Read Exposed (Free Falling) for Free Online

thoughts. 
    Caught off guard, I sat up straight and cleared my throat.  “Uh…no.  I think you pretty much covered it all,” I replied, clueless as to a word he’d spoken in the last ten minutes.  Judging by the look on his face, he knew I wasn’t paying attention.
    “Well, if there aren’t any other issues that need to be brought to the table, we’ll conclude until next we ek.”
    I was the first one out of my seat, headed for the door so that I could retreat to my office in peace.
    “Anthony?”  My father called out from behind. 
    With a heavy sigh, I turned and took a few steps in his direction, shoving my hands in my pockets when I stood before him.  “Yes?”
    My father met my stare with kindness in his eyes, but I ignored it – just like I’d ignored every other attempt he’d made to show me that he’s not the same man he was years ago – apparently losing the majority share of his company to Kira’s father was a humbling experience for him.  My icy stare didn’t change.
    “Congratulations, Son,” he said with an air of pride behind the words as he acknowledged that he knew of my engagement.  “I would’ve loved to have been there.”
    His lack of an invitation was completely intentional.  As far as I was concerned, our rift was irreparable, so why pretend like we’re ever going to have the father/son relationship that he seemed to be after lately – for the past three or four years to be exact.  The fact that he decided to change his demeanor toward me once word got to him that Sam and I were no longer together was another reason I refused to fall for the act.  He’d already let me know that his love and approval for me was conditional.
    “Thanks,” I replied with a quick, tight smile, and then turned to attempt an exit once more.
    “Son?”
    I sighed, but didn’t answer.
    “Your mother and I would like to gift you and Kira a honeymoon – anywhere you’d like to go.”
    I nodded.  “Thank you for the offer, but…I’ve got it covered.”
    His expression fell slack when I rejected him, but he didn’t try to stop me when I crossed the threshold, headed straight for my office.  I sat in my chair, gazing out the window at nothing in particular.  My father was such a non-factor that I didn’t even waste any energy revisiting our conversation after I was out of his presence.  Terrell’s suggestion, on the other hand – the one about calling Sam, came back to mind.  When memories of her crept into my private thoughts, I didn’t actively fight them at first.  They were only brief flashes – one of her waking up beside me with the sun bathing her face as she smiled, another of her singing and dancing in the passenger seat of my car while I watched, and the last memory I had of her…her tear-streaked face as she passed through the doorway of my dorm room with her heart set on leaving me behind.  The last one sobered me and I cleared my throat, deciding to call and see how Kira’s day was going so far.
    “Hey, babe,” she answered, sounding muffled.
    I smiled at the sound of her voice, picturing her typing away at her laptop, glasses pushed up her nose, hair pinned on top of her head, pen pursed between her lips.
    “Hey.  Sounds like you’re busy,” I said, leaning back in my seat, tossing the miniature basketball into the air that I kept in my desk drawer.
    “Eh…a little.  Trying to finish this article before lunch.  How’s your day going so far, though?”
    I thought back to my conversation with Terrell, and then the awkward one with my father a few minutes prior.  “Fine, I guess.”
    “Uh-oh.  We’ll save a fortune on couch time in some snooty therapist’s office if you just tell me what the problem is,” she replied.  I could hear her smiling through the phone.
    I smiled too.  Deciding not to tell her the part about Terrell, I cleared my throat before speaking.  “My father…he stopped me to say congratulations after our