6. Callie

The little girl stared up at me with huge green eyes, then she lifted a hand to her mouth and started toying with her lower lip.

“Hi.”

“Hello,” I repeated. I lifted my head and glanced around but there was no one around in the room or in the hallway. How did a random child end up in my cubicle?

“Who are you?” I asked, growing nervous that I was about to have my very own Shining moment. “Are your parents around?”

“I’m Marie!” She gave me a very toothy grin, then pulled herself up onto her knees and clung to the back of my chair as she yelled “Dad!”

“What is it, sweetheart?”

Out of Sawyer’s office stepped an incredibly handsome man and for a moment, my breath caught in my throat. With golden skin, thick back hair, and striking green eyes, the man hurried toward Marie and flashed me a dazzling smile of white teeth that softly crinkled the corner of his eyes. A few strands of hair swept across his forehead as he scooped Marie up, wrinkling his gray shirt in the process.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t think anyone would be here this early.”

Hearing his warm, slightly scratchy voice dragged me out of my oh no he’s hot stupor and I smiled. “You’re Liam, right? Liam Hall?”

He looked incredible. So different from the last time I saw him well over a year ago. Back then he was a little thinner, more gaunt from a wild life of partying and drinking with little care for those around him. Last I’d heard, he was trying to turn his life and from the looks of things, he’d been successful.

“Yes, that’s right,” Liam replied, shamelessly glancing me up and down with an appreciative smile. “And you are?”

Warmth flooded my cheeks and I straightened my posture slightly as I shrugged off my coat. “Callie?—”

“Callie!” Liam exclaimed. “That’s right! It’s so good to see you. You look fantastic.”

There was no hiding the blush from my cheeks, not when it swept down my throat, and this early in the morning, I couldn’t even blame the heat of the office.

“Thanks. So do you.” And he did.

“I’m here for Sawyer. He sent me an email about looking over papers and signing things so of course I flew back here as soon as I could. And this adorable thing comes with me everywhere.” Liam’s attention shifted to Marie who sat silently in his arms, staring at me curiously.

“She’s adorable,” I smiled. “How old is she?”

“I’m eight,” Marie replied immediately, catching me off guard. Given her height, I’d presumed she was a lot younger and the surprise must have been evident on my face given how Liam laughed.

“Yeah, we get that a lot. She plays into it sometimes. The number of free meals for under-5s we’ve gotten away with is kind of insane.”

“Enjoy it while you can,” I chuckled. “I was a tiny kid for years as well, then as soon as I became a teenager I sprouted.”

“I can tell,” Laim remarked with an appreciative glance. “Puberty was kind.”

My cheeks turned to fire at that remark so I quickly turned away to my desk. Not that it helped. Liam’s gaze burned into me even with my back turned.

“Sawyer won’t be here for another twenty minutes I’m afraid, unless you arranged to meet earlier?”

“No, I just turned up,” Liam replied. “The security guard at the front didn’t believe I was me so I had to go through a hundred security checks just to get in here. Was it always this intense?”

A few buttons presses and my computer blinked into life. “It’s gotten stronger in recent months, but you do look very different from the last time you were here.” I turned back and smiled. “He probably just wanted to be careful.”

“He asked Daddy if he was a spy,” Marie giggled as Liam set her down back in the chair.

“Was it Walt?” I asked. “Older guy with a mustache?”

“Yeah,” Liam grinned. “Is he security crazy?”

“You could say that. Last Christmas, someone sent a Secret Santa gift but the label had fallen off so Walt made us evacuate under safety concerns, and it turned out just to be a box of gingerbread cookies. I think since then he’s been trying to make up for it by being extra secure.”

“You know, the Walts of the world are the real heroes,” Liam said, sliding up next to me.

“It’s true,” I agreed, meeting his gaze as the sweet scent of vanilla mixed with coffee soothed my senses. “What would we do without them.”

“So, Sawyer. What kind of mood should I expect?”

“That depends.” I looked him over, from the fluff of his hair down to the shadow of facial hair gracing his sharp jaw. “When did you last see him?”

Liam puffed out his cheeks and glanced at Marie, who shrugged. “Uncle Sawyer hasn’t visited in ages.”

“It’s true,” Liam mused. “But the merger, it’s good, right?”

“Are you interrogating my assistant so you can pretend you read the briefing I sent you?” Sawyer’s sharp tones cut across the conversation. Liam and I straightened up from where we were leaning and spun to face him as he strode closer. His suit jacket was secured with one button, and he carried a briefcase in his left hand.

“Sir.”

“Hey,” Liam chuckled. “I’m merely getting to know who you have working here.”

Sawyer’s sharp gaze darted between the two of us, lingering on the sliver of a gap between our shoulders. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was annoyed at Liam being next to me but as soon as I considered that, I could hear Bianca’s voice in my ear.

Wishful thinking.

Sawyer grunted on his way past and as we followed him, I paused and glanced at Marie.

“Have you eaten?” I asked her.

Marie shook her head.

I turned my attention back to Liam. “If you want, I can take her to get some breakfast while you two talk business?”

“Perfect,” Liam smiled, then he threw his arm around Sawyer’s shoulder in a move that was so casual I half expected Sawyer to snap him in half. “She’s allergic to nuts!” It was rather alien to see Sawyer being treated so casually.

“No problem.” As Liam all but dragged Sawyer into his own office, I turned to Marie and held out my hand. “Hungry?”

“Yes!” She nodded quickly and immediately took my hand when she slid from the chair. “Can we have chocolate?”

“I’m not so sure we have anything like that this early but let’s see, shall we?”

Down in the cafeteria, only the other early birds were milling about waking themselves up with breakfast and coffee. Standing in line, I spotted some chocolate croissants pre-packaged and poured over their ingredient list to make sure there wasn’t a single trace of nuts anywhere near them. Marie busied herself getting some orange juice, and once I was satisfied these were safe to eat, I took her to a table and offered her breakfast.

“So you work for Uncle Sawyer?” Marie asked, staring at me with big eyes over the edge of her cup.

Nursing my own mug of tea, I nodded. “I do.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m his personal assistant, so mostly, I’m his first line of defense against unwanted phone calls and visits,” I chuckled. “Then I help him keep a lot of his work in order. I make sure it’s neat and easy to find and that if he needs something when he’s busy, then I’ll be the one that can find it for him.”

“Do you like it?” she asked, spraying a mouthful of crumbs across the table.

“I do,” I nodded. “It’s fun and even though it might sound boring, no day is the same.”

“I want to work in a big building like this one day.” Marie munched quickly. “Dad says only boring people work here but I want a big office and a big desk and lots of plants to hide things in.”

I chuckled warmly, softened by her enthusiasm. “Is that how your mom works?” I asked, curious what her inspiration was for such a future.

“No, my mom is dead.”

Oh.

Tension impacted my chest with the force of a punch, and my throat burned as I fought not to choke on the mouthful of tea I was in the middle of swallowing.

“Oh,” I gasped hoarsely. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Marie shrugged casually. “She was sick.”

It came back to me like a lance through my mind. Of course. How could I have forgotten? The whole reason Liam stepped back from the company wasn’t because he was trying to fix his life. Not exactly. It was because of Marie.

A one-night stand turned up around two years ago, riddled with cancer and a child on her arm. His child. It had taken her that long to track him down. Liam had immediately ceased all parting activities and sobered up hard in a bid to help her. The day she had appeared in the office had been tense and Sawyer had almost accused her of being a honey pot until she presented proof.

Liam hadn’t backed down from her, and if memory served, he’d been rather saddened to learn he’d had a child out there all this time. When she passed, he immediately took time off to care for and get to know his daughter.

Sawyer had worked overtime in order to keep everything as private as possible, so private in fact that it had completely slipped my mind.

Never had I seen someone rise to the occasion so quickly or diligently. His daughter became his sole focus, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Liam were here just to sign on the dotted line immediately. After the struggle of Marie’s mother, he’d gained strong opinions on making sure people get healthcare regardless of salary.

“Did I say something wrong?” Marie paused eating, noticing my silence.

“No,” I assured her quickly. “Not at all. I was just thinking about you and your dad.”

“He’s funny, isn’t he?” Warmth filled her eyes as she resumed eating and my heart went out to her. Watching my own mother suffer was terrible and I was an adult. I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for a child.

“Yes. Do you like him?”

“He’s the best,” Marie grinned, quickly wiping away some stray chocolate at the corner of her mouth. “He doesn’t yell like mom used to, and he lets me into the office all the time.”

“It sounds like you two get on well.” At least in the eyes of an eight-year-old.

“Of course we do, silly. He’s my dad.”

Hearing such an innocent outlook on it when three days prior I had heard Sawyer be berated by his own father was slightly jarring, but I kept those emotions hidden and smiled warmly.

“Of course. And now you’re here on a holiday.”

“I like the city,” Marie said. “Everything’s so bright and colorful. Dad said he liked the city the most but when Mom left, he said it was better outside of the city because then we could do better things like school.” Marie stuck her tongue out and guzzled her orange juice down.

“School is important,” I said with a smile. “Especially if you want to work in a big building like this.”

Marie’s brow dipped. “That’s not good,” she muttered under her breath.

I laughed softly, and warmth bloomed in my chest. What a kid.

The rest of breakfast went smoothly, and I took Marie on a tour of some of the offices to kill some time. On our way back to Sawyer’s office, we ran into Liam, whose face broke into a huge smile the moment he saw Marie.

“Hey munchkin,” he chuckled, scooping her up into his arms when she ran at him.

“Daddy!”

“She wasn’t too much trouble I hope?”

“She was a charm,” I smiled.

“Good.” Liam looked me up and down once more and his lower lip curled between his teeth. “Thank you for watching her.”

“Any time.”

“Just hold onto that good feeling.”

“Why?” Immediately, the warmth in my chest faded.

Liam offered me a sympathetic smile. “Sawyer wants a word.”