by Y. L. Stokes
Nicholas wasn’t sure what made him offer to help Ashley with Marcus. Maybe it was the fact his mother had worked hard to make sure he had everything he needed—and even some things he didn’t. Thinking back to his childhood, he remembered his mother explaining to him why he didn’t have a father like the other kids in his class.
To this day he could still see the tears streaming down her face when she’d explained his father had been killed in an automobile accident, just before he was born. His mother had become mother and father because of it. Nicholas knew how hard it had been for his mother, but he was sure she didn’t regret a moment of it. Knowing what his mother went through, it was a hard road Ms. Miller hoed. For some unexplainable reason, he wanted to help her out, to protect her and her son. Maybe because even though his mother played both roles the best she could, there was nothing like having a father around. Nicholas would never admit it to his mother, but there were times when he really wished his father had been around. Most of all, he couldn’t ignore the feelings that surged through him when he’d held Marcus—feelings he’d thought were long buried….
Nicholas shook his head, refusing to let the memories overcome him. He’d become an integral part of Ms. Miller’s life regardless if she liked it or not. He sat at his desk. Even though he had tons of work that needed his attention, Nicholas couldn’t seem to get his mind off of the woman down the hall, or her son. His curiosity had been piqued, and he wanted to find out all he could about her.
After an hour staring off into space, he decided it was time to go home. He grabbed his briefcase and coat, and headed for the door. He started to go to Ms. Miller’s office but changed his mind. What if she has a boyfriend? He made for the elevator and stepped out at the lobby. Ms. Miller’s babysitter rummaged through her purse.
“Hi, Maggie, is something wrong?”
“Ashley wanted to work a little late, so she asked if I would drop Marcus off on my way downtown. I have plans, otherwise I’d keep him until she was done. She told me to call her when I arrived, but I can’t seem to find her number, and the rent-a-cop here,” she continued to grouse and gestured towards George, the security guard, “won’t let me up. I mean, does he think I have something hidden in the diaper bag?”
The guard’s ears turned red, so Nicholas kept his face blank, not wanting to embarrass the man further. “Look, Maggie, why don’t you give Marcus to me, and I’ll take him up to his mother?”
“Well, I really hate for her to try and work and watch him at the same time….”
“Don’t worry, I don’t have any plans,” Nicholas said. “I’ll just play with him in my office until Ashley is done.”
Maggie placed her hand on her hip and stared up at him. “I can’t believe a handsome man such as yourself doesn’t have any plans. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“No, of course not,” he promised.
Maggie smiled. “I really hate it that I can’t do this for her. I know how hard it is for her being a single parent.”
“What about the father?” Nicholas couldn’t help but ask.
Maggie shook her head. “No one knows who the father is. If you ask her, Ashley says Marcus doesn’t have a father. It’s one of the biggest reasons she barely speaks to her brother—oh, look at the time!” Maggie exclaimed, checking her watch. “I must be on my way.” After giving Marcus a quick kiss, Maggie blew out of the lobby.
Ashley kept glancing at her watch. The overseas call she was on seemed to be lasting forever. “Mr. Meir, have you had a chance to go over the plans?”
“Give me a moment, Ms. Miller, the last sheet is coming across right now. I really appreciate you staying late like this in order for us to go over the plans together.”
“Oh, it’s not a problem at all.” Ashley hoped she sounded sincere, considering she thought the complete opposite. Glancing at her watch again, she wondered what was keeping Maggie.
Nicholas knocked on Ashley’s door before he entered. Surprised to see him holding Marcus, she quickly hit the mute button.
“Did something happen to Maggie?”
“No, she had plans. She felt bad about you having to work, so I volunteered to watch Marcus for you.” Before she could protest or respond, the call drew her attention back.
“Are you still there, Ms. Miller?” a voice came over the speakerphone.
“Yes, Mr. Meir, I’m still here. Are you ready to begin?”
“We’ll be next door in my office,” Nicholas informed and left her office.
Ashley tried to focus on the call, but her mind kept wondering about what was going on in the office down the hall. She guessed everything was fine since she hadn’t heard any crying. She checked her watch again. How much longer will this call go on? Leaning her head back, Ashley let out a deep sigh. She knew she had to trust that if anything went wrong, Nicholas would let her know.
Once in his office, Nicholas pushed the sofa against the far wall, creating room for the play mat he’d found in the baby’s bag. He and Marcus played peak-a-boo. His desk phone rang. He decided not to answer it, thinking it was a business call. As soon as the desk phone stopped ringing, his cell phone went off. Only a few people had access to that number. He answered it.
“Nicholas Maxwell?” a woman’s voice purred, “I’m Angela, a friend of Patricia’s. Where are you?”
“I’m still at the office; I’m in the middle of a very important meeting. I’ll try and give you a call tomorrow,” Nicholas said, not caring who the woman was or how she’d gotten his number.
“I have a better idea. How about you just come over when you’re done with your meeting?” she suggested.
Nicholas rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry, I’ve been so busy around here, but I promise I will try and get back to you tomorrow.” Nicholas quickly disconnected the call. “Sorry about that, my little man.”
Marcus rubbed his eyes, and Nicholas knew without a doubt sleepy time neared. He reached into the diaper bag for one of the bottles Maggie had prepared. “Come on, my man, how about something to eat?” It felt so right holding this little boy in his arms. Just as Marcus drifted off to sleep, Nicholas’ cell phone rang again. Luckily, it didn’t disturb the baby’s slumber.
“Yes?” he answered in a harsh whisper.
“I take it that you’re still having your important meeting. I’m calling back just to make sure you keep your promise, but I also want to make sure that you know who you were talking to.”
“I really don’t have time for this, Angela,” Nicholas said. Not even fifteen minutes had passed between calls!
“Oh, come on, Nicky, that meeting can’t be more important than I am!”
Unable to take it any longer, Nicholas ended the call and switched the mode to silent, vowing to check the display before answering next time. Only family was supposed to have this number; how in the world did Angela get it?
Just as he pushed that question from his mind, Ms. Miller rushed into his office. Their gazes collided and held until Ashley spoke. “I’m sorry it took so long,” she finally whispered, trying not to awaken Marcus.
“You don’t have to apologize,” he responded in a soft voice and chuckled. “You look as tired as he is.”
“Yeah, it’s been a long day.”
Nicholas stood when she reached him. “Grab his bag and my briefcase, please, and I’ll carry him to your car for you.”
Nicholas wasn’t ready to turn her son over to her just yet. And bless Ms. Miller, for she picked up the baby’s bag and his briefcase and followed him out the door without protest.
After buckling a sleeping Marcus into his car seat, Nicholas leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the baby’s forehead. He turned to accept his briefcase from Ashley, and his hand brushed hers in the exchange. A jolt of electricity raced up his arm.
“I want to thank you again—”
“I want to thank you for allowing me to watch him. I really had a good time,” Nicholas interrupted, clearly throwing Ms. Miller off balance. “See you i
n the morning.” He walked to his vehicle, feeling her puzzled stare boring into his back.
Chapter Three
Nicholas heard her cries, but they seemed so far away, just out of his reach. He tried to rise, but something held him back. He began to struggle, to call out to her, to assure her that he was there, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.
Nicholas came awake, bolting upright in bed. He ran a shaky hand across his face. “It was just a dream,” he said, his throat dry and parched, as if he’d been without water for a long time.
Throwing the covers aside, Nicholas climbed out of the bed and headed downstairs for a drink. As he entered his study, he glanced at the clock on the wall. Just after one in the morning. “Oh, well, so much for a good night’s sleep,” he muttered, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep without the dreams plaguing him.
After pouring himself a glass of scotch, he sat behind his desk to go over the permits that he’d received yesterday. Unfortunately his mind kept straying to the dream and how real it had felt. Along with the dream came the guilt he’d thought long buried. His mother and his brothers had tried to assure him that he had nothing to feel guilty about; nevertheless, remorse plagued him.
He still wondered what he could have done differently. Maybe if he hadn’t been so focused on the business, or if he’d delegated more of the work to his employees and spent more time at home, things would have ended differently. Leaning back, Nicholas closed his eyes and tried to get his emotions under control. He suspected spending time with Marcus had unearthed emotions he’d buried deep.
Too antsy to remain sitting, Nicholas went over to the bar to pour another glass of scotch, but decided against it. He placed the glass on the bar and headed out of his office, across the hall, and through the family room. He paused at the patio doors long enough to disarm the alarm and flip the switch that silently parted the floor, revealing the huge, Olympic-sized pool. Nicholas stripped off his pajama pants and dove in, the ice-cold water shocking his system. He prayed that if he did enough laps, he’d be able to exorcise his demons, or at least exhaust his body enough to relax.
Ashley still couldn’t shake the feelings that swarmed through her, recalling the sight of Mr. Maxwell holding her son so tenderly with a whimsical look on his face. She wanted so badly to repay him for being there in her time of need—at least that was what she told herself—but in actuality, she’d sensed Mr. Maxwell had needed it for reasons of his own. Nevertheless, the least she could do was invite him to dinner in a gesture of gratitude.
Before she thought better of it, she picked up the phone, took a deep breath, and dialed his office number on the off chance he was there. Her heart beat faster with every ring. His machine answered, and she hesitated a moment before starting to leave a message. “Hello, Mr. Maxwell, this is Ashley Mi—”
“Hello, Ms. Miller, what can I do for you?”
He sounded breathless.
“I was trying to figure out a way to thank you for the other night,” Ashley said.
“You don’t have to do anything. I told you that I really enjoyed it.” He said it with so much sincerity that she knew that he meant it.
“I know that it’s not necessary, but it’s something that I’d like to do,” she responded.
“Well, what did you have in mind?” he asked, his voice lowering a little, making it sound more sensual.
Ashley shook her head to clear the erotic thoughts his voice inspired. “I was wondering if you’d like to come over to have an early dinner with Marcus and me,” she offered hesitantly.
“What time should I be there?”
“Why don’t we say around three-thirty or four this afternoon?”
“I’ll be there. Would you like me to bring anything?”
“No, Mr. Maxwell, just your appetite.”
He chuckled. “I think it would be all right if you called me Nicholas, considering the invitation.”
Heat flooded her cheeks. “Okay, Mr. Max—I mean, Nicholas.”
“And am I allowed to call you Ashley?”
She swallowed, needing to moisten her suddenly dry throat. “Yes, sir.”
He chuckled again. ”All right,” Mr. Maxwell said, “see you this afternoon, Ms. Mil…I mean, Ashley.”
He disconnected the call, and Ashley replaced the receiver on its base, letting the conversation settle inside her for a moment.
“Well, Marcus, it looks as if we will have company for dinner,” Ashley said. “Come on, little man, let’s hit the door. We have a few things to get for our special dinner guest.”
Nicholas was just about to call his mother, but his phone rang. Before he thought better of it, he answered, somewhat relieved when he heard his best friend’s voice.
“Man, where in the hell have you been?”
“What are you talking about, Jack?” Nicholas knew something was wrong by the way the man hesitated. “What have you done?”
“Nothing, man, it’s just that, um….”
“What?”
“So you worked late last night, huh?” Jack said.
“How do you know I worked late last night?” Nicholas waited patiently while his friend since day care sputtered and stuttered out excuses. Sudden realization dawned on him. “Who was she, Jack?” Nicholas asked.
“Look, man, it wasn’t my idea—”
“What wasn’t your idea? To give Angela my phone number as if I wanted to talk to her when I specifically made it clear I didn’t!”
“I’m sorry, Nick. I had no idea that Patricia had given Angela your number. I didn’t find out until she called me this morning complaining that you’d hung up on her girlfriend.”
“You are damn right I hung up on her! I told her the first time she called that I was having a very important meeting.”
Jack sighed. “Okay, my friend, you’re talking to me now, and I know that you wouldn’t have a meeting that late. Who was she?”
Nick couldn’t lie to his best friend. “It wasn’t exactly a she but a little he.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
Nicholas didn’t want to get into it. “Jack, look, I have to run some errands before I—”
“I’m not hanging up until you come clean,” he warned.
It would be useless to try and dissuade him.
“In a nutshell, one of my employees has a little boy, and she didn’t have a sitter, so I filled in at the office while she was on a conference call with a client.” Silence on the other end of the phone…. “Look, buddy, I really have to go. I’ll see you Sunday when you guys come to watch the game.” Nicholas hung up.
Chapter Four
Nicholas found Ashley’s house with no problem. Since he was a little early, he checked out the neighborhood before pulling into Ashley’s driveway. For some reason, he needed to make sure it was safe for her and Marcus. The neighborhood seemed nice and quiet, the homes Victorian in style. Ashley’s house stood at the center of a cul-de-sac. Plants hung on the porch and on either side of the steps.
Nick parked and climbed out of the car. Walking up to the door, he wiped the moisture from his hands on his pants leg then rang the door bell. A young woman around Ashley’s age answered. Surprised for a moment, he thought he had the wrong address.
“Excuse me, is Ashley here?”
“You must be Nicholas. I’m her niece, Nicole,” she said and shook his hand. “Come on in. She’s changing Marcus.”
“Thanks.” Nicholas stepped into the house. He took notice of his surroundings. Even though an older home, its immaculate condition impressed him.
“Have a seat, and I’ll let her know that you’re here.”
He sat, and Nicole began speaking in Spanish. He looked at her in surprise, and she smiled.
“Ashley’s helping me with my Spanish, as you can hear. She’s very fluent.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Do you speak Spanish?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Why?”
/> “Watch this.” Nicole addressed Ashley in Spanish, advising her of Nicholas’ arrival. “Why didn’t you tell me he was such a hunk?” Nicole asked, again in Spanish.
Clearly it never occurred to Ashley he might know Spanish, for she talked about how handsome he was and how much she liked the way he was with Marcus. Nicolas could no more stop his grin than he could his breathing. Ashley, walking toward the doorway with Marcus in her arms, flushed the more she talked, and that endeared her to him even more.
Ashley’s words died in her throat when she walked in to the living room and saw the grin on Nicholas’ face. “You speak Spanish?”
Nicholas stood and approached her, nodding. As soon as he reached her, Marcus held out his arms, signaling for Nicholas to take him. Ashley turned and glared at her niece.
“Well, I guess I’ll leave you to your dinner!” Grabbing her books, Nicole dashed out the door.
“Call me when you get home,” Ashley yelled as the door closed. She took a calming breath and turned to face her boss. “I’m really sorry about that.”
Nicholas waved away her apology. “Don’t apologize, it was great for my ego.” He laughed.
Nicholas sighed deeply after his third helping of lasagna, trying to remember the last time he’d had a home-cooked meal. “Where did you learn to cook?”
“Well, when I was in college, I couldn’t make up my mind about my major. So I did two. Culinary and architecture—the two things that I love to do. My plan was to design and build my own restaurant,” she said, a wistful note in her voice.
“Why do you say ‘was’?”
“Well, because I know that opening the restaurant would take up a great part of my time, thus will take time away from Marcus, which is something that I can’t allow.”
“I know it’s hard being a single mother. I know how hard it was for my mother raising me and my brothers all by herself,” Nicholas said.
“What happened to your father?”
“He was killed in an auto accident just before I was born.”