Page 88 of The Overtime Persuasive

“Never?”

“Never.”

The server arrives with our appetizers. Neither of us speaks until she moves away again.

Dad picks up his fork, studying me.

“Your mother said you’d say that.”

I blink. “You already talked to Mom about this?”

“I mentioned that you sounded distracted on the phone. She said something was probably going on with the store, and if I offered money, you’d refuse it.”

I hold my glass of wine in the air and toast her. “She knows me.”

“She also told me not to keep pushing when you said no.”

“Excellent advice.” I point my fork at him. “You did raise me to be independent.”

“No, your mother did. I wanted to buy you a piano.”

“We lived on a tour bus.” I laugh.

“I would’ve made it work.” His eyes twinkle, candlelight reflecting in them as he looks my way. “I’m proud of you. You know that, right?”

My chest tightens. “I know.”

“And if you ever change your mind⁠—”

I interrupt. “But thank you.”

He shakes his head, smiling as he takes another bite. We talk about his last show until our entrées arrive, and then I share the part of my news I’ve been saving.

“There is something good happening with the store.”

Dad puts down his fork. “Tell me.”

“There is a gift guide contest for the holidays that I entered. Long story short, I received an email about two hours ago saying that Side B’s Holiday Collection made the official shortlist, now all I need to do is send them a sample box for judging.”

I explain to my dad about Side B’s subscription boxes, and he claps once I’m done. Then, he reaches across the table and takes my hand.

“That’s incredible.” He squeezes my hand. “That’s my girl! I bet they’ll put you on television.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

He shakes a finger in the air, all business. “You need to capitalize on the attention.”

I laugh. “This is why you have a manager and a PR team.”

Our plates are cleared as Dad’s coffee and my tea arrive. He lifts his cup. “So, you said two tickets for the show, yes?”

“I did,” I say with a nod, deciding that the milk for my tea needs to be absolutely perfect and it has to be handled now.

My dad hums. “Is Lucy coming, or are you bringing someone else?”

“I could have a plus-one who is not Lucy.”

“Oh?” His eyebrows lift. “You said it was a Snyder coming with you, so unless there’s another sister you’re friends with I don’t know about, I may need to start asking more questions.”