Don't Call Me Daddy

“Hey, Lawson, you got a moment to chat about the Walker DeLaney account?” Dan, one of the guys who manages our biggest accounts, is the second person to interrupt my morning.

“Sure, come on in.” I nod and lean back in my chair. “I thought that account was in good shape?”

“It is, but you know how Mr. DeLaney is. You’re the one who brought him on board, so he likes to hear from you periodically.” Dan sits down. “I thought we could go over the figures, and you could make the call today—if you don’t have anything pressing.”

“Nah, I should be able to handle it.” I put my hands behind my head. “Give me the highlights. He doesn’t like to hear the nuts and bolts. I just need to assure him that he’s making more money with us than he would anywhere else.”

“Of course!” Dan slides his finger across his tablet to unlock it.

Dan’s higher in the company hierarchy than I am, but he still remembers when I used to be his boss, so he shows me a lot more respect than the newer guys. I’ve always liked him, so I’ll make time to hear what he has to say, even though I know most of this already.

“Ah, you’re both here!” Bram walks into my office during the middle of Dan’s presentation. “I brought breakfast.”

“Thanks.” I smile and take the biscuit he offers. “Guess it’s my turn on Monday, right?”

“Nah, Kiana said she’s cooking for us Monday morning, and you know she isn’t letting me out of the house unless I bring some for you.” Bram shrugs. “Pregnancy hormones, I guess, making her all domesticated and shit.”

“Is she doing okay?” I open my biscuit and add some jelly. “Both of Janie’s pregnancies were kind of rough; well, you remember how it was.”

“Yeah, I do.” Bram nods and sits down. “Kiana hasn’t threatened to chop my balls off yet, so I guess things are okay so far.”

Joking about my daughter with my best friend. Talking about the life I used to have. I do it with a smile on my face—the mask I wear every day. I love my daughter to death, even if I was a shitty father most of her life, but the fact she’s married to my best friend is never going to be completely normal in my head.

“That’s good.” I take a bite of my biscuit.

“What are you two working on?” Bram glances at the presentation. “Is that the Walker DeLaney account?”

“Yep!” Dan chimes in with enthusiasm in his voice. “I’m getting Lawson prepared to make a call to Mr. DeLaney later today. Routine follow up.”

“Good.” Bram nods. “Carry on then.”

Dan goes through the rest of his presentation. I don’t know if Bram is just sitting in on it because he’s bored and has nothing else to do, or if he’s trying to spend more time with me. He’s made a real effort to repair our relationship after everything that happened, and I don’t hold any ill-will toward him, as long as he continues to treat my daughter right. It’ll never be the way it used to be, but that isn’t entirely his fault.

“Alright, that’s about it.” Dan nods and wraps up his presentation.

“Thank you, Dan.” I give him a nod and toss my empty biscuit wrapper into the trash.

“Let me know if you need anything else.” Dan picks up his tablet and heads for the door.

“Are you excited about the party tonight?” Bram looks over at me after Dan is gone. “I know Kiana is looking forward to seeing you.”

“Yeah, it should be fun.” It’s a lie but a necessary one.

I am looking forward to seeing my daughter, but we won’t get to spend much time together. She’s the boss’ wife, so she will be the belle of the ball, especially now that she’s pregnant.

“What kind of costume are you going to wear?” Bram tilts his head inquisitively.

“Uh…” I raise an eyebrow. “I might just go as myself. That’s pretty scary, right?”

It certainly is to me.

“I’m sure you can throw something together.” He laughs and shakes his head.

Bram and I make small talk until Joanna has to pull him away for another meeting. I mess around on my computer for a little bit until it’s late enough to call Walker DeLaney on the west coast, and then I take an early lunch.

A costume. A fucking costume. I don’t really want to wear one, but I need to keep up appearances. I head to the closest Halloween store and browse the aisles. The actual holiday is a little over a week away, so the shelves are completely pilfered. I just don’t see anything that catches my eye.

“Is there anything I can help you with, sir?” A cute blonde wearing a Harley Quinn costume walks up to me.