19
Tessa
Why did I have to worktoday? It isn’t very often I have to work on a Saturday, but we are behind, so everyone is here. I spend a few hours filing paperwork and getting things ready for Monday. Lex even bought us lunch for coming in today. After Kevin, I never thought good male bosses existed. One that isn’t trying to sleep with me. But Lex is a good family man. I think I’m going to like it here.
“We might actually get out of here before five,” Harper says, picking up another stack of papers to file. “Can we pick up the pace so we can get out of here at a decent time?”
“Why, you got some hot date I don’t know about?” I ask.
“Maybe.” She laughs. “No, I don’t. But it’s Saturday. We should be out enjoying ourselves. Not stuck in this damn office.”
Lex is very particular about how things are filed, and I don’t want to get yelled at if it isn’t done right. “Hello, my mom is in town, remember? So I want to be anywhere but here as much as you do. Let’s get this done. For both our sakes.”
We each have four stacks to get to before we can leave. That’s if they don’t find something else for us to do after that. It’s been dwindling down all day, and now it’s only two stacks.
“You and Harper may leave for the day. I’ve got some things I need to handle,” Lex says, coming out of his office.
She glances over at me and we both grab our stuff and get the heck out of there. It’s Saturday. None of us should be in the office working on the weekends.
“You need a ride home?” Harper asks.
I nod and follow her and get in the passenger seat. She puts my address into her GPS and takes off, and it only takes about ten minutes to get there. Harper tells me about how hard it is to find a decent guy, and I tell her about NeverTooBusy. It’s advertised on TV all the time. Maybe she should check it out and see if she can find anyone decent.
“Not sure I’m one to be on a dating app. Aren’t they usually all pervs just looking to get laid?”
“Probably, but you never know,” I reply as we pull into Damon’s driveway. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll text ya later.”
The aroma of fresh pasta and vegetables is profound when I walk in the door.
“I’m home,” I say loudly, setting my bag down by the door.
“Hey, didn’t expect you home for another hour or so,” Damon says. “Dinner is almost ready.”
Emily surprises me from behind with a big hug. Maybe everything worked out today and my mom has finally decided to like Damon.
Conversation flows well during dinner, and the tension between the two of them is gone. It’s nice to see them getting along. They even do dishes together afterward while Emily and I go to the living room to watch Animal Planet.
“Mom, have you checked my folder? There’s a dance coming up,” she asks, handing me the folder.
I open it. “What kind of dance?”
“A father-daughter dance.”
My body freezes, knowing how horrible it was after my dad passed, not being able to go to these sorts of things. Is she going to ask if Chris can go with her? I can’t allow that. “That sounds nice. Did you want to go?”
She’s twiddling her thumbs. “Do you think Damon would go with me?”
Hearing that come out of her mouth makes my heart melt. She isn’t even thinking about Chris, but Damon. He really is like her father in Emily’s eyes and that means so much to me. “I think he would be honored to go with you. You should ask him.”
He won’t say no, but he might cry. The fact that Emily wants to go with him will mean the world to him.
When Leslie and Damon join us in the living room, Emily goes and sits on his lap. I can tell she is nervous. She doesn’t need to be. Damon isn’t the type of man to say no.
“So, Emily has a dance coming up.”
“Oh, really. How exciting. Are you going to go?” Damon asks, tickling her.
“I want to, but it’s the father-daughter dance,” she says, briefly looking up at Damon. “Would you go with me?”