“I bet he was. It’s important for Teddy to eat.”
“That’s what I said!” His face lights up as I set him down on the counter, but his smile vanishes quickly. “Are you and Grandma mad at each other?”
Her biting words sweep back into my mind, so I nod. “Just a little.”
“You should talk. Or tell someone. My teacher says… she says that if you get mad at a friend and you can’t talk to them, you should tell someone and they can help.”
Keeping one hand on his abdomen so he doesn’t fall from the counter, I collect a glass from the cupboard above his head. “That’s true. Your teacher is right.”
“So, should I tell my teacher that you and Grandma are mad at each other?”
I glance down at him as a soft laugh rises in me. “No, baby. Don’t do that.”
“Why not? She can help!”
The glass fills with water and I take several deep gulps, using the chill to break up the hot anger in my chest. Once I’m finished, I gasp and lick my lips. “Well… your Grandma and I would need a special teacher. A grown-up one.”
“Ahh.” Nick nods knowingly. “I’ll ask my teacher if she knows any grown-up teachers.”
“You do that,” I reply. My breathing becomes easier as Nick abandons his teddy and reaches for my water with both hands. Not resisting, I let him take the glass and drink the rest. My heart swells when he mimics my gasp and beams up at me.
“Come on.” Setting the glass aside, I scoop him back into my arms. “Tell me about your day.”
Nick immediately launches into a highly detailed explanation of his day from the moment I dropped him off at pre-school. While I take him for a bath, he tells me all about the words he learned, the toys he played with, the friends he made and how excited he is for his birthday next month because the teacher has put his name on the celebration board. Out of all the kids there, his birthday is next.
Once he’s washed and dried, teeth brushed and hair combed, I tuck him into bed and settle next to him with a book of fables. Halfway through reading an altered version ofThumbelina, Nick falls asleep while tucked up against my chest and I trail off into silence.
Moments like this make me feel like everything is going to be fine. But with Mom acting like she is, that feeling won’t last.
I can’t fathom the cost of the repairs to the damage she’s caused, but it’s made one thing crystal clear. I need to find out what’s happening at work. No more distractions.
While Nick sleeps soundly beside me, I dig my phone out of my pocket and send a quick text to Victoria.
[Calliope] Hey, you’re the queen of the rumor mill, right?
She replies almost instantly.
[Vic] Yes, Ma’am.
[Calliope] Have you heard these rumors about the company shutting down? Or anything shutting down? Overheard something about the stores in the breakroom, but couldn’t get details.
Her reply sends my heart down into a dark pit in my stomach.
[Vic] I’ve heard a rumor, but I know one thing. If anything is closing down, it won’t be the stores.
17
ELIJAH
“Buster, I heard everything you said but I understood none of it.”
“You’re killing me,” Buster sighs, leaning close to the camera. “This is why I should be CEO. Time for you to step down, old man.”
Leaning back in my chair, I stare out my hotel window and watch the world rush by. A patch of ice several feet below has become a rapid source of amusement as person after person thinks they can walk right over it. Nine times out of ten, they have to clutch onto the lamppost and that one time someone falls is a highlight of my morning.
I’m a terrible person.
“So, you’re staging a coup?” I glance back at our web call.
