“Ready?” Caleb lowered the passenger window when he pulled up to where I was pacing.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I sighed. I climbed in, and stared out the windshield. “Can I ask you something?” I glanced in his direction before I started picking at my nails.
“Sure. Are you ok?” He reached over and placed his hand over mine and squeezed it.
“Not really. Do you think I should call him Dad, or Alex?” I darted my eyes toward him before going back to the road in front of us.
“I think you should call him Mr. Bishop until he tells you different. Keep in mind, he might not know about you. I think if you call him Dad, he might freak out a little.” Caleb sounded really tentative. It was like he was afraid I was going to break.
“Good point.” I nodded. “Mr. Bishop.” I nodded again as I pulled my hand from Caleb’s. It wasn’t that I was mad or anything, I was just trying to put myself in the right state of mind to do this.
oooooooooCaleb
I wasn’t sure what to make out of this whole day. There was so much that I was hiding from her. My mom has been texting me all morning, and Riley’s parents are currently blowing up my phone. I had to put it on silent because of them. Angela told me this morning that this Alex guy doesn’t know anything about Riley. I can’t tell her that though because I’m not supposed to be talking to her parents. I’m in such a hard place, and I don’t know how to escape it. No matter what I do, she’s gonna be pissed at me, and we have a four-day drive home.
“I think it’s right up here.” Riley pointed out the window at one of the many glass high rises along the street. We were heading toward the downtown area, and everything looked the same.
“How can you tell? It looks the same on every street.” I strained to look out her window.
“Well,” she giggled “this little thing called a GPS on your phone here,” she pointed to where my phone was sitting on the dash, “says ‘you have arrived’.”
I glared at her in mock anger. “You can be such a smartass.”
“But you like it.” She grinned.
“Maybe.” I shrugged and then shoved my phone in my pocket. I’d been lucky that no one had called since I’d asked it for directions. “Let me find a place to park.” I pulled into a public lot down the block. The ocean waves were crashing in the distance and it currently matched the turmoil in my head. Trees waved in the summer breeze, and in that moment, I just wanted to sit and enjoy my surroundings. I opened my door, and started to climb out.
“What are you doing?” Riley squeaked.
“Getting out?” It came out as more of a question. “You don’t think I’m letting you go up there by yourself, do you?” I waited for her to answer, but she just stared at me. I walked around to her side, and helped her out. “We don’t know what we’re walking into. I’m not letting you face this alone.” The truth was, I kinda did know what we were walking into. This Alex guy didn’t know anything about Riley. He didn’t even know he was a dad. If he’s a decent guy, he’ll be understanding, but I’m not banking on that. I don’t know much about Angela and her time living here. I only know what I’ve heard from my mom, and that wasn’t much. Every once in a while, I’d overhear her talking to Angela about what a jerk this Alex guy was. I also know that it was only her side of things. I know when a woman is hurt, things don’t always come out the way they happened. I’m trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, but also be prepared for the worst.
“You don’t have to do this,” Riley murmured as we made our way up the sidewalk.
“I know.” I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her into my side. “I want to.” Once in the lobby, we read off the names listed and looked for Bishop, Burke, and Brown. Alex worked for a marketing firm. He was a partner now, and had worked his way up from the bottom. I’d Googled him last night when Riley was sleeping.
“There it is.” She pointed at the sign. “Floor twelve.” She pressed the call button on the elevator, and we waited. When the doors opened, it was empty. “Come on.” She tugged my hand as we stepped inside, and hit the number twelve on the wall. She looked so much younger as the doors closed. I watched her head tip up and watch as the numbers lit up, showing our climb to the twelfth floor.
“You know that no matter what happens today, it doesn’t change who you are, right? You are an amazing woman, Riley McKay, and Alexander Bishop isn’t going to change that.” I stood in front of her with my hands on her shoulders. I was silently praying that I wouldn’t have to deck this guy, but I wanted her to keep her expectations reasonable too.
oooooooooRiley
When we stepped off the elevator, I came face to face with double glass doors. The names Bishop, Burke, and Brown were painted in fancy lettering near the top. I stared for a moment before heaving them open. They were heavier than they looked, but the whoosh of cool air that enveloped me from inside was a welcome reprieve from the hot summer heat.
“Hi. Can I help you?” A dark-haired woman from behind a desk smiled at us.
“Yes.” I smiled back. “I have an
