Meeting’s done.How goes the cyber hunt?
I set the phone down— I wouldn’t sit there and stare at the screen. A small part of me was still worried the kiss had gone too far, that I’d alienated Iris and she just hadn’t said anything last night. We hadn’t texted at all this morning, but I wasn’t going to read into it. I had told her I had a morning meeting, and she had her own job to attend to. I couldn’t neglect the financial firm to keep pursuing the case with her, even if I found it fascinating. I had to balance both.
At the moment, I thought I was doing a pretty good job with it.
Just then, the door opened. I spun in my chair, expecting Amber to be checking in now that the meeting was over. Instead of my assistant walking in, my father was there, closing the door behind him. I bit the tip of my tongue, forcing myself not to sigh.
Did he know I just had a meeting? Is he seriously checking in on me?
This was hardly my first business dealing. Fuck, everyone knew that I had my own set of clients back in London, even if they all operated under Longbow Investments. Technically, my father was the last stop, but… This wasn’t that different, exceptIwas supposed to be the last stop.
“Good afternoon, Eli,” my father greeted me, strolling across my office to sit in one of the chairs on the other side of my desk. “How are you on this fine day?”
It took all my willpower not to frown at him. “I’m fine,” I answered. It was even mostly true. “You?”
“Oh, I’m fine,” Nic said, smiling as he leaned back. “Just wanted to stop by and see how the new office was coming along since I was in the neighborhood. Last time I saw it, it was just an empty box.” His smile became even brighter. “It’s looking very nice, Eli.”
I forced a small smile. “Thanks,” I murmured. It wasn’t as if I decorated it myself — I’d hired an interior designer. “Did you need something? I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve got a lot going on.” Also not a lie… except I didn’t really care if I was that rude. Not at the moment, anyway.
“Ah, no.” His smile faded ever so slightly. “Just wanted to see how you were. Oh, and I wanted to let you know that there’s going to be a birthday party for Fiona in two days at Remus’ house — you are, of course, invited.”
I tensed. I wanted to say no. I didn’t like birthday parties,period, and for Fiona? Absolutely none of that appealed to me. The last thing I wanted to do was watch my father hover over the woman who’d left him — didn’t even bother to tell him about their damn child — and forced Nic to settle for Viola instead. And look how well that turned out for him.
Frankly, I didn’t want to be held hostage in the middle of a Silverstreak family gathering… or worse. What if it was a pack gathering? I barely withheld a shudder at the idea. No matter how I spun this, I knew it would be awkward.
“I have quite a few new clients,” I replied carefully, making a show of opening my phone to check my calendar. “I’ll have to play it by ear. We aren’t well established enough that I can just brush them off. This is sort of last minute, Dad.” I eyed him.
He gave me a sheepish look. “I understand, Eli. I should have mentioned it sooner.” He sighed. “But it would mean a lot to me if you could work something out to come, even for a little bit. You could even bring a date if you’d like. Or a friend. Whatever you felt.”
I raised a brow. I had almost thought he might have caught wind of me helping Iris out, but… The friend bit.Is he really just grasping at straws here?
My father kept talking. “Look, I know it’s not much, but if we can just try to get back—”
I shook my head, cutting him off. “No. I’m not a teenager anymore, Dad. There is no going back.” I shrugged. “I’m a different person than I used to be, and that’s probably for the better. No one wants to meet a teenager in a man’s body.”
My father sighed heavily. “Eli…” He trailed off and shook his head.
I could see the hurt in his eyes. I knew how important family was to him, both as the pack alpha and personally. It had always been important to him, and sometimes I wished he could just… seethat. I didn’t want all ofthis, I just wanted us to be a father and son, even for a few minutes. No pack business. No work business. No mates or lack thereof. Just Nic and Eli.
We had that once when I was little.
But that might be gone well past our reach now.
I didn’t even know what our relationship was supposed to look like anymore. I wasn’t a young pup, and he wasn’t exactly a new alpha or a new father. We’d both changed so much, and…
I shook my head. I had to stop that train of thought before it spiraled somewhere I didn’t want to go.
“Eli, look. I know things have been different since Remus walked into our lives,” my father said, leaning forward. “There’s no way something that big wouldn’t change things. But I’m not giving up on the relationship between us. I’m just — I’m not. You are myson, Eli, and that means more than anything else. Nothing and no one will ever change that. I will always be here for you, whether you want me here or not. If that means we have to start all over and figure out what a new relationship looks like between us now, then that’s fine. I can do that. I’m more than happy to do that for you.”
My chest constricted and my belly twisted uncomfortably. I just wanted to tell my fatherno, if only to get him out of my office and stop him from talking like that. I couldhearthe desperation in his voice, which made my skin crawl; what was I supposed to do with that? A grown man — a grownalpha— practically begging to be part of my life.
And honestly…
I didn’t want to cut my father out, either. Not entirely. I wanted to know where I stood with him. I wanted— Well. It didn’t really matter what I wanted, did it? It was never going to happen.
“What time is the party?” I sighed, defeated. I opened my phone and tapped on the date.
My father brightened visibly. “Two days from now. The party will start around 5:00 p.m., but feel free to show up whenever is workable with your schedule.”