Page 37

Her tears soaked my sweater, but I didn’t let go.Not even when she cried all she could.Not even when she just leaned into me, seeking comfort I’m not sure she’d received since her parents died.
I murmured softly in her ear, telling her I understood.That it was okay to cry.And that I wouldn’t leave her.
When I finally looked up to the sliding glass door, I saw Marci and Gina there… and Lux.
She came home early.
I don't know how long she’d been standing there, but it took me by surprise.I didn’t move a muscle.Not until Bella was completely relaxed in my arms.
I stared into Lux’s eyes the whole time, and I could see she was pissed.At me, at the situation, at… Who knows?
I don’t give a shit.This little girl needs me.
Gina and Marci made themselves scarce, sensing the tension.
Small snores came from Bella, making my heart hurt even more for her.How long has she been holding that in?She cried so hard, she exhausted herself.I pulled away enough to look at her, noticing her eye bags.
Does she have trouble sleeping?
“I’ll take it from here,” Lux said, coming out to the patio and carefully grabbing Bella from me.
“It’s okay.She’ll want me to be here when she wakes up so I can?—”
“You can meet me in my office,” she replied pointedly, her gaze telling me that I fucked up.
I bit my tongue, watching her as she took Bella to her room.Her facial expression was unreadable.
“Well,” I said with an embarrassed smile as I passed my coworkers.“I’m likely getting fired.It was nice working with you.Can you point me in the direction of her office?”
Marci saluted me while Gina gave me a pitiful look before replying, “Take the hallway, second door on the right.”
“Good luck,” she whispered, and I just nodded.
Lux’s office was so obviously hers.Large black bookcases with more knickknacks on them than books.A dark desk with an expensive-looking chair and a closed laptop on top.The windows showed the mess of our painting disaster outside.
I walked up to the desk, my eyes narrowing in on the only picture frame there.
I turned it around, my breath catching when I took in the picture of Lux, baby Bella… and probably her sister.They had the same hair and eye color, though her sister’s features were rounder.
The door clicked open and shut, the sound ringing throughout the silent office, and I quickly put the frame back in its position.
“She had a hard day in school and I think it’s all finally coming out now.She needed the cry?—”
Her hands were on me, turning me around and forcing my butt against the desk.I looked up at her in shock.The anger in her eyes had my heart dropping.
“It’s your second day and you’re already making her cry?Even the shittiest one from your agency didn’t make her cry.What the fuck did you do?”
“Excuse me?”I asked, my voice raising.
“You heard me.Fuck, I should have fired you when I had the chance.”
I cocked my head to the side.
“What happened to Mrs.Bella Needs You, huh?”I asked.“Kids cry, Lux.Especially kids whose parents fucking died, and based on what I just saw, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve never even hugged the child.”
I knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words were out of my mouth.
Her hand was on my jaw, her body pushing into mine, forcing me to lean back into the desk.She fit snugly between my legs, but that wasn’t the most damning thing.