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"Just the top five floors."
"Oh," I replied. Just the top five floors of this very impressive building.
We got off the elevator, and he led me through a pretty standard looking office landscape. There were cubicles full of office supplies and people's personal touches, like photos of kids or significant others. I thought about maybe getting to put up a picture of Makayla, and smiled to myself.
We went right to the office at the back, the only one that didn't have glass walls.
"Wait here, please," the man said, and knocked on the door. A muffled "come in" responded and he slipped inside, shutting the door behind him. I waited awkwardly for what seemed like a long time, though in reality it was probably less than a minute. Finally, the man emerged.
"You can go in, he's all set for your interview," he told me.
"Thank you," I said. He nodded and walked off. I turned to the door, still sitting slightly ajar, and pushed it open. I walked in and stopped dead in my tracks.
The man behind the desk with Cassius.
It felt like I froze, like my heart stopped and my lungs forgot to breathe. I looked at the plaque on his desk. It said Cassius Reade, President and CEO.
No one had said his first name in all the interviews. It was always Mr. Reade. And of course, at the hospital, he'd only used his first name.
I swallowed and thought about just bolting out of the office.
As if he read my mind, he jumped up and walked around behind me, closing the door. He returned to his desk; his eyes bored into me. But he merely gestured to the chair opposite him.
"Please sit," he said.
Not knowing what else to do, I sat. And then I waited. I expected from that polite greeting that he was just going to start the interview. But he just sat there, staring at me.
I stared back at him. This was the most eye contact we'd made since we'd come back into each other's lives. As I looked into his eyes and thought again about how much Makayla's eyes resembled his, I realized I recognized something about the way he was looking at me.
He hadn't looked at me like that at the hospital.
He hadn't looked at me like that since...
He knows.
I immediately stood up.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Reade. I think that..."
"Is she mine?" he said quietly.
I sat back down, my heart beating wildly in my chest. I couldn't think what to say. Should I try to lie? It seemed like he already knew. But maybe he didn't want a kid? Maybe if I lied, he'd be relieved, and then I could...
"You don't have to tell me. The paternity test will."
He said this like we'd already discussed the matter.
"The what?" I said, my mouth falling open.
"The paternity test that you'll have Makayla take."
A chill ran through me.
"How do you know her name?"
"Shouldn't a father know his own kid's name?" There was suddenly a bite to his voice, and a voice in my head warned me that I should tread carefully. I ignored it.
"I never said she was your kid." He stood up, putting his hands on his desk.
