Fun. That’s not the word I’d use to describe the upcoming holiday. Whatever happened, it was pretty much guaranteed it would be another long, lonely day and now I had a pretend date to fake as well.
2
HENRY
Ipicked up my laptop and headed out of the conference room. I’d had enough of these mandatory meetings where the higher ups force fed everyone info about how we all had to do our part to help the company reach new heights. I’d taken this job right out of grad school because I thought a family-owned company would be different from a big, money-hungry corporation. Looking back, I could admit I’d been wrong.
“Are you bringing a date to the award ceremony on Saturday?” George asked. He was the only guy at work who might have a soul. We started around the same time and both of us had been getting fed up with the lack of company morale.
“I haven’t thought about it.” I’d had enough trouble trying to figure out childcare for my son. With the award ceremony happening down in Austin, I didn’t want to leave him overnight with the teenager who watched him from time to time. The only two people I’d trust him with were my foster mom or my great aunt. With Mama Mae out of town for the weekend, Lou Ellen was my only hope.
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
“I’ve got to grab this. I’ll catch you later,” I told George. Then I stepped out into the courtyard and answered the call. “Hey, Lou Ellen, did you figure out if you can watch Graham on Friday night?”
“Not only can I watch him, but I found you a date.” She sounded so damn proud of herself. The smug tone in her voice made me cringe.
“I didn’t ask for a date. All I need is someone to watch Graham for a few hours.” She’d been hellbent on trying to fix me up for the past several months. I told her I had enough to keep me busy with being a single dad and didn’t have time for dates.
“Lucky for you, I’ve taken care of both. Remember the animal rescue I told you about?”
Two of my co-workers picked that moment to come out to the courtyard for a smoke break. They nodded at me before lighting up a few feet away. I didn’t want to continue my conversation in front of them, but also didn’t want to head back inside, where anyone would be able to hear me argue with my aunt over a blind date.
“Can I call you back later? I need to get back to work.”
“Sure, honey. I need to let her know about Friday night, though. The two of you have so much in common. I know you’re going to hit it off. Say yes to the date, and I’ll be happy to watch Graham.”
Dammit. She couldn’t blackmail me into taking a stranger to my awards dinner. I would have been happy to stay home, but I was the only one from my company nominated for an award. Management had made such a huge fucking deal out of it. My boss would be pissed if I didn’t show. If I wanted to keep him off my back, I needed to take her up on her offer.
With a sinking feeling swirling around in my gut, I reconciled myself to going on my first date since my son had been born. “Fine. I’ll call you later to work out the details.”
“You won’t regret it. The two of you are going to fit together like peas in a pod. Oh, I’m assuming it’s okay for her to bring a therapy animal in training to the event, since it’s a bunch of animal lovers?”
The two guys standing on the other side of the courtyard kept casting curious glances my way. I didn’t need them telling everyone about my conversation. Eager to wrap it up, I’d agree to whatever she wanted just to get her off the phone.
“I’m sure it’s fine.”
“Great. I can’t wait to tell her. Devyn’s going to be so excited.”
My heart hammered at the casual mention of a name I hadn’t heard in years. Lou Ellen’s friend couldn’t be the same Devyn I’d known back in high school. “Wait. Devyn?”
“Yes. Devyn Daniels.” Lou Ellen sighed. “She’s the one I’ve been telling you about, the director of the animal rescue where I volunteer.”
My aunt could have been talking about the pork belly forecast based on the nonchalant way she tossed that name around. She had no way of knowing she’d just nailed me with a hand grenade and blown up my entire world.
“Tell Graham I hope he’s ready to bake some cookies. It’s been a while since we made snickerdoodles together, and I’m looking forward to it.” She paused, and I knew what was coming. Every time she talked about doing something fun with Graham, she felt like she had to apologize for not being there for me when I was his age. “I wish—”
“I know.” She didn’t need to say anything. It wasn’t her fault my birth mother never told my dad’s family about me. I figured it was out of spite based on the way she talked about him. All the years we struggled might have worked out differently if she’d reached out to my dad’s side while she was alive.
The two guys on the other end of the courtyard finished their smokes and walked past me to head inside. My boss was probably timing us. He was all about increasing productivity, though it seemed to me he might use that as an excuse to keep all of us under his thumb.
“We’ll talk later,” I said, eager to get back to work so I could wrap up my day and get home to my kid.
It took another five minutes for Lou Ellen to say goodbye. I was tempted to stay in the courtyard and start researching Devyn. Even though we hadn’t seen each other in over a decade, I’d never forgotten her. Hell, if I closed my eyes, I could still picture the way her long, dark hair floated around her face and the flirty smiles she’d toss my way when her brother wasn’t looking.
I never told her, but I always hoped we’d end up together someday. There’d been something magical between us… something I’d never experienced with anyone else. She made me feel like I could do anything. Besides my foster mom, Devyn was the only one who believed in me. Then I’d gotten in a fight with her brother, and I hadn’t seen her since.
“Maxwell, are you coming back to work, or should I have HR dock you for a vacation day?” My boss stuck his meaty head through the doorway.