by Zante, Lily
It would be better to go now, before the shops got too busy, than run the risk of taking more time later, when the lines built up.
“Jacob, listen to me honey.” She walked over to his desk and bent down. “I’m going out very quickly to get some lunch.”
“Can I come?”
“No, you have to stay here.”
“You’re leaving me?” Fear walked in his eyes.
“It’s just across the road, honey. It will take me ten minutes. I promise.”
“Don’t leave me, Mommy.” The begging in his voice clutched at her heart strings. Nowhere else would she leave him alone, but she was caught between a rock and a hard place. She knew he was safe here if he did as she’d told him. It wasn’t as if she was leaving him in a public place. He was in a building, and she knew he would be safe, and she would be back quickly.
She forced a brave face knowing that he would sense her fear and feel scared himself, and she never wanted him to be scared ever again. “Ten minutes, Jacob. I promise.” This wouldn’t happen tomorrow. She’d make sure to bring lunch with her.
“We can do this, Champ. Do you think you can turn on your super powers?”
“Like Iron Man?”
“Like Iron Man.”
The fear vanished as he became the superhero. “Go, Mommy. Ten minutes, you promised.”
She rushed out, her thoughts on Jacob the whole time as she dove into the elevator and tried to still her beating heart as the elevator descended painfully and slowly, stopping at different floors along the way. She was more frightened by the idea of leaving him alone, knowing she had left him willingly, than by him being found. When it reached the ground floor she sprinted out.
And almost crashed straight into Candace who was on her way in.
“In a rush?” Candace asked her.
“Yes,” she said, and gave her a quick smile before rushing out of the door.
Chapter 15
Tobias arrived back from his meeting with the chief finance officer simmering with anger as he stepped back into his office. It had taken two hours to discuss what should have taken no more than forty minutes.
No sooner had he sat down than Candace knocked.
“You’re back,” she said, cheerily.
“I’ve been in meetings all morning.”
“Yesterday was a great success, by all accounts,” she said, sounding her own trumpet.
“Good,” he replied, hoping she would move on quickly. He had emails that needed his attention as well as the pressing matter which refused to leave his thoughts. “Anything else?”
She seemed surprised by his directness. “Are you in a bad mood, Tobias?”
“Candace, I’m really busy. Did you want something?”
“No. I’m only in for half a day today and tomorrow. Is there anything you need me to do before I go? Do you need anything?”
“No, I can cope.” He gave her half a smile. “I’m not completely useless without you.”
She smiled at him. “I noticed that temp is still here.”
“And what of it?”
“I thought she’d finished.”
“Briony asked her to stay on. Why?”
“No reason. I saw her just now and she seemed to be in a mad rush. She almost knocked me over when she got out of the elevator.”
It made him wonder, but he remained silent.
“What are you up to this Christmas?” she asked, refusing to budge. But her gaze soon fell upon the Tiffany box on his desk.
“Oooooh,” she purred, her beady little eyes honing in on the blue and white box. He knew exactly what she was thinking. “Naomi will be happy.”
Tobias felt his jaw clench. He badly needed Candace to disappear, not only because his nerves were already frayed, but he had so many things he needed to sort out. In an effort to get rid of her he remembered something. Ignoring her comment about the gift, he instructed her. “Call Herman in accounts and get him to make sure that Ms. Page gets her wages paid into her account before she leaves work tomorrow.”
“Temps don’t get paid until the following month.”
“I’m well aware of that.” But it hadn’t been anything he’d concerned himself with before.
“But I can’t do anything. It’s up to the agency—”
“I don’t think you heard me, Candace. Make sure Ms. Page gets paid tomorrow. Tell Herman to charge it to the company if he has to. And in case you’re in any doubt, I own this company, and I can damn well do as I please.”
His PA narrowed her eyes as she stared at him. “I’ll do it right away. Anything else?”
He shook his head. “Candace,” he said slowly, his expression tight. “Sometimes your attitude borders on unprofessional. Let me remind you that you’re an assistant and this means that you follow my orders.”
“Understood.” She said, and he could tell by the look on her face that he’d crushed her.
Candace left Tobias’s office in a jumble of emotions. What was wrong with the man all of a sudden?
He thought she was unprofessional? Tensed up with anger, she flexed her fists, and marched into her office. Throwing down her bag, she picked up the phone to call Herman and made the necessary arrangements, after explaining to him what Tobias had told her. She sat simmering in her seat for a while, then, feeling restless and edgy, she got up. It was time to pay that little minx a visit. Find out what was really going on. She should have been back by now.
She knocked on the door to the office where Briony usually sat, but there was no reply. She knocked again. This time she wrestled with the handle and tried to open the door but it wouldn’t open easily. “Savannah?”
Still no answer.
She pushed it slowly and saw that a chair had been wedged up behind it and on the chair was a box full of files. But the office was empty. The other desks looked unoccupied, too. Were they all away? Was it only that cow in here? She looked around and saw the Spiderman figure on the table top. Curious, she walked over, picked it up and examined it. It was only then that she heard a shuffling noise underneath the desk.
She bent down and discovered a small boy huddled up, sitting on the floor with his knees drawn into his chest. Big, shiny, green eyes full of fear looked at her.
“And who are you?” she asked, a slow smile spreading across her face.
Chapter 16
The day wasn’t going particularly well for Tobias. Maybe going away could still be an option for him. Just to get away from everything.
When Candace knocked on the door again, he was about to lose his patience again but the sight of a small boy, a boy who looked completely scared as he stood next to her, immediately stopped him.
“Look what I found in 222…” said Candace smugly as if she’d just caught a prize. Tobias looked at the boy and saw the fear in his eyes. He got up slowly and walked over to him.
“Hey, Jacob.” His voice was soft as he bent down so that their faces were at the same level.
“Hey, Mr. Stone.” The boy’s lips trembled and Tobias smiled at him. “It’s okay. You don’t have to be scared.”
“Please don’t throw my Mommy out. Please.”
“Throw her out? Of course not, Jacob. Why would you think that?”
Jacob shook his head and clutched his Spiderman figurine to his chest. “She said you would throw her out if you found out I was here.”
Tobias shook his head gently. “No,” he said. “I would never do that.”
“She didn’t know where to send me and Rosalee has gone away for Christmas and—”
“Jacob!” Footsteps sounded outside the office and Savannah rushed in, then, seeing Jacob she flew forward and hugged him tightly. “Oh, thank god. Oh, baby. I was worried sick.” She held him tightly, oblivious to everything else.
“This is against regulations, you can’t bring—” Candace started.
“Enough.” Tobias stood up.
“This isn’t a daycare center—”
“Enough, Candace. Leave.�
�
She opened her mouth to protest but he didn’t give her a chance to say anything. “Go now, or else,” he told her and moved to close the door behind her. Savannah’s sandwich bag lay on the floor, alongside her handbag. Tobias picked them both up and put them on his desk.
“What happened?” he heard her ask her son.
“I was hiding underneath the table and that lady came in. I’m sorry, Mommy. Mr. Stone said he wouldn’t throw you out.”
She got up off the floor quickly and stood facing him with her arm around her son’s shoulder. Her frightened eyes searched his. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do.”
“It’s not a problem.” He could see her fear, could sense her worry, and didn’t like to see her crumble like this. She looked so much more vulnerable when she was around her son. Don’t throw her out, please, Mr. Stone. He wanted to know what would make a child think that.
“I’m only here for two more days and if I could just—”
“I already told you. It’s not a problem.” But she looked at him as if she didn’t believe him.
“I insist, however, that Jacob sits at a table, and not underneath it.” He told her, then, looking at Jacob, “You don’t want to sit underneath a table, do you, Jacob?”
The boy smiled back at him. “It was just a game Mommy told me to play.”
Tobias looked at Savannah again, and it was as if he was seeing her with new eyes, with her guard down. The other Savannah would have given him a piece of her mind by now.
“Thank you,” she said. “It’s a huge help. I had childcare lined up but my sitter was called away and I have no backup.” He didn’t imagine it was easy.
She picked up her sandwich bag and handbag and holding Jacob’s hand, she left his office.
Tobias was left wondering what he could do to make things easier for her. The thing he didn’t want to confront just yet was why he cared so much in the first place.
Chapter 17
“He’s nice, Mommy.” Jacob yawned as he settled underneath his ‘Avengers Assemble’ bedsheets that Kay had bought for him.
“Who?” she asked, absentmindedly while trying to figure out her future plans.
Time was marching on. Once Christmas and the New Year were over, she was looking at something like six months. Kay would be back in the summer and Savannah had until then to turn her life around. A decent job that paid enough so that she could afford to rent in a safe area. She’d have to say goodbye to New York and the good money and try to find a job as a secretary, or a PA, somewhere in the suburbs, in a place near a good school. That was her plan.
“Mr. Stone.”
“You like him?”
“Yeah,” he yawned again, and she could see how the long day had tired him out. “Do you like him?” Her son asked. Savannah got up and kissed him on the cheek. “I have to like him, honey. I work for him. He owns the company.”
“That big building is his?” The tiredness slipped away as his eyelids flew wide open. She nodded and for the first time considered his wealth.
“Wow!”
“Bedtime, honey. We have another early start tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait.”
“For what?”
“To go to work.”
She had to laugh because the words sounded so funny coming from his mouth. “One day, you will go to work. Just make sure you find something that you love doing. Then it won’t feel so much like work.”
“Okay.” He turned to his side and closed his eyes.
“Love you, honey. Sweet dreams.”
“Love you , too. Mommy.”
She closed the door, leaving it ajar just in case he needed anything. This was a luxury—them having separate bedrooms. When she’d been at her aunt’s she had shared with Jacob and had loved every moment of having her little boy snuggle up against her but she had often lain awake at night and wondered if things would ever get any better or whether she was destined to struggle for the rest of her life.
With a child to take care of it was harder to get a job and to work the hours she needed, when she had Jacob to think about. School pickups and childcare always had to be the number one priority for her. Jacob was her priority. Colt didn’t have a care in the world. He might even have remarried by now. Her parents never told her even if they knew. He was out of her life and she was grateful. Her friends were still childless and enjoying life with their boyfriends. She’d been the only one who’d married at twenty-three. Colt had won her over easily. And the first three years had been bliss. It was only when he lost his job that his spiral into depression hit home. They struggled to keep it together.
She cleared up her dishes, her mind already thinking ahead to the New Year and all the agencies she would have to visit. Working these past few weeks had given her a happier and more positive outlook. It was strange how that happened when money was coming in. Being able to return to the toy store and pick up presents for Jacob had put a smile on her face.
The only thing to cast a dampener on her mood was the fact that tomorrow was her last day at Stone Enterprises.
Chapter 18
There was a buzz about New York, especially on Christmas Eve. Sparkly decorations and bright lights lit up the night sky but more than that there was expectation in the air.
Unlike her son, Savannah loved the lead up to Christmas Day and for her the magic of Christmas peaked on Christmas Eve.
She felt happier today, uplifted and the sad thought of this being her last earning day soon melted away. And since Tobias now knew about Jacob being in the office, she didn’t need to worry on that front anymore.
“Hey, Jacob.”
“Hey, Mr. Stone.” Jacob stopped his coloring and looked up. Savannah turned around to see Tobias walk in with his hands in his pockets. She noticed that he’d dressed down today. No formal business suit; just dark trousers and a dark shirt. He looked devastatingly handsome and the dark colors showed off his sandy colored hair and deep blue eyes even more than usual. Heat scorched her cheeks as she gave him a slight nod and turned away. The file she was about to return to the filing cabinet would have to stay put for now because returning it meant having to walk past Tobias. And for some reason she suddenly felt extremely self-conscious.
She opened her emails again, even though she’d only looked through them less than a few minutes ago. What she couldn’t do was turn and face Tobias. She heard him talking to Jacob, asking him about his Spiderman figurine, and it was plainly evident from Tobias’s conversation that he didn’t have much knowledge about these characters. She heard Jacob tell him about the new Iron Man model and the Age of Ultron armor and voice changer mask.
As they spoke, she started to wonder what his wife was like and it got her thinking about whether he had children. If he did they’d be pretty young, she guessed, otherwise he would know about superheroes. Her son lived and breathed them. She kept her attention firmly on her computer screen, even though her ears were listening carefully to their conversation. She wondered what type of Christmas Tobias Stone would have. And she imagined a big, fancy mansion somewhere in the city; a house decorated with beautiful golden lights and with a large tree sprinkled with decorations dainty and colorful, from one of the big department stores. She imagined beautifully wrapped Christmas presents in sparkling gift wrap tied with white satin ribbons lying underneath the tree.
She heard a knock at the door and then Candace’s cold voice. “Tobias.” Candace stood at the open doorway, surveying the scene with displeasure. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” She glanced at Savannah and gave her a fake smile. Tobias turned around. “And now you’ve found me. What is it?”
Candace’s lips twitched as if she was about to say something. “I’m leaving; I was only here for half a day.”
“I know. You told me yesterday. Have a good Christmas, and New Year.”
“You too,” she replied. Savannah saw the look on the PA’s face as she appraised the scene before her. Something in her countenance
told Savannah that the woman didn’t like what she saw.
“Have a good Christmas,” said Savannah, keen to part on good terms.
Candace beamed her a false smile. “Nice to have met you and good luck.”
“Thanks,” Savannah replied.
It was just the three of them once more and Savannah was conscious that she hadn’t yet said anything to Tobias. She was conscious that ever since he’d found out about Jacob, she’d been wary and quiet and that she’d avoided facing him. And she still had no idea why.
“As much as I’d like to hear more about your toys, Jacob, I have to go and do some work.”
“Bye, Mr. Stone.”
She felt the heat of his gaze first. “Savannah, would you come by my office before you leave? Most people are going home half day.”
“I told Briony I’d work the full day.”
He nodded.
“I’ll be here until late. Come by before you leave.”
She swallowed. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” he shook his head calmly. “Should it be?”
“Should it be wrong? No.” She shook her head, frowning.
“I’m hungry, Mommy,” Jacob whined.
Despite her best intentions, she’d forgotten to make sandwiches again. “Shall we get out and get some lunch, Jacob?”
“Can’t I play with Mr. Stone and you go out?”
“No,” she said, her voice harsher than she’d intended.
“Why?”
“Because Mr. Stone doesn’t play,” she replied in a tight voice.
“That’s not quite true,” Tobias stepped in. “I can watch him,” he offered.
“Why?” She sensed that he pitied her on some level, the way most people did once they got to know her. Many went out of their way to help her. Like Kay, like Rosalee, like Briony. She didn’t like that Tobias Stone was also pitying her.
“Because you’ll worry when you’re out.”
“You have a company to run, Mr. Stone. I’m sure you have other things to do.” She said, getting up.
