Page 14 of Beneficial Misfortune

Her words register with me a beat too late, and before I can stop her, Addison is pushing the door open.

Nathaniel is, in fact, in the middle of a meeting. He stands at the head of the table across the room from us, the floor-to-ceiling glass window at his back. The view of the city from here is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, but I don’t really have time to appreciate it when all heads turn toward us.

I attempt to swallow the lump in my throat, but when Nathaniel looks up, and his eyes meet mine across the room, well, I might as well be choking on it.

The annoying click of heels on the floor stops right next to us, and the secretary stands at my side.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Lawson, I tried to stop her,” she says with a huff, having the audacity to glare down at Addison.

Yeah, I don’t like her.

“Nonsense, Anna. My daughter is always welcome, you know this,” he says, waving her off. She opens her mouth as if to say something before snapping it closed again.

“Yes, sir,” she says, looking down at her feet, and my eyes flick to her feet as well.

Well, no wonder she couldn’t catch her. Those heels are so damn high it’s a wonder she could go as fast as she did.

Addison drops my hand and takes off around the table, right into her father's waiting arms.

I swear it doesn’t matter how often I see them do this, it’s always adorable. Or at least I think it is. Apparently, the secretary doesn’t seem to agree because she huffs.

Addison is talking a mile a minute about her day, telling Nathaniel every detail before finally holding up her sucker like a trophy to show him. He shakes his head, teasing her about her love of sugar before setting her back on her feet. She quickly unwraps her treat and pops it in her mouth, clearly having only waited to eat it to show him.

He stands back at his impressive height and turns his gaze to me. His eyes aren’t the only ones on me, and I fight the urge to squirm under the weight of all of them.

I want to apologize for the interruption or say something, but my body won’t cooperate, so instead, I stand frozen.

“Thank you for bringing her,” he says, reaching out to place his hand on her head, and his words seem to remind Addison that I’m here. She ducks out from under his hand and hurries back to me.

“Anna, please show Kat to my office,” he says without looking away from me, and her head snaps up.

“Sir…” she says, but whatever else she’d planned to say is cut short when he turns his gaze to her. She doesn’t say another word, but it doesn’t take a genius to know she’s not happy about it.

“I won’t be too much longer, Kat,” he says, offering me the barest hint of a smile, and damn it, it could take all night for all I care. Between the way his attention heats my blood and‌ the unease I feel being the center of attention, I’m more than happy to get away.

“This way,” Anna grumbles, turning away and heading down the hall without so much as glancing back to see if I’m following.

“Come on, Ms. Kat. We can play chess while we wait!” Addison says excitedly, and with nothing to say, I follow her.

I'm not sure how I lost to a five-year-old, but it happened.

When Addison said we could play chess, I expected one of two things: either for her to want to play with the pieces and have no idea what chess actually is or for her to know the basic rules and for us to just have fun.

That’s my fault for underestimating her.

“Want to play again?” she asks as we reset the board, but before I can decide, the door to the office swings open, and Nathaniel walks in. Just like that, chess is forgotten.

“Daddy, I won!” she shouts, hopping up and sprinting toward him.

“Don’t run with the sucker in your mouth, Addy!” I call out on instinct before realizing I’ve just corrected her behavior in front of her father.

Addison might be my student, but we’re not in school, and I’m overstepping.

Addison slows to a walk, still making her way toward him, and his brow arches slightly.

“Sorry,” I mumble to him, feeling embarrassed.

He doesn’t say anything, simply crouching down for Addison.

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