by Diana Nixon
She was sitting on a bed, playing with her favorite teddy bear. When she saw Leonel, she frowned. “Who are you?”
My heart skipped a beat, and I think I stopped breathing for a moment, waiting for his reaction to meeting his daughter.
“I’m Liv’s boss. I’m sure you’ve heard about me.” He smiled at Bella and came to sit down next to her. “It looks like someone needs a bath,” he said, pointing to her toy.
She giggled. “I wanted to feed him with a cherry jam. But he wasn’t hungry.”
“I see... Are you ready to go home?”
“Yes. I’m tired and sleepy.”
“Okay, then. Come here. I’ll take you to my car.” He lifted her up and carried her out of the room.
I took Bella’s beg and followed them. Every inch of me trembled as I took another step. It wasn’t exactly how I imagined their first meeting. To be honest, I couldn’t imagine it at all. Even if there were times when I thought I would tell Leonel the truth about Bella, I could never picture them seeing each other after all this time they spent apart.
“Are you going home with us?” Bella asked Leonel when we stopped at his car.
“You need someone to take you home, right?”
She nodded.
“Then I’m going to be your driver tonight.”
“I didn’t know you worked as a driver as well. Olivia said you were…” She thought for a moment, then turned to look at me. “How did you call him?”
“Um…A lawyer.” Or maybe she referred to a much worse name I might accidentally call my boss in her presence.
“Yes – she said you worked as a lawyer, and that your office was the most boring place in the world.”
Leonel chuckled. “Now that your aunt is working with me, it’s not that boring at all.”
“It’s because she’s the best,” Bella said, leaning against Leonel’s shoulder.
“Couldn’t agree more.” His eyes met mine.
It was such a weird moment. It felt so family-like. I caught myself thinking about what it would be like for Bella, Winter, and Leonel to be a real family.
My heart dropped to my feet.
I knew I had no right to be jealous. But I was. And it scared me.
Bella and I took the back seat of Leo’s car. I let her sit on my lap because she was very sleepy. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her forehead.
“Looks like my trip to grandma’s will need to wait,” she said, yawning.
“But she’ll come and stay with us. I knew you would be upset about the postponed trip, so I invited her for the weekend.”
“Cool. Thank you, Liv. I love you.”
“Love you too, my princess.”
She closed her eyes and pressed her teddy bear closer to her chest. In a whisper, she said, “I liked your boss. He’s nice.”
“You think so?” I looked at Leonel.
“You okay there girls?” He asked.
“Yep.”
He started the engine and sped away from the hospital.
We didn’t talk during the ride. Bella fell asleep and Leonel had to carry her all the way from his car to the apartment. When we were in her room, he put her down on the bed and took off her shoes and jacket. It was such a cute gesture, small but very thoughtful. Meanwhile, I took away the picture of Winter, Bella, and me that was on her nightstand.
“Let her sleep in her jumpsuit,” he whispered to me. “It’s more important for her to sleep well than to get changed.”
“Okay.” I kissed Bella goodnight and motioned for Leonel to follow me out of the room.
We came to the kitchen, and I realized it was time for breakfast, because the clock on the wall showed half-past six in the morning, and it was my usual time to have coffee.
“I should probably go…” He said, leaning against the door frame.
“I feel like I owe you a huge thank you. How about breakfast?”
“A kiss would be just fine.” He smiled, and I knew he wasn’t being serious now.
Still, I walked closer to him and kissed him on the cheek. “Will it do?”
He grimaced as if disappointed, and I giggled.
“If you helped me with Bella, hoping I would thank you with a real kiss, you shouldn’t have helped me.”
“I did it because I wanted to do it, Liv. I’m not as much of a heartless bastard as you think I am.”
“Aha.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“What do you think about the movie that we watched last night? Apart from the fact that it contained too much sex.”
“Well… To be honest, I think Mr. York wanted to say something to his soon-to-be-ex-wife with that movie.”
“Say what?”
“Did you notice the resemblance between her and the main female character?”
“I did. It was the first thought to cross my mind when I saw her on the screen.”
“Did you see how many times Mr. York and his wife exchanged looks when watching the movie?”
“Um…No. I guess I was too into the…plot.”
“Right.” I smirked. “All I’m saying is that he doesn’t want a divorce. I think there was something about the movie that only the two of them could understand. It was too personal. And I think he still loves her.”
“So what would you suggest telling him on Monday? That I refuse to help him ruin his marriage?”
“I’d suggest you call his wife first. Something’s telling me she loves him too. Maybe if you talk to her, the Monday meeting with her husband will be canceled.”
Chapter 9
Leo
I had the best best friend in the world.
But sometimes I wondered if I was drunk or high when I thought we could be friends at all.
“Come on, Leo, it’s just for one drink. I know you need it,” Max said when he called me a couple of hours ago.
“You have no idea what one drink means,” I retorted. “It’s not a dozen shots, it’s just one.”
“I’ll text you the address of the bar. Drag your smart ass here. Now!”
It was Friday night and considering I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night, I felt like crap.
After Olivia made breakfast for us, we ate it and I went straight to the office because there were a few important things that I needed to do at work. She wasn’t there to help me deal with them, so I had to do all the work alone. Naturally, by the time I realized it was time to go home, my headache was about to kill me.
And then, when I was finally at home, Max called. I was halfway to bed when he said he needed to tell me something very important and that he needed to do it now and in person.
Great.
“Couldn’t you find a better day to share your news with me?”
“Trust me, my news can’t wait.”
“Fine. I’m on my way.”
“See ya!”
Max was one of those people who knew how to make every shitty situation better. He was a lawyer too, but he specialized in criminal law, and he was one of the funniest lawyers I had ever met in my life. The judges always criticized him for not taking his cases seriously. But unlike them, I knew how much attention he paid to his every new case. Even when he danced on the judge’s desk during one of the hearings.
I looked at my phone. There were no missed calls or texts. Not that I was expecting anything, but…
Fuck, scratch that. I was dying to hear from Liv. For the first time in my life, I felt like a puppy, yelping for its owner to ruffle its fur. Very manly, I know.
I wasn’t a puppy, of course, but I wouldn’t mind Liv being with me now. Touching her would be good too…
***
The bar that Max had chosen wasn’t that bad. He usually chose places that felt too overcrowded, and I never liked it.
“What so important did you want to tell me that you made me come here tonight?”
“Look around man. Don’t you like it here?”
“I don’t know. I wann
a go home and get some much-needed sleep.”
“Boring piece of shit, look at that girl, over there.” He pointed to the table opposite from ours. “Her eyes are begging you to come to lick salt from her navel and then wash it down with tequila. I’m sure she can offer you something so much hotter than just a drink.”
“Not interested.”
His eyes widened. “Am I having hearing problems? Leonel Cohen is not interested?”
“You heard me. I’m tired, and I’m here just to hear what you wanted to tell me.”
“All right.” He paused for a moment. “I’m getting married.”
“You what?”
“You heard me - I’m going to tie a knot with my fiancé.”
“You are kidding. I didn’t even know you had a fiancé.”
“Nope, I’m not kidding.” He took his phone and showed me a picture of a girl’s hand with a diamond ring on it.
“Do I even know her?”
“No. But she’s amazing.”
“How do you know that? Last I checked you were not dating anyone. Or is she one of your one-night stands?”
“Sara is a prosecutor. We used to work together.”
“You never told me about her.”
“Sorry, I didn’t want to put an evil eye on us.”
I smirked. “Put an evil eye on you? Seriously?”
“I’m kidding.” He laughed. “I don’t know… I guess I didn’t want to tell you anything because I knew you would try to talk me out of it.”
“Why would you think so?”
“Remember what you do for a living?”
“Hard to forget. But it doesn’t mean I’m going to talk you out of marrying Sara. If you love her…”
“Hold that thought, bro.” He waved for the waitress to come and refill our glasses. After she was gone, he said, “Can’t believe the word exists in your vocabulary.”
“What word?”
“Love. Do you even know what it means?”
“I could ask you the same question.”
He gave me a long look as if he was trying to figure out something about me. “I can’t believe it...”
“Believe what?”
“Who is she? And just don’t tell me you have no idea what I’m talking about.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
His face said he didn’t buy it. “She must be something if you are pissed to admit that you have a crush on her.”
“You are seeing things, Max. I don’t have a crush on anyone. I’m just exhausted. I feel like I’ll pass out any second.”
“Right.” He sipped his whiskey and proceeded, “I was going to ask if you agree to be my best man.”
“You know the answer.”
“Good, then I’ll see you at my wedding next month.”
“Next month? I feel like I’ve missed a good part of your life. What’s the rush? Is she pregnant?”
“Not that I know of. But the wedding date was my idea. We met on that day, one year ago.”
“One year ago? So you’ve been hiding her the entire year?”
He made a guilty face. “We didn’t want to tell anyone until we were sure it was something worth telling about.”
“Okay. I’ll be there for you when you read your vow. Anything else?”
“Yes. Put on your best smile and bring your date with you.”
“Can’t promise you anything.”
“Looks like she’s something… I can’t wait to meet her, Leo.”
***
Olivia
“Mom, where’s your phone?”
“It’s right here.” She pointed to the thing in her hand.
“Okay. Keep it close and always, I repeat – always – answer it when I’m calling.”
“Stop being paranoid, Olivia. Bella and I will be fine. Her fever is gone and the rest - is not a big deal. Trust me, I know how to take care of her.”
I nodded. “Sorry. I think I’m a bit overdramatizing.”
“I’ll be texting you every hour, I promise.”
“Go, Liv. We’ll be fine,” Bella said when she came to kiss me goodbye. “Say hi to Leonel.”
Mom gave me a surprised look. “Leonel?”
“My boss. He helped me with Bella when she was in the hospital.”
Mom switched her eyes between my niece and me. “You didn’t tell me anything about him.”
“He’s cool, grandma. And he likes our Liv.”
Bella just had to make the worst possible comment ever.
“Oh…” Mom’s eyes glowed with curiosity. I bet there were many questions in her head that she wanted to ask me.
“Don’t,” I warned her. I knew how much she was worried about the absence of my personal life. But Leonel didn’t have anything to do with fixing it. “I gotta go. See you in the evening.”
I rushed to leave the apartment before mom would bombard me with all her questions about Leonel. I hadn’t seen him for three days, but it felt like forever. And yes, I missed him. A lot more than it was legal.
The day my parents found out about Bella and the fact that her father didn’t want to live with her and Winter, they were devastated. Not to mention the day I told them my sister needed professional help, and that Bella would live with me.
Maybe that’s why mom wanted so bad to see at least one of her daughters happy. Though hoping it would be me was pointless. With my bad luck in building relationships, chances were high I would never find a man able to make me happy.
***
Being back to work felt good. Not because I couldn’t wait to type and print a shitload of papers for Leonel, but because… Well, the reason was my enemy and I should never forget about it. Still, I couldn’t wait to see him again.
I could hear the voices coming from behind the closed door to his office. He was having a meeting and judging by his schedule, he wouldn’t see me for another forty minutes or so.
I had plenty of time to make a cup of coffee and prepare myself for a new week at work. If at the beginning of my trial period I thought working for Leonel would never be good, now I had a different opinion about it. Despite all the cons of being his assistant, I also started to learn the things I would need for my future career as a family lawyer. Maybe one day, I would have an office like my boss had now, and be a real specialist in the field.
When my coffee was ready, I sat down in my chair and turned to the floor-length window that opened a beautiful view of the city, with endless rows of buildings and people going in different directions. I always loved New York. With its traffic, crazy lifestyle, hurry and crowds. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else, but here. Not that I didn’t like the moments of peace and quiet. But silence scared me. I never liked being alone. Said a girl whose personal life was as good-for-nothing as looking for a flower in Central Park in January.
“Is there a way to bring back a smile to your beautiful face?” Leonel’s voice rang right above my head.
I turned around and – goddamnit – my breathing caught for a second. There was nothing new about him. Still, it felt like I hadn’t seen him for ages.
He was wearing one of his favorite black suits with a snow-white shirt and a gray tie. But it was the look of his eyes that wouldn’t let me breathe freely.
“Good morning,” I said, as happy to see him again as ever.
“It’s a good morning indeed.” He smiled and my stupid-stupid heart melted. Why did he have that effect on me? He didn’t need to do anything special. But every time he talked to me, I felt like my hate for him was vanishing, turning into something completely different…
“Are you done with your meeting?” I asked, trying to fill out the uneasy pause when we did nothing but looked at one another.
“No, but I heard you were here, and I wanted to say hi.”
Another comment that shattered my original reasons for coming to his office a few weeks ago.
“Time flies…”
“What do you mean?”
I
shook my head. “Forget it. Just thinking aloud.” I looked down at the papers spread across my desk, trying to come up with an excuse to end this conversation.
Then Leonel decided to make it harder for me. “I’d like you to join my next meeting with the clients. They should be here in about half an hour.”
“Okay.”
“And, Liv…” His eyes slipped to my lips, and I swallowed hard. “You really should do something with that coffee machine.” He reached out one hand and wiped away a cream drop from the corned or my mouth. “It turns the top of the milk into a mess. And on your lips, it always looks like something I wouldn’t mind licking.”
I felt my cheeks reddened.
I cleared my throat before saying, “I’ll ask someone to fix it.”
“You’d better,” he said in a low voice.
Then he gave me another hungry look and went back to his office, leaving me completely ruined for the day. Because after what just happened, there was no way I would start thinking straight, any time soon.
I quickly finished my coffee and came to the mirror to make sure there were no signs of it on my face. My cheeks were still flushed and my eyes…ugh…they revealed everything I would never dare to say out loud, at least not to Leonel. Who, to my regret, could see it so well without me saying a word.
He knew I was attracted to him…
I wanted nothing more than to wrap up myself in his words and forget why I wanted to make him suffer. I wanted to give myself a break and just feel it. Feel it all, with him.
But I couldn’t. I couldn’t let it happen, because giving up would mean I was a bad sister.
And I never wanted to betray my family.
A knock at the door brought me back to here and now.
“Yes?”
“I’m looking for Mr. Cohen’s office.” A woman in her late thirties walked in and looked at Leonel’s door with his name on it.
“Are you Mrs. Lorring?” I asked.
“Yes. That’s me.”
“Sit down, please. Mr. Cohen will see you soon. Coffee?”
“Whiskey would be better, but coffee will do too.”
I smiled. “Is everything that bad?”