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***Aggie***
“Youhaveboobs.”
I lifted my head slowly to face the small human standing mere inches from the front of my high heels. I’d been buried in my crossword puzzle and hadn’t noticed her sneaking up on me. Smiling at the tiny kid, I nodded, because her observation skills were on point. “Yep. I do have boobs.”
She giggled. “I learned in school that boobs feed babies. Isn’t that gross?”
Tilting my head to the side, I considered it. “I mean… It’s not my first choice of boob activity, but formula is expensive.”
“What’s boob activity?”
I grunted and closed my crossword book. “How old are you, kid?”
She sat in the high-backed chair next to me and folded her hands in her lap. “Six. How old are you?”
I’d give her the fact that she was cute, but no one was getting my age from me that easily. I’d just turned thirty-one and I was ashamed to admit that I wasn’t gliding into my thirties with pride. As embarrassing as it was, I checked for gray hairs at least once a week while getting ready in the morning. So far, there were none, but I was still nervous. My dad had gone silver by thirty and while the look worked for him, I wasn’t prepared to accept that fate. “Old enough.”
She looked at my book and I watched the tip of her tongue poke out through a gap in her teeth where an adult tooth would come in eventually. “My uncle does those. He won’t let me help him. He says they’retoo hard for a little girl.”
I laughed at the way she mimicked her uncle’s deeper voice. “No way. I started doing these when I was practically still in diapers. Want me to show you how they’re done?”
Nodding eagerly, she scooted closer. “I’m not supposed to talk to strangers, but Beth isn’t any fun. She just tells me to sit down and stay quiet.”
I looked over at Beth sitting at the receptionist desk, who didn’t seem to realize that her young charge wasn’t at her side. “I’m Aggie.”
She giggled while shaking my hand. “I’m Gracie.”
“We’re not strangers anymore, are we?” I opened my book to a new page and moved it closer to her. “Let’s solve this puzzle, huh? I have an appointment with some big guys here, but I have a feeling they’re going to keep me waiting. Such old school, boys’ club bullsh-crap.”
“What’s that?”
I crossed my legs and leaned into Gracie. “Boys’ club crap? It’s when boys get away with doing whatever they want because they’re boys. It’s unfair and silly. Some boys think they’re so important and special, just because they were born with a pe-peanut sized brain.”
The sweet little girl looked like she came from money, with a beautiful strand of real pearls hanging around her neck and matching earrings. The velvet bow in her hair looked impressive, too, as it matched her dress perfectly. She probably wasn’t used to people being crude around her and I wasn’t used to being around kids. If Beth didn’t take Gracie back to her corner soon, I was going to scar the poor kid.
“Boys at my school pull my hair.” She frowned down at her hands. “They laugh because my braids are never even. My uncle can’t braid hair, though.”
I gently patted her shoulder. “Screw ‘em. The next time those boys laugh at you, I want you to look at them and glare. Give them the meanest look you can manage. My dad and I always practiced my mean expressions, just in case.”
She made a face that was more confused than mean and then smiled wide. “Like that?”
“How about you practice it?” I wiggled the book under her face. “Now.Crosswords. Let me show you how my dad taught me.”
I lost myself in teaching Gracie how to work out a crossword and had plenty of time to do it. I’d been right about the Graves brothers yanking my chain. Of course they were making me wait. I’d heard all about their interview process from my ex. I knew their tricks and I was ready for them.
Being near Gracie had eased some of the fury that was fueling me those days, but not nearly enough to calm me completely. I felt like nothing would ever calm me completely, nothing except watching Monroe Blake crash and burn.
“Donkey?”
I saw the space and chuckled. “Jackass.”
“That’s a bad word, isn’t it?” She still giggled as she struggled to write the word in the small boxes, while I spelled it. “I can’t say that word.”
“I’ll say it enough for both of us, Gracie. Don’t you worry. Especially when I think about how these men are keeping me waiting. That’s the thing about boys and men, Gracie. No matter how much of an expert a girl becomes, there’s always a boy standing in the way. That’s why I’m here. One man stood in my way. Now, three more are. Don’t rush to grow up, kid. At least when the boys around you pull your hair, you can still get away with kicking them. When I do it, it’s suddenly assault.”
“Gracie! What did I say? You have to stay back here.” Beth had finally realized that there wasn’t a kid with her. “Come on. Now.”
