by Nikki Bopp
“Yeah, she was great,” Mia answers, coming around her desk with a stack of papers in her arms. When I raise a questioning brow, she simply shrugs and hands the papers to Eva. “We did a bit of drawing is all. Eva was telling me how you don’t have any of her pictures on the wall at your new house, and we thought we might like to change that.”
“Aww, really? Can you show me what you drew?”
“Yes!” she fairly screams in excitement. Dropping her drawings at her feet, she picks up the top one. Now I'm not sure what four-year-old can draw enough to understand what it's supposed to be, and my child certainly fits into her four-year-old niche. There's a sort of blob and another blob with a bunch of little blobs.
“Oh, wow…” I search in vain for some clue as to what I’m looking at, but Eva pipes in before I can make a wrong guess. “It’s you! And your new work!”
Me? I suppose I could be considered the smaller blob, and the office would be the bigger of the two. If I were an insecure woman, I’d be a little worried about how rotund I look to be, but then again, this is from the work of a four-year-old.
“That’s right! It's your mommy’s new work!” Mia pipes in with encouragement, “Show her the rest.”
“This one is you at your new desk,” Eva proclaims, pulling another picture from her pile. “This one is all the fun you're going to have. And this one is you going poop!” The last picture is most definitely me going poop, and even though we just went through the ‘everybody poops’ phase, it doesn’t stop a flush of embarrassment from creeping up my neck.
“Those are awesome pictures, pumpkin, but I don’t know if mommy is going to work here after all…” trailing off, I avoid the look that Mia turns on me. “Why don’t we pick these up and we can go play on the big swing like I promised since you were such a good girl.”
“But- “
“Come on, before someone steps on them and ruins them before we can hang them up.” Shuffling the papers into a stack, I hand them over to Eva, who clutches them to her chest. The forlorn look on her face makes me pause with worry. I’ve only ever seen her make that face when her father said she couldn’t have or do something she wanted. My heart squeezes with torment.
“What's wrong, baby girl?” Instead of answering, she looks up to Mia, standing just behind her.
“Mia?” Concern drips from my words, and she knows it by the way that she quickly shifts towards me.
“No, nothing is wrong,” she knows me well to have caught all my emotions in one word. “I was just telling Eva that I go to lunch at eleven and that maybe we could all go grab something for lunch.”
“Oh, I don’t know…” thoughts of money and a job flit through my head, quickly followed by another wave of panic. How am I going to pay for food? Rent? Daycare?
“Hey,” Mia’s voice rips me from my thoughts, her warm hand gripping me tightly. “It's on me. I haven't seen you guys in forever, and I’d love to catch up. It’s my treat.”
“I… I… Okay,” I relent with a heavy sigh. The one thing about Mia is that she is as tenacious as she is smart, and she won't relent until she gets what she wants. If it wouldn’t have been for her parents, she would probably be one of the top practicing lawyers in the entire state, in my opinion. But when her parents found out that she was sleeping with her professor, a very beautiful female lawyer, they cut all ties, particularly with the coin purse.
So now Mia works at PRI, catering to those that can't understand the difference between their, there and they’re. She loves her job, as she's told me several times, and from our last conversation, she was close to a departmental promotion that would hopefully provide her with new challenges and trials.
“Alright, let’s go get something to eat.” I'll make it work, and I damn sure won’t let Mia pay for us. I don't need handouts; I will get us through if it’s the last thing I do.
Chapter 3
Breakfast of Champions
"Okay, I'm ready to go," hiking her purse higher on her shoulder, Mia gives us a look of excitement. "Come on!" Eva lets out a giggle and rushes after her when she sprints to the closed elevator doors.
"No fair, you cheated!" Eva accuses, her finger waving in the air as though scolding the older woman. "Mommmmm."
"Hey, hey. Don't bring me into this." Raising my hands in surrender, I press the button to call the elevator, laughing at their continued arguing. Eva just can't seem to understand that if you have longer legs, you can get places faster.
"I can't believe you would accuse me of such a thing! I am appalled!" Mia squeals in outrage, causing someone down the hall to poke their head out of an office. "You okay, Mia?" The man is bland in every way from his mousy brown hair to his thick-rimmed glasses, and it's obvious he has the hots for her by the up-down look he gives her before returning to his office.
The ding of the elevator notifies us of its arrival, and our trio piles in, tummies rumbling in excitement and hunger.
"Yep." Eva proclaims suddenly, her voice confident and severe, matching her face full of determination. "I'm going to have long legs when I get bigger."
Before I can stop it, a burst of laughter escapes until my belly begins to ache with the uncontrollable laughter. For a moment, I almost worry that a little pee has escaped. "Mom," Eva interjects, looking at me with bewilderment. "You sound like a hyena."
Her comment only makes me laugh harder.
"Well, it must have been a really good joke..." a male voice drawls, the sound causing me to suck in a lungful of air in an attempt to compose myself. In the end, a coughing fit of monumental proportions nearly sends me to the floor, this time in an effort to gain control.
A warm hand wraps around my upper arm, making me internally freak out for a moment for fear that he can feel the flap of skin that I try in vain to hide before remembering that I’m wearing a blazer.
In a bid to contain my panic over flappy skin, while also trying to find some semblance of calm over my lungs, I am unprepared for what feels like a hammer to beat into the center of my back. I understand that he is just trying to help me gain control of my cough, but in the process ends up nearly sending my spine into my ribcage with the force of his palm.
“Stop, stop! I’m okay!” My words are choked, my lungs gasping for air, but at this point, I'd rather he just let me go than try and help. Hacking out the most unladylike, and unattractive cough ever, I suck in a lungful of clear and delicious air.
“You sure you're okay?” My attempted savior asks, concern and hilarity lacing his words. A snide remark sits on the tip of my tongue, but when I look up and through the tears veiling my vision, I nearly keel over at the sight of Edward Maccini before me. His suit jacket is missing, the sleeves of his white button-up are rolled up his muscular forearms. I'm a sucker for a man in a suit, who isn't? But seeing him like this is enough to send even my sleeping libido back into high gear.
Edward clears his throat, making me realize that I am staring at his hand still wrapped around my arm, the veins and tendons standing out against the bleached fabric of his shirt. Shaking myself, I pull away until he is forced to release my arm, a blush staining my cheeks with embarrassment. The lobby behind Edward is frozen, the dozen or so people standing rooted with all eyes focused on the ridiculous girl making a fool of herself over the CFO of PRI.
Great. Rather than curling up and wishing for death, like I want, I raise my chin and meet anyone's gaze that dares to continue staring. Quicker than I thought possible, the large marble foyer seems to empty of every bit of life other than us, and the blond receptionist at her desk. Moving my eyes back to Edward, it’s to find him focused on the room as well, a blank and vaguely pissed off expression pasted across his face.
Realization dawns that it was the compelling Mr. Maccini, who made all the stares disappear. The idea only pisses me off, my brain finally catching up with everything that’s happened in the last hour.
This man sat idly by while his boss, and likely friend tore me to pieces in front of them and did
nothing to stop it. And yet here he is as lovely as can be, appearing to be the same happy go -lucky man from before.
“Mr. Maccini, excuse us,” gifting him with an equally pissed off look, I grab Eva’s hand and start to pull her towards the exit. Mia’s heels clicking across the floor in an attempt to keep up.
“Ms. Steffanopolus,” Edward’s voice stops us in our tracks, his words directed towards Mia. “I would like to see you in my office when you return. Ms. Ray can join you.”
“Excuse me?” I spin around on my heel, my teeth bared in preparation for battle. Rather than responding, he simply raises an eyebrow at me, which only makes me want to punch him in his beautiful fucking face. The words, sitting precariously on my tongue, are halted by the hand that wraps around my shoulder with a tight squeeze. Confusion roils through me, but when Mia steps forward with a severe expression.
“Yes, Mr. Maccini, we will be there.” With a tight nod and no other words, Edward turns and enters the still open elevator. I don’t move an inch, my glare entirely focused on the asshat that is PRI’s CFO until the doors slide close without a sound.
“Momma?” Eva’s voice penetrates my fury, forcing my attention to the four-year-old that’s still gripping my hand like a lifeline. “Is it lunchtime yet? I'm hungry.”
“Yeah, booger butt,” it's more difficult than I would have expected to shake the anger from my mind, but the excited expression on Eva’s face helps shake the last vestiges. “What sounds good to eat?”
“Cake!” Eva exclaims excitedly, making Mia and I both burst into laughter. You can never tell what is going to come out of a child's mouth, and Eva fits into that category.
“No, Eva. You can't have cake for lunch.” I can tell by the way her nose begins to scrunch that she's about to tell me exactly why she doesn’t agree, but before she can, I interrupt her. “Maybe if you eat all of your lunch, we can share a dessert.” My cajoling might not be exactly what she wants, but seeing that I'm not about to cave on this, she gives me a grudging nod and doesn’t say anything else until we push open the door and exit onto the sidewalk outside of PRI.
The foot traffic has picked up in the last couple hours that I was stuck inside of the imposing tower, and when a woman, not paying attention to where she's going, nearly bowls me over in her haste to get wherever she needs to be.
“Ope, sorry! Didn’t see you there,” I apologize as I attempt to steady myself on Mia without knocking us both over.
“Maybe you should look where you're going!” The woman snaps, brushing her hands over her immaculate black blazer as though she was the one that was nearly knocked to the ground.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be on your phone,” Eva chirps in, her hand propped on her hip in the sassiest possible look I’ve ever seen come out of my little girl. The technology concerned woman gives the three of us a disgusted look before stomping off in her six-inch stilettos. Shaking my head in disgust, I crouch down in front of Eva to smooth her curly locks away from her face.
“Sometimes,” I begin in a serious tone. “People don’t want to see what's right in front of them. So, they hide behind their phones to avoid looking at the beautiful world around them. Thank you, baby.” A soft kiss on her forehead is rewarded with one of her smiles, so big I can see every tooth in her little head.
She's always had a bit of an aversion towards phones. I’ve always assumed it was because her father, when he was actually around, was always on his phone. When he got home, at the dinner table, at bedtime, even when she asked him to help her with whatever game or activity she was doing, it was always more important to him to have his phone in hand at all times. Of course, I’m not stupid, and I was positive that the man was having an affair. I couldn’t understand why anyone would willingly sleep with the man, so I figured he was either paying them or threatening them with something.
After all, the man is an ace when it comes to blackmailing someone. I would know, considering the last four years were spent under his thumb and fearing for both our lives. Money can move mountains.
“Alright, let's grab something to eat before someone else decides to run us over with their car!” I joke, pulling Eva in closer to my side with a tight hug.
“What are you guys in the mood for? I could eat anything!” Mia groans dramatically, making Eva giggle and a triumphant grin to spread across her face.
“I've missed you so much, Mia.” My words must have caught her by surprise, but a pleased flush works its way across her face. Taking my hand in hers, she gives me a meaningful look, which I interpret as her ‘I missed you too.’ “And I'm in the mood for pancakes!”
“Yeah!” Eva squeals in agreement, jumping up and down with her excitement. “I want pancakes!”
“Then it’s a good thing that there is an amazing place right around the corner with the best,” crouching down in front of Eva, Mia leans forward conspiratorially to stage whisper in her ear. “Chocolate chip pancakes!”
Eva’s gasp of delight is enough of an answer, and we set off to this fantastic pancake house, my mind and my stomach set on a stack of sweet and filling pancakes covered in an unhealthy amount of syrup if that’s possible.
We are quiet on the walkover. It's more us trying to survive the walk without being mowed over like a fly in the grass. Thankfully, the restaurant is relatively empty, and we are seated as soon as we walk in.
“Iced tea,” Mia orders curtly.
“Chocolate milk please,” I order for Eva and myself, raising my eyebrow at Mia when she begins to laugh. “What?”
“You still drink that stuff?”
Gasping in mock offense, I turn towards Eva and tell her with a serious face, “Mia doesn’t think it's right that I drink chocolate milk because I'm a big girl.” Eva’s look of confusion quickly morphs into a twin look of insult.
“But chocolate milk is THE best!”
“I know, baby,” giving my head a shake, I tsk at Mia. “Some people just don’t know a good thing when they see it.”
Mia opens her mouth to reply, but the waitress plunks our drinks onto the table, making her jump in surprise. Three glasses of chocolate milk sit at the end of the table. A laugh begins to bubble out, but I keep it down with sheer force.
“Looks like someone’s drinking chocolate milk.”
Chapter 4
Dredging through history
“So, how have you been, Mia?” I ask, taking an unladylike sip that makes Eva giggle from the coloring page that the waitress was nice enough to hunt down for us. The sound makes me smile and do it again.
“Eh,” Mia begins with a shrug. “Just living life and taking it day by day.”
“And what about Sierra?” Mia and Sierra have been married for nearly two years but friends for at least ten. Having met in college, the roommates quickly became more than just friends when Sierra announced that she was madly in love with my best friend.
I about fell over, considering that Sierra was most definitely heterosexual from what I could tell from the revolving door that was her bedroom. And all the visitors were always of the male variety.
My words, although harmless, are apparently the wrong thing to ask given the way that Mia’s face drains of all color, her mouth thinning into a grimace. We may not have seen each other in a couple of years, but it doesn’t detract from my ability to read my friend like a book.
“What's going on?” I demand preferring not to beat around the bush. Rather than answering, Mia angles her face away from me, but it doesn’t stop me from picking out the single tear that rolls down her cheek. “Tell me, Mia.”
“I think she's seeing someone else.”
“Why do you think that?” My question comes out even and calm, but inside I'm ready to find this bitch and beat the crap out of her. Mia is by far the most beautiful person I know, inside and out. She’s smart, funny, and kind, the whole package wrapped in a pretty bow of devotion for her wife.
“She's been very secretive lately,” Mia begins, brushing her hair behind her sho
ulder and visibly forcing herself together. I've done it for so many years myself that I can easily pick up the struggle. “She’s already left for the day when I get up and doesn’t come home until late. Really late. She says it’s because she’s working a really important case at the office, but when I ask her anything about it, she clams up and leaves the room as soon as possible. The only time I get to see her is when she comes to visit me at the office.”
“Well, that’s good, right?” Jonathan would freak out if I even considered visiting him at work. The few times that I did, he would rush me out as soon as possible. I tried not to think it was because he was embarrassed by me, but that’s a hard thought to stop.
“I guess.” Shrugging her shoulders, she fiddles with the straw in her cup. “I want to confront her about it, but I’m…” Mia’s words trail off, her lips thinning into a hard line.
“Scared?” I offer softly, reaching across the table to lay my hand on hers when she mutely nods. “It’s okay to be scared; it means you're alive. But you can't just continue to ignore this. It’s going to drive you crazy.”
“I know,” Mia whispers, taking a long drag of her milk. I swear the waitress has to be a mind reader because she materializes out of nowhere, plates stacked high with eggs and pancakes.
“Come on, baby girl, time to eat. Put your colors away.” Trying to corral the colors, I quickly clear a spot for the waitress to put down the sugary stack of pancakes in front of her. Eva’s eyes widen at the spread before a huge smile spreads across her face, and she stabs her fork into the first pancake.
“So, what happened with your interview?” Mia asks, a forkful of eggs hovering in front of her mouth and dripping with hot sauce. Just the mention of that disaster makes my appetite disappear. Pushing my plate away with disgust, my mouth twists at the memory of Daniel Price’s words.