His Whole Family Was in on Our Fake Relationship, Except Him novel · Chapter 21 of 24
Chapter 21: The Sheet
Isak came through the door of the shop with his coat unbuttoned and his glasses fogged from the cold.
He stopped just inside, under the bell, and wiped the lenses on his sleeve.
My two coworkers came out of the back at the sound of the bell.
One was a heavy-shouldered man who did traditional work and had never said more than ten words to me in a row.
The other was a girl of twenty-two who had been my apprentice since June.
They saw his face and stopped dead.
"I'm sorry to come at closing," Isak said. "I'd like to do something, and I'd like witnesses. If you don't mind."
"We don't mind," said the apprentice, instantly.
The heavy-shouldered man folded his arms and settled against the counter.
Isak turned to me.
"I've been sitting in the car for twenty-five minutes," he said.
"I saw."
"I sat there because I wanted to be sure that what I'm about to do isn't just relief."
"And?"
"It's a little relief," he said. "But it's mostly something else."
He reached into the pocket of his coat and took out the folded sheet.
TERMS OF THE WEEKEND, with its crossings out and its initials and its napkin amendments copied in his tidy hand.
"Whitney told you why she left," he said.
"She came by."
"Of course she did."
He almost smiled.
"I thought about what she said all the way to Canal Park."
"I think I did the same thing with you."
"How?"
"I audited you."
"From the first night."
He held up the sheet.
"I wrote rules so I could check every move against a list."
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of His Whole Family Was in on Our Fake Relationship, Except Him are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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