A/N - Another installment! Woo-hoo! Thanks for all the support so far!
-JQ-
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Chapter 2 - Doubt and Insecurity
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Portia eyed Tom wearily. "Who else could I have sent that you would have listened to?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. You could've told me yourself."
She gave him a look. "Tommy, why do you think I came to work at G Major? For the money?" She scoffed. "I came here to tell you about Brigitte. But I couldn't get up the nerve."
Tom lost control. "It wasn't fair to ambush me with my father! You know we barely even talk! And how dare you name her after my mother! 'Brigitte Quincy'? Practically a slap in my face. And how much did you tell her, Portia? Does that little girl even know? Or was she kept in the dark like me? And you had to send my father on the one night I had my first date with Jude!"
Portia glanced at Tom. "What did you tell her?"
"Nothing," he replied, sighing. "What was I supposed to tell her? I told her I was leaving and probably wasn't coming back."
Portia frowned at him. "You don't plan on going back to Toronto?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. This is all really new to me. When my father came and told me, I didn't know what to expect."
"Tommy," Portia touched his arm tenderly. "I'm not going to force you into anything. If you want to be part of Brigitte's life, I'm sure we can work something out. And if you don't, that's okay. I just felt like you had a right to know."
"Right to know what?" Brigitte's chipper voice startled the two of them. Tom looked down at her standing in the doorway. For the first time, he truly felt like he was looking at his daughter.
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Sadie settled herself into the swivel chair at the front desk of G Major. It had been an odd week. First, there was Liam. Did he like her? Or was he just being Liam? And then there was Kwest. Why had she never really noticed him before?
"Miss Harrison," Liam's voice broke into her thoughts and she looked up at him. "Any calls for me this morning?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I just got here."
Liam's face hardened and he leaned forward on the desk. "What do you mean 'you just got here'? You were supposed to be here at eight."
"Well, I didn't," she replied.
"Sadie, I didn't hire you to do nothing," Liam scolded her, talking to her like a little child. "You are my secretary. Your only jobs are to organize my life and take my calls. I didn't think that would be so hard. Even for you."
Sadie frowned at him. "I quit."
Liam's eyes widened in shock. "You what?"
"I quit," she repeated, grabbing her coat and rushing out the door without another word.
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Jude walked down the sidewalk to G Major and spotted her sister running out in a hurry. "Sadie, wait up!"
The older Harrison girl stopped in her tracks, turning to face her sister. "What?" she asked impatiently.
Jude caught up with her. Resting her hands on her knees, she bent over and relaxed for a little bit, trying to catch her breath. Finally, she looked up at Sadie, who had an irritated look on her face. "Where are you going? Aren't you working today?"
Sadie shook her head. "I quit."
"You what?"
"I don't know how you deal with Liam all day," she complained.
Jude laughed to herself. "I don't." The two of them shared a knowing look. "So, what are you gonna do?"
She shrugged. "I thought I'd go shopping."
Jude gave her sister a look. "I meant about a job."
"Oh…I don't know."
Jude rolled her eyes. "What a plan!"
"Jude, how are you doing?" Sadie asked out of the blue, catching her sister off guard.
"Not so good," she replied before she could put up her façade.
Sadie's face softened. "Tommy?"
Jude didn't want to have this conversation--not with Sadie. Kwest, maybe. Tom and Kwest were practically brothers. He understood her sorrow. But not Sadie. Sure, she missed him. Anyone Tom had touched was going to miss him. Wherever he was.
That was the power of Tom Quincy. But no one would truly understand the emptiness Jude felt inside.
"Jude?" Sadie's soft voice broke into her thoughts. She focused on reality again and saw her sister staring at her intently.
Jude pressed her lips together. "Yeah…it's Tommy…"
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A/N - Okay, there's chapter 2! Did you like it? Leave me a review!