Episode 448: Free And Easy

After so many years with Justine, he should have been accustomed to the place, felt at home there, but it was impossible, having never been an invited guest, at least not invited by her father.

The man hated Quentin with a passion. Made no effort to hide his disdain. "What are you doing here?"

"Picking up my daughter," Quentin said in an equally bristly tone. He would have preferred to be the better man, to show that the blue-collar guy was actually more civilized than the supposedly superior rich were.

But Quentin was picking up his daughter. The fact that he had to do that always put him in too fowl a mood to be civilized.

He wasn’t sure how much longer he could take it.

"That works out well," Phillip said, pleased for the opportunity to plunge in the knife. "Your babysitting leaves Justine free to go on a date." Phillip still didn’t know who exactly she was seeing, but the man had obviously received an invite to their Halloween masquerade, and had inspired Justine to buy an elegant black suit that afternoon, which obviously meant he was far more top-shelf than a dead-end mechanic. "She’s been preparing for hours. I get the feeling she’s very keen on him."

"I hope she has a great night," Quentin replied with an easy smile.

To Phillip’s chagrin, the smile appeared genuine. He’d hoped to see the younger man squirm with jealousy and discomfort and hurt. But eventually Phillip decided it was better that Quentin took it well, that he didn’t intend to put up a fight to persuade Justine away from the life she deserved.

Episode 449: Insatiable