“I am,” I tell her truthfully. “What’s the dress code over there like? Is this okay?” I gesture to my outfit.
“Depends who you’re asking,” Lola laughs. “Daphne looks like a corporate superstar every day, but Shroomie here dresses like a hobo.”
“Hey,” Mushroom says as she punches her shoulder. “You look okay, but if you ever want to have a shopping day, count me in,” she tells me.
“Who’s going shopping?” Lucy says as she approaches us.
“We are, Rissy and I, next payday, wanna come with?” Mushroom says, looking between Lucy and Lola.
I don’t contradict her. I’m too busy being excited by this opportunity.
“Deal,” Lucy says.
Lola declines. “No, thanks. I’m saving up for a down payment, and I don’t need fancy clothes for work, so you ladies go ahead.”
“I’m gonna text Dana too,” Mushroom exclaims before leaving.
I spend exactly one hour smiling before all hell breaks loose.
Chapter 18
Hawk
“Heading out, sir?” Daphne asks, looking up from her screen.
“Yes. Call my cell if there’s anything you need me for.”
She nods, but her pursed mouth clearly reflects her disapproval. Whenever she’s asked me to join her for lunch in the breakroom or the diner, I cited being busy as an excuse, whereas this is the sixth lunch I’m eating away from my desk in the last two weeks.
Squid is the only one of my employees who’s not surprised. He’s just happy to have company on his daily walk to the residential side of the compound. I knock on his door before entering.
“Is it time already?” He asks, looking up from some papers he’s reviewing.
As he puts the files back into their folder, I glance at the family photos on his desk and, not for the first time, I envy the seemingly small joys of this man’s day.
Morning coffee with his wife, phone calls from his sons, lunch with Bev every day…
As every step carries me closer to Marissa and DJ, I imagine what it would be like to open the door and see them for the next 20, 30 years. My ribcage expands at the thought.
“In a hurry, are we?” Squid teases me after I clear my throat.
“I’m hungry,” I lie.
“You live with the woman, Hawk. How is it possible you can’t even make it a full four hours at work without seeing her?”
“First of all, thanks to your wife and her integration efforts, I barely see Marissa despite living with her. At least next week she’ll be working here with us.”
“I think you’re exaggerating what Bev’s doing.”
I don’t appreciate the dismissal in his voice.
“Oh, yeah? Eleven days she’s been living with me, and yet, the most time we spent together was sorting out the custody stuff in court last week. We’ve eaten three dinners alone. Three! If I don’t go home for lunch, I barely see her.”
“What about the weekend? Can’t you make plans under the guise of showing her around?”
“Not this weekend,” I say, trying not to sound like a sulking toddler. “Her friend Rachel is driving up with Truck and all three of their children.”
“That was fast, good, it means he’s interested in hearing us out,” Prez says in a serious tone, then frowns. “Wait. Where’s Marissa when you come home from work every day?”
