The Truth

“Because she’s special,” I tell Elle honestly. “Because she cares deeply for me. Because I haven’t felt like this in years.”

“What, horny? Aren’t you too old for that by now? I would’ve thought it’d fall off from lack of use or rot.”

That cuts deep, but not nearly as sharply as it would’ve before Tiffany and I went to the hotel. I glare at my daughter. “That’s enough. You might be feeling some sort of way about Tiffany and me, but I don’t need pouty insults because I’ve worked hard to protect you from anyone I’ve dated.” She has the decency to look sorry, so I let her off the hook a tiny bit. “It’s more than just physical to me, Elle. I know it might seem weird to you, but I really do respect Tiffany. I’m sorry if that upsets you.”

Elle blinks, and in an instant, her anger dissolves like cotton candy in water, and she gives me that big, sunshiny smile that lifts my heart so much. “Hell no, it doesn’t. I just wanted to hear it from your own lips so I could compare and contrast with what Tiffany said.”

I narrow my eyes. “You testing me?”

“Make them think you are happy when you’re pissed and pissed when you are happy~” Elle sing-song quotes to me. “You taught me that, remember?”

“I do . . . Sun Tzu, slightly modified,” I reply, remembering. “You never used it on me before. I’m not sure I like that.” True to the quote, I’m actually pleased as can be that she’s learned that lesson at least.

“You never needed me to, but I know how you get,” Elle says. “You’d downplay the hell out of it, worried that I would be upset with you guys. Meanwhile, Tiffany would be telling me everything, and eventually, the two tales would be so dysfunctional in my head that my brain would explode, and Neve would be very upset with you then.”

“Ah . . . good point. Well, I’m glad I saved you from having a Scanners moment,” I tease. “Have you shown that to Colton yet?”

“Ugh, no.” Elle grimaces, and I remember the weekend I played a bunch of those old Sci-Fi and horror movies for her. Some she laughed at, but Scanners was definitely one she didn’t appreciate. “I still can’t believe you on that one.”

“What?”

“There are standards, Dad. Scanners fails them.”

“Ah . . . standards.” I nod as though considering the cinematic qualities of the movie versus some industry touchpoint, but then I shoot right for her ass. “Is that what you called it when you were copying your ass on Colton’s copy machine?”

Elle pales, and I tilt my head questioningly, knowing I’ve got her dead to rights. Bullseye. “Shit.”

“Yeah.”

Elle rubs at her temples and sighs. “Well, I should have expected that. Still . . . this could be bad. Tiffany knows all my secrets. She knows about that frat party . . . and the test drive . . . and the stray kitty . . .” She’s mumbling under her breath, and I’m honestly afraid of what she might reveal that I do not want to know about.

“Actually, before you yell at her, she didn’t tell me.”

My daughter is brilliant, quick at deducing who spilled her secret if it wasn’t her first suspect.

Elle groans, but it’s a relieved groan that her best friend didn’t betray her secret. Still, her cousins did. “I’m going to kill them.”

“Let me know before you do it so I can have your alibi set up,” I tell her easily. “Plus, if you don’t mind, hold off for a bit. I need them for some projects right now.”

“Fine. I’ll let them live, but they’re going to pay when they least expect it.” Elle grows serious, and behind her blue eyes, strategies and dangerous plans lurk, coming together with scary ease. Ricky and Billy actually should look out.

After a moment of plotting, she gives me a meaningful look. “Dad . . . go for it. Be happy, make her happy, just . . . go for it.”

“Really?” I ask, and she nods. “Thank you, honey.”

“Just do me one favor, okay?” she says, holding up a finger. “I need you both, so don’t fuck this up. I can’t survive without both of you.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Elle laughs. “I know you will. The way Tiff sounded when she told me yesterday . . . you already are.”

* * *

The office feels brighter as I sit at my meeting table with Mark, Brandon, and Shaun, discussing developments in their tech deal.

“So, Legal was able to negotiate with them,” Shaun says, passing over a paper, “and they’re willing to go three and one with us on the patents. But in return, they’re willing to offer up a higher percentage of their stock.”

“The effects?”

“When this hits, we’ll get a big bump,” Mark says eagerly. “Yeah, they’ll keep a chunk of change when it's time to license out the patents, but on the other hand, they’re willing to compensate with the stock. Moneywise, it’s effectively nearly a wash.”