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“Someone’s got to,” she giggled. “Anyway. I’ll let you go. Kiss the kid for me. And I’m serious, call me, anytime, day or night, if you need me.”
“Thanks. I will definitely do that.”
I hung up the phone and set it in the seat next to me, taking a deep breath. Everything began to catch up with me, time stopping the creeping around me, and the sounds and sights around me returning to the forefront. Any other time I would be nervous about meeting with Daniel, especially with the kid in tow, but knowing that in a couple of hours I’d be near him, for some reason, calmed my nerves. I didn’t feel safe, and I figured I wouldn’t for a long time. But I would be damned if I fell apart.
Every second I moved forward was one second away from what happened that day. One second of trying to get my head on straight, and my life back on track. How did someone recover from something like that? I had a feeling that I never would. I already felt changed deep inside of me. It was a change I had never felt before. Suddenly, all the things I had worried about that morning no longer seemed important. It no longer mattered if I changed the laundry over or if I had plans for Harper and me that weekend.
I just wanted to hug my little girl and get through the rest of the day.
That was one thing the man that would haunt my dreams for the rest of my life would never get to say again. The last words he would ever know were etched into his chest, a message from the killer. But I didn’t think I was the one the message was intended for.
I put the car in drive and pulled out, heading to the exit of the parking garage. The sun hit my skin as I pulled out onto the San Diego streets, but I couldn’t feel it sink into my chest like I had earlier that day. I was out of one stressful situation, and should be worried about bringing my child in front of the man who didn’t know he was her father, but instead, all I could think about was being close to him, being safe. I really hoped I didn’t screw everything up with just one meeting.
Chapter Nine
Daniel
I tried to take deep breaths, sitting next to Shelly and Adele, across the table from Sicily and the little girl she brought with her. Sicily looked so fragile, much more than the spunky fun girl I had the image of locked in my mind. I wanted to pull her into my arms and hug her, tell her it was okay, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t appropriate in the least, and this pedestal I put her on was unbeknownst to her. I didn’t know why the urge was just constantly there to save her, and I didn’t even know if she needed saving, but I couldn’t shake it.
Clearing my throat, I set the papers down in front of me and gave Sicily a warm smile. I wanted to make things a little bit more light hearted. Everything had been very heavy that day, and Sicily of all people needed to leave the office feeling a little less weight weighing down on her. “Well…thank you for agreeing to come back in, Sicily. I know that today has been…a lot. It’s all very unfortunate, a very strange day I suppose.”
I wasn’t very good with my words at that moment. Then again, Sicily always did have a way of making me tongue tied.
“But! Before we begin…who might this beautiful young lady be?”
My eyes shifted to the small blonde child sitting in Sicily’s lap, playing with an action figure. She glanced shyly up at me and tucked in closer to Sicily. I smiled and lowered my voice to try not to scare her. “Excuse me, ma’am, but I’m afraid we’ve never met. My name is Danny.”
I put out my hand and she eyed it for a moment before putting hers in mine and daintily shaking it. Sicily cleared her throat, her voice soft and caring in a way I had never heard before. “This young lady is Harper, my daughter. Say hello to Mr. Danny.”
“Hi,” she squeaked.
The realization hit me and I instantly felt like a complete moron. Of course that was her daughter. She looked just like her with her little nose, bright eyes, and blonde wavy hair. I hadn’t even thought about the fact, that after all this time, Sicily would have a family of her own. My eyes shifted nonchalantly to her hands wrapped around the little girl. There was no ring on her finger, but that didn’t mean anything at that point. She could just not like to wear rings.
I shifted my attention back to Harper. “And what do you have there?”
Her eyes lit up a bit and she set the surfer girl on the table. “This is my surfer doll. I left the surfboard in the car. Ms. Josie got her for me today. She says I can surf one day too.”
“Ms. Josie is her nanny,” Sicily replied.
I nodded and smiled at her, looking back to Harper. “Well, that’s pretty cool. But it’s probably good you left the surfboard in the car. Those things are big and you’d be hitting the ceilings with it.”
Harper giggled and picked the doll back up.
I smiled at the little girl’s reaction and met with Sicily’s gaze. She smiled tightly, but still looked so frail. She had every right to feel disconnected and upset. The day’s situation was not something I had ever thought I would have to deal with, not in a million years. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what Sicily was feeling.
“So, I’m really sorry for unwittingly complicating your day. My mind was so preoccupied today with everything that I didn’t even stop to think I should have asked everyone to schedule whatever time worked best for them and their…families. I know you are new to the company, but in the future, please feel free to speak up about anything like this that may interrupt your schedule.”
Sicily shook her head politely, her eyes shifting from me to Adele and Shelly and back again. “No need to apologize. Normally, I would still be here at the office at four. I just forgot I had a conflict with time with my nanny today. Honestly, I would have spoken up but I completely spaced. My mind hasn’t been quite on track today.”
“And that’s completely understandable,” Shelly replied.
“Also,” Sicily interjected. “If we need to discuss today, in detail, we can reschedule my time so little ears aren’t here.”
Adele shook her head. “No, no. We have gone into enough detail today. This meeting is more for resources at your disposal, and compensation offers for you. We have outlined a clause in your employment contract for emergency pay, and we feel, for you, this falls under that. You will receive a bonus from the company. And while we know that money cannot in any way make up for what has happened, the company wants to compensate you for it, provide any and all mental healthcare you may need, and extended time away if you need it.”
Sicily nodded, taking a deep breath. “I appreciate it, but I really would just like to get back to work when we open back up. I don’t think, since I just moved here and don’t really know anyone, time off would be good for me. And I’m just learning and getting up to speed on everything…”
“There’s no time limitation,” I said. “Six months from now you can come to me and say, I need a little time off, just to exhale, and its yours.”
