Page 28 of The Boss and the Adoption Mess

"It was really nice meeting you. I hope you find the right candidate."

"Thank you." He walks me to the door. The moment it opens, and I step out of the office, I feel an overwhelming sense of relief.

Maybe I really should just go back to my parents in Scotland, now that there’s nothing keeping me here anymore…

I get into the elevator and ride it down to the ground floor. By the time I step out, I need to catch my breath. If I show up upstairs again now, Gabriel will almost certainly turn me down. And he definitely won’t let me take Rosie to the grocery store. That would just lead to endless drama.

Chapter 6

Gabriel

I drop Rosie off in my office. Sally brings her art supplies. She’s supposed to be the one watching Rosie so I can actually get some work done.

"Could you bring us some water? With ice?" I say to Sally, glancing at Rosie, who’s already arranging her colored pencils neatly on the coffee table. Water should be fine. I nod at Sally, who still looks rattled, and she leaves. I sit down across from Rosie, ready to have a serious talk with her.

"Am I in trouble now?" she asks, peeking up at me. I rest my hand on her head and smile.

"Sometimes that’s necessary." Even if it isn’t easy. "Imagine if you’d run in front of a car."

"I know I’m not allowed to cross the street."

"There are a lot of bad people out there, and I don’t want anything to happen to you. Because I love you very much. Do you understand?"

"Of course." She looks back down at her pencils and starts coloring a printed picture of a fairy. I run a hand through her long brown hair once more, then lean back.

"Sally was really worried too. Thankfully, Kim saw you outside. I’m glad you came back with her."

"I like her."

"Because she’d let you drink hot chocolate?"

"She’s nice. Not just because of the hot chocolate. She also has diabetes. And she thinks being a grown-up is stupid. That’s really cool."

Is that so? I can’t help smiling.

"Yeah, being an adult isn’t easy, that’s true." I sit down on the floor next to her, trying to catch her eye. Not easy when she keeps staring stubbornly at her drawing. "I’ll try to call your mom. Of course I won’t tell her you tried to run away. That’ll stayour little secret, okay?" She nods but looks at me uncertainly. "And then I’ll ask if the sweetener’s okay."

"But she doesn’t even know about that…" For a four-year-old, she picks up way too much.

"I still have to ask her. She’s your mom, after all."

"She hasn’t called in a whole week…"

Yeah. Ever since she dropped Rosie at my apartment, she’s been gone. Usually, she disappears for a day or two, but a whole week? Wherever my sister is, apparently checking on her daughter isn’t a priority.

"She’s busy. She does all this because she loves you. You understand that, right?"

I don’t like lying to her, but what else can I do? Tell her the truth? That would crush her.

"I heard her on the phone once. She said I’m very valuable to her…"

Well, at least that gives me something to work with.

"Yes, because you’re like treasure to her. The most valuable thing in her life."

"Because you give her money when I’m with her. And money’s the most important thing. As long as I’m with her, she gets money." She looks at me uncertainly.

Great. That blows up everything I just tried to explain.