PART 4:

She says capitalism is why the good grocery store left and now we have to go to the expensive one. Mrs. Castellanos is not wrong. Adrian stood and opened the passenger door. Buckle up. And yeah, we can get ice cream. Emma cheered and scrambled into the seat. They drove to the ice cream place on Maple Street, a family-owned shop that had been there since Adrian was a kid.

Emma got mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone. Adrian got black coffee because he was tired and slightly too old to enjoy ice cream in late autumn. They sat at one of the outdoor tables even though it was cold because Emma liked watching the cars go by. She swung her legs and attacked her ice cream with focus.

Dad? Yeah? Are you sad? Adrian looked up sharply. What? No. Why would I be sad? You have your sad face. I don’t have a sad face. You do. It’s the one where your eyes look tired and you don’t smile even when you’re supposed to. Adrian set his coffee down. 8 years old and she already saw through him like glass. I’m not sad, he said, just tired.

Work stuff. Is work bad? No, work is fine. Then why do you look like that? Like what? Like you’re thinking about something that makes you feel heavy. Adrian had no idea how to answer that. He settled for deflection. How’s your ice cream? Perfect. You’re changing the subject. I am absolutely changing the subject, Emma grinned triumphant.

See? You do have a sad face. Eat your ice cream before it melts. She did, but she kept watching him with those sharp knowing eyes that reminded him she was too smart for her own good. They spent the rest of the afternoon at the public library. Emma had discovered the dolphin book last week and had become obsessed.

Now she wanted everything they had on marine biology. Adrian sat in one of the worn armchairs near the children’s section and watched her pull books off the shelves with the seriousness of a scholar. His phone buzzed. Unknown number. He almost didn’t answer, but something made him swipe to accept. Hello? Adrian Vail? The voice was professional, clipped, female.

Speaking. This is Katherine Moreno, HR director at Titan Tech. I’m calling because your name came up in a routine security review. Adrian’s blood went cold. A security review? Standard procedure, nothing to be concerned about. However, I do need to ask, were you working in executive suite 4701 last night? Yeah, electrical issue.

You’ll lights were flickering. And you were alone with Ms. Cross? The way she said it made stomach drop. I was fixing the lights. She was working late. That’s all. I’m sure it was. Katherine’s voice was perfectly pleasant and completely terrifying. Just making sure everything’s documented properly. We take executive security very seriously.

I fixed the lights and left. That’s the whole story. Of course. Thank you for your time, Mr. Vail. The line went dead. Adrian stared at his phone. His heart was pounding. They were checking up on him. Someone probably building security, maybe Selena’s assistant, maybe Selena herself, had flagged the late-night maintenance call and now HR was sniffing around to make sure the working-class maintenance guy hadn’t done something inappropriate.

Dad? Emma was standing in front of him with an armload of books. Can I check these out? Adrian forced his face into something resembling normal. Yeah, yeah, of course. But his hands were shaking when he helped her carry them to the circulation desk. That night, after Emma was asleep and Mrs.

Castellanos had gone home, Adrian sat at the kitchen table and stared at his phone. He should forget the whole thing, pretend Thursday night never happened, go to work, keep his head down, stay invisible. That was the smart play. But his mind kept circling back to the way Selena had looked at him. The way she’d asked why he didn’t look at her, like it mattered, like she was tired of people not seeing her as anything more than a title and a bank account.

He understood that. He understood it more than he wanted to. His phone buzzed. Text from an unknown number. This is Selena. I got your number from the employee directory. I hope that’s okay. Adrian stared at the screen. I wanted to apologize, the next text read. I put you in an uncomfortable position last night.

That wasn’t fair. His thumbs hovered over the keyboard. He should tell her it was fine. He should keep it professional and distant. Instead, he typed, You didn’t do anything wrong. The reply came fast. I made you answer a question you didn’t want to answer. You asked. I could have lied. Why didn’t you? Adrian closed his eyes.

This was a bad idea. This was exactly the kind of bad idea that ended with him losing his job and Emma losing the stability she needed. Because you looked like you needed to hear the truth, he typed, even if it wasn’t what you expected. Three dots appeared, disappeared, appeared again. Can I ask you something else? Depends on the question.

Do you really think there’s that much difference between people like me and people like you? Adrian laughed, bitter and sharp in the quiet kitchen. He typed, You made more this morning before breakfast than I’ll make this year. So, yeah. I think there’s a difference. Money isn’t the only thing that matters.

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