Chapter Thirty Evan
“Are you finishing up soon?”
I look up to see my dad standing in the doorway to my office. He’s already changed into his running gear, a bright-pink sweatband pushing his hair out of his face. My dad has always said that wearing pink makes him run faster, and as of yet he hasn’t been proved wrong.
“I shouldn’t be too long,” I say, and he nods, closing the door behind him as he leaves.
It’s been a couple days since I got back to work, and being in this office again is still weird.
It’s only a small room across from my dad’s office at home, containing all the things I need to check emails, print stat sheets and occasionally hold meetings.
Being in this chair doesn’t feel like it used to.
I used to look forward to coming here, to sitting in this big chair and spinning around like I’m playing pretend again.
Now it feels like a weight. Something I need to shake off and move on from.
Since Boston, I’ve been preparing for the internship, focusing on what skills I need to sharpen up to impress Howard Han.
He even reached out to me himself, saying that he’d heard good things from Richard, who we met at the mixer, and it’s made me that much more excited to start the internship.
I just don’t know how I’m going to tell my dad.
It’s been easy to slip back into this routine and be around him again, but I don’t know how much longer I can keep it up.
I shut down my laptop and make my way to my bedroom, where I change into a fresh pair of sweatpants, a compression shirt and a running vest, then meet my dad outside.
“Are you sure you’re up for it today, old man?” I tease, stretching out my hamstrings.
My dad grins. “I’m always ready for a run.”
It’s beautifully sunny outside, but there’s an early March chill in the air cutting through my hair and clothes as we follow our usual trail through the woods around the house.
My dad’s quicker than I am today, running ahead of me as I adopt a slower pace, taking in the tall trees and mountains.
The feel of the air on my cheeks relaxes me, and I wish I could find a way to feel it everywhere all at once.
We stop somewhere halfway, sitting on a wooden bench that overlooks the clearing in the forest. I take out my headphones, listening to the rustling of animals in the trees and the wind as my dad catches his breath beside me.
I lean forward with my elbows on my knees, letting my breathing return to normal.
My dad knocks his knee against mine. “I’m really proud of you, son.”
“Dad . . .” I let out an awkward laugh, turning to him.
“No, seriously, I am,” he says sincerely, and I lean back to look at him properly.
He’s got a slight crease between his eyebrows, the one he gets when he’s concentrating or when he talks about something serious.
“I’m glad you got the break you needed from work, and you got the internship.
I meant what I said the other day. You’re more than ready to come back to B it’s just the way I was born.” He nods slowly. “I’m okay, Dad.”
He sniffles. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Just focus on B I think this is the best-case scenario.”
“I agree. I’m proud of you, angel.”
“Thanks.” She giggles, and I want to drown in the sound. “How was the run with your dad?”
“Good,” I say, hesitating before I add, “I told him I don’t want to work for B&Co after graduation.”
“You did WHAT?!” I turn down the volume on the speakers, wincing at how loud she’s being.
“I’ve been thinking about it since I found out I got the SEI.
I never wanted to work there. I’ve always wanted to stay in academia, find more things I’m passionate about and see what paths I could take.
I think I stayed close to B&Co because it was the easy option.
The safe option. I talked to Miles about it and he even said it was a good idea.
Which is surprising because he doesn’t exactly have the best track record with good ideas and—”
Scarlett’s soft laugh is the only thing that snaps me out of the spiral I was slipping into. “Hey, slow down. Take a deep breath,” she says, and I do, tightening my grip on the steering wheel.
I check my ETA and ask, “Can you meet me at my place?”
“Already on the way.”