Scrooge McFuck (Some Girls Do It #2)

by May Sage

  He hung up, while silently agreeing this time. Yes, she did deserve to be taken care of, for once.

  Picking Maya up at the school had been the first problem they’d experienced, on Tuesday. In the morning, Ben had been pondering upon it when she’d interrupted his train of thought by giggling.

  “What?”

  “Mama’s right. You look so grumpy when you scowl.”

  He shook his head, amused and a little pissed that that was what Piper had told her about him; but mostly, amused.

  “I’m not grumpy. I’m just worried they might not let me take you home after school.”

  Hopefully they wouldn’t, anyway; strangers shouldn’t easily grab little girls.

  Maya returned his frown for all of three seconds, before saying, “We can call Aunty Lu – she’s allowed to pick me up.”

  That hadn’t ease his worry. “I haven’t taken your mother’s phone.”

  Or anything else, for that matter. He’d just grabbed her, her girl, and gotten out of the hellhole where they lived as fast as his driver’s wheels could carry them. They’d returned to grab some of Maya’s clothes, and what she needed for a few days, but he hadn’t thought of Piper’s phone.

  “I know the number,” Maya said.

  “Dude, how old are you again?” he had to check.

  The kid looked tiny, but acted like a teenager.

  “Five. I’ll be six next month.”

  He shook his head, wondering if he was standing in front of the next Einstein.

  They called Aunty Lu, and he let Maya explaining the situation.

  “Mama was poorly, so Ebenezer carried her like a princess and took us to his house which is prettier than a castle – but there’s no Christmas Tree. We’ve been eating pizza because he can’t cook and he doesn’t have the authority to make me eat vegetables.”

  After a few minutes, she passed him the phone. The woman on the other end sounded like she crunched nuts as a hobby.

  “Bennet McFinnley,” she said, making it sound like they were archenemies. “I must say, I’m impressed you didn’t just walk away and let Piper rot.”

  Unfortunately, there was a five-year-old in the room, or he might have had a very different response. As things were, Ben took a very deep breath and said, “Look, I did what I could so that my employee, suffering with the flu, was taken care of, as there was no one else there.” He hoped she resented the dig; if she was close to Piper, she would feel guilty about not being the one who saved the day. “Now, I have a problem. Maya should go to school, but I don’t think they’ll let me get her at the end of the day. Could you pick her up?”

  It hit him that the woman might want Piper and Maya to go with her afterwards; he prepared himself to vehemently argue against that. Piper shouldn’t be moved again.

  “I’m in LA,” the woman replied guiltily. “But I can try to call the school and explain… I’ll let you know what they say.”

  The school demanded that he’d bring identification, and that he introduced himself when he dropped Maya off. He felt three-inches-tall when the severe old crone came to meet him at the gate, her eyes darting to Maya.

  “Who’s this man, Ms. Stone-Kennedy?”

  “That’s Ebenezer. His name’s really Bennet but he’s grumpy and there aren’t any Christmas decorations in his house – not even a tree!”

  She scrutinized the child, and nodded.

  “Very well, Mr. McFinnley. We’ll expect you by six – that’s when the evening care closes.”

  He frowned, asking, “What time does school actually stop?”

  “Three thirty – but Maya is enrolled in the after-school program, as her mother can’t pick her up beforehand.”

  Right. Because she was too busy taking care of his ass.

  “I’m not going to work today,” he informed Maya – he was too anxious to return home and check on Piper; it hadn’t even been half an hour yet, but he couldn’t help wondering if she’d gotten worse. “Do you want me to pick you up at three thirty, Honey Bee?”

  “Well, after school is fun,” she weighted, “But Mama will want a kiss, so okay!”

  As it had gone smoothly, Ben didn’t think to prepare anything about the dance school two days later. Foolish of him; he was met by a bulky guy built like a tank, who was unashamedly wearing tights at the door.

  “Name?” he barked, his eyes narrowed.

  “Bennet- I’m here for Maya Stone-Kennedy.”

  Seeing that it would require explanation, he grabbed his phone to call Aunty Lu, but he was interrupted when a miniature tornado jumped into his arms, screaming “Daddy!”

  Maya hugged him tight, before turning her long lashes to the bouncer and saying, “Bye bye Sven! See you after the break.”

  The man was so hypnotised by the little demon, he didn’t even think to question it, simply waving bye bye.

  As they walked away, Maya smiled, saying, “I forgot. Every non-parent needs a written authorisation to pick us up – Aunty Lu had to have one. So, that was quicker than arguing.”

  Ben nodded faintly, trying to make sense of the warmth spreading in his chest.

  That hug had done a number on him – and he wouldn’t even start analysing the whole daddy shit.

  “Good call.”

  Shaking the numbness off as best he could, he managed to say, “By the way, I have a surprise for you.”

  Piper

  Hours – or days – after she’d last woken up, she was seeing more clearly; and McFuck was still around.

  Saying that she felt awkward was like announcing that Hitler had a little bit of an issue with Jews. She didn’t know where to look, what to say; dammit. Of all people who could have found her and taken care of her - okay, the pickings were limited to Lucy - why did it have to be him?

  “Are we at your place?” she asked in a voice she didn’t recognize.

  His only answer was a nod.

  “And is Maya here?”

  Another nod.

  “I hope Maya and I…” she searched her words, “aren’t too much of an inconvenience.”

  Ben’s usual scowl just deepened; he didn’t reply at all.

  Okay, then.

  “Well, now I’m better, I’ll just call a cab and we’ll be on our way…”

  “You’ll do no such thing.”

  Piper’s response to that tone usually was, yes, sir, but he wasn’t her boss anymore.

  “Now, wait a minute…”

  “The doctor ordered rest. He spoke about potential relapse, too. How are you going to take care of your daughter if you can’t even stand straight?”

  Protests died on her lips and her eyes watered. Piper wasn’t a crier - not even a little bit - but there she was, bawling her eyes out all of a sudden. Because he was right. She couldn’t take care of Maya properly. Shit, what would have happened if he hadn’t found them and intervened? He’d said she’d been off it for days. Her baby could have starved, hurt herself trying to get to the kitchen- anything could have happened. She could have opened the door to some sort of psychopath, rather than Ben.

  Shit.

  “Ms. Stone? I’d greatly appreciate if the crying could cease. Preferably right now.”

  She lifted her eyes to find him looking at her like she’d just transformed into a snake, and for some reason, that made her laugh.

  “A man who can’t stand tears. How original.”

  He rolled his eyes, and walked towards the bed, making her freeze in place when he bent right next to her.

  Ben opened a draw of his bedside table, and got a packet of tissue, before sitting on the edge of the bed.

  “Here,” he said, holding one up to her face, wiping her wet cheeks, and simultaneously awakening every single part of her body.

  The aches in her limbs faded, replaced by something more powerful, needy.

  His hand stilled, and his amber eyes bore into hers for so long she was pretty certain he saw exactly what she’d been thinking.

  “Sorry. I guess I go
t used to…” He got up. “I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.”

  Uncomfortable was right - and the only way to sooth the discomfort was if he got back down there and let her straddle him.

  “It’s time to pick Maya up.”

  Her strange Scrooge turned to go, but she called him back.

  “Bennet? Thank you.”

  The words didn’t convey the extent of her gratitude, but they would have to do.

  Bennet

  He would never have believed that a tree could bring so much happiness, but the way Maya oohed and aahed at it, he might as well have bought a Tiffany bracelet.

  He’d gone big, sneering at the smaller trees to get the tallest one he could comfortably fit in his house. If he was doing it, might as well do it properly.

  “I bought decorations, too,” he said, pointing to a box.

  He hadn’t wanted to waste too much time away from Piper, who occasionally woke up long enough to coax some broth into her mouth, so he’d asked a sales clerk to grab everything he needed and checked it, before paying the bill.

  Maya’s delight made it obvious the woman had gotten the right things.

  They were working on the tree – he, decorating the top while Maya was in charge of the bottom. He heard footsteps and turned to find Piper walking in, seeming dumbfounded.

  You’d think he would have gotten used to seeing her, after four days, but she just knocked the air out of his lungs. There was a bit of color to her cheeks, and while her nose was a little red, she was just plain gorgeous, despite her disheveled state.

  “Mommy!” Maya screamed, jumping to her.

  She caught her midair and pulled her up to hold her tight, burying her head in her throat. After a minute, she dropped her back down.

  “Sorry Maya, I’m a little weak right now. And you’re heavy.”

  “Well, you smell,” Maya replied, shrugging.

  “Is that a boogie on your face?”

  “You’re all sticky yucky. And your hair is so bad you might have to shave it.”

  They both started to giggle, and Piper wiped her watery eyes before looking up to him, first, and then to his tree.

  “This is… Christmassy.”

  “No comment,” he replied, somewhat embarrassed.

  She bit back a smile, guessing right, “Maya’s a little hard to resist.”

  The girl certainly was.

  “So… let me know if I’ve got this right. You came to see me and I was out of it, so you ended up taking care of us.”

  He nodded, more and more uncomfortable as the seconds stretched.

  “Thank you. We… I don’t know what we would have done if…”

  She shook her head, refusing to voice her concern; but yes, she’d been out of it for four days. Her kid might have been in a really bad way if he hadn’t turned up.

  “No need to think of what ifs. Everything went according to plan, that’s the main thing.”

  She nodded.

  “Maya, you should grab your things. We’d better go.”

  The child stopped dancing around, her eyes bulging.

  “No,” Ben replied firmly. Then, because that word never worked how it should with Piper – and he could see she was ready to argue, narrowing her eyes – he explained, “You might still have a relapse. I’ll call Devon; he’ll come to examine you again. Plus, you said it yourself: you’re still a little weak. You can go tomorrow.”

  That gave him a few hours to compute the fact that she and Maya wouldn’t be there – that his house would be empty of anything, except a stupid, massive Christmas tree to remind him of what it felt like to have some people with him.

  Fuck. He needed to get someone to throw the damn tree away.

  “Besides, we need to talk,” he added, before walking towards the kitchen, leaving before she found some objections.

  He was a little calmer later on; and after putting Maya to bed in his spare room, he was ready to have a calm conversation. As long as Piper listened and did what she was told, for once.

  “I wanted to talk about your resignation. I don’t accept it.”

  He didn’t let her get a word out. “You like your job. I’m just an ass – and I can work on that; a little. Besides, it was all a misunderstanding. I wouldn’t have stopped you from going to pick Maya up, if you’d explained the situation. So… yes. You’ll come back to work.”

  He did acknowledge that the speech was perhaps a little authoritarian, but thankfully, it just seemed to amuse Piper.

  “I want a raise.”

  “Done.”

  “Better coffee.”

  “Okay.”

  “I want the week after next off on Holidays.”

  “I’ll throw in tickets to the North Pole.”

  Maya had mentioned that both she and Piper were hoping to go there at some point.

  She laughed, like it was just a joke, but Ben would order them as soon as he got his hands on his laptop.

  “Okay, then. I mean, you aren’t all that bad. And I owe you.”

  The silence was heavy, charged with too much unsaid. He knew what he wanted to say, but he had zero clue how it would be received. Piper had always acted professional towards him; now, she was treating him like a friend, but he couldn’t tell if there was the potential for more. She didn’t flirt, unlike just about every other woman he came across.

  Ben was a rich, attractive, confident man of thirty-two, but right now, he felt like his awkward sixteen-year-old self.

  Unwilling to jump feet first into the puddle without knowing how deep it was, he dipped his toe in, “I’d like us to be friends from now on, Piper. We have family relations, and I know plenty of my friends know you, too. Acting like strangers isn’t working. Besides, you do give good cuddles,” he added to make her laugh and blush.

  It worked.

  “I totally spooned you, didn’t I?”

  “A little. Devon – my doctor – said you needed supervision at first so you slept in my room. And well, you smelled so much I didn’t see the point of letting you contaminate another set of sheets.”

  She playfully punched his shoulder.

  “Okay. I totally grant you that experience is enough to build a friendship – if you’re really working on the ass thing.”

  “I intend to,” he vowed.

  All of a sudden, she lifted her eyebrow, and seemed as though she was about to say something, but thought better of it.

  “Spell it out. Friends, remember?”

  He wondered whether he’d just willingly friend-zoned himself, but her question made him think otherwise.

  “I’m just wondering what Jennifer thought of our sleeping arrangements.”

  If the words didn’t give him a clue, her blush would have. He was smiling from ear to ear, when he said, “Ah. Jennifer. She’s been history for over a week now.”

  “Oh,” was all she said, looking away.

  Ben felt something in his groin, telling him to cup her face, and capture her lips under his. But he couldn’t afford to mess this up, so he restrained himself.

  Ben had never felt more helpless than he did the next morning; he felt like an idiot, like he was letting his life pass him by. But what could he say? Of course, they were going home. Devon had okayed it – a little reluctantly, but as long as she promised to call in case of emergency, he agreed she was recovered enough to take care of herself and Maya.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked, tilting his head to motion out of the room.

  She nodded and followed him in the corridor; her green eyes full of questions as she looked up towards him.

  “Maya…” he started. “Maya doesn’t seem happy to be going.”

  Piper sighed helplessly.

  “I know. This place is amazing, you bought her everything she asked for and…” words failed her for a moment. “She enjoyed the daddy daughter game a little too much, maybe.”

  “Yeah,” was his reply.

  The issue was, Maya hadn’t been the only
one. How was he supposed to say that, though? He had no clue how to express himself. Taking care of her, playing with her daughter- all of that had awakened a dormant longing. How could he say it? He wanted Piper and Maya to stay with him, but that was ridiculous, given the fact that they had no relationship; they’d just agreed they’d try to form a friendship, but until then, their rapports have been barely civil. Him pushing her buttons on purpose, her sassing him.

  “I think it might be an idea to bring Maya to work sometimes after school.”

  Piper frowned, visibly confused.

  “A clean break might hurt her feelings.” And, because he wasn’t fond of lying, he added, “besides, I’d miss my Honey Bee otherwise.”

  Piper bit her lip, and he wanted to scream. She held all the cards, and she could say no. She could decide to obliterate the little cloud where they’d lived for a week, and resume a completely professional relationship.

  Ben opened his eyes and saw the future his actions had paved. He’d meet another Jennifer, who’d only stay with him for what he could provide. Eventually, he’d probably trade her in for a younger model, because that was what people in loveless, soulless relationships did. In the end, he’d live alone, and die alone, too.

  Right now, his life was at a crossroad, and he wasn’t in the driver’s seat. Piper Stone was. If she said no, if she decided she didn’t want him around her or her child, there was nothing he could do about it.

  “Alright. I’d like that.”

  Piper

  Something had shifted sometime over the previous week, irrevocably.

  The following Monday, Piper went to work eager to see Bennet, and half frightened that he might just be back to the temperamental jerk she was used to, but when she arrived at half ‘til eight, he was already there, approaching her desk, two coffees in hand.

  “Thank you,” she said, smiling up to him.

  Things were so weird. Weird because her smile wasn’t ironic and forced; weird because he returned it, and weird because they looked at each other without a word for a beat too long before he awkwardly cleared his throat while she sipped her coffee, desperate for something to do.