I Thought She Was Different

Terran

I had struggled to get Hailey and her lack of an answer out of my mind all day. I kept replaying how she had reacted. She expertly dodged the question without blinking an eye. That was my first clue something was up. The second clue was the way she had managed to keep me out of her house for so long. I wondered if those expensive trinkets I had seen were things she had bought for herself or gifts from other men, hoping to be the lucky one to get her into bed.

It was all confusing and hard to comprehend. I didn’t want to think the worst of her. I wanted to take another shot at having that conversation, and maybe, depending on her response, I would bring up the issue of my dad’s will.

“Mr. Maddox?” Lena’s voice floated through the office.

I pushed the button on the intercom. “Yes?”

“Your four o’clock just canceled. I have nothing else on your calendar for the day.”

That didn’t happen often. I smiled and pushed the button down again. “Lena?”

“Yes, Mr. Maddox?”

“Are you saying we’r