Chapter 6 #2
“Good. Thank you.” She opened the door to the outside and took a shaky breath. “Oh, man. I’m sorry. Your job description probably doesn’t include drying tears.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised.” He lifted one corner of his mouth. “Cian O’Leary cries all the time, and I’m the only one he has.”
She laughed. “That’s not true.”
“Oh, yes, it is!” announced a voice from the entrance hall. “Dad cries at every Disney movie.”
“Anyone who doesn’t cry watching Up has no heart!” Cian shouted through his open office door.
Ada rolled her eyes. “I didn’t cry.”
They currently didn’t have a receptionist or a paralegal, and Cian’s daughter insisted that it wouldn’t be child labor if she answered the phones and earned enough money for a new iPhone with more storage.
It was a temporary solution for a few afternoons. Cian had suggested it so that at least Connor couldn’t scare her away. There was some truth in that.
Mrs. Teager sniffed. “You truly are…like a family here. It’s nice.”
“Whether family is nice is debatable,” Ada remarked sourly before adding more loudly, “Some family members unjustifiably take your phone away!”
“Oh dear. I’d better go,” Mrs. Teager said, smiling. “I can have that discussion at home.”
She raised her hand, and was disappearing out the door, when Cian called out angrily, “It’s for your own good. Connor likes to yell at temps who surf social media while at work.”
Ada gasped, aggravated. “Connor would never yell at me, would he?” She looked at him doubtfully.
No. Never. “I wouldn’t hesitate for a second,” he replied dryly.
“See?” Cian called out, but Ada merely grinned. She’d probably learned to spot a bluff from her dad.
“Is Ada nodding respectfully and giving a thumbs-up?” Cian asked after a while.
“Sure,” Connor said with a sigh. “Man, O’Leary family, pull yourselves together. We’re a professional workplace.”
“Then you should have a professional secretary and several professional paralegals,” Ada remarked, batting her eyelashes.
“We had a professional staff,” Cian said, poking his head out of his office. “But your dear godfather thought it appropriate to make them all cry one by one.”
“I showed them Up,” he explained, unperturbed, to Ava.
His thirteen-year-old adopted niece laughed out loud, but only fifty percent of the O’Leary family seemed to find him funny.
“You said you’d arrange for a replacement, Connor!” Cian reminded him, jabbing his index finger in his direction.
“Right. It’s on my list.”
“At what number?”
“Right below: give Cian the middle finger.”
Cian grinned. “So, pretty high up?”
Connor raised his middle finger.
“Hello, there’s an impressionable teenager here who’s driven by separation anxiety!” Ada said, displeased, glancing anxiously between them. “Be nice to each other.”
Cian stepped up to the reception desk and patted Ada on the head. “Connor and I would never split up, Ada,” he whispered seriously. “We just like to tease each other, just like you enjoy annoying me!”
She sighed. “Okay. But then let me do my job, Dad, and stop being stupid.” She cleared her throat and fixed her gaze on Connor.
“Mr. Stone, your brother called and said you need to call back. And a woman called.” She pursed her lips, curiosity glinting in her eyes.
“Her name was Mel, and she wanted to confirm your date for Galette on Friday.”
He nodded. Fantastic. He’d insisted on getting the table next to Rachel James when he made the reservation.
Yes, it was stupid of him. But…his curiosity had gotten the better of him about what type of man her stupid program would spit out for her next and whether Rachel liked him or not. Plus, she was entertaining. If his date couldn’t say the same, at least he’d still have an enjoyable evening.
“Who’s Mel?” Ada asked casually.
“A woman.”
“What does she look like?”
“Like a woman.”
Ada grinned. “You like women, so she’s your type.”
He snorted while Cian chuckled softly. “She’s not wrong!”
“Is she your Rapunzel?” Ada persisted.
“Her hair is shoulder-length, so no.”
“What does she do for a living?”
“Ada…”
“What?”
He looked at her, shaking his head. “Wouldn’t you rather set up your father first before trying me?”
“Nah, Dad’s not on the market.” She waved her hand. “Ever since Mom abandoned us and broke his heart, he doesn’t believe in relationships anymore. Except for the ones with you and Gareth.”
Frowning, Cian closed his eyes and groaned. “Have kids, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.”
“Oh, like I wasn’t an accident.” Ada rolled her eyes. “You had me when you were twenty and in the middle of law school. That wasn’t planned.”
“Okay, Ada,” Cian said loudly. “Go home, okay? You have that math test tomorrow.”
“Yes, but I’m not getting paid for it, so…”
“Ada.”
“Fine.” She sighed heavily. “But we’re going to eat at the Sunny Umbrella on Saturday, right?” She looked at Connor hopefully. “If you come along, I always get two desserts.”
Yes, because he always pretended to order one for himself even though he had absolutely no interest in sweets. “Sure. I love being ignored by you at dinner for your phone.”
She grinned. “It’s always a special time for me too! And Gareth is much worse than I am. He’d much rather communicate with machines than people. I have no hope for him either. But you, Connor…you could find your Rapunzel.”
“Yeah, maybe,” he replied distantly. The plan was to get into a serious relationship, right? Truthfully, he had absolutely no interest in princesses. He liked women who didn’t mind getting their hands dirty…in many different ways.