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I decide to make myself useful to start researching as much about the company as I can. No one makes eye contact with me, but I notice that no one talks to anyone else either. Everyone just focuses on the work in front of their faces.
I'm trying to figure out how to break the ice with the guy sitting opposite me when the phone on my desk rings. I pick it up.
“He wants you,” says a snarky voice on the other end, and she hangs up almost immediately.
“Great,” I say and get up heading back to the office. At his door, I take a deep breath and ready myself for round two.
Maddox is watching me as I come in.
“How are you settling in?” he asks with a mocking smile that makes me want to punch him.
“Good, considering the move you pulled back there,” I say and instantly curse myself. Why do I keep challenging him? Am I trying to piss him off?
But rather than get mad, he smiles even more. “Oh, that? I thought that was a pretty good move, considering we're dating and all."
I shrug, feigning nonchalance even though I’m relatively pissed about it. “I guess. I just thought it was unnecessary, that’s all.”
"That's where you're wrong. Everything I do is necessary. And the sooner you learn that, the better." He rises from his desk and comes around to where I’m standing. I take a step back overwhelmed by his presence but he steps into my space again. His eyes snag mine, not letting go, their gray depths stealing my breath.
His eyes drop to my lips and I'm taken aback.
I feel his face moving closer and I can’t move.
I’m trapped. I should say no but I don't.
Suddenly, a piece of paper appears between our faces. “Sign this.”
I blink. “Huh?” I say stupidly.
“Your employment letter,” he says smoothly. "It details all the conditions of our arrangement. You should read it carefully before you sign."
And then he returns to his seat with a smirk, knowing he has me right where he wants me. Wet and aching.
***
I get home around six PM, right as Mimi is eating the dinner the babysitter made. After paying Sasha and letting her go for the night, I sit at the table while Mimi tells me about her day.
I’m too exhausted, too drained to retain most of it.
“The gardener found Larry,” she says. “Or at least that’s what Mrs. Diana says. I don’t think it’s the real Larry, though. He looks a little different. The old Larry’s eyes were beadier and a little farther apart than this one. But Mrs. Diana insists it’s the same rat and said I would get time-out if I kept saying it wasn’t. She thinks I’m fibbing even when I tell her I’m not.”
“Uh huh,” I say tiredly. “I would let it go, sweetie. Maybe it is Larry, and he just got a makeover.”
My daughter frowns doubtfully but I don’t think she’s at the age where I can explain things like death and loss. So I give what I hope is a convincing nod and promptly changed the subject. “So, what else happened?”
“Mrs. Diana says I should ask where you want to sit for the spelling bee next Thursday,” she continues. “She says it’s assigned seating.”
“There’s a spelling bee?”
“Yes,” Her eyes brighten visibly and she practically dances in her seat. “I told you about it yesterday. I’m going to be in it. You’ll come right?”
Oh, damn. I think I remember her saying something about a spelling bee, but I forgot about it completely. I forgot about something so important to my daughter. What kind of mother am I?
A mother who hasn’t spent much time with her daughter because she’s too busy trying to prove herself and climb the corporate ladder.
God, it’s depressing to think about but I’m between a rock and a hard place. As a single mother, my options are to spend more time with my daughter and suffer a financial loss or to provide everything she deserves but not spend as much time with her. None of the choices are great but the latter is the sacrifice I’ve chosen to make. I just hope she’ll understand when she’s older. I’m trying to secure a future for her and in the future, I hope she won’t remember all the missed events, and will instead, see her mother who worked hard to give her everything she needs.
“What time is the spelling bee, sweetie?” I ask.
