by Amy Brent
She had ice-blond hair that was impeccably coiffed under her hat that probably cost the same as my rent. Her waist was tiny, and her legs were shapely, but her chest and hips bore the telltale sign of implants. Huh. So, this was the kid’s mother?
“You know, with how hard you fought for joint custody in court, outside of it, it seems like you almost don’t care.”
The woman rolled her eyes and I had never seen such a calloused reaction. I felt my own temper flare, and as much as I didn’t want to get involved, I had to hold my tongue, so I didn’t say anything.
“Get over it. I have an important fashion show to go to. What, did you want me to miss it?”
Suddenly Rafael was on his feet, body tense. I flinched, expecting him to lay her out, but he made no move to strike her. Maybe… maybe he wasn’t like that?
“For your son, yes, I expect you to miss it! Or are those damn clothes more important than him?”
I knew what this was. A full-on couple fight, complete with raised voices and red faces. As awkward as it was for me, I couldn’t imagine what it was like for the little boy. Where was he, anyways?
Looking around, I finally spotted him under the table, sitting with crossed legs and looking dejected.
Well, that wouldn’t do. Sliding out of my chair, I knelt on the ground to and gestured for him to come over. He looked at me suspiciously at first, clearly wondering why an adult was on the ground, but a quick glance back to his still-fighting parents seemed to convince him, and he crawled towards me.
“Hey there,” I said, offering him my hand. “I’m McKenna. What’s your name?”
“Dominic,” he answered, making himself comfortable in front of me. “My Dad always tells me not to talk to strangers, but he’s in the room so I guess this is okay.”
Huh, he was certainly well spoken for looking so young. “That’s a very good policy to have, Dominic. Strangers can be dangerous sometimes.”
“Yeah, that’s why Dad made sure we have kidnapping insurance.”
“Kidnap- Oh, yeah, that’s very wise of him.” Geeze, what a strange thing to hear from a child. Being rich certainly came with its own set of issues. “So, Dominic, what do you like to do for fun?”
He gave me another skeptical look, as if he wasn’t sure if I was patronizing him or not. “I like to read I guess. And build things. With blocks. I like soccer too.”
“Oh! What kind of books?” I asked, clapping my hands. “I like fantasy books, with elves and all that, and Science Fiction too! Something about spaceships and aliens just gets me.”
Now he looked interested, and I felt like I was getting somewhere. “Really?”
I nodded emphatically. “Uh-huh. In fact, I just finished up this series about a shape-shifting alien and this boy she becomes friends with! It’s so good and the action had such a great balance with the banter and character progression.”
“What’s character pro-progression?” I could practically feel his distrust drop and he leaned forward, eyes alit in the way that all book lovers did when they found someone else to geek out with.
“Oh, good question. You know how sometimes a character will start out one way at the beginning of a story, but then by the end of the story they’re completely different? That’s character progression.”
“Ahhh.” The boy sat back, satisfied with the knowledge I had given him. I was so surprised at how into books he seemed to be. He had to be five, maybe six at the most, but he talked like a preteen. I was sure that Rafael had more than a handful with this little guy.
Our conversation went on, going over everything from foreshadowing, to my favorite troupes to even what a troupe was. It was absolutely fantastic, and I forgot about the adults until Dominic laughed and it suddenly went quiet.
The sudden silence was such a stark contrast that I looked up to where the two feuding parents had been standing. My stomach flipped several times when I realized they were just staring openly at me, both of their eyes wide.
Had… had I done something wrong?
Chapter Eleven
~Raphael~
I hadn’t directly fought with my ex in months, and a small voice inside of myself told me that I shouldn’t be doing this in front of both of my son and the woman I had already wronged once this week, but I couldn’t stop.
I was so sick of how she treated Dominic! He was a treasure on this Earth, too smart for his own good and kinder than anybody I knew. He deserved the best in the world and, yet she treated him like a burden.
It steamed me beyond all logic, because I knew that if I had full custody, he would never be treated as an afterthought. And also, because I knew the only reason she and her lawyers had fought so hard for even partial custody was because she wanted yet another way to siphon money from me.
So, when I heard his laugh, I stopped cold. I knew Dom hated it when we fought, so what could possibly pull that sound from him?
Turning my head, I saw that McKenna was sitting on the floor, Dominic in front of her with a massive grin on his face. I hadn’t seen him so happy with a stranger in ages -mostly because Dominic was as wary around new people as I was.
“Who the hell is that?” My ex asked, narrowing her snake-like eyes at McKenna.
“An employee,” I answered coolly. “And don’t you have a flight to catch?”
She sent me a look like she wanted to argue, but seemed to think better of it and turned on her red-bottom heel then headed out. I shut the door behind her, as if I could close it on her negative energy and toxicity itself, and turned back to my son.
“Hey there, my little man. What’cha up to?”
“We’re talking about anti-heroes,” he chirped, jumping up to his feet. “But I’m hungry. Mom said I could eat when I got to you, so can we go get lunch?”
Of course, she didn’t feed him. It was just past two in the afternoon and she hadn’t given her own child lunch. God, I loathed her.
“Yeah buddy, what are you thinking? Craving pizza? Burgers? That Greek place?”
“Greek!” He did that excited wiggle he did whenever he heard we were going someplace he liked, and I had to laugh. I don’t know how it was possible, but my kid definitely had inherited all of the best genes in existence.
“Alright then, let’s go. Miss Grady, we will continue to use the names you find most comfortable on your employee file. I hope you enjoy your vacation.”
As much as I didn’t want to part with the redhead, who looked exceptionally beautiful in the dress she was wearing, my son came first and foremost before everything. But to my great surprise, Dominic grabbed her hand and tugged her forward.
“I want McKenny to come with us! She knows about books and cool alien stuff!”
“It’s McKenna,” the woman corrected gently, ruffling my son’s hair. “And come on, don’t you think your daddy wants to spend time with you after you were away with your mother?”
“Daddy needs to hang out with more people anyways!” I couldn’t believe it. My own son seemed completely enamored with the woman he had only known for ten minutes. He never acted like this around anyone that I knew, which made me wonder just who this woman was and how she had such a way with the Barbos men. “Please, can she come?”
Who was I to refuse him? Besides, his therapist said that he needed more positive adult role models in his life. But I had already stepped on it big-time with McKenna and I couldn’t exactly ask her a favor all things considered.
“Um, I don’t think…” she started, but I gave her a pleading look even though I knew she owed me nothing. It was just so rare to see Dom like this that I wasn’t ready to give it up just yet. And spending more time with her would be nice too.
She trailed off, and I could tell that she was debating with herself. I stayed quiet, but a never-ending stream of pleases came from Dominic’s mouth. Maybe I should feel guilty for him being my negotiator-by-proxy, but I didn’t.
“I guess I can manage that.”
“Yay!” Dominic jumped up and dow
n and I swear you’d think it was Christmas by the way he was acting. “Come on! You’re gonna like this place. It’s my favorite!”
She gave me a sheepish look as he pulled her out of the room and I followed along behind them, certainly enjoying the view of her hips in the fitted, yet professional outfit she was wearing.
If someone didn’t know any better, they might think us a family. Her, the mother figure with curves that spoke to obvious fertility and a mildly frazzled expression on her face. The young boy, happily skipping along while pulling her hand, and me, the father figure. Stern but not withdrawn as he followed along behind and made sure they were both safe.
A strange sort of longing rose in me, and I remembered the times before everything had gone to shit and my ex and I had been happy. It seemed so long ago, but it only had been three years. To her credit, the woman had been able to keep her charade up for quite a while, only dropping when I found her in bed with one of my business partners.
Was I missing that? Having a family unit? Someone to lean on when I needed help and share all of the joys of my son with? I had long since given up on ever trusting someone like that again, so I didn’t quite see how that computed.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but feel a strange excitement within me as we reached my car. Before I could say a word, Dom ran to the back, explaining that ladies should always have shotgun. When had I raised such a polite little gentleman? It made me glow with pride, and I opened the door for both of them then shut it after they slid inside.
Who would have thought that this was how my day was going to go? I was all set to apologize until I ran out of spit to the woman I had wronged, and now I was taking her to lunch with my son, something only one other person in the company had ever had the privilege of doing.
It was certainly a strange turn of events, but I wasn’t complaining. In fact, I just hoped that my luck could continue to go in such a great direction. I had absolutely no idea who this amazing woman really was, but I desperately wanted to.
Chapter Twelve
~McKenna~
I had never been so tense in a car ride, but I guessed there was a first for everything. Of all the things that had happened today, I was pretty sure going out to lunch with the CEO and his son was so far down on the list of possibilities that it might as well not be there at all. Yet that was exactly what was happening, judging by the buildings rushing by the expensive looking buildings of uptown.
I had meant to refuse, I really had. But with the way both of them were looking at me, I found myself agreeing. The little boy, Dom, really was a sweetheart, and I couldn’t imagine disappointing him after just becoming friends.
That was just like me. Putting myself into a pickle and then complaining about it. But still, at least I was going to get an insane meal at a restaurant I probably could never afford on my own. There was an upside to everything, I supposed.
That was what I kept telling myself, and it helped me from panicking as we arrived at what looked like one of the fanciest restaurants I had ever seen. Its exterior was obviously Greek inspired, but not gaudily so, and there was a line of valets already waiting outside. Dominic’s hand was back in mine the moment I was on my feet outside of the far. While I loved children, I had never had one attach to me so quickly and so emphatically. It almost made me wonder if he was missing a certain sort of maternal affection.
That was depressing to think of. He was obviously a sweet and charming little boy. He deserved a mother who was every bit as impressed with him as Rafael obviously was.
Speaking of Rafael, he came up along beside us and gestured for us to walk ahead. His face was still stern, his green eyes sharp in his attractive countenance, but I could see something softening at the edges. Maybe I didn’t need to be scared of this man? After all, I had seen him get pretty angry less than an hour ago and he had never called Dom’s mother a name or moved to threaten her in any way, shape or form. Sure, he had raised his voice, but I couldn’t blame him given what I had observed about the woman’s treatment of her son so far.
Still, it was too soon to tell, even if I did feel inexplicably drawn to him. It was like we were magnets, total opposite polarities but helplessly pulled together. Or at least that’s how it felt for me. Raphael would probably forget about me in a week or two as anything other than that strange woman who his son seemed to be okay with.
We sat in a fairly nice booth towards the back of the restaurant and Dom seemed to be practically vibrating with excitement. He was grinning like a madman and bouncing in his seat almost as soon as the hostess sat us down.
“Do you like Greek, McKenna?” The smile he gave me was just too cute as he opened a menu. “I like gyros, and souvlaki and doulmas and-”
“Let her answer the question, little man,” Rafael corrected gently, ruffling his son’s hair.
“Oh, right.” He looked to me with big, green eyes that I could understand exactly why Rafael clearly doted on his son. He was adorable almost to the point of unfairness and smart too. Next thing I was going to find out was that he rescued kittens in his downtime or something.
“Yeah, I like Greek alright,” I answered. “But if you have any recommendations, I’d be glad to hear about them.”
His face lit up and he happily prattled off the things that were the best there and why he liked them. It had been so long since I had interacted with such a precious child, that I found myself enjoying every moment despite the fact that the CEO of my company was just a few feet away from me.
Any little slip up, and it could affect my career forever. But that possibility seemed to get father and farther away as he watched with an amused sort of expression.
It was strange that someone who I would definitely label as intimidating was so kind in a different setting. But I supposed that I had my work personality and me personality too. Although, it did make me wonder what else I had misread about this tall, dark and handsome business man who had showed up into my life like a hurricane.
“What are you getting, Dad?” Dom asked, drawing his father back into the conversation.
“I’m thinking moussaka,” he answered, smiling down at his son.
“But you always get moussaka! Come on, you should try something different for once!” For some reason, his eyes flicked to me before he nodded slowly. “You have a point, buddy. I guess I’ll get the souvlaki with the spanakopita.”
“Yeah! That’s a good one.” The little boy looked to me with such glee that my heart melted. “Do you know what you want yet?”
“You know what? I don’t have any food allergies, so why don’t you just pick for me?”
“Really!?”
I nodded. “Absolutely. I might as well trust an expert, right?” By the look on both of the men’s faces, you would think I told them I had just given them immortal life. I blushed a bit, and ducked my head down until Dom busied himself with the menu once more.
The waitress came not much later, taking our orders. Rafael ordered an appetizer combination that I had no clue what was on it, then Dom did the rest. The two of them were so cute, a real family, and I felt a sudden pang of loneliness.
When this was over, and I went home to my weeks’ vacation, I had no one to talk to. These two clearly had each other like peas in a pod.
Thankfully, I was able to shake off the melancholy as Dom launched into the series that he was reading currently. It sounded like a YA epic about some kids hunting down magical jewels, and exactly what would have been my thing when I was younger. Goodness, I didn’t think I had ever met such an avid reader in a child, and it tickled me pink.
“So, what got you into reading?” I asked when Dominic finally did run out of steam.
“Dad!” He answered so brightly that it surprised me a bit, and my eyes automatically flicked to the man. He was still looking at the both of us, expression neutral, but I swore I saw his cheeks pinken slightly. “I used to have the worst nightmares, so he would read to me every night. No matter what.”
“But eventually, my reading got to be too slow, so little man started going through books all on his own.”
“Dad pouted for a while, but now he gets that I’m growing up!”
Oh goodness, how freakin’ precious. I looked to Rafael, and he looked just as amused. “You’re practically and adult now,” the CEO agreed gravely. “The next thing I know, you’ll be asking to borrow the car.”
“Eh, I’ll just have you drive me around forever.”
Rafael’s eyes twinkled as he leaned down to the table so he was more eye-level with his son. “Is that so?”
“Yup!”
“I think I’m going to hold you to that. Even when you’re a teenager and everything I do is embarrassing and you hate me.”
Dom puffed out his cheeks and looked downright hurt. “What? You’re the coolest Dad in the world! I’ll never hate you!”
“Promises, promises.”
I just sat back and watched the beautiful, natural moments as they unfolded. It was so strange; part of Rafael was so strong, masculine and in charge that my heart raced just looking at him, but apparently there was another part of him that was so full of love and kindness towards his little guy that it didn’t seem possible. With the two of them it was easy to believe that I was part of a unit, that I belonged and had people who cared about me. I was sure the people around us assumed we were all a family, and instead of making me uncomfortable, it made me quite happy.
