“Right, which is why you should take a day off.”
“Well, lucky for me, I wasn’t in the house, so I don’t see any reason why I can’t go to work,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance.
“Mira, just take the day,” I say, not wanting to argue with her about this. I want her to stay here where I know she’ll be safe. Unfortunately, that’s assuming Mirabelle cooperates with me right now, and I see a low probability of that happening.
“I thought you of all people would get it, Henry. All the interns are just waiting for me to fail. We’ve been in the office for two—nearly three—weeks. I can’t take time off if I want to have a job,” she says, and while it makes sense after what Mira told me last night, I still think she should stay here.
“I do get it, and I still think you should take the day off. I’m not going to be there to keep an eye on you.”
Mirabelle takes a step back, her mouth falling ajar in shock. Perfect, now I’ve fucked up again.
“Well, I’m sorry I’m such a big fucking inconvenience for you. No one is making you keep an eye on me. If anything, it’smy jobto keep an eye on you, since you can’t seem to get your shit together in front of the cameras,” Mirabelle snaps, and it’s my turn to be shocked.
We’ve never argued before, but I have witnessed plenty of arguments with her brothers. I’m the one she comes to after fighting with them when our families are together, which realistically was all the time growing up.
“Mira—”
She grabs her bag, glaring at me fiercely. “You are being an ass. A fucking asshole, Henry. You’re not my dad or my brother, so you don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“I’m not being an asshole. I’m looking out for you,” I argue, my shortened temper getting the better of me after a late night, and Mirabelle flips me off, grabbing my keys off the hook.
“What the hell are you guys yelling about at seven in the fucking morning?” Wilson asks, his massive frame filling the entire doorway from the kitchen.
“She’s being unreasonable,” I say, looking to him for backup.
Mirabelle scoffs, swinging the door to the garage open. “Oh, I’m the one being unreasonable? You’re the one with a giant stick up your ass, because you’re being an ass!”
“Will you both just shut up? It’s too early for this,” Wilson says, shooting a look at me as if I’m the one to blame.So much for backing me up.
Mirabelle takes the opportunity to walk into the garage, slamming the door behind her.
“She’s right. You are being an ass,” he mutters under his breath, turning around. “You should never tell a woman what to do. I thought you were smarter than that.”
The sound of my car’s horn echoes through the house as she leaves in a very clearfuck youmanner.
Apparently, I’mnotsmarter than that.
~
“How did you decide you wanted to be a quarterback? Wasn’t your father a lineman at Duke?” Stacey asks, and it takes everything in me to not ignore her. The click of Mira’s heels is driving me crazy—actually, she is driving me crazy because she shouldn’t be here today.
If I weren’t busy trying to figure out how to apologize to her, I’d probably be mad she took my car this morning. While I still believe I’m right, I probably shouldn’t have picked a fight with Mirabelle this morning. I’m just worried about her.
Last night was a lot for anyone to handle, and I get wanting to act like nothing happened, but something did happen. I’ve had this pit in my stomach I haven’t been able to shake since getting Sebastian’s call last night, because the idea of someone hurting Mirabelle wrecks me. I know it’s easier for her not to acknowledge that possibility until the investigation is completed, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what could have happened.
I’ve always tried my best to keep an eye out for her. I can vividly recall my dad pulling me aside when I was eight, asking me to promise I’d always be there for Mirabelle to help keep her safe. That promise always lingers in the back of my mind.
“Henry?” Stacey asks, and I stop walking to turn back at her.
“What was the question again?”
“What made you want to be a quarterback?” she repeats evenly, clearly not pleased to be repeating herself. I glance at Mirabelle a half step behind Stacey, taking notes on her phone.
“I wanted to be like Sebastian Walker when I was a kid. He’s a huge influence in my life.”
Mirabelle’s chocolate eyes blink at me in surprise. I’m not sure what else she thought my answer would be. I practically worship the ground he walks on, regardless of how long I’ve known him.
Stacey’s phone begins ringing in her hand, pulling her attention away from me.Thank god.“I’ll be back in a moment, I have to take this call. Mirabelle, why don’t you ask Henry some of the other questions we discussed this morning?”
