Emma turns away, burrowing deeper into her mother.
“Nothing,” Gigi answers automatically, stroking her hand down Emma’s back. But Emma’s pajama shirt has ridden up, and I catch a red mark on her back. Did she just hurt herself? Is that what I missed?
Gigi smooths her hand down Emma’s back, pushing the shirt back into place, and she continues our conversation like nothing happened. “I can keep looking at the documents to see if anything else pops out. Would you send me the previous version of the proposed expense report for comparison?”
“Of course,” I say, standing. Emma shudders, curling away from me. My brow furrows again.
“Is there anything else you need from me today?” Gigi asks, hugging Emma tightly. Am I being politely dismissed?
I am in her apartment, and this is Saturday, but I am also her boss, and I end meetings when I’m damn good and ready. I straighten up, my shoulders expanding, even as Emma shrinks smaller in Gigi’s arms.
What the hell? Drawing in a slow breath, I stuff one of my hands in my pocket. “Is it possible for us to comb this document together?”
I do not make it a habit to ask my assistant’s permission for anything, but I don’t think I’ve got a choice on this one and getting the job done is more important.
“Have a seat,” Gigi softly replies, her eyes looking anything but certain.
Then she circles back to her chair, Emma still curled into her as she sits.
I push the computer toward her and grab my phone from my pocket. Pulling up the text message box, I text my brothers:Either of you got any chocolate?
Killian immediately responds:I do.
I fire back:I’m at Gigi’s. Can you deliver?
He doesn’t respond, and my leg starts to bounce as I contemplate firing off a surly message, calling him a tease, when a knock sounds on the door.
Gigi all but jumps, her eyes going wide.
Both of them are skittish as hell. A problem I’ll dig into another time.
Right now, I need Emma to relax so I can both use Gigi’s clear skills and gauge her reactions. I need to find out who she is and why she’s here.
“It’s Killian,” I say as I get up, crossing to open the door. He stands on the other side, chocolate in hand.
I reach for it, intending to say my thanks and send him on his way. But Killian’s got other ideas.
He pushes past me, chocolate in hand, a big smile on his face. “M&M would you like some M&Ms?”
I grab the bag from his hand on his way by, even as Emma picks up her head, her eyes starting to sparkle. He’s not taking my bribe.
Which is why I dump a pile of M&Ms into my hand and hold them out.
Emma’s smile slips.
I look at Killian and then at Gigi. She’s smiling back at me, the sort of soft smile that makes my cock twitch.
“Sit,” she softly murmurs. I’d bark back that I’m not a dog, but then again, she might be right. So, I drop down into a squat.
Emma wiggles off her mother’s lap and slowly walks over to me.
“Which is your favorite color?” I ask, extending my hand.
“Blue,” she answers, reaching into my palm and taking a blue one and then popping it into her mouth.
“I like green,” I tell her, taking one for myself, that I toss, catching it in my mouth.
She giggles as she watches then looks down at my hand again. “And yellow,” she says, her brows rising hopefully.
