24. Cecelia
Icouldn’t believe the tote bag Sterling sent over. It was two-toned leather and gorgeous. There was no way I would be able to haul my stuff to work in it and pass it off as a thrift shop find. I felt like an idiot just petting it, but it was the most luxurious thing I had ever owned.
The phone with his number already programmed, that was a nice touch too.
As much as I professionally knew there needed to be distance between us, my heart pounded with joy at the sound of his voice. After I got off the phone with him, I went to the mall and bought myself a tote bag. The one I ended up with wasn’t nearly as nice, and it cost about a thousand times less. But I needed a bag, and Sterling’s gift, as outrageously expensive as it was, reminded me that I really needed a bag.
I stroked the side of the fabulous Hermès bag before I left for work, the cell phone that was just for him tucked inside. I had a day of making reports and following up on services that were needed for Hector and his family.
When I got into the office, Peggy was there. My gut clenched. She had betrayed me to get to my client. That’s the only explanation I could think of. Why else tell Greta the very things I was going to include in my report?
“Anything interesting happening in your world?” she asked with a sing-song voice.
I shook my head. “No, should there be?”
A sense of guilt washed over me. There was no possible way she could have known that Sterling sent me an expensive gift. She shrugged and rolled her eyes. Her lips pinched in a weird smile, like she was keeping a secret.
“No, nothing is going on. Look, Peggy, am I even allowed to ask you how the baby is doing?”
“What baby?” she asked.
Really? She was pretending to not know who I was talking about, yet she was playing games like she knew some secret. I wasn’t about to let her know there was a secret that I wasn’t telling her. That was between Sterling and me.
“That’s how it’s gonna be? Got it,” I said. I wasn’t in the mood to play her games. “Not my client, not my information.”
I sat down and began organizing my files. My new work-specific tote bag was going to make my work life a lot easier.
“That’s a nice bag,” Peggy said, pausing as she strolled past my desk.
“Thanks.” I didn’t feel like telling her I got it at the strip mall and that if I had gotten it at the department store, it would have cost me twice as much. And I didn’t need to confess I was carrying it because there was no way I was going to carry a five-thousand-dollar Hermès bag that was gifted to me.
I pasted a fake smile on my face and told myself there was no possible way she knew. None whatsoever. If she had those kinds of resources, there was no way she would be stuck in a job like this.
And yes, barely two months into this job, I was feeling stuck. It wasn’t the work, it was the bureaucracy and the ridiculous situation of being stuck without computers and making photocopies in triplicate. A situation I had been told more than once would be getting fixed any day now.
When I didn’t give Peggy whatever it was she wanted from me, she left in a bit of a huff.
I wrote my reports. I made my calls. I even had a short visit with Lucille. I brought her a delivery of some groceries, and we spent the time reviewing all the different grocery store pick up and delivery options within a ten-mile driving distance. She had more than her hands full with taking care of her son. She didn’t need to spend hours at the grocery store when with a few clicks, she could have what she needed delivered.
The first thing I did when I got home was rush into my room to see if the bag was still there. The box sat on my bed where I left it, and inside, the silk bag that held the leather tote. It hadn’t been a dream. It was real. I stroked the supple leather. I picked up the phone where I had left it in the box, next to the bag. A single message said, call me.
There was a knock on my door just as I was about to press Call. I left everything on my bed and crossed the apartment and opened the door.
“Delivery for Miss Harrison.”
“That’s me,” I said. The delivery guy didn’t look like mail delivery, and there were no flowers. “I wonder what I ordered. I buy so much stuff online, I forget. That ever happen to you?”
He handed over a zoo gift shop bag. “Not that kind of order. Have a good evening.”
I took the bag and closed the door. I carried the new present back to the bedroom and picked up the phone again. It rang three times.
“What did you send me?” I asked as I opened the bag.
“So you got it? Do you like it?” Sterling was laughing on the other end of the call.
I pulled a gorilla figurine out of the bag. It was made from recycled flip-flops in Africa. I had admired it the day of our zoo trip. There was something oddly adorable about it.
“You remembered,” I said. “Thank you. You shouldn’t have.”
“No, I should have. I should have that day.”
“Sterling…” I didn’t know what to say.
“Are you going to come back to us?” he asked. “And don’t say you can’t. I miss you. Georgie misses you.”
“I miss you too. But…”
“I know, I know, work. They don’t have to know. You are allowed to have a private life, aren’t you?”
I sighed. It felt like I wasn’t allowed to have the private life I wanted.
“Supposedly. But who has time, right?” I tried to joke.
“If we both happen to be at the same place at the same time, your job can’t fault you for that, can they?”
“What are you thinking about, Sterling?” I asked.
“Meet us someplace. This weekend. There’s a park. No one from your work will run into us there.” His voice was soothing and convincing. “Georgie would love to see you. She’s walking more. You know you want to see her.”
He knew what he was doing. He knew my weakness. I adored that child.
“Fine,” I acquiesced. “I’ll meet you. We can have a picnic. You’re bringing the food.”
“You’re a demanding woman.”
I laughed. I missed his sarcastic wit. “That’s part of the job. I have to tell you what to do because you don’t know anything.”
“I’m not your client anymore, remember?” he teased.
“Unfortunately. Thanks for the reminder.” I flopped back on my bed. “I don’t know if this is such a good idea.”
“You can’t back out on me now,” Sterling said. “You already agreed. You don’t want to break Georgie’s little heart.”
“She doesn’t know,” I said.
“Maybe not, but if she did. Everything will be fine, Cecelia.”
“What did you do today?” I didn’t want to focus on my paranoid concerns that Peggy was somehow following me.
“I found a nanny. At least I think I did. The first person the other agency sent over. And Georgie seems to like her. She’ll start part-time as soon as she passes a background check.”
“I thought nanny agencies already did all of that, you know, bonding and background checks,” I said.
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “They do. Ms. Stanholt wants any nanny to have a background check run through you guys.”
That didn’t make any sense. Why do redundant work? I think I kept Sterling talking just so I could hear his voice. The weekend seemed so far away. It was going to be days before I got a chance to see him. And it was going to be in a park, so I wouldn’t get to touch him or kiss him.
“I miss you,” I blurted out.
“That’s what I keep telling you, Cecelia. I miss you too. It’s not the same here without you ordering me around.”
I laughed. “You make it sound like I’m the one in charge.”
“You are, aren’t you? In charge of knowing how to take care of Georgie, in charge of pointing out all the things I don’t know.”
God, his words were so sexy. “I’m not in charge of anything, least of all you.”
“I like it when you tell me what to do.”
I felt a blush heat my cheeks. “Sterling, are you flirting with me?”
“Most definitely. You could come over now, you know. We could have dinner, you could play with the baby, help me put her to bed.”
That’s how he seduced me the first time. “That’s how we got into trouble last time.” I giggled.
“I wouldn’t call that trouble. And if that’s trouble, it’s worth it. You’re worth it.” His voice was a rumble that made my toes curl.