We stand there in a stare-off for a few seconds before he speaks again. “Will you be returning?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I need your assistance this evening.”
My curiosity is piqued, but the last thing I want to do is spend more time with my father than necessary, especially when the meeting I’m headed to should shed some light on what he’s been hiding.
“I can’t stay late tonight. I have plans.”
His left eyebrow arches. “With Dilynne?”
“Not that it should matter, but yes, with Dilynne.”
“Have you two decided on a wedding date yet?”
“Like we told you the other night, we’re waiting until after her car show. Which, by the way, I’ll be taking off a week for.”
“And you’re just now telling me this?”
I take a step toward him and rest my hand on his shoulder, patting him a few times. “You’ll manage. After all, you’re the boss.”
His eyes narrow. “That I am.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t have any active cases that need to be managed while I’m gone. I don’t go to trial again for a few weeks, and I’ll be back by then, ready to make the firm more money,” I say with a placating smile. “It’s not like we’re hurting for money, though. Right, Dad?”
That eyebrow of his lifts again. “No, son.”
“Good.” I release his shoulder and walk out of my office, waiting for him to follow me before shutting the door and locking it behind him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to keep the person I’m meeting with waiting.”
My smile falls as I walk down the hallway toward the front of the practice, bracing myself to walk past Tori.
“Where are you off to?” she asks just as I reach for the door handle.
I take a deep breath and turn around slowly. “None of your business, Tori. Not sure how many more times I have to tell you that.”
She pushes back from her desk and stands. “I’m just trying to be friendly, Elliot.”
“Well, which is it? Because the other night at the winery you wanted my sympathy, then you alluded to disbelief in my new relationship, and now you want to be friends?” I fold my arms across my chest. “The whiplash is reminiscent of the feeling I had the day we were supposed to get married.”
She walks over to me. “The conversation you heard between me and your dad,” she whispers. “It’s not what you think.”
“You know what? The reality is, I probably won’t be able to believe anything you tell me anyway since I don’t trust you and never will again.”
“There’s just…a lot you don’t know, Elliot.” Her hand lands on my arm, but I brush it off. “I’ve been trying to explain it to you, but…”
I glance down at my watch. “You sound like a broken record, Tori. Maybe it’s time to find a new tune to sing. And I need to go or I’m going to be late.”
“Elliot!” she calls after me, but I don’t turn around. I need answers, and until I get them, I’m not wasting any more time.
Besides, focusing on this thing with my dad is going to help take my mind off of Dilynne and her perfect fucking body until she’s ready to talk, and I need all the help I can get with that right now.
***
“I really appreciate you meeting with me, Greg.” I squeeze the wedge of lemon into my iced tea as he pours sugar into his coffee.
“Nonsense. You made it seem pretty serious, and you know I’ll always have time for you, Elliot.”
I’m in a coffee shop halfway between Blossom Peak and Charlotte, sitting across from Greg Turner, my dad’s friend I did my internship with in law school.