lays a hand at the back of my arm,
making every muscle inside me tense up.
He smells of Creed and weed.
“Serious about that collab, Allie.”
Raymond scratches his nose—a nervous tic.
“Let’s put somethin’ on the books, yeah?”
He smiles a practiced CEO smile.
“See what we can pull off.”
Killjoy kicks up his chin before disappearing.
Then it’s only me andhim.
Raymond leads me down the hall to his office.
I pass the frames lining the wall,
pictures of Dad gone.
All that’s left are awards, records, autographs.
Each passing day,
more and more of him is fading away.
As if Raymond's erasing him.
I step into his office,
the door clicks shut,
and instantly, it’s suffocating.
Before I get the chance to sit?—
“Whole fuckin’ week I been callin’.”
He shakes his head and the mouse at the same time, bringing his computer to life.
“Ben’s dodgin’ my calls.
“Brandon’s MIA.
“You train ‘em to ignore me?”
I wish.
“Brandon checked out,” I tell him.
He leans back and rubs his jaw.
“Shit... That explains it.
