Friday became my favorite day of the week. And no, it wasn't because of a certain someone who happened to be on duty in the Assessment Center. At least, that wasn't the case today.

I'd been doing this job for a week, but I still had problems dealing with questions or demands from potential clients. Their questions were random, some even assumed we ran charity work since we were under an educational institution. I had to say I admired how skillfully Ashley countered those typical questions without blowing visible steam from her ears.

The filing system was the worst. Ashley was not the most organized person on earth. It took me five minutes to find a specific paper when it could have been done only in a few seconds had the document been placed in a proper order. Not to mention that her pregnancy affected her memory span, so she had claimed. Playing Where's Wally had become an unwritten job description. I made a mental note to dedicate an extra hour to fixing the filing system.

Surprisingly, today was quite easy, especially with answering the phone calls. Maybe Friday afternoon wasn't appealing enough for people to ring around for business inquiries because the weekend was calling already.

"Good afternoon, radish head!" A chubby guy appeared from behind the glass door, followed by an oriental-looked girl walking closely behind him.

I rolled my eyes at what he called me. Apparently, he forgot to check himself in the mirror today because he had the brightest red curls I'd ever seen in my life. "Good afternoon, Fred, Maya. The room is ready, everyone is inside and" — I swiveled on my chair, opened the cupboard, picked up the testing materials, and handed them to the duo — "here."

"Everyone? Mr. Andrew is inside already?" Maya gasped.

"No, he hasn't turned up yet."

"He will be here soon, though," Fred said, glancing at the big clock on the wall. "Come, May, let's get it done with. My butt is itchy for summer break already. Thanks, radish head!"

With that, the two post-grad students strode into the testing room. This would be their last week of on-the-job training in this Assessment Center, and soon they would be freed from Mr. Andrew's torment.

I learned from Ashley that Blake Andrew was known as a rigorous and harsh person who would beat his students' asses to a pulp for any sign of tardiness. She reminded me to pay good attention to the precision of the test preparation when he was on duty. No room for mistake, or I would get stung by his crudeness.

Ashley also filled me in on the characteristics of the people I was working with. The students even created a label for every professor in the Assessment Center: Mrs. Sue the opportunist warrior, Mr. Watson the friendly guy next door, Mrs. White the wise grandma, and Mr. Andrew the pain in the ass.

"Good afternoon, Jennifer." The very man in my mind appeared from behind the door, popping my bubble of thought as he walked past me, heading straight to the test room. "All set?"

"G-Good afternoon," I stammered. "Yes, everyone is inside. Only one client doesn't show up because of sickness. I just handed the materials to Fred and Maya, they must be distributing the tools to the clients right now and–" I stopped abruptly once I realized Blake was standing still by the test-room door, his hand on the handle, waiting for me to finish my rambling. I cleared my throat. "Everything is set, sir."

"Thank you. And you can leave early if you want. We won't need your assistance from this point onward. Have a great weekend." A faint smile tugged on the corner of his lips before he opened the door and disappeared into the room.

Sighing, I threw myself onto my seat, inwardly scolding myself. I hadn't seen him since he took me home from Garry's villa and I'd convinced myself that I was more than ready to deal with him professionally. Apparently, when it came to Blake, I would never be ready.

This was not our first encounter since joining this Center. We corresponded a few times, as I needed to officially introduce myself as Ashley's replacement and discuss Friday schedules. Blake was back to his old self when I first met him. Distant.

***

I'd agreed to meet my dad for dinner tonight. Not wanting to go home and leave again after ten minutes, I went straight to the restaurant, even though it was forty minutes too early. Luckily, they had the table ready twenty minutes in advance so that I didn't have to wait that long to get seated.

"Jenny?" A hesitant baritone voice stopped me from reading an article on my phone.

I cocked my head, and a tall blond guy in a grey suit stood in front of me. It took me several seconds to recognize him.

"Eric!" I said as I stood up and gave him a brief hug. "Wow, you look different with glasses on! I almost didn't recognize you. Are you spending your summer vacation at home?"

"Yep. My sister is getting married. So, I guess I have no choice but to come home." He grinned before glancing around. "What are you doing here alone? You're not being stood up by your date, are you?"

"No." I laughed. "I'm meeting my dad, but I got here a tad bit too early."

"Ah, I see." He glanced at my work attire. "So, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing good. Busy with uni and starting my thesis soon. And look at you, you look awesome. Seems like the big city has been treating you well."

"Yeah? Thanks." He chuckled. "I heard Dean wasn't around this summer. What a bummer. I could use his company this time. He always managed to bail on me in my time of need. That motherfucker."

Eric Hoffman was one of Dean's best buddies back in high school. I rarely hung out with them, but when I did, he was the only one in the group who made an effort to have a small talk with me, while the rest acted like I didn't exist.

After a brief catch-up, Eric glanced at the big table in the center of the room, which was surrounded by people in evening dresses and suits. "I need to return to my table. They're starting with dinner soon. I thought I would say hi when I saw you."

"I'm glad that you did. It's nice to see you again, Eric."

Eric nodded, looking hesitant for a second before saying, "Hey, Jenny, I'm thinking maybe we can hang out while I'm around? I mean, if you're up for it."

I smiled. "Sure."

Once we exchanged numbers and goodbyes, Eric strode back to his table. Hanging out with Eric without Dean's presence would be interesting. What would we talk about? Did we even have a common interest? What if we couldn't find any topic and the conversation turned awkward for a good thirty minutes?

I stopped creating more scenarios in my head about the meeting with Eric when a red-haired man entered the restaurant.

My father had never been the friendly type with a stupidly bright smile plastered on his face, but tonight he looked simply miserable. The somber expression made him ten years older than the last time I saw him. The sight pulled at my heartstrings, prompting the mixed feelings I had for him to crawl up to the surface.

Once Dad spotted me, his eyes lit up, and he smiled.

"Hi, Dad."

"Sweetheart." He stopped in front of me, looking hesitant, but I got up and hugged him. He instantly wrapped my shoulders into a tight embrace.

"Dad, you're crushing me."

"Oh, sorry," his voice cracked as he let me go. "Forgive me. I'm getting a little emotional."

"It's okay." I smiled and sat down. "I wanted to talk to you sooner, but I just needed to make sure I was ready. I'm sorry I took some time to reply to your messages."

"I thought you would never want to talk to me again. This meeting is more than I could ask for, Jenny. You need to know that this means the world to me."

Looking back, it was easier to blindly blame him, but the more I learned about what happened in my parent's relationship, the more my heart shifted from hating him to feeling sorry for him. I kept reminding myself that I shouldn't take sides despite my disappointment with his actions. I wasn't to play god here; I wanted to play my part: his daughter.

A waiter came to our table to take our order. I let Dad choose for us, and he picked a shrimp dish.

"So, how are you, Dad?" I asked after the waiter left.

"I've been better. I've started to accept everything that happened," he replied. "And how are things going with you?"

"It's going." I shrugged. "Nothing is really wow, though."

"I heard you got a job at your faculty. Congrats, Jenny."

"Thanks."

Dad picked up a glass of water in front of him and took a sip. "How did you get the job?"

"I got it from" — I cleared my throat — "an acquaintance."

"Ah." He took another sip. "So, did you quit the job at the bookstore?"

"No. The job at the faculty is only temporary. If I quit the job at the bookstore, I would be completely jobless after I finish the temporary one."

"Jenny, honey, you know you don't have to stress out yourself with work right now."

"I know," I replied. "But I want to keep my job as long as I can. I like the financial freedom."

"That's valid."

We went on talking about easy stuff. Dad gave me updates about our family from his side. He was also talking about taking another job offer that didn't require a lot of traveling. Despite our attempt to avoid the divorce topic, it came up naturally as he mentioned his plan to move to a smaller house. The funny thing was that Mom and Dad couldn't decide what they were going to do with the house. None of them wanted to live there, yet none of them agreed to sell it.

The rest of the night went smoother than I'd expected. Despite the resentment that I had been holding against my old man, I couldn't help warming up to him.

I agreed when Dad offered to drive me home after dinner. We passed the awkward state, and our conversation flowed easily, just like the old time. But once we entered my driveway, the energy between us shifted. No more light jokes or funny childhood stories.

"Thank you for tonight, Jenny. You have no idea how much it meant to me." Dad turned to me. "Let's do this again next time?"

I flashed him a smile. "Sure."

Instead of returning a smile, his eyes turned glassy. "I really, really love you, Jenny," he croaked. "Despite my failure to be a good father and husband, what I feel for you will never change. I'm still your father, and I will always be there when you need me. I want you to know that."

"Okay." I nodded. "Thanks, Dad." Silence took over as the questions I'd been holding inside came up to the surface. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you still love Mom?"

"Yes, I do."

Then why slept with Katherine? Why didn't you try to win her by rejecting her stupid demand? The questions were heavy hanging in my head, but I couldn't say it out loud. "Do you still have feelings for Dean's mom?"

"I care for her, Jenny. We've been good friends for a long time now. But it can't be compared to what I feel for your mom." My dad paused before taking a deep breath. "I love your mom more than she let herself believe."