Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
He tries not to smile. “She did when you asked her questions.” He puts his hand on the lower part of my back and pushes me toward the door. “What do you think, Aiden? Would you like to come here?”
“Yeah,” he says, “I want to play soccer and hockey.”
“Since when do you want to play hockey?” I ask him, and he shrugs his shoulders.
Luca puts him in the car while I open my own door this time. “Are you guys ready to go and see Grandpa?” he asks us, and Aiden is the only one happy to actually see my father. I, on the other hand, hope the floor opens up and swallows me down.
Chapter Seven
Luca
I pull away from the school, and I can swear my shirt collar is getting tighter, except it’s not even buttoned all the way up. My throat is so dry, like I just swallowed a whole bag of cotton balls. My heart is slowly starting to beat faster and faster; so much that it is echoing in my ear drums. Maybe I’m having a heart attack. Fuck, maybe I’m dying. Aiden grabs his iPad, and Eli gets on her phone, her fingers going a million miles a minute.
I pull up to the office building and park in my reserved parking spot and then check the time. “We have an hour before our meeting,” I tell her, getting out of the car and walking to get Aiden out.
“Yeah, or we can just see if he can see us now,” she says, walking side by side with me. “Aiden is going to start anytime complaining he’s h-u-n-g-r-y.” She spells it out, and I look at her. “If I don’t say it, he won’t hear me.”
“Got it,” I say, holding the door again for them and nodding at the security guard while we walk to the elevator.
We get in and press sixty for our office floor. I lean into Eliahn. “Your father doesn’t, like, have guns and shit, right?” I ask her, and she bends her head down and starts to laugh, shaking her head. “Or any weapons that I should know about?” She doesn’t have time to answer because the elevator pings, and we walk out.
“Hello, Sandy,” I say to the receptionist who is talking on her headset, answering the phones. She just nods her head at me. I turn and walk toward the left, going up the stairs leading to the offices. The glass is everywhere. We get upstairs, and the conference room is filled with people who have books and papers scattered all around them. The floor-to-ceiling window shows you everything. I wave at Harvey and then walk down another corridor.
We walk past a half white wall with four cubicles inside, including Lauren. “Good Morning,” I say, and four eyes come to me as I stretch out my hand, showing Eliahn where my office is. She walks in, and I follow her as Aiden goes to the couch in the corner.
“I’m hungry,” he says, and I look at Eliahn who gives me an “I told you so” look.
I walk to my desk, pulling out the chair, and Eliahn goes to the couch and sits next to Aiden. Lauren walks in and smiles at them and then at me. “Close the door, please,” I tell her. She looks at me confused at first, but she closes the door. She stands there waiting with her hands together in front of her.
“Lauren, this is Eliahn,” I start, and Lauren looks over at her.
Her head goes back a bit, and then I see when it clicks into place. “I’m sorry, are you Mr. Coco’s daughter?” she asks her and then looks at me.
“Yes, that would be me,” Eliahn says, smiling and then sitting up, putting her hands on her legs.
“Well, welcome home. I’m sorry I missed the barbecue yesterday. My little one is under the weather,” she says of her six-month-old baby boy.
“So,” I start saying and then look at Eliahn. I’m not sure if I should tell Lauren before Leonard or not, and she just nods at me. “Eliahn and I go back,” I start saying and think about how stupid it sounds.
Lauren turns to me. “How far back?” she asks and then looks at Aiden. She must see our same eyes because her hand goes to her mouth. “Holy.”
“Yeah,” Eliahn says. “That was our exact reaction when we came face-to-face with each other yesterday.”
I can see on her face she wants to ask all the questions; she wants to know everything, but she just turns and says, “Well, better late than never. Right?” She smiles, and Eliahn laughs.
I pick up my phone and dial Leonard’s office, and he picks up after two rings. “Mr. Coco. It’s Luca. I was wondering if I could pop in now.”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” he says. “See you soon.” And then he hangs up.