his phone rang.

“I’ve really got to go.” He kissed me before heading to the door.

“Good luck,” I called to him. He paused, beaming at me. I was almost blinded by the sight.

“See you tonight,” he said and shut the door behind him.

My lips stayed upturned until long after he was gone. Even though I was emotionally exhausted, I felt lighter. The assumptions had been cleared and I was looking forward to what came next.