Page 14 of For The Days We Can't Forget

That was why I was walking into the company with Sofia while all I wanted to do was drink until I passed out.

As soon as we stepped inside, Gabe came running to us, his little arms already wide.

“Fee!” They embraced as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. “I brought my play dough. Come on.”

“Aren’t you forgetting anything, Gabe?” Haley admonished.

He looked around, finally noticing me. He smiled brightly and raised his little hand at me. “Hello, Mr. Danny. How are you?”

I kneeled in front of him and shook his hand. “I’m very fine, thank you. How about you?”

“I’m fine, too. Did you see Zachy again? I want to know when he’s coming back.”

I peered up at Haley, who squeezed her eyes in pain and put her hand over her mouth to keep herself from crying. Both his question and her reaction were a punch to the stomach, and I had no clue how to deal with it.

“I haven’t, buddy.” What else could I say?

“It’s okay. He must be busy. If you see him, let me know. I need to show him my drawings.” Leaving the adults speechless, yet oblivious to his mother’s turmoil, he grabbed Sofia by the hand, and they ran to one of the rooms we prepared for them.

I stood up, and Haley’s eyes were still closed, this time with tears streaming down her face. I pulled her into my arms, feeling completely useless to do anything else.

“I miss him so much,” she whispered between silent sobs. “I wasted so much time, we could’ve been together for longer.”

“Shh.” I hugged her tighter. “You guys had your story, and it was beautiful in its own way.”

She sobbed. “I loved him. Ilovehim.”

“And he knew that. Everyone did. I think this is the hardest thing we’ve ever endured, but we need to—”

I was interrupted by loud voices coming from down the hall. I let go of Haley, who looked worried. “Mia has a client with her.” We couldn’t discern what was being said, but it was clear a man was very unhappy.

I marched to her office, ready to tackle whoever was bothering her, clients be damned. I arrived at her door and saw her staring annoyingly at a heavy man, who was an unhealthy shade of red as he spewed his indignation at whatever. I didn’t want to intrude; she was more than capable of handling things. So, I waited outside.

“I won’t accept this kind of disrespect from you, young lady. I came to you because people claimed this company was the best, but this is preposterous.” He was wheezing in anger.

“What do you understand by ‘being the best?’” Mia asked with a hint of boredom and clasped her hands, lacing her fingers in front of her. “Someone who will say anything you want? Because if that’s what you’re looking for, then I have bad news. Well,” she snorted and tapped the papers on the table, “morebad news.”

“Do you expect me to believe my wife and my brother are having an affair?”

“And you expect me to believe that you don’t?” she countered promptly. “You came to usbecauseyou were suspicious. Just because you don’t like what I brought, it doesn’t mean I didn’t do a great job. It’s quite the opposite, actually. I’ve done anoutstandingjob. Not only did I confirmyoursuspicion, but I also uncovered they’ve been scamming you out of money. And these,” she slid a huge file toward him over the table, “are the proof. Now you can divorce her sorry ass, sue them for whatever, and keep your beloved money. But if you wanted someone to cuddle and tell you how much your wife loves you, then you should indeed have looked for someone else,” she advised as she placed her right elbow on the desk.

“I’m going to leave a complaint with your superior.” Her scoff urged him on. “You better be more respectable and do your job right. Otherwise, I’m leaving.”

Her hand supported her head as she rolled her eyes. “Let me see what my superiors have to say.” Sheclicked, clicked, clickedon her computer. Picked up her phone to talk to someone. After a one-sided conversation—which wasn’t even real—she interlaced her fingers again. “I spoke to them and explained your situation.” She clicked her tongue in mock regret. “It turns out that we don’t care.”

The man raised from the chair, ready to advance on Mia, who stayed seated and kept her sorriest expression in place. That was my cue to intervene.

When the man noticed me—and my big frame—he sat back down, losing some of his colors. At those moments, I loved that I could intimidate someone. I hated that I needed to do that for men like him to respect her.

“Can I help you with anything?”

“Is she your employee?” He regained some of his stupidity. “Her treatment is abysmal, and I’d like to state a formal complaint.”

“I’m sorry, I think you got it wrong. I’m Daniel Delgado. I’mheremployee.” His beady eyes rounded bigger. “She has no superior. Actually, her surname is right outside, in the company name. But if she’s okay with it, I’d love to help.”

The man looked at Mia again in shock, and she just smiled, her eyes unimpressed. He lost his fight and let out a few broken words. Mia was reaching her limit with the jerk, so I explained to him what she’d already toldhim and confirmed what was in the file she handed him. Only then did he seem to accept his situation.

After I saw him out, I checked on the kids, then went back to her office and sat in the chair in front of her desk. “So, we don’t care if he leaves, huh?”

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