“What’s that supposed to mean?” She hissed. “I’m doing the best I can over here, Corey. I’m sorry
if it’s not good enough for you.”
We were getting nowhere fast.
“All I’m saying is, not all of us have someone we can call up when we decide we’re sick of
parenting. If it’s my time to spend with Willow, I am a hundred percent there for her. Can you say the
same?”
To her credit, Lisa didn’t immediately blurt out a lie. She wasn’t a bad person. Not really. But if
ever there was someone who wasn’t cut out for motherhood, it was her. My friends had tried talking
me into fighting for primary custody of Willow, but I never wanted to take her away from her mom.
She needed both of us in her life. She deserved two parents who were always there for her.
I flipped on my turn signal and merged right toward the exit. If there was a way for me to feel
more relaxed and tense at the same time, that was how I felt. I hung a left at the bottom of the ramp,
making another quick left into the employee parking lot. It was time to put on a happy face and pretend
the past twenty minutes hadn’t happened. If the guys inside saw how worked up I was, they’d ask
questions I wasn’t ready to answer.
“As fun as this has been, I have to get going,” I told her. “If you want, you can bring Willow over
earlier tomorrow afternoon.”
That probably wouldn’t be enough to appease Lisa, but it was the best I could do. The two of us
could curl up on the couch watching a movie, and I could doze off for a bit.
“I don’t need you to watch her tomorrow.” Lisa’s explanation was long and drawn out. “Thanks
for nothing, Corey. It’s nice to know you can’t be bothered to take her for the night.”
I pursed my lips to keep from saying another word. I wasn’t going to let her win.
“It’s the best I can do. Give me a call in the morning and let me know what time you’ll be by.”
“Yeah. Whatever.” She hung up without another word. The worst part was, in her mind, I really
was the asshole. I had long ago gotten over letting her make me feel the same way.
My feet felt like they were encased in concrete as I trudged through the back entrance. It was still
dark, and the only noise was soft music playing in one of the offices. With Jack taking the weekend
off, I knocked on the door to Sam’s office, expecting him to be the one playing soft classical music.
There was no answer. I rapped my knuckles against the wood, a little harder this time. Sometimes,
Sam got lost in his lists and spreadsheets. He was also trying to finish up his last few projects before
