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“You know, the Walts of the world are the real heroes,” Liam said, sliding up next to me.
“It’s true,” I agreed, meeting his gaze as the sweet scent of vanilla mixed with coffee soothed my senses. “What would we do without them.”
“So, Sawyer. What kind of mood should I expect?”
“That depends.” I looked him over, from the fluff of his hair down to the shadow of facial hair gracing his sharp jaw. “When did you last see him?”
Liam puffed out his cheeks and glanced at Marie, who shrugged. “Uncle Sawyer hasn’t visited in ages.”
“It’s true,” Liam mused. “But the merger, it’s good, right?”
“Are you interrogating my assistant so you can pretend you read the briefing I sent you?” Sawyer’s sharp tones cut across the conversation. Liam and I straightened up from where we were leaning and spun to face him as he strode closer. His suit jacket was secured with one button, and he carried a briefcase in his left hand.
“Sir.”
“Hey,” Liam chuckled. “I’m merely getting to know who you have working here.”
Sawyer’s sharp gaze darted between the two of us, lingering on the sliver of a gap between our shoulders. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was annoyed at Liam being next to me but as soon as I considered that, I could hear Bianca’s voice in my ear.
Wishful thinking.
Sawyer grunted on his way past and as we followed him, I paused and glanced at Marie.
“Have you eaten?” I asked her.
Marie shook her head.
I turned my attention back to Liam. “If you want, I can take her to get some breakfast while you two talk business?”
“Perfect,” Liam smiled, then he threw his arm around Sawyer’s shoulder in a move that was so casual I half expected Sawyer to snap him in half. “She’s allergic to nuts!” It was rather alien to see Sawyer being treated so casually.
“No problem.” As Liam all but dragged Sawyer into his own office, I turned to Marie and held out my hand. “Hungry?”
“Yes!” She nodded quickly and immediately took my hand when she slid from the chair. “Can we have chocolate?”
“I’m not so sure we have anything like that this early but let’s see, shall we?”
Down in the cafeteria, only the other early birds were milling about waking themselves up with breakfast and coffee. Standing in line, I spotted some chocolate croissants pre-packaged and poured over their ingredient list to make sure there wasn’t a single trace of nuts anywhere near them. Marie busied herself getting some orange juice, and once I was satisfied these were safe to eat, I took her to a table and offered her breakfast.
“So you work for Uncle Sawyer?” Marie asked, staring at me with big eyes over the edge of her cup.
Nursing my own mug of tea, I nodded. “I do.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m his personal assistant, so mostly, I’m his first line of defense against unwanted phone calls and visits,” I chuckled. “Then I help him keep a lot of his work in order. I make sure it’s neat and easy to find and that if he needs something when he’s busy, then I’ll be the one that can find it for him.”
“Do you like it?” she asked, spraying a mouthful of crumbs across the table.
“I do,” I nodded. “It’s fun and even though it might sound boring, no day is the same.”
“I want to work in a big building like this one day.” Marie munched quickly. “Dad says only boring people work here but I want a big office and a big desk and lots of plants to hide things in.”
I chuckled warmly, softened by her enthusiasm. “Is that how your mom works?” I asked, curious what her inspiration was for such a future.
“No, my mom is dead.”
Oh.
