Chapter 19
Rohan listened to the fourth sigh he’d heard in the past two minutes and had to contain the chuckle that wanted to escape him. He was more than aware of why it was happening, but he wouldn’t take the bait. He continued typing the email he was currently working on.
The sound of the keys was the only thing heard in the room for about thirty seconds, and then there was another sigh. He bit the inside of his jaw, doing his best not to laugh as he continued to type.
“Rohan,” she called in what he could only describe as a pathetic whine. “I’m bored. Can I play some games on your phone?”
He looked up at the teenager with a raised brow. “First, I know you are not becoming the definition of ‘You got games on your phone’. Second, no. You’re grounded, and your sister isn’t about to be mad at me,” he responded. Landon let out a little huff and crossed her arms over her chest.
When he’d taken Jalen and Landon home the day before, his girlfriend had been ticked that she would have to take time off work to stay home and ensure that Landon didn’t do something she shouldn’t.
Rohan could tell that it was stressing her, and he could only imagine how costly it was to take care of five other people.
So, he’d volunteered to pick Landon up and let her come to work with him on the mornings Jalen had to work, since Kodi would be home with her in the afternoons.
Naturally, Jalen had protested, telling him she didn’t want him neglecting his work or Landon being a distraction, but he had known that she wouldn’t be.
He was his own boss, so it wasn’t as if he had to ask someone if she could come with him, and he’d had plenty of practice tuning people out when he needed to.
“She doesn’t have to know,” Landon replied.
“Should you really be trying to sneak around and do anything right now?” he questioned and watched her deflate.
“No. I guess you’re right.”
To his knowledge, Landon had been sticking to her guns about not telling Jalen who she’d been talking to, and Jalen had informed him that the contact number, if it was saved in the phone in the first place, the messages, and the call logs had been deleted.
She was going to the phone company on Friday afternoon before she had to work that night.
“Where’s your sketchbook?” he questioned.
“I was in a hurry this morning. I woke up late and didn’t want to make you late, so I forgot it,” she informed him.
There was a knock on his door before he could respond, and a second later, his mother walked in. She glanced over at the couch to see Landon sitting there and immediately went over.
“Hey, sweetheart,” she greeted, reaching out to feel her forehead. “Are you sick?”
“Hey, Ms. Vivian. No, I’m not sick.”
“So, you’re playing hooky?”
“She got suspended,” Rohan supplied. “So, she’s going to hang out with me for a few days while Jalen is at work.”
“Suspended?” his mother questioned.
“It’s…a long story,” Landon stated.
“Mhm,” his mom responded. “Well, I’m sure you’re bored in here. Why don’t you come to my office with me, and we can—”
“No, Mom,” Rohan stated, cutting her off, and she turned to look at him.
“She’s grounded as well. So, she isn’t allowed to do anything dealing with electronics or general fun.
” His mother furrowed her eyebrows, knowing that Landon must have done something severe if she wasn’t allowed to do hardly anything.
However, Jalen hadn’t taken her drawing materials from her.
“But you can take her to concepts so she can get some supplies to draw. If I have to hear her sigh again, I’m going to demand she take a nap,” Rohan tacked on with a teasing smirk, and Landon stuck her tongue out at him.
“Alright. Come on, kiddo,” his mother spoke before throwing over her shoulder. “We’ll be back in about fifteen minutes.”
Rohan knew they wouldn’t be. Concepts was on an entirely different floor. Not only that, but he knew it would take Landon a while to choose from all the materials they had there.
He’d just finished up his email when Laurelle buzzed into his office to inform him that his ten-thirty was there. Rohan cursed under his breath because he had completely forgotten about the last-minute appointment he’d set the day before.
“Give me two minutes, and you can show them in.”
He quickly searched through his files, pulling up the notes he’d made the previous day during the phone call.
He was still skimming over them when Laurelle walked in with the client.
As Rohan stood, he hid the surprise on his face.
He’d set the appointment the day before with Allen Cole.
He was going to assume this woman was not him.
“Please have a seat,” he stated, gesturing towards one of the two seats on the other side of his desk.
“Thank you. Sorry for the switch, but my brother got caught up with some things at the office since we’re still in the launch phase, and sent me in his place. I’m Ariel.” She held her hand out, and he shook it.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Rohan.” He retook his seat, and he went over the pieces of information he’d gotten from her brother the day before.
They’d been discussing what their company was looking for in terms of marketing and what Ariel wanted to incorporate into it.
They’d been in the meeting for about thirty-five minutes when the door opened, and Landon walked in.
She apologized for not knocking when she saw he was in a meeting, but Rohan assured her it was fine and that she could sit at the table in there and do her drawings.
Ariel had asked if he had a helper for the day, and Rohan responded that she was shadowing him because the truth wasn’t her business.
It was going on eleven forty-five when they concluded the meeting. He told her he would get with his team and they would come up with a few different drafts of what she wanted and send them over within a couple of weeks. Ariel nodded before placing her arms on the desk and leaning forward.
“And what if I wanted you to call me for something other than business?” she whispered, he assumed, so that Landon wouldn’t hear her. “Like to arrange a lunch or dinner date?”
Her whispering had not been very good, because Landon spoke before he could.
“Dad,” she called, and Rohan bit his tongue to keep from laughing as Ariel’s eyes widened a bit. He looked over at the teenager.
“Hmm?” he hummed in acknowledgment because he knew that if he spoke, he would end up laughing.
“Are you almost done? We’re supposed to pick up Mom so we can all have lunch together, remember?
” And it wasn’t a complete lie; they were going to meet Jalen for lunch at twelve-thirty at a little bistro about five minutes from the hospital.
Rohan knew it was to make sure that Landon wasn’t acting out.
He nodded. “I remember. I’m wrapping up now.”
Ariel cleared her throat. “I’ll look for the drafts in a couple of weeks,” she stated, standing, and he did the same. “I look forward to doing business with you,” she told him before turning. She waved at Landon, who blinked at her slowly before going back to her drawing.
Once Ariel was out of the door, and Rohan was sure he was not in danger of her hearing him, he chuckled.
“Was that necessary?” he questioned, walking over to the table.
“Yes. I don’t need some chick trying to slither her way onto my sister’s boyfriend.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. And you’re referring to the same sister you’ve been giving problems?” Rohan questioned as he sat down across from her.
Landon sighed. “That doesn’t mean I don’t love her.”
“Of course, it doesn’t,” he told her, picking up one of the sketch pencils she’d brought back with her.
“I…didn’t even really mean all of those things I said to her,” Landon whispered, eyes still on the eleven-by-fourteen canvas in front of her.
“I’m sure you didn’t,” he replied, beginning to draw on a piece of paper. “Sometimes, when we’re kids, we say things we don’t mean because we’re angry or hurting, but that doesn’t make saying it okay. Especially if those things hurt someone you care about.”
“I know. It’s just…I was so angry. My dad found me so easily, and Jalen didn’t even want to find our fathers, and she doesn’t want us communicating with our mom, and I get that part.
I do. I can’t remember anything good that ever happened with her when she was around.
But…I wanted to know who my dad was, and she wouldn’t help me. ”
“Are you saying she wouldn’t help you because you asked, or because you just think she wouldn’t?” Rohan asked, shading a part of his drawing.
“I just knew she wouldn’t.”
“Hm, you can’t actually say that because you didn’t give her that chance.”
“You heard what she said in the car.”
“I heard what she said regarding her not wanting to find them because if they wanted to be a part of your lives they would have been, and if this man is your father, then he falls into the category of wanting to be because he did the work, but no one’s going to know for sure if you don’t tell Jalen who he is. ”
Landon remained quiet, and Rohan was sure she was trying to figure out if he was trying to truly help, which he was, or if he just wanted her to tell Jalen who she had been talking to. They sat in silence for a while, and it was only broken when Landon looked at what he was doing.
“You can draw?” she inquired, and he didn’t miss the surprise in her voice.
“Not nearly as good as you,” he replied, gesturing to the canvas she was sketching a picture of his mother on. He looked at his watch and saw that it was about to be twelve-fifteen. “Come on. We don’t want to be late meeting with Jalen.”
Landon nodded, placing the sketch pencil down, and the two of them headed out of his office.
????????????
“Are you sure?” The man standing in front of Jalen questioned. “I was on my way out, but I’d stay to keep you company,” he told her with a smile that let her know this was more than likely one of his favorite lines.