“Okay, thank you,” I replied and ended the call.
The rest of the ride to the top floor passed in a blur of tangled emotions.
My sister was gone. What would a Colter-planned funeral for her look like? How longwouldI need to stay there?
Would Elias even like me? Would or could I be a good mom? I was single, living in an apartment. It wasn’t a shoebox, but was it enough room for a baby? Babies had a lot of stuff. Diaper bags, cribs, highchairs, and toys. Jason paid well, but could I afford daycare?
Daycare… dollar signs floated in front of my eyes.
I exhaled as the elevator doors parted, then walked to my desk, shrugged off my coat, and set my purse on the corner of my desk while I stared blankly at the inbox I’d just cleared that morning. A half-full cup of coffee sat next to my keyboard, cold now. Everything looked the same, but nothing was. I ran my fingers along the edge of my mousepad, stalling when I didn’t have time to do that.
What was I even supposed to say?
“Hey, boss, I need some time off—turns out I’m a surprise mom now. Oh, and the baby’s father is a violent biker who might show up at the courthouse with a lawyer and murder on his mind.”
Nope. Definitely not leading with that.
I inhaled deeply, straightened my spine, and smoothed my blouse with trembling fingers. Jason had trusted me with a dozen complicated construction deals, sensitive investor meetings, and even his sister’s wedding RSVP list. I handled all of that without flinching. But this?
Elias was a living, breathing human being. Could I trust myself to be all the things he needed me to be? This was more than some item that needed to be checked off a list.
I crossed the few feet to his door and knocked softly.
Less than an hour ago, I was daydreaming about how gorgeous he was and wishing things were different between us. That he wasn’t my boss and totally off limits. That I could sink my fingers into his thick dark hair, pull his luscious lips down to mine, and kiss him long enough to forget my name.
“Come in!” he called a little louder than necessary. He’d likely argued with someone in City Hall while I was gone.
I slowly opened the door and stuck my head in. “Hey.”
He looked up from his mahogany desk, scattered with construction permits, and flashed that crooked smile that made my knees weak. “Sorry… I’m…” The sentence slowly died. He tilted his head. “Is everything okay?”
Only recently had I stopped askinghimthat. It’d been about six months since his father had nearly beaten him to death. In the past week, he’d stopped wearing the sling that had become a fashion staple while he went through physical therapy for a torn muscle.
Sometimes, when I closed my eyes, I could still see him lying on the floor, terrified that he was dead. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d woken up in a cold sweat because that nightmare of a day happened.
Based on the dark circles around his eyes, I wasn’t the only one who was dealing with sleepless nights.
I crossed the large corner office, taking in the growing snowstorm showcased in the floor-to-ceiling windows that framed him. “Uh…” I said and slowly eased myself into the chair across from him.
How did I even start this conversation?
“Hey… whatever it is, it’ll be okay.” He set down his pen and all his attention zeroed in on me.
My mouth opened, and the next words just tumbled out. “My sister died in a car accident four days ago.”
His mouth dropped open. “Cora, I’m so, so sorry…”
My mouth continued on autopilot. “She named me the guardian of her two-month-old son. His name’s Elias.”
He blinked, looking as stunned as I felt. “Oh. Wow.”
For a moment, he didn’t say anything else. He just stared at me like his brain was trying to reorder the world. Then his eyes sharpened, like something inside him had clicked into place.
His fingers curled slightly against the edge of the desk—the good one, not the shoulder that had taken the brunt of his father’s rage. That hand flexed once, then slowly flattened, like he was forcing himself to stay calm.
I saw it then—the shift. Not just surprise. Focus. Resolve. The same look he’d had when he told a city inspector that if they wanted to shut down his site, they’d have to take it up with his lawyers. Except this time, it was for me.
And maybe for Elias.
