Inner Core: (Stark, #2) Read Online Free PDF

shift in my chair, hoping I was the only one who actually heard that, knowing fine well I wasn’t.
    “True, we would, ma’am,” Daniel says in a clear voice, giving her a megawatt grin while grazing my knuckles with his thumb. Both my mom and I flash him awkward, dismayed glances. He turns to look at me and a hint of a mischievous smile flickers at the side of his lips.
    “We would. Look at you.” He shrugs. The side smile turns into a full smirk, to my discomfort. I don’t know exactly where it's coming from, but a short heat wave spreads across my cheeks, which prompts my mom to swallow her own wide smile and look away, highly amused.
    My dad, entering the room, watches the three of us, his eyes narrowed in noticeable displeasure.
    “Dad!” I jump to my feet, not sure why. Perhaps the mildly aggrieved look he has on is my trigger.
    “This is Daniel.” Daniel stands to shake my father’s hand.
    “Pleased to meet you, Dr. Grace.”
    My dad tilts his head up a little to glare at Daniel, glare , eyebrows gathered above half-moon glasses.
    “Daniel is Hayley’s boyfriend,” my mom fills him in knowingly. It seems as though something registers in my dad’s head when he nods. “Right. Nice to meet you, Daniel.”
    My mom is her usual cheery self, just like before the pre-bad-news state, asking questions and subtly trying to gather more information about this 'boyfriend' thing we’ve thrown at her. Given the fact I haven't brought anyone home since high school, her piqued curiosity is very understandable. After a few lingering moments in which she asks about how we met, I patiently fill her in, intentionally skipping the not-so-good-for-your-mature-heart anecdotes. I volunteer information about our trip to Baja. I'm blabbering, uncomfortable with the stress my dad infuses to the atmosphere while he scrutinizes Daniel.
    Dad listens straight-faced, and doesn't seem very inclined to warm up. I’d say his eyes are about to burn a hole in Daniel’s chest with their hostility. Daniel and my mom, though engaged by my chatting, occasionally send my unreceptive father suspicious glances that don’t escape his notice, nor mine. Finally my dad coughs to get our attention and shifts his tense posture slightly toward Daniel. He asks, “So, what do you do for a living, Daniel?”
    Is he really going to start one of these conversations?
    Daniel’s expression morphs into cynicism. I’m pretty confident he’s rarely been asked this. People tend to recognize him. Is my father really ignorant of who he is? I find that very hard to believe, being the news addict he is. I can’t fathom what might be going through his head right now. Whatever it is, it doesn’t look or sound like an attempt at a warm welcome.
    “I’m into software, internet security.” Daniel plays along nicely.
    “A programmer?”
    I practically spit my next sip of coffee into the cup.
    “Among other things.” Daniel’s voice doesn’t hide his amusement.
    “What other things?”
    “Dad?”
    Daniel turns my way, his brows furrowed, slightly tilting his head as if to tell me “it's okay”.
    “Daniel owns Stark Software, Dad. You know, the leading internet security company…”
    “You do look familiar... I thought you might be one of them celebrities,” my father says, deadpan. His expression turns into borderline disgust.
    The hell?
    The shift in Daniel’s blasé mood after my father’s backhanded accolade is near palpable. I can almost hear the sound of the grenade pin dropping to the floor seconds before the explosion.
    “Well, I’m not that gifted, sir.” Daniel says dryly.
    I rest my hand on his thigh and squeeze it gently, trying to soothe him, maybe transmit my gratitude. He puts his hand over mine and squeezes it back.
    My father scrutinizes our physical connection. His stare on our joined hands, he asks, “So, you're the one who made Hayley run back home upset?”
    Oh my, that’s where the resentment is coming from.
    Daniel darts