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He raised an eyebrow at the obvious hint, but I must have been right because he checked his watch a second later and sighed.
Ha, I thought victoriously.
“Tomorrow,” he said suddenly, knocking me out of my internal celebration. “You’ll have dinner at my house tomorrow.”
“Why?” I blurted out.
He gave me a “really?” look, and then, all of a sudden, I recalled everything we’d discussed earlier in his office. “Oh.”
“Yes,” he said. “We’ll discuss the next course of action over dinner tomorrow.” He glanced at my daughter, and that look filled his expression again. When he looked back at me, it was with anger and accusation.
I reared back at first, but then I cocked my chin at him in a challenge. I refused to feel guilty for what I did. I was only protecting my daughter.
“Make sure you bring her,” he said as he turned around and started walking toward his Jeep. A trail of eyes followed him in and continued watching him even as he drove away.
Now that he was gone, I was finally able to take a deep breath.
“Mommy?” Violet said, finally speaking up after a period of silence.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Who was that? Is he really your friend?”
“Yes, sweetie.” I glanced down to see her staring at where Nick’s Jeep was in interest. “Why?”
Her shoes bounced against my abdomen as she swung her legs. Her hands tugged my shirt a little when she answered, “I like him.”
“You do?” That was surprising. My daughter was pretty shy, and while she was never rude, it usually took her a while to warm up to someone. The fact that she liked Nick at the first meeting, with barely a few sentences exchanged between them, was nothing short of a miracle.
Violet nodded, confirming my fears.
Great. My daughter has fallen in love with him too.
Now there were two hearts at risk of breaking when Nick inevitably walked away.
* * *
Nick senta driver to fetch us the next day. It was an odd feeling to be chauffeured in a luxury SUV. The driver kept asking if I wanted champagne or any refreshments, no matter how many times we turned him down. And then, when he saw that my daughter was slightly nervous halfway through the trip, he played a quick game of peekaboo with her whenever we were stuck in traffic. He would glance sharply and make a silly face until she looked away. This continued until she finally giggled, and then he smiled.
“There it is,” he gushed when she smiled. “There’s the smile I was looking for from the pretty little lady.”
Violet hid behind my arm in response.
I smiled apologetically at the kind-faced man. “Sorry. She’s a bit nervous. She’s never been in a car this high up before.”
The man’s eyes twinkled with mirth. “Can’t say I blame her. The first time I had to drive one of these, I was scared shitless. I’d only had a Corolla before this. That’s a small car. I kept thinking I was going to scratch or total it or something. And you know how these things go. Once I damaged it, I would have to cough up ten grand to fix it, and I would have to sell my kidneys to pay for it. Since I like my kidneys where they are, I’m very careful when driving. I don’t even go a second over the speed limit, so you don’t need to worry. Y’all are safe with me.”
“Thanks,” I said. I could imagine how stressful it would be to drive for Nick—the constant fear of making a mistake. “Have you always worked for Mr. Walker?”
“No,” he said. “Just started working for him a few weeks ago, actually.”
“Oh,” I said. “How’s it treating you?”
“You mean to ask, is he the “heartbreaking asshole” that they say he is?” His wry tone was dripping with amusement as he put the car into drive once more. He glanced at Violet sharply. “Sorry, sweetie. Shouldn’t swear in front of you.”
She simply blinked innocently at him.
“He’s tough but fair,” the man continued to answer the question. “As long as you do good work and don’t piss him off, you’ll be handy-dandy.”
