Page 10 of Boss's Baby Surprise

She shrugged. “I guess I could.” As she stared at her tote bag, she twisted her mouth and then bit her lip in what I was learning was an expression of concentration for her.

“Do you really need the sketch book at home? Or the water bottle? You could leave it here and not have to carry it back and forth. Let me guess, you haul in that thing full of water, plus carry a coffee every morning, right?”

“Hey, have you been spying on me?”

I chuckled. “No, but I see other women commuting in, and they are absolutely laden down with too many drinks. Leave the water bottle or get one that’s just for work that you can leave. Put down the sketchbook. What else is in that tote bag?”

She pulled something dark out. “A sweater.”

“It’s unseasonably warm outside and you’re bringing a sweater to work?”

“It can get cold in the building,” she said.

“Then leave it here,” I directed.

5

CLARISSA

My tote bag was considerably lighter as I slung it over my shoulder. Kyle was right, I could leave half of everything I carried back and forth everyday. The water bottle got heavy, and I didn’t even start drinking it until I finished my coffee.

I eyed it thoughtfully. It might have been heavy, but we were about to take a long walk on a hot day. I snagged it.

“I thought I convinced you to leave that here?” Kyle chuckled.

“You had, but we’re about to go for a walk. I want my water. You should consider getting some too.”

“If I get thirsty, I’ll stop and buy something,” he said.

Why was it that men never seemed to be prepared and women were always over prepared? I had my bag and water, whereas he was literally walking out of the building as he was, unburdened by any extras. It wasn’t fair.

I wasn’t a fast walker and felt very self-conscious as Kyle strode next to me.

“Where to first?” he asked.

I knew where I wanted to start, and why. Kyle’s offices were located in an old industrial building, converted to office spaces during the previous century. We weren’t terribly far from where I wanted to be. But it was going to be a walk. Once outside, I headed east, toward the lake.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Kyle asked after a few blocks.

“I do. Aren’t you up for a walk? This was your idea.”

I couldn’t see his eyes behind the reflective aviator sunglasses he slipped on, but I imagined he rolled his eyes at me. There was plenty to see of architectural interest, but nothing that I considered worthy of a tour, at least not yet.

A few blocks, and the nature of the buildings surrounding us changed. Skyscrapers began reaching into the sky like a garden of glass and steel. None were quite as tall as Willis Tower, but that was the beauty of the building.

Kyle flipped his hand and pointed in the direction of the tower. “You aren’t going to say anything about Willis?”

I shrugged. “No, should I? It’s tall. Come on.”

We crossed the river, and I kept walking. I tried to hide the fact that I was struggling, huffing and taking overly deep breaths. I should have called a car or flagged a taxi. But Kyle had said walking tour. I was overthinking everything again.

We reached the first location I wanted to show Kyle. I stopped at the corner of East Wacker and North Wabash. “The Jewelers Building. It has these classic revival temples at the top. Fun fact,the ones on the four corners are to hide water tanks. Chicago is full of these rooftop temples. I simply adore them.”

I pointed down the street, where the next building I wanted to show Kyle was clearly visible. “And there’s the Tribune Tower. The top of it looks like a Gothic cathedral complete with flying buttresses.”

I continued down Wacker and turned onto the bridge before stopping.

“You wanted to show me the DuSable Bridge?” he asked.

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