I thought my boss was doing his daughter a favor when he asked me to help out. But one strange message on her phone made me realize I’d walked into something I knew nothing about.
“My dad didn’t choose you by accident. And it wasn’t for my sake.”
I stared at Georgia. “What does that mean?”
She glanced toward the prom venue, then back at me. “Brent, my dad’s been watching you for months.”
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“Watching me do what?”
“How you handle problems. How you treat people. Whether you lose your temper.”
I frowned and immediately started sweating. “Wait, did I do something wrong? You’d tell me if I did something to make him upset, right?”
“No. That’s the problem.”
Before I could ask another question, her phone buzzed.
“Watching me do what?”
Georgia glanced at the screen and groaned. “It’s Dad.”
She showed me the message.
“Remember our agreement. Don’t make things too easy for him.”
“Georgia, what exactly did I agree to?”
She sighed. “Something my father thinks is brilliant.”
She showed me the message.
***
I’d started working for Sheldon when I was 19.
His company supplied restaurants and grocery stores with food packaging and cleaning products.
I needed that job more than he probably realized.
My mom, Denise, was raising my younger sister, Janelle, alone.
I needed that job.
Money was always tight, so I gave Mom part of every paycheck for groceries, utilities, and whatever Janelle needed for school.
I never showed up late.
I never called out unless I absolutely had to.
And if Sheldon asked me to stay an extra hour, I did.
Within a year, I’d become the employee he trusted with everything from deliveries to closing up at night.
I never showed up late.
Sheldon was a decent boss, but he had strange habits.
He loved asking questions.
“What would you do if a customer refused to pay an invoice?”
“What if two employees wanted the same day off?”
“What if a supplier delivered the wrong order?”
He loved asking questions.
I’d answer, and he’d nod like he was grading an exam.
I assumed he was simply obsessed with running the business well.
Then one Friday afternoon, he called me into his office.
***
“I need a favor, Brent.”
“Sure.”
He hesitated. “My daughter’s prom is tomorrow.”
He called me into his office.
Georgia was 18. I’d seen her around the office a few times, but we barely knew each other.
“The boy she was supposed to go with backed out,” Sheldon continued. “I want you to take her.”
I thought he was joking. “Me?”
“You’re responsible. I trust you.”
Then he added, “Do this for me, and I’ll make it worth your while.”
“I want you to take her.”
I thought about Mom’s broken washing machine and Janelle’s worn-out school shoes.
I knew that if my boss gave me extra money for being his daughter’s date, it would make things a little easier for my mom and sister.
“Okay.”
Sheldon looked relieved.
Almost too relieved.
Sheldon looked relieved.
***
The following evening, I borrowed my uncle Frank’s car, put on my only suit, and drove to Sheldon’s house.
Frank had warned me about the car. “Don’t touch the radio. It changes stations by itself.”
“Why?”
“Because it has personality.”
The car also squeaked whenever I turned left.
I prayed Georgia wouldn’t notice.
“Don’t touch the radio.”
***
Sheldon met me at the door. “Brent! You’re early!”
“Only by five minutes, sir.”
“Excellent!”
My boss straightened my tie without asking. For some reason, he seemed more nervous than Georgia.
“Just make sure Georgia has a good night.”
“I will.”
“You’re early!”
“And if anything unexpected happens, stay calm.”
I frowned. “Uh, what kind of unexpected thing?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Right then, Georgia came downstairs.
She looked beautiful, but the moment she saw me, her smile vanished.
“What kind of unexpected thing?”
Sheldon immediately started taking pictures. “Stand closer!”
We moved closer.
“Smile!”
I smiled.
Georgia said almost nothing while her father took pictures and looked like she’d been sentenced to three hours of accounting.
The drive was painfully quiet.
“Stand closer!”
***
I tried asking my date about her friends, her favorite music, and whether she was excited about prom.
Georgia answered with a few words before turning toward the window.
Eventually, I stopped trying.
When we reached the venue, I turned off the engine.
I stopped trying.
“Well,” I said, forcing a smile, “I hope tonight won’t be too terrible. I guess your dad really wanted you to go to prom.”
“Just make sure Georgia has a good night.”
“I will.”
“You’re early!”
“And if anything unexpected happens, stay calm.”
I frowned. “Uh, what kind of unexpected thing?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Right then, Georgia came downstairs.
She looked beautiful, but the moment she saw me, her smile vanished.
“What kind of unexpected thing?”
Sheldon immediately started taking pictures. “Stand closer!”
We moved closer.
“Smile!”
I smiled.
Georgia said almost nothing while her father took pictures and looked like she’d been sentenced to three hours of accounting.
The drive was painfully quiet.
“Stand closer!”
***
I tried asking my date about her friends, her favorite music, and whether she was excited about prom.
Georgia answered with a few words before turning toward the window.
Eventually, I stopped trying.
When we reached the venue, I turned off the engine.
I stopped trying.
“Well,” I said, forcing a smile, “I hope tonight won’t be too terrible. I guess your dad really wanted you to go to prom.”
Georgia didn’t smile back. She opened her door but didn’t get out.
Instead, she turned to me and looked me straight in the eyes. “Wait.”
That’s when she told me her father hadn’t chosen me by accident.
And she showed me his strange message.
Georgia didn’t smile back.
***
I stared at my date’s phone. “Don’t make things too easy for him?”
Georgia nodded. “My dad wants me to make tonight difficult.”
“Why?”
“To see how you react.”
I blinked. “What?”
I stared at my date’s phone.
“He suggested I complain about everything. Make unreasonable requests. See whether you lose your patience.”
I looked toward the school. “So I’m wearing borrowed shoes and driving a car that sounds like a shopping cart because your father wants to test my patience?”
Georgia suddenly burst out laughing. “Pretty much.”
“He suggested I complain about everything.”
“Does he know there are easier ways to annoy me?”
“Brent!”
“I’m serious. He could ask me to reorganize the warehouse again.”
My date laughed harder.
Then, her expression changed. “I told him I wouldn’t do it. It wasn’t fair to you.”
“I’m serious.”
“Then why are we here?”
“Because I still wanted to enjoy prom, and I thought you deserved to know what he was planning.”
I studied her. “Planning for what?”
Georgia hesitated. “That’s the part I can’t explain yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because I want you to hear it from him.”
“Then why are we here?”
I groaned. “Georgia, you’re making this sound like I’m about to inherit a castle.”
She smiled. “No castle. But you might be surprised.”
***
Inside, the gym was covered in balloons and lights.
Georgia introduced me to her best friend, Madison.
“You might be surprised.”
Madison grinned. “So you’re Brent.”
I blinked.
Georgia rolled her eyes. “Madison knows about Dad’s little experiment.”
I stared at them. “Wonderful. Does the DJ know too?”
Madison laughed. “Not yet!”
We found our table.
“So you’re Brent.”
***
Thirty minutes later, we were standing, and Georgia handed me her purse. “Hold this.”
I took it.
Then, she handed me her phone. “And this.”
“Okay.”
Then she handed me her drink.
I looked at her. “Is this the test?”
“Hold this.”
“No. I’m tying my shoe.”
She bent down, adjusted her heel, and stood up, laughing. “You’re going to question everything I do tonight, aren’t you?”
“Your father has destroyed my ability to recognize normal behavior.”
***
For the next hour, Georgia teased me by pretending to make ridiculous demands.
“I’m tying my shoe.”
She asked whether I could convince the DJ to play a song that didn’t exist.
She complained that the punch wasn’t cold enough.
Then she requested a chair facing exactly northwest.
I finally said, “Georgia, I can offer north or west. The budget doesn’t cover both.”
She complained that the punch wasn’t cold enough.
Madison laughed so hard she nearly dropped her cupcake!
For the first time all evening, I relaxed.
Then, a woman approached our table. “Brent?”
I stood. “Yes?”
“I’m Evelyn. Georgia’s aunt. I’m one of the chaperones.”
I relaxed.
She shook my hand. “So you’re the young man Sheldon keeps talking about.”
I glanced at Georgia. “Hopefully, nothing terrible.”
Evelyn smiled. “He says you’re excellent under pressure.”
I frowned. “Does everyone in your family discuss my job performance?”
Georgia covered her face. “Aunt Evelyn!”
“Hopefully, nothing terrible.”
Evelyn laughed and walked away.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d said.
***
Later, Georgia and I stepped outside for some air.
“Okay,” I said. “Enough games.”
She looked at me. “What?”
I stepped outside for some air.
“Your dad keeps asking me strange, unexpected questions at work. He wants you to test me tonight. Your aunt apparently knows my entire employment history.”
Georgia sighed. “He’s been thinking about something important.”
“Yes, and?”
“Something involving the company.”
My stomach tightened.
“He’s been thinking about something important.”
“Is he selling it?!”
“No.”
“Am I getting fired?!”
“No, calm down. It’s definitely not that.”
“Then what, Georgia?”
She hesitated. “You’ll know soon.”
“Am I getting fired?!”
I shook my head. “Your family’s exhausting.”
She laughed. “Imagine growing up with them!”
Before I could respond, Madison appeared. “Georgia! Group pictures!”
My date grabbed my arm. “Come on!”
“Your family’s exhausting.”
***
As we walked inside, I noticed something.
Georgia had stopped acting annoyed with me.
Whatever her father was planning, she seemed to be on my side.
That made me feel slightly better.
Only slightly.
I noticed something.
The photographer arranged us beneath a balloon arch. “Couples, stand together!”
Georgia moved beside me. “Put your arm around me,” she whispered.
I hesitated. “Another test?”
She rolled her eyes. “Brent, it’s a picture.”
“Right. Sorry.”
“Another test?”
The photographer raised his camera. “Smile!”
My phone buzzed a few seconds later.
It was a text from Sheldon.
“Everything going smoothly?”
I showed Georgia.
She grinned. “Tell him I’m being difficult.”
It was a text from Sheldon.
I typed, “Georgia has requested a chair facing northwest. Negotiations are ongoing.”
Sheldon replied immediately. “Interesting. How are you handling it?”
I stared at the response.
Georgia peeked over and started laughing.
I typed, “I’ve offered her a north-facing chair and a complimentary napkin.”
I stared at the response.
Three dots appeared.
Then:
“Good thinking.”
I shook my head. “Your father needs a vacation.”
Georgia grabbed my phone. “I’ve got an idea.”
She typed a message and handed it back.
“Georgia has also requested that I obtain the moon. Please advise.”
“I’ve got an idea.”
My boss didn’t answer for two minutes.
Then:
“Um, well, use your judgment.”
I laughed so hard the photographer had to take our picture again!
***
By the end of prom, Georgia and I were actually having a great time.
My boss didn’t answer for two minutes.
We danced badly, ate too many cupcakes, and watched Madison convince the DJ to play an old disco song.
Georgia taught me a dance move that made me look like I was fighting invisible bees.
***
When we finally left, she was still laughing.
“Okay,” I said as we reached the car. “I’ve survived prom. Can you tell me what’s happening now?”
