They looked guilty. “I’m sorry,” one of them murmured. “We got to talking.”
“Yes, you did. Jake, I need you to stay within their view tomorrow just in case those boys try it again.” I turned to the three women, my eyes flashing anger that only a mama bear could wield. “I’m trusting you to keep him safe. I know you’re paid to be here. Earn your money.”
I walked out, Jake following behind me. I was furious. I hated that I couldn’t keep him safe. The program was supposed to keep kids off the streets and out of trouble. What good was it if he was going to get the shit kicked out of him under their watchful eyes? Heavy on the sarcasm.
I got Jake into the car and took a couple of minutes to calm myself down. I was still ready to kick some ass. “Are you okay?” I asked him again.
“I’m fine, Mom. They didn’t hurt me.”
I drove out of the parking lot, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. It had gone on too long. “Did it just start when I got there?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I guess.”
“What were they saying to you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Jake, what were they saying?”
“I don’t know, just stuff about me being dumb.”
I squeezed the wheel, my nails digging into the hard plastic. “You are not dumb. You are smart.”
“I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t you tell them to leave you alone?”
“I did.”
I replayed what I had seen through my mind. He had not said anything. He had just been standing there. “Did you push them away?”
“No. I can’t touch them. Because I’ll get in trouble. Mrs. Shields says if I get in another fight, I can’t go to school anymore.”
I cringed. “I see.”
“I promised I wouldn’t get in trouble anymore, remember?”
I felt horrible. He had promised me, and he was willing to get bullied and not fight back because I’d asked him not to. I owed him. He was trying hard to be good. That deserved some reward. I hadn’t gotten paid yet, but I would be getting paid in a few days. I only had twenty dollars left in my checking account and I knew exactly how I was going to use it.
“I got a surprise for you,” I told him.
His head popped up, a small smile tugging at his lips. “What is it?”
I grinned. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
I drove to one of our favorite ice cream places, Ghirardelli’s. It wasn’t just the ice cream we loved. It was the special feeling of being in the place. Plus, the sundaes were absolutely amazing. I couldn’t remember the last time we had splurged.
I parked the car, and Jake was looking around with confusion. “Where are we?”
“We’re going for a sundae!”
His eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Really?”
I winked. “Yep, we’re celebrating.”
I got out of the car and, together, we walked to the infamous chocolate shop that was just as famous for its massive sundaes that could make a girl gain twenty pounds just by looking at them. But they were so good, and they were our thing. We usually only splurged on birthdays or the last day of school, but today was important.
“Are we going to share one?” he asked.
I smiled, not letting him see my general worry about spending more than twenty bucks on an ice cream treat. “That’s up to you. How hungry are you? Can you eat a whole one by yourself?”
Someone walked by carrying one of the sundaes. He looked up at me and slowly shook his head. “I think we should split one.”
“If you’re sure. We can each get one if you want.”
“I’m sure.”
“All right, we’ll get an extra cherry on top,” I said with a wink.
We ordered our sundae, grabbed two spoons, and found a little table to sit and share it. I wanted to enjoy every moment I had with him. I knew it wouldn’t last forever. Soon, he would be too big to share a sundae with his mom. The teen years were likely going to be a real test of my patience and love. I wanted to fill the bucket with lots of good memories I could look back on when we were going through something especially difficult. I wanted to remember the days he and I could spend an afternoon together without fighting.
“Was the rest of your day good?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “It was okay.”
“Good. Lilly is working on getting us that tour for the new school. I’m excited to see it. I hear they have some pretty cool robotics classes. I know you love doing that.”
He didn’t seem all that enthused, which terrified me. He had always loved electronics and finding out how things worked. I didn’t want him to lose that love because he was too busy trying to protect himself from bullying and physical assaults. I knew something had to change. I was going to make it happen.
“How come we’re getting ice cream?” he asked. “You said it was too expensive and only for special days.”
I should have known he would question me. He was too smart for his own good. “Because things are a little different now. My new job pays me more. And I won’t be working on weekends, which means I don’t have to pay a babysitter. Things are changing for us. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to make enough money to buy us a house.”
His eyes lit up. “Really? With a swing set and a dog?”
I laughed, appreciating his wide-eyed innocence. “I don’t think the house will come with those things, but we will certainly see about making it happen. I’m not making any promises, but I’m going to do my best to do better for you.”
“I’m okay, Mom.”
I smiled. “You’re so much better than okay, but together, we are going to be even better.”
“You don’t have to buy me ice cream,” he said, his little voice soft. He knew far too much about the state of my finances. I tried to shelter him, but sometimes—no, a lot of times—I had to say no. When he pressed me for reasons why he couldn’t have this or that, my go-to response was it was too much or we couldn’t afford it. I was going to curb that habit.
“I wanted to buy you ice cream and I can buy you ice cream. We’re going to be okay. I promise you. Things are going to be awesome from now on.”
He took another bite of the rich chocolate brownie buried under the ice cream. “We could have just gone home and played Mario. You didn’t have to spend a bunch of money to make me feel better.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Oh really, Mr. Patting?” I teased. “What if I wanted to feel better?”
He giggled at the use of his last name. “Do you?”
I nodded, smiling at him. “I sure do.”
“Okay, but next time, we can just stop at the store and buy ice cream like we usually do.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, but today was special. Like I said, we’re celebrating.”
“What are we celebrating?” he asked, drawing out the word as he tried to get his tongue around it.
“We are celebrating our future. My new job. Your new school that is coming soon. Everything. We’re celebrating the fact we are happy and healthy, and life is good.”
The kid stared at me like I had lost my mind. “Okay, Mom.”
I felt like he had just patted me on the head. We finished the sundae, or as much as we could before we were both on the verge of being sick from the sweetness. I had him sit down and do his homework while I went about making dinner, although the ice cream had definitely spoiled our appetite for dinner.
I didn’t mind. What was life if you couldn’t break the rules now and again? Eating ice cream before dinner was not going to ruin his life. It was going to give him some good memories. At least I hoped that was the case.
I wanted him to look back on his childhood and think of the fun we had together and know how much I loved him. I didn’t want him to look back and think about all the things he missed out on because we were poor.
Chapter 13
Ashton
My “perky to the point of being horribly
obnoxious” secretary was not so perky. I walked into the office and found her already hard at work with the filing cabinets. She wasn’t humming. She wasn’t cursing. She wasn’t even talking to herself, which was a little alarming. I paused, waiting for her to greet me in her customary, upbeat way, but she didn’t.
“Good morning,” she said, her voice soft and lacking any enthusiasm.
“Good morning,” I replied, staring at her, waiting for her to say something snarky or lecture me about something. I seemed to always do something that warranted being scolded.
I got nothing. Zero. Just a little wave and a forced smile before she went right back to doing what she was doing. I felt jilted. I felt like I had been dismissed by my own secretary.
I was surprised by how it made me feel. I found her to be annoying and had been cursing Kyle from the very moment I had met the woman, but now, I felt like I had lost something. How dumb was that? She wasn’t mine to lose. She wasn’t even gone. She was still out there, but the light I saw in her eyes had gone out.
I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but then it would look like I was soft, like I cared. Caring was a sign of weakness. At least that was the belief I had subscribed to. It was a way to protect myself. I didn’t want her to think we were anything more than boss and secretary. I didn’t want her to use me as a shoulder to lean on. I wasn’t that.
Was I?
I tried to concentrate on work. All I could think about was her sitting out there with a sad expression on her face. I didn’t like it. I heard the phone ring beyond the door and realized that was my chance. I could casually go out and see if something needed my attention and then ever so casually ask if she was okay. I waited for her to buzz me and put the call through. I had my ear trained toward the door, trying to eavesdrop on what was being said, but I heard nothing.
I waited, tapping my pen on the desk. I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed a reason to talk to her. How stupid was that? I was the damn CEO and didn’t have to make an excuse to talk to her.
Unable to stop myself, I got up to see if she had a box of pens for me. It was a flimsy excuse but it was a reason to talk to her.
“What was that about?” I asked.
She looked up from where she was sitting on the floor, her legs crossed as she filtered through a drawer. “What was what about?”
“The phone. I heard it ring but you didn’t put them through.”
She frowned as if she didn’t understand the explanation. “It was someone wanting to speak with you.”
“And?”
“And they weren’t worth your time. Someone about office supplies. You don’t need that kind of interruption in your day. I deal with the office supplies and I’m perfectly happy with who we have. It’s nothing but pushy marketing, like an annoying telemarketer. I handled it.”
“Oh,” I said, trying to get to why I really came out of my office. The words were stuck in my throat. There was so much I wanted to say but I couldn’t do it. “Is everything okay?”
She looked at me with those pretty blue eyes that I found myself appreciating more and more each day. “Yes, fine. Thank you for asking.”
“You seem off.”
Her dark, perfectly sculpted brow arched up. “Off? Gee, you sure know how to compliment a lady.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I meant you’re just not your usual self. You’re, uh, different.”
“Really, please, stop showering me with such praise,” she said, her tone very sarcastic.
I was making a mess of things, more than I thought was possible. “I just meant I noticed you—”
She stopped, holding up her hand. “Please stop before you actually insult me. I’m fine, thank you.”
I was failing at my attempt to be concerned. It was no wonder. I was not experienced in the whole art of being nice to others and showing any interest. I had no practice and I was failing miserably. I was going to read a book. A little self-help on how to be nice. I was convinced I was born without the nice gene. I’d been given an extra dose of the asshole gene instead.
“All right then,” I murmured and went back to my office.
I sat down at my desk and assured myself there was nothing wrong with her. Her energy had finally run out. I shouldn’t be surprised. No one could go on like that forever. Maybe her overenthusiasm had all been a show. She was settled in the job and could just be herself. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or not to find out she wasn’t the bubbly woman I had initially met. I had thought her obnoxious, but now I kind of missed it.
I wasn’t going to worry about it. I had been assured all was well, and that would have to suffice. With my mind at ease, I focused on work. At least I tried. I still couldn’t get her sadness out of my head and I knew she was sad. I wasn’t quite so ignorant to people’s emotions. I knew what sadness looked like, even if I never really experienced it for myself. I didn’t wish it on anyone.
There was a brief knock on my door before she pushed the door open as per her usual habit. “You need to go,” she said.
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You need to visit one of the shops today. Now actually. I’ve checked your schedule and you don’t have anything pressing.”
“I need to go?” I pressed. “Why do I need to visit a shop, and why do I need to go now?”
She sighed. “There is a situation, and from what I know about you, you will want to handle this in person.”
I frowned, more intrigued than ever. “Okay. I guess that leaves me little choice. I’ll go.”
She nodded. “Good. I’ll get my purse.”
My mind was whirring, trying to guess what was going on. The only thing I could come up with was another problem with an employee. I didn’t understand why she needed her purse, but didn’t think much about it.
She seemed back to her flighty self. That was a good thing. I was glad to have things back to normal. I stepped out of the office and saw her purse was slung over her shoulder and she appeared to be waiting for me. “What are you doing? Are you going to lunch?”
“I’m going with you.”
Obviously, she had bounced back and was back to her usual, annoying, pushy self. “Why?”
“Because you’re going to need me, and I want to see one of these shops. I’ve been working here for almost two weeks and I still have no real idea about what you do. For all I know, you’re in there twiddling your thumbs.”
My mouth dropped open. “I’m not twiddling my thumbs!”
“Then prove it. Show me what these suits are all about. After all, the success of your business pays my paycheck. I want to make sure you are doing it right.”
I had no words. The woman was just—I had no words. “Fine. Why do I have to go to the store?”
“I suppose you’ll find out when we get there.”
We were dropped off in front of the store and I knew immediately something was very wrong. The fact it was closed for business in the middle of the day was alarming. “What the hell is going on?” I growled.
I knocked on the glass door, seeing my manager holding a notepad and scribbling. He was fired. So fired. I knocked again and finally got the man’s attention. He rushed to unlock the door. I stepped inside and nearly roared with anger.
“Sir,” the man fumbled.
“What the hell is this?” I asked, barely able to keep from shouting. My eyes scanned the shop. A rack of suits was lying on the floor. Something horribly sticky was under my foot. I didn’t even want to begin to guess what it was. There was broken glass where the case of cufflinks and tie clasps should be.
“We were robbed sometime in the night,” the manager said. “The police have already been here. There’s a report on file and I am putting together a list of missing items.”
“Robbed?” I repeated, looking around. “What do you mean robbed?”
“He means someone broke in and stole from you,” Willow said, bending down to pick up a blue silk tie and shaking it off.
“Why?” I kne
w the question was ridiculous. There was never any reason for crime. It just was. “How?” I spun around and looked at the front door with the window intact. The display window wasn’t broken. “How did they get in?”
He looked at me like he was terrified. “The back.”
“How could they get in through a steel door? We’re not exactly in the ghetto. There isn’t a lot of crime around here. Did you leave the door unlocked?”
His eyes widened. “No! I did no such thing. I didn’t close last night, but I know it wasn’t left unlocked. That is not possible.”
“Isn’t it? One careless mistake has cost me thousands, possibly more. What was taken?”
He swallowed. “I’m not sure yet.”
I gestured toward the case that was empty and shattered. “Those cufflinks sold for over a thousand dollars each. They’re all gone?”
He loosened the tie around his neck. “I believe so. I haven’t done a full inventory.”
I walked around the shop, looking at the scattered clothing that had obviously been picked over. They were after the diamonds and gold. I was seeing red. I wanted to scream and rage. I felt violated. It wasn’t like it was my personal closet, but it still felt very personal.
“I want to know how they got in. Where is the security footage? Why didn’t the alarm go off?”
“Ashton,” Willow hissed.
“I asked a question!” I boomed, the manager taking a step backward. I hoped he was scared. I was pissed. I had not been this mad in a long time.
“He’s upset,” Willow said, stepping in front of me. “This isn’t your fault. Go ahead and finish your inventory. We’ll help you clean up.”
“Willow,” I growled. “A word please. Outside.”
“We’ll be right back in to help you sort through this,” Willow said with a friendly smile for the manager, who looked like he was about to piss his pants.
In my mind, I was already firing him, looking forward to replacing him with someone that knew how to lock a damn door. I felt Willow’s hand on my arm, tugging me away from the carnage in front of me.
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