Page 59 of Forbidden Desire

Josie giggles at him as he pulls his hands away from his face. I’m already feeling at ease with her being here with me, and I haven’t even brought her to the daycare yet. This morning I was a bundle of nerves as I got her dressed for the day, knowing it would be her first day here. I know it’s the best decision. It’s a great daycare, and she’s close by, and my job covers most of the cost, but the idea of Marco being in the same building as her, no matter how big, is weighing on me.

I swipe my security badge and walk through the metal turnstile, carefully lifting Josie up and over it. I wave a quick goodbye to Dominic and make my way to the elevators to head up to the daycare.

“This is mama’s work,” I say softly, as she takes in the sights.

“Ma-maaaa,” she says.

“That’s right.”

We ride up the elevator to the floor the daycare is on and I walk inside. The same woman I talked to before greets me warmly.

“Hello! It’s great to see you again, Ms. Gunner. We are so happy your little one will be joining us.”

“Me too,” I say, bouncing Josie on my hip.

“Aren’t you a cutie,” says the woman, leaning in closer and giving Josie a little tickle that makes her laugh.

I feel like I’m holding my breath as the woman takes a closer look, as if she will somehow know that she’s Marco’s baby. I wonder if I’m the only one sees it. The only one besides Marco. She doesn’t look at me any different as she heads back behind the desk.

“I have all your paperwork in order and your emergency contacts. Looks like I have everything I need.” She scans her eyes over her computer screen before looking back to Josie. “Are you ready for some fun, Josie?”

She comes back around the desk and holds out her arms. Thankfully, Josie reaches over for her and lets her take her from me with no qualms. She’s always been a pretty easy-going baby. I’m lucky with that.

“I might come back around lunchtime to visit,” I say.

“Come anytime you want,” says the woman.

“Thank you,” I tell her.

I give Josie a wave and walk out the door, not wanting to stretch out our goodbye any longer in case she changes her mind. I step outside and watch from the window for a moment to see how she settles in. She’s brought back to the baby area where there’s a little story time going on, even though most of the babies are just rolling around or playing with their toes. Josie crawls around,occasionally looking at the pictures in the book. She seems happy. I smile and turn toward the elevators to head to my floor.

As soon as the elevator doors open, I can sense tension in the air. It must mean that Marco is still on a warpath. Yesterday, I heard he was back after some time off, and that he was not to be messed with. I stayed in my cubicle for most of the day for fear of running into him. I know I’m to blame for the foul mood he is in.

“Better get to your cubicle,” says Jose, walking up alongside me. “The Shark is out for blood again today.”

“Still?” I ask warily.

“Oh, yes. Did you hear? Yesterday he made Angela from accounting cry.”

“Angela?”

She was one of the sweetest people here, and has been here almost as long as I have. I can’t imagine someone even thinking about being cruel to her.

“Yup. I guess she asked for a promotion…”

“Well deserved,” I say.

“Definitely. But Mr. Vallejo didn’t like it.”

“It’s not like he can’t afford it,” I mutter.

“Exactly.” Jose rolls his eyes.

“Poor Angela…” I say, looking around at the rest of the office. Everyone has their heads down working, looking terrified. It’s ridiculous. And unfair. He can’t take our mess out on everyone else.

“I don’t know how you worked for him for as long as you did,” says Jose.

“It was only a few weeks.” I laugh.

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