Page 47 of Daddy's Unexpected Gift

“Work,” she said.

“Exactly. I gave you the phone, I gave you my number. They can’t claim you did anything wrong. I’m the one out of line here.”

“You’re not out of line.” She giggled.

I missed that sound. I missed her.

“I liked the flowers too.” Her soft voice reached through the phone and went straight to my groin.

“Are you going to let me see you again?” I asked.

“You know I have to say no.”

24

CECELIA

I couldn’t believe the tote bag Sterling sent over. It was two-toned leather and gorgeous. There was no way I would be able to haul my stuff to work in it and pass it off as a thrift shop find. I felt like an idiot just petting it, but it was the most luxurious thing I had ever owned.

The phone with his number already programmed, that was a nice touch too.

As much as I professionally knew there needed to be distance between us, my heart pounded with joy at the sound of his voice. After I got off the phone with him, I went to the mall and bought myself a tote bag. The one I ended up with wasn’t nearly as nice, and it cost about a thousand times less. But I needed a bag, and Sterling’s gift, as outrageously expensive as it was, reminded me that I really needed a bag.

I stroked the side of the fabulous Hermès bag before I left for work, the cell phone that was just for him tucked inside. I had a day of making reports and following up on services that were needed for Hector and his family.

When I got into the office, Peggy was there. My gut clenched. She had betrayed me to get to my client. That’s the only explanation I could think of. Why else tell Greta the very things I was going to include in my report?

“Anything interesting happening in your world?” she asked with a sing-song voice.

I shook my head. “No, should there be?”

A sense of guilt washed over me. There was no possible way she could have known that Sterling sent me an expensive gift. She shrugged and rolled her eyes. Her lips pinched in a weird smile, like she was keeping a secret.

“No, nothing is going on. Look, Peggy, am I even allowed to ask you how the baby is doing?”

“What baby?” she asked.

Really? She was pretending to not know who I was talking about, yet she was playing games like she knew some secret. I wasn’t about to let her know there was a secret that I wasn’t telling her. That was between Sterling and me.

“That’s how it’s gonna be? Got it,” I said. I wasn’t in the mood to play her games. “Not my client, not my information.”

I sat down and began organizing my files. My new work-specific tote bag was going to make my work life a lot easier.

“That’s a nice bag,” Peggy said, pausing as she strolled past my desk.

“Thanks.” I didn’t feel like telling her I got it at the strip mall and that if I had gotten it at the department store, it would have cost me twice as much. And I didn’t need to confess I was carrying it because there was no way I was going to carry a five-thousand-dollar Hermès bag that was gifted to me.

I pasted a fake smile on my face and told myself there was no possible way she knew. None whatsoever. If she had those kinds of resources, there was no way she would be stuck in a job like this.

And yes, barely two months into this job, I was feeling stuck. It wasn’t the work, it was the bureaucracy and the ridiculous situation of being stuck without computers and making photocopies in triplicate. A situation I had been told more than once would be getting fixed any day now.

When I didn’t give Peggy whatever it was she wanted from me, she left in a bit of a huff.

I wrote my reports. I made my calls. I even had a short visit with Lucille. I brought her a delivery of some groceries, and we spent the time reviewing all the different grocery store pick up and delivery options within a ten-mile driving distance. She had more than her hands full with taking care of her son. She didn’t need to spend hours at the grocery store when with a few clicks, she could have what she needed delivered.

The first thing I did when I got home was rush into my room to see if the bag was still there. The box sat on my bed where I left it, and inside, the silk bag that held the leather tote. It hadn’t been a dream. It was real. I stroked the supple leather. I picked up the phone where I had left it in the box, next to the bag. A single message said, call me.

There was a knock on my door just as I was about to press Call. I left everything on my bed and crossed the apartment and opened the door.

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