Leonard didn't let the air grow heavy.
"I'll have something for you tomorrow," he said again, lighter this time. "Okay? Just don't go back to work at the Cave. Please."
He gave me a playful look. "It would've looked cute when you were fourteen… maybe sixteen. But not right now," he teased and then gave me a wink.
I think he did it to ease the seriousness that had crept into the room. And it worked. I couldn't help but smile.
"Okay," I said softly.
And then we all turned our attention back to dinner. Victor quietly leaned against me like he always did when he felt safe, and things felt almost normal.
The next day at dinner, Leonard shared the news with a proud smile. His voice was calm but carried a note of excitement.
"So," he began, placing his fork down, "I spoke with a partner on this offline project I've been working on, and I asked if there were any available positions. They agreed. You'll be starting at the HR office."
He glanced at me, waiting to gauge my reaction before continuing.
"I'm sorry, Casey, I know this might not be what you had in mind, but I think it's a great place to begin. It's a small company for now, but it has a promising future. If you work well, I'm confident you'll be able to grow with it. This could really be something good for you."
And honestly? It did sound good. A real opportunity, something meaningful—something that could be mine.
"Thank you," I said, and I meant it. "I'm so very grateful for this."
Leonard gave a warm smile, but before he could say anything, Mom cut in with a soft chuckle, "You already said thank you."
Leonard leaned back, eyes still on me. "May I remind you—I'm your dad now. We're a family. You don't need to be so formal. Yes, I'm married to your lovely mother. So that makes us a family."
I nodded, a little overwhelmed but touched.
The next morning, I woke up early, picked out something simple and professional, and got ready for my first day. Leonard offered to drop me off, and maybe show me around a bit. But something in me resisted.
I didn't want to be seen as the girl whose "dad" got her the job. I didn't want the whispers. I didn't want the looks. Even though I had gotten the job through a connection, I wanted to walk in there and prove to everyone—and myself—that I belonged. That I was capable. Just like I had done when I walked into Blackwell on my own.
I thanked Leonard again, kindly declined, and made my way alone.
The office was quaint and modern. The office was filled with soft chatter, keyboards clacking, and coffee being poured. My boss was a gentleman in his early fifties, a little gruff but kind in a quiet, observant way. The staff welcomed me with smiles, and a few curious glances, but no judgment. And as the hours passed, I found myself settling in.
It wasn't Blackwell. It wasn't the Cave either.
It was something new. And I could actually see myself building something here. Maybe for the first time in a long time, I wasn't just surviving—I was starting to live.
Everything had been going on well. Everybody at the house already had their own routine. I was driving with Victor every day, every morning before I would go to work. I would come back late and find him already back home. My mom was there. We would talk. We would have fun. We would have dinner. Everything was going on fine.
Everything was great—until it was the night.
It was a Sunday night, which was one of Cesar's Sunday night dinners at his family's house. I'm glad that my mom told me this before Cesar came. She just said that she didn't want me to be surprised when Cesar showed up. And that I had a job now that puts the whole job thing at Blackwell behind us.
We went to dinner. I found that Cesar was already there. He was with his father in his office. They were having a drink—my mom's words.
We went to the dining room. Mom went to get Cesar and Leonard to join us.
Cesar took the seat at the other side of the table away from us, just like I had found him the last time he was here. Nobody seemed to mind so I didn't either.
Dinner was amazing. It was peaceful. I thought that for a minute we were going to be finished without any fighting, throwing words at each other. It was going to be a peaceful dinner—Until Cesar decided to address me.
"What is it that you do these days? Do you just laze away at my family house and spend all of my dad's money?"
The words hit me like cold water. There was a sharpness to them, hidden beneath the ease of his tone as he'd carefully wrapped his insult in silk.
Everyone at the table fell quiet.
I froze, my fork hovering halfway to my mouth. My mom glanced at me quickly, her eyes widening slightly, ready to jump in, but I stopped her with a look.
I wanted to answer him. I needed to answer him.
I placed my fork down slowly, my gaze meeting his. Calm. Controlled. Not angry, even though his words scraped against everything I had been trying to build.
"Well," I said, forcing a neutral tone, "I actually have a job now."
Cesar raised an eyebrow,
"Oh? You do?" he said, his voice laced with disbelief. "Doing what? Shopping professionally?"
My mom gasped softly, and Leonard gave Cesar a warning look, but I didn't break eye contact with him.
"Making a profit," I said. "Just because you can't see what I have to offer your company, it doesn't mean other people can't spot talent."
I gave him a condescending look. Talent.
"A talent for what exactly?" he replied, his tone dripping with mockery.
And there was a way that he was pronouncing the word talent that was just wrong as if talent was something disgusting. That's the only word I can use—for this demon, for him. And where we were.
"What did you do to get the job?" he continued. "Did you also threaten them to hire you? Or what, blackmail them with your past to get the job?"
I knew what he was trying to do, but I wouldn't let him. Especially now, for him, knowing that I was holding something so huge, something so powerful, something that could mess up his whole life—it just made me feel…
"I just got the job with charm," I said.
"Yeah, right. I'm sure my father had something to do with it," he said, taking a sip of his drink.
That sip—that smug, careless sip—set something off in me. Because he was right. His father did set up that job for me. And it made me angry. Angry and mad at him.
But before I could call out his father intervened and said,
"That's enough Cesar"
Cesar looked at his father. There was a challenge in his eyes. Thankfully, he didn't go anywhere further, and we continued eating.
I thought the matter was settled. But after a while, he asked again.
"So, Casey, where do you work?"
"Why do you care?" I snapped back.
"Curious? I want to know where my sister works."
And just as he pronounced 'talent' before, there was a way that he said the word sister—a way that made me feel a bit embarrassed. Because we did something that the other people at the table didn't know about. Something unsisterly.
I seemed to be holding a lot of secrets at this table.
"None of your business," I snapped back.
He raised his eyebrows. Well, he wasn't expecting that. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to snap at him either.
But someone—finally—seemed to support us this time. Cesar, however, went right back to doing what he did best—picking, poking, and pushing buttons until everything spiralled into a fight.
Then he smiled. That slow, smug, infuriating smile.
"Was this the same way you were going to act if I had given you the job at Blackwell?" he asked. "We both know that's where you really want to work."
"Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. But now, I am happy and content where I am."
"Are you?" he asked.
And the way he asked it—it wasn't just about work. It wasn't just about the job. It was more. More than I could answer. More than I wanted to acknowledge.
I swallowed hard, glaring at him. "Yes."
"And in every department?"
I frowned. That question… there was something loaded behind it. I took a chance to glance at my mom and saw her frowning too, the same confusion and irritation crossing her face.
The only person unbothered at this table was Victor, who was just piling food into his mouth like nothing was happening.