My Stepfather and His Friends novel · Chapter 16 of 24
Chapter 16: Graham's Door
I gave Graham until Wednesday to call.
He didn't.
On Wednesday at noon I put on the black dress I'd worn to his office and drove to the fourteenth floor of his building.
The firm's reception was glass and pale wood, with a desk the size of a boat.
A handful of people sat in the waiting area with folders, and two paralegals stood by the coffee machine.
"I'm here for Graham Pryor," I said.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No."
"He's in a meeting. If you'd like to leave your name."
"Tessa Calloway."
I walked past her desk.
"Ma'am, you can't."
"Tell him I'll wait in the hall."
I didn't wait in the hall.
I crossed the carpet to the corner conference room, where the blinds were half open, and I opened the door.
Graham sat at the head of a long table with four men in suits and a stack of papers in front of him.
He looked up, and his pen stopped moving.
"Gentlemen," he said, "give me a moment."
"Nobody has to leave," I said. "I'll be quick."
The four men looked at me, and then at him.
"You told me at the pool that you're a better man to my face," I said. "So I came to say this to yours. Here it is."
I walked down the table until I stood next to his chair.
"You are not my rehearsal. You are not my warm-up. You were the first man who looked at me and said what he wanted, out loud, with no excuse. I came into that den because of you."
Somebody coughed.
"I didn't pick Warren over you. I didn't pick anyone. I'm greedy, and I told you so, and you walked out because you were hurt, and I understand. But I'm not sorry, and I won't call you a mistake."
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