He turned his attention from her to her daughter. Ashley winced, knowing it looked bad. No one had ever explicitly said she couldn’t bring her daughter to work, but then no doubt no one had thought they would have to. Four-year-olds didn’t belong in the workplace.
“Mommy says preschool is a germ mag-mag-maggot?” Her rosebud mouth couldn’t quite get around the word.
“Magnet,” Ashley offered automatically. She smoothed her hands against her jeans and offered her hand to the man who was very likely going to fire her. “Mr. Ritter, I’m Ashley Churchill. Obviously I clean the office. Usually I’m out by two.”
“I sleep while Mommy works,” Maggie put in helpfully. “Mommy makes me a really nice bed with my favorite kitten sheets. She sings to me and I close my eyes.” She lowered her voice and took a step toward the man. “I’m s’posed to go right to sleep but sometimes I peek and look at the stars.”
Ashley swallowed against the lump of fear in her throat. “Yes, well, it’s not as bad as it seems,” she said lamely, knowing it was actually worse. She felt slightly less perky than a fur ball and she was going to lose her job. Talk about a lousy start to her day. At least things could only get better from here.
“Your things are in my office?”
Jeff Ritter spoke for the first time. His voice was low and perfectly modulated. She had no clue what he was thinking, which made her assume the worst.
“Ah, yes.”
“Where do the cleaning supplies go?” he asked.
“There’s a closet at the end of the hall. I’d nearly finished. I still have to take care of Mr. Rankin’s office. Everything else is done.”
He took her elbow and led her down the hall. His touch was steel. Not especially rough or firm, but she knew that if she tried to escape he could snap her in half. Like a toothpick.
A charming visual, she thought with a sigh. Her daughter could collect the splintered shards of what used to be her mother and keep them in a little box. She could bring her out at show-and-tell when she went to school and—
Ashley shook her head. She was sicker than she’d thought. Her mind was wandering and she would give almost anything to be in her bed and have this all be a horrible dream. But it wasn’t. As they stepped into Jeff’s office, the proof of her audacious behavior lay scattered all around.
One of the plush leather sofas had been made up into a bed. There were a half-dozen stuffed animals scattered across the kitten sheets. A juice box and crumbs were testament to a late-night snack, while a baby monitor held the place of honor in the center of the large glass coffee table she’d pushed away from the sofa.
He released her and crossed to the table. When he picked up the monitor, Ashley reached into her pocket and removed the small receiver.
“It’s so I can hear her,” she said, probably unnecessarily. The man was a security expert. He would have access to listening devices she could only imagine. “I don’t bring Maggie to work with me on a whim, Mr. Ritter. I go to college during the day, which is why I work the hours I do. I can’t afford to pay someone to spend the night. A sitter would take most of my paycheck and I need that for rent, food and tuition.”
She briefly closed her eyes as the room began to spin. He wouldn’t care, she thought glumly. He was going to fire her. She would lose both her paycheck and her health insurance. Still, she wouldn’t go without a fight.
“She’s never been any trouble. It’s been nearly a year and no one has ever found out.” She winced at how that sounded. “I’m not saying that to excuse my behavior, just to point out that she’s not really a problem.”She’s not a reason to fire me.Except she didn’t say that.
Maggie moved to her side and took her hand. “Don’t worry, Mommy. The nice man likes us.”
Oh, yeah, Ashley thought. Maybe served up for breakfast, but not any other way. There was something scary about the man in front of her. Something she couldn’t exactly put her finger on. A stillness, maybe? Or maybe it was his eyes—so cold. He studied her like a predator assessing a potential victim.
Jeff Ritter was tall, maybe six-two or -three. His tailored suit looked expensive and well cut, but it couldn’t conceal the power of his body. He was a honed fighting machine. Maybe a killing one.
He was blond, with eyes the color of slate. In another life he could have been described as handsome, but not in this one. There was too much wariness in his stance, too much danger.
Because of the hours she worked, she didn’t have contact with very many people in the office. Once every three weeks she checked in with the office manager. Instructions were left on the bulletin board in the supply closet, her paychecks were mailed to her house. But she’d read articles about the security firm. There had been several write-ups when a computer expert’s son had been kidnapped and held for ransom. Jeff had been the one to track down the criminals. He’d brought them back, more dead than alive. The boy had been fine.
A shiver rippled through her. It had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the fever heating her system. Her stomach lurched and she knew if she’d eaten dinner, she would have just shared it with the world.
Jeff gave her a quick once-over then moved to the sofa. “You’re ready to pass out on your feet. You need to be home and in bed.”
Before she could protest, he’d gathered the sheets and stuffed them into the tote on the floor by the sofa. Maggie joined in the game, collecting her stuffed animals. While she carefully threw out the empty juice container, Jeff put the baby monitor into the bag.
“Anything else?” he asked.
Just her final paycheck, she thought grimly. But that would be sent to her.
“Nothing. Thank you, Mr. Ritter. You’ve been very kind.”
She didn’t know what else to say. Would he respond to begging? Based on the chill in his gray eyes, she didn’t think so.
