“You’re absolutely right,” he said. I smiled, pleased as punch. “I’ll have you reach out to her writers when you get here.”
“Will do, sir.”
He wrapped up the call right after, and I pocketed my phone with a good feeling.
I also had a good feeling about Lucian’s car, even more so when he left the smaller roads behind and hit the Beltway toward DC.
“Are you still in a band?” Lucian asked. “Or is it all about production these days?”
“No, we play—or we will, in a month or so. Can I turn on the radio, Sir?” I waited till I had his go-ahead before I found a good station. Imagine Dragons. That worked. “T and his wife just had a baby, and Barry’s going through a nasty divorce, so we’re taking a break.”
“I see.” He switched lanes to pass the lazy Saturday traffic. “Well, I’m not surprised you’re working toward a career in music. I remember the first time KC asked me to tag along to one of your gigs, and my enthusiasm was that of a distant relative receiving a stick-figure drawing from a child.”
I laughed loudly. His expectations hadn’t been high!
“You blew my mind with your talent, Noa. And I assume you know you’re very skilled.”
I smiled and shrugged. “Yeah, I’m good.”
He inclined his head. “Bring that confidence to your internship. If there’s one thing I know about business, it’s that an assertive salesman always goes further. And we’re all salespeople.”
I watched him. It made sense. And he would know. I trusted his advice. I’d asked Daddy a few times what Lucian did for a living, and my attention span had allowed me to remember that he worked in finance and he handled a lot of people’s money. After that, the details got blurry. But his success spoke for itself.
“I don’t wanna come across as overbearing or a know-it-all,” I admitted. “I’m there to learn—to get coffee and to assist.”
He nodded slowly. “That’s not a reason to be apologetic or dismissive about your own opinion. When you get the opportunity to make an argument or raise a viewpoint, do so respectfully and certainly. If you don’t sound like you believe in what you’re saying, why would others?”
“Good point.” I’d have to remember that. “Thank you, Sir.”
“Anytime, little one.” He patted my leg.
And then he didn’t remove his hand.
I felt my eyebrows crawl higher as I stared at his hand, and it would be so easy to ask. Daddy had talked to him, hadn’t he? Was this about Lucian and me getting closer like I’d asked Daddy to do with Cameron? But honestly, I didn’t wanna know yet. For these things, I didn’t want all cards on the table. So, I didn’t say anything, and he didn’t act weirdly. If anything, he was as casual as always. His focus was on the traffic.
I cleared my throat and went with a topic I’d been meaning to bring up. “Is Daddy still getting his occasional adrenaline boost from somewhere? Like, when he used to go skiing and stuff. Or when he went to the racetracks and got to drive super fast.”
Lucian hummed. “Can’t say that he is. He wasn’t interested when I offered to take classes with him for a number of adaptive activities. I’ve suggested archery, rock-climbing, rowing, skiing… He just stared at me and left the room when I told him about sled hockey.”
I wasn’t surprised. Daddy liked to hide it, but I knew being in a wheelchair had taken a shot at his pride. I sensed it when he overexerted himself to complete a scene with me, or when he spoke of his “preference” for standing up during work meetings.
“I wanna tackle that,” I said firmly. “He’s always liked to get an extra kick of something, and his impairment shouldn’t stand in his way.”
“You have my full support.” He gave my leg a squeeze and a little rub. He understood he was gonna make me horny, right? “If anyone can get through to him, I believe it’s you.”
I hoped he was right. But I wasn’t sure Lucian’s route was the way to go. There was a fine line between being supportive and accidentally making light of a disability. I could easily see Lucian dragging KC along for adaptive rock-climbing. Maybe Lucian would try whatever contraption Daddy would have to use. Maybe they’d even have a great deal of fun together, and Lucian would get to experience what that kind of loss of mobility entailed. But at the end of the day, he got to stand up from said device and walk away. If Daddy was carrying lingering feelings of hurt pride or, much worse, that he was in any way less, seeing that could possibly make things worse. Because he didn’t get to stand up after trying out an adaptive aid.