Company Ink by E.L. Lewis

s e v e n t e e n

I have never in my life had so many papercuts. They're everywhere. Constant little reminders that I have been slaving away, for almost two days, trying to digitize all of Adrian's documents. I hate paper. I hate fingers. But mostly I hate Adrian.

Aside from sending me relatively passive-aggressive emails, I've barely spoken to him since our encounter in the boardroom. When I got back from discussing Client Appreciation Night with Blake, which was a total disaster, Adrian's blinds were closed, and I didn't see him for the rest of the day. Not that I even had time to think about it because Nancy, bless her little detail-oriented soul, barely had anything planned for Pearson & Associates' biggest event of the year. Sure, we have a venue and catering, but there is so much more that goes into an event other than location and food! The girl didn't even have a theme! Thankfully, Monique's obsession with Leonardo DiCaprio sparked an idea last night and I can't wait to share it with Blake. I hope he goes for it... but he doesn't particularly strike me as a flapper fan.

I lock up Adrian's filing cabinet and head back to my desk. He decided to take an early lunch so I could organize his files without 'bothering him'. I wasn't aware that the sound of paper shuffling was such a nuisance! Tossing all the documents on my desk, I pull out a little grey box from my bottom drawer and put it into my purse. I hope my dad likes his gift.

Checking the time, I hustle out of the office and jog down the street to The Pink Elephant. I hope the service here is fast because I only have an hour for lunch. Even though an hour isn't enough time to cover all the shit that's happened in the last three months, I'm actually really looking forward to seeing my parents. I thought that once they retired, I'd be able to see them more often, but it turned out the exact opposite. Apparently, they're too busy renovating the back porch and playing golf for visits, let alone phone calls. My mom's never been a chatty person but now she's practically a mute.

The hostess seats me at a table in the middle of the restaurant. I was expecting my mom and dad to be here already, but I guess they're running late. Looking around at the fuchsia-colored walls, pink leather furniture, and gold detailing, I can't help but take out my phone and snap a couple of Instagram-worthy shots.

It's not long before I see my mother stumble through the front door looking as beautiful as ever; shoulder-length curled blonde hair, her makeup done to perfection, dressed in a classy midi-dress, and a chunky white cardigan. If someone were to see her on the street, they would never be able to guess that she's pushing sixty.

"Mom!" I exclaim, standing up and wrapping her in a tight embrace. "You're here." I look past her shoulder. "Where's dad? Is he parking the car? I think there's parking in the back if he can't find anything out front."

My mother hugs me back, frowning as she pulls away. "Your dad can't make it, dear. He got held up at the bank."

All my excitement fades away as we sit down. "He's not coming?" I ask quietly. "But I haven't seen him in forever."

My mom's forest-green eyes soften. "He told me to tell you that he's sorry and that he'll call you soon to chat."

I scoff, crossing my arms. "Right. He's going to call. Sure."

"Cassandra!" My mom narrows her eyes, scolding me. "Your dad wanted to be here. It's not his fault that his appointment is running late. Blame the Bank of America, not him."

"Why do you always defend him?" I ask, my hands starting to sweat. "He would have scheduled an earlier appointment if he really wanted to be here. He just doesn't care."

"He cares, dear." My mother tries to reach for my hand, but I pull away. "He just has a difficult time showing it."

I roll my eyes. "Dad hasn't cared about me since he found out your test-tube baby was a girl."

My mom slams her hand on the table, shaking the centerpiece. "Stop that. Right now! We're not having this conversation again." Mom takes a deep breath and straightens out her necklace. "You are twenty-four years old Cassie, when will you stop accusing your father of not loving you? What has he done to ever make you feel like that? Huh? He paid for your college, he bought you everything you've ever wanted. He even offered to buy you a condo when you graduated, which if I remember correctly, you said you didn't want."

"Just because he buys me shit doesn't mean he loves me." I chuckle with disbelief. "But of course, you'd feel that way."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, whatever." I nod towards the server that's walking towards our table. "Do you know what you want?"

"Yes. I looked at the menu on the way here. I'm having the butter chicken."

"Really? Out of all of these items—" I wave my hand across the menu. "You're going to get butter chicken? You always order that."

My mom shrugs. "I know what I like," she says flatly.

If it were up to Mom, she'd eat rice and butter for the rest of her life. We place our orders and I ask the server to bring me an extra veggie samosa in a take-out container. The reviews say that they are the best in the city.

"So, what's this news you wanted to share?" I ask after our waters arrive.

My mom smiles while taking a deep breath. "Well, your father and I are going to—"

My cell phone buzzes. "Hold on, sorry. It's work."

Adrian: Where are you?

Cassie: Having lunch at The Pink Elephant. Why?

Adrian: Did you take the keys to my filing cabinet?

I bite my lip while checking my pockets. Fuck.

Cassie: Yes, sorry. I forgot to hang them up. I'll be back in less than an hour. Can you wait?

Adrian: No, I need them now

Cassie: Ok, I can run back to the office in 10 minutes. I'm just talking to my mom about something right now

Adrian: Fine. See you shortly

I toss my phone into my purse. "Sorry about that. Work things. You were saying."

"Is work keeping you busy these days? I saw that NVP is hosting a book fair at the convention center next week. All my favorite authors will be there. Do you think you can get me a pass?"

"Yeah, for sure. I'll see what I can do." Maybe one of my ex-coworkers can snag an extra pass for me; otherwise, I'll have to purchase one. "Can we get back to you and dad? What's going on?"

Mom places both her hands on the table. "Well, your father and I have been doing a lot of thinking lately and we've decided to move."

"Okay? Where? Bellevue? Kirkland? Please don't tell me you're moving to Everett. Also, what's wrong with West Seattle? You guys love it there."

My mom tilts her head, her smile faint. "Honey, we're not moving towns. We're moving countries."

"What?! Countries?! You've never even been outside of the US! How can you move somewhere without even visiting first?! Countries?!" I look around the restaurant in complete shock. "Where are you moving? Why?"

"Cassie!" Mom hisses through her teeth. "Will you keep your voice down, there are people around."

"There's like no one else here, mom! You can't just drop this on me and expect me to sit here and smile. Where are you moving? When?... Why?"

"We've decided to move to Mexico."

"Mexico?! What the hell are you going to do in Mexico? You nearly died when you visited Florida for a week! You complained about the heat the whole time." I shake my head. What is going on right now?! "Why Mexico?"

"Cassie, I'm going to need you to calm down a little, okay? Just breathe, honey. You're getting all—" Mom waves all her fingers in the air. "We didn't tell you this, but we went to Los Cabos a couple of times in the last several years, with our friends, and we just fell in love. We talked to Jill and Hank, you remember the Millers, right? Either way, we decided to buy an estate right on the water together. It's so beautiful, Cassie. The ocean is just thirty steps away, the air is so fresh, and the view is simply spectacular!"

"Oh my God! You've been watching way too much House Hunters International! You can't just up and leave! You have a life here. Friends!" I pout as the gravity of the situation begins to weigh on me. "I'm here."

"Oh, honey!" My mom comes around the table and gives me a warm side-hug. "We love you but you're an adult now. You don't need us anymore. You have a career. You're living with Monique. You'll be just fine!"

I attempt to take Cameron Diaz's advice and cry on the inside like a winner. None of her reasons for me being fine are true! I am the opposite of fine! I am un-fine. That's not even a word!

"Monique's getting married," I say into my mom's shoulder, sniffling, trying to not look like a child. "She's moving out soon."

My mom pats my head like a toddler before returning to her chair. "To Matthew?! That's wonderful! I'll have to call Simone and Will to congratulate them!" I never understood why people called the parents of the betrothed; it's not like they did anything!

Our food arrives in record time and I passively listen to my mom as she drones on about Monique, acting as if she didn't just shake up my entire life. If they move to Mexico, then my only family in the States will be Lucy and Ness. All my grandparents are dead, it'll just be the three of us. I can't believe they're doing this. They're leaving me. Their only daughter.

I pull out the gift box from my purse and slide it over to my mom. "Give this to dad for me," I say gloomily. "It's his Father's Day present."

"Aw, that's so sweet of you, dear." She grabs it and places it inside her handbag. "What is it?"

"It's a customized fish lure," I mumble. "I had it inscribed."

"Oh, he'll love that!" Mom exclaims, her eyes glimmering with appreciation.

"Yeah," I sigh. "I hope so."

Mom and I eat in silence for a few minutes, before the sound of melodic chimes coming from the front doors, causes me to look up from my plate of paneer tikka masala. My eyes widen and my heart drops into my stomach. Shit! Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. What time is it?! I totally forgot to run the keys back to the office.

Adrian narrows his unimpressed eyes at me as he walks over to our table. Thankfully, my oblivious mother's attention is focused on the meal in front of her, and not on my panic expression, or shifty eyes.

"Hi," I say in a low drawn out-breath as he stops at the edge of our table. My mother tilts her head towards the stranger hovering above us. "What're you doing here?"

"You said ten minutes, Cassie," Adrian says in a low tone, paying zero attention to my mom. "It's been twenty."

Fuck! "Why didn't you just call me?" I whisper, trying to sound as composed as possible. I can sense my mom observing our interaction in the corner of my eye.

"I did, but you didn't answer." Adrian holds his phone in front of my face showing three outgoing calls. "Well? Keys?"

My mom clears her throat, a dainty and high-pitched sound escaping her mouth. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your...friend?"

"Right, sorry..." I laugh nervously. "Mom, this is Adrian." I glance up at Adrian and swallow. "Adrian, this is my mother, Meredith."

"Pleased to meet you, Meredith." Adrian nods at my mom and then faces me, holding out his hand. "Keys, Cassie."

"Adrian?" My mom asks, her forehead creasing. Oh no. Please don't. "Cassie's never mentioned an Adrian before. How do you two know each other?"

Fuckity fuck. No. Please! She can't know I have a new job. Not like this. I'm not ready!

Adrian takes an annoyed breath and turns back towards my mother. "I'm Cassie’s new bo—"

"Boyfriend!" I exclaim, abruptly standing up and nearly knocking my glass of water on the table.

Dread immediately washes over my body. What did I just do?!