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“No need to be embarrassed,” Finley said. “We all like to read something a little…naughty at times.”
He didn’t just say naughty. That couldn’t have just happened because, if it had, I was fairly certain that I would need to lock myself in a bathroom and not come out until I was dead.
“You know, that sounded funny in my head,” he said. “Like the sort of thing that could break a potentially awkward silence. But I was wrong. It just made it more awkward.”
Good to know I wasn’t the only one thinking that.
“So, how about we pretend I didn’t say any of that, and we move on to another topic?”
I nodded. “That would be good.”
Except the only other topic I could think of was one that made my stomach flip. It was going to come up tonight, but I wasn’t sure this was the best segue.
“I like Nate,” Finley said quietly, his voice suddenly serious. “But I know how he is with women. Are things between you two…legitimate?”
His question startled me. I’d assumed that his interest before had been out of a need to protect the company and Nate, but maybe he really did want to look out for me too.
“Not quite sure I’d ever refer to a relationship as legitimate,” I said. “But it’s real, if that’s what you’re asking.”
He came over to stand next to me. “He’s not pressuring you or coercing you?”
“Nate would never do that,” I said quickly. A little voice in the back of my head reminded me that, technically, he had done that to me the first time, but the more I got to know him, the more I believed he never would have fired me even if I’d refused to go along with his ‘date.’
“I’d hoped that was why he’d set up that freelance contract.”
“It is.” I turned to face him. “Can we sit down? I have something I want to talk to you about. It’s actually why Nate asked you to come tonight.”
He looked curious, but not worried, and when I moved to the pair of plush chairs a few feet away, he followed me. I waited until he was settled and then I laced my fingers together and prayed to not completely fuck this up.
“My mom wanted a baby, but she’s a lesbian.” I mentally smacked myself. That was the absolute most awkward thing in the world to have said, but I forged ahead, knowing that now that I’d said it, I had to explain or risk looking like a complete idiot. “I mean, she didn’t like guys, so pregnancy wasn’t going to go the normal route. She had artificial insemination.”
I forced myself to keep looking at his face, waiting to see when he’d finally make the connection. So far, he wore a slightly puzzled look, as if he couldn’t figure out why I was giving him this insanely personal information.
“Mom was always open about where I came from, and I never really wanted to know anything about my father…until my mom got sick. Her family had disowned her when she came out, and her partner left when I was fourteen. We had a few friends, but most of the responsibility was on me. Mom hated it, but…” I shook my head. “It wasn’t until then that I realized she was all I had. If she died, I wouldn’t have anyone. No family at all. So, I decided to find my father.”
Finley set down his glass, and I saw his hand shake as he rested it on his knee. He still didn’t speak, but I knew he’d figured out where this story was going next.
“I kept going back to the clinic until I found a name. Your name.” I gave him a small smile. “There aren’t many Finley Kordells in this world, so you were easy to find.”
“You knew who I was when you came to Manhattan Records,” he said after a long moment. “That’s why you came.”
I nodded. “I couldn’t figure out how to approach you. I didn’t know the sort of man you were. My mom went into remission, so I wasn’t scared anymore. I could take my time to figure out if I wanted to know you.” I flushed. “I know that sounds awful, knowing what a good man you are, but I didn’t know that when I first came to Manhattan Records.”
I fell silent and waited for him to respond. It was a lot of information to process, I knew that, and it wasn’t as if I’d given him much in the way of warning.
“When I was in college, my idiot roommate decided the best way to make money was to donate…well, you know.” Finley flushed. “He didn’t want to go alone, so I went with him. An impulsive decision that I haven’t really thought about since.”
“I expected as much.” I hurried to reassure him. “I didn’t come to find you because I wanted something from you.”
He smiled. “No one who’s spoken to you for more than two minutes could ever think that about you.”
From anyone, that sort of compliment would’ve made me smile. From a boss, it would’ve been great. From my father…I beamed. I wasn’t naïve enough to think that this was going to be some sort of sitcom thing where we’d be going to father-daughter dances or anything like that, but maybe, just maybe we could have something.
“I’m sorry I came to the company with ulterior motives.” He hadn’t mentioned anything like that, but after how Nate had reacted, I wanted to get out in front of things. “Manhattan Records is a great place to work, but if you think it’s a conflict of interests to have me there or if you’d rather have someone who came with the business as their primary focus, I’ll quit.”
Silence bloomed between us, as we just stared at each other. It wasn’t awkward, exactly. It was actually nice. I breathed out a half sigh of relief.
“When I found out that you and Nate were involved, I took a look at your work history.” Finley’s tone reassured me as much as his smile. “You’re one of our best employees, and I think I can honestly say that without any bias. You work hard when you’re there, and you rarely take time off. You’re never late or ask to leave early. The quality of your work is exemplary.”