I cocked my head and knitted my eyebrows.

“Well, which lovely girl was it, son?” he asked.

“Ellie.”

He smiled. Not his warm, loving smile. His “I know her type” smile.

“You didn’t have to cancel on my account, Collin.”

“Yes, Dad, I did. I’m starving. Can we go to dinner?”

He chuckled as he got up and walked out of the room. We went to Joe’s Seafood, one of our favorite restaurants that we usually ate at when we were in Chicago. As we sat down, my dad and I both ordered a scotch while looking over the menu. He leaned back in his chair and shot me that look. The look of him trying to figure me out and I was in no mood for a lecture. I smiled at him as the waitress brought our drinks and took our dinner order. I pulled out my phone and sent a text message to Julia.

“Did you know that Dad is here in Chicago and we’re having dinner right now instead of me clubbing it up with Ellie?”

“LOL. I’m glad he’s there. That way, I know you’ll stay out of trouble.”

“Thanks, sis. I appreciate your support.”

“Enjoy your father/son bonding time, little brother.”

I sighed as I put my phone away and looked at my dad.

Chapter 5

I opened my eyes and couldn’t believe how bad my neck was killing me. My dad took my bed and told me that I could sleep on the pullout, since he was the one paying for the room. I went to go to the bathroom and he was in the shower. Shit. I grabbed my phone from the table to check my messages. There was a text message from my mom.

“I hope you had a fun night with your dad. I wish I could’ve come with him, but with Peyton, I couldn’t cancel. I know he felt bad for making you go there to drop off the plans and he was worried about you. I’ll see you later, sweetheart. I love you.”

I stood there and stared at the message. So, he was the one that was worried, not my mom. He lied to me, but I knew there was no way he’d admit it. He walked out of the bathroom and looked at me.

“Did you sleep well, son?” he asked.

I gave him a smile because I knew how much he loved me and Julia. “Yeah, Dad. I slept great.”

“Good. How about some breakfast?”

“I’m meeting Diana and Jacob downstairs for breakfast. Please join us. Also, I cancelled their flight home and had the desk refund their ticket. They’ll be traveling home with us on our plane, if that’s okay? It’s sort of what I already had planned.”

“Of course it’s okay, and I can’t wait to meet both of them.”

He went in the bedroom to get dressed and I stepped into the shower. When we went downstairs to the restaurant, Diana and Jacob were already sitting down. When they saw us walking towards the table, Diana stood up and shook my father’s hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Black.” She smiled.

“The pleasure is all mine, Diana. This must be Jacob,” he said as he placed his hand on Jacob’s head.

We sat down and ordered breakfast. Diana was in a panic and said that her flight was cancelled and they were on standby for another flight out of Chicago.

“No need to be on standby. You’ll fly home on my private plane.” My dad smiled.

“Mr. Black, I couldn’t. Collin has already done so much for Jacob and me. Really, we can wait.”

“Nonsense. You’re flying home with us on my plane.”

I looked over at Diana. “You can’t argue with him. He wins every time. Except when my mom is involved, then she wins.”

“Collin—”

“Don’t even try to deny it, Dad,” I interrupted and he chuckled.

The four of us had a great breakfast and when I glanced at my watch, I noticed it was time to check out. As the bellhop went to our rooms and collected our bags, my dad had his car waiting for us at the curb.

The four of us stepped onto the plane and Jacob was in awe over it.

“WOW! This is so cool!” he exclaimed, then began to cough.

My dad looked at me and then at Jacob. “Pick any seat you want to sit in and, as soon as we’re up in the air, Collin will show you where the video games are.”

“You have video games on your plane? How awesome! Mom, did you hear that?”

“I sure did, sweetie.” She smiled.

We all took our seats and, as soon as we were up in the air, my dad and Diana unbuckled their seatbelts and sat down at the round table, while I showed Jacob the video games.

“Where did you used to work, Diana?” my dad asked.

“Rogers Media Corp. I was the administrative secretary to Glenn Williams, the Vice President.”

After setting up the video game system for Jacob, I walked over and joined them at the table. My dad leaned back in his chair and brought his hand up to his chin.

“I had heard they were going under a while back,” he said.

“Yeah, it happened so fast. One day, I went to work and they let everyone go except a few people.”

Jacob began coughing as he played his game and my dad kept looking at him. “What part of New York are you from?” he asked her.

“Brooklyn,” she said. “My husband and I moved there right after we were married.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your husband. Collin told me he passed away.”

“Thank you, Mr. Black,” she said as she looked down.

“My secretary, Valerie, is retiring and I’m currently interviewing for her position. So far, I haven’t been impressed with anyone until now. How would you like to come work at Black Enterprises as my secretary? You’ll get fully paid health benefits and a very good salary. I can guarantee you’ll be making double of what you did at Rogers Media Corp.”

“Mr. Black, are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m very sure. Come by the office tomorrow morning around nine and I’ll have Valerie show you around.” He smiled.

“Oh my goodness, Mr. Black, I can’t even begin to thank you enough!” she said as she stood up and hugged my dad. “You have no idea how much this means.”

I looked at my dad as Diana walked over to tell Jacob. “Thanks, Dad. You’re pretty awesome.” I smiled.

“No, son, thank you. You’re the one who found her and helped her. If you wouldn’t have, I still wouldn’t have a secretary.” He winked.

****

As soon as the elevator doors opened, I threw my bags on the floor. My mom came from the direction of the kitchen with her arms out to me.