“I’m guessing you should cancel them,” I grumbled as I entered my office and tossed the files on my desk.
Martin stood in the doorway. “Everything alright with the contracts?”
“They’re fine,” I said as I checked the charge on my phone. “We need to pick up again at the timetable section. If you want to incorporate the notes I’ve made so far, go ahead.”
He made his way to his seat and reached for the files, “Are you done for the day?”
“Apparently we’re babysitting for Graham and Soraya.”
The laughter that poured out of him confirmed the ridiculousness of the whole situation.
“Do you even take care of Rover?”
“I have help.” People had daycare for their children, and Rover was the closest I planned on getting to parenthood.
“You do recall I’m copied on the weekly reports from the students Samantha has assigned to Rover, and I communicate with said student to inventory and order his food.”
“Exactly, I said I have help.”
Martin was still laughing when he answered his ringing phone. “Oh. I will tell him immediately.”
“That was Sadie. Soraya said to come to Graham’s office so they can get going.” He was getting far too much joy from my situation. I was so going to fire him someday.
Walking to Graham’s office, I recalled him asking me when he offered me the job: ‘Are you ready for the unexpected?’ My mind raced with thoughts of where the next few hours could take me.
I knocked on his door and heard Graham’s grumbly ‘come in.’ Jurnee sat across from Chloe. She seemed to be listening to the little girl describing something. Quickly, I swept my focus to Graham. He was sitting behind the desk with a mortified look on his face. When we made eye contact, he shook his head. Okay, what is happening?
“Good news, Anderson.” Soraya declared from her seat next to her step-daughter. “Jurnee has volunteered to hang out with Chloe, so you don’t have to.”
“I–”
“A little bird told me that Chloe was in the building,” Alan announced from the doorway.
“Alan!” The little girl smiled and waved. “Are you going with us to lunch?”
Alan smiled, but before he could reply, my mouth and body started before my mind could stop them, “Hey, Chloe, I’m Anderson. Remember me? I’m taking you and Jurnee to lunch today. Won’t that be fun?”
Soraya giggled and whispered something to Chloe. “Thank you for taking us to lunch, Mr. Anderson.”
This made Soraya laugh harder for some reason. Jurnee stood up, and Alan stepped around me to give Chloe a high five. “Maybe next time.”
“You betcha.”
Jurnee turned to Chloe, “I need to get my bag, wanna go with me? We can have Mr. Anderson meet us at the elevator.”
Chloe hugged Soraya, who mouthed thank you as the little girl ran over to her dad. Graham and Chloe had a rough beginning. Genevieve kept her birth from him, for the first four years of her life. They’d worked hard to regain trust and build a healthy co-parenting relationship. Soraya had been an unexpected bridge between the two parents. From what Graham had mentioned over the years, she was the sole reason things didn’t fall apart in the very beginning.
Jurnee and Chloe walked out with Alan not far behind. Soraya remained on the sofa with her arms folded. Graham was typing. I needed to get out of there before she asked me questions that I wasn’t prepared to answer, even to myself.
“What’s going on, Anderson?” Soraya asked as she walked over to Graham’s desk and sat on the corner. “Are you interested in Jurnee?”
Too late.
“Soraya.” Her husband’s fingers froze over his keyboard. They both looked over at me.
“You asked for a favor, Soraya. That’s all.”
“If you say so, Mr. Anderson.”
12
Jurnee
I stood fascinated as Chloe explained how some businesses used a trash conveyor belt and shoot to load their garbage onto the streets of Manhattan for pickup. We were still giggling as we slid into the same side of a booth in a little hidden away upscale diner that Markus had recommended after we all witnessed Chloe’s reaction to Anderson’s suggestion of McDonalds for lunch. The tables were spaced with a quarter of the spacing a regular restaurant in Michigan would use. An elderly couple at the next table smiled at me as I settled in.
Chloe waved to Anderson when he appeared at the doorway, speaking to the hostess. His confident stride, paired with a perfectly tailored suit, was almost too much for me to look at. He is so sexy.