Chapter 34
Marco
I turn on the shower and step in, not even waiting for it to heat up.
I need the cold water to wake me up after another sleepless night.
Another night tossing and turning in my bed, thinking about Erica.
About Josie. I’m riddled with guilt over what I said to Erica.
It clearly caused enough damage for her to not want anything to do with me. That was the point, wasn’t it?
It was the point until I saw my daughter in person in that daycare.
Now, my whole life has changed and I can’t stop thinking about her.
I can’t stop thinking about the hate-filled words I spewed at Erica because of my anger.
The words that have probably ruined any chance I have of being in Josie’s life.
I stupidly thought a huge bouquet of roses and an apology card would make things right, but I haven’t heard from Erica.
I know she received them because she signed for them.
But it’s been three days and nothing. I haven’t seen her since I saw her and her brother in the lobby, and I’ve done all but walk to her cubicle at work.
I’ve spent a little extra time in the lobby when I arrive, hoping to catch her on her way in.
I’ve walked the floor, hoping to run into her.
I’ve even taken my lunch break in the breakroom, hoping she’d be there, but I was only left with my employees eyeing me warily as they bit into their cold sandwiches.
I just want to talk to her, to apologize in person.
It was my hope the flowers would soften her up a little, but I know I need to do more than send a bouquet.
I need to grovel. If there’s any chance of seeing Josie again, I have to go through her mother, the woman I was falling for before everything became so complicated.
Tiredly, I step out of the shower and reach for a towel to dry off.
The chill of the water helped a little, but I know I’ll need a few shots of espresso to make it through today.
I have another meeting with Brock Wellington, and I’m hoping he’s decided to sign a lease and invite me to be a partner.
It’s a big day, and I can’t screw it up.
I wish my heart was more in it, but it seems like I left it on the floor of the daycare days ago.
I want to go back and see Josie, but I know it will raise a few questions from staff.
It’s so hard to stay away, knowing she’s in the same building as me.
Knowing she’s just an elevator ride away is tempting, but I don’t want to cross any lines with Erica, further pissing her off.
I also don’t need speculation swirling around me, as I hope to close this deal today.
The situation of me being a father to a baby I didn’t know about is delicate, and any leaks to the press could not only ruin my reputation, but affect Josie and Erica as well.
I know my only way in is to get on Erica’s good side again. Knowing how stubborn she is from when she first started working for me, I know it won’t be easy. She was fiercely protective of the newspaper. I can’t imagine what she’s like when it comes to protecting her own daughter.
Quickly, I dress for work, checking the time on my watch. I have to leave here in five minutes if I want to get to the lobby early. I want to try my luck again to run into Erica when she arrives. So far I’m 0 for 3, but maybe today is the day.
But as I meander around the lobby for twenty minutes, trying to look like I have a reason to be there, my hope that I’ll run into her starts to dwindle.
I’m tired of the receptionist looking at me curiously, and of security eyeing me like I might be up to no good even though I own the place.
Erica must be coming even earlier or coming in late.
I’m sure she’s trying to avoid any run-ins with me, when it’s the one thing I want. I need.
I glance at my watch. My meeting is in thirty minutes, and I still have to do last-minute prep.
I sigh, giving up and heading toward the elevator.
I know I could just call her into my office, or go see her in her department, but I frustratedly can’t seem to take the first step.
It seems I’m as stubborn as her, but my desperation is starting to get the best of me.
I might have to soon, or my guilt and newfound love for my daughter will overtake me.
“Mr. Vallejo, you’re here,” says Jessica, standing from her desk and joining me on the short walk to my office. “Mr. Wellington is early. I tried calling you…”
“What? Where is he?” I ask, looking around.
“He’s already in your office.”
“Thank you, Jessica,” I say dismissively.
Why the hell would she not try harder to get a hold of me? And why the hell did she think him waiting in my office was a good idea? I’ll have to take it up with her later, but now I need to focus on closing this deal. I’m already off to a bad start. I feel like I’m late, even though he was early.
I find Brock in my office standing with his hands behind his back as he looks at the framed photos on my shelf. I clear my throat to let him know I’ve arrived. He turns to face me with a smile tugging at the corner of his lip.
“Ahh, you’re here,” he says, checking the time on his watch. “I guess since you own the place, you can come and go as you please.”
“Had I known you’d be early, I would have changed my morning schedule around.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He waves me off before turning back to look at the photos.
He picks one up and I grimace at the one he chose.
It’s a photo of my father and me years ago when I first started out.
He’s standing next to me with no genuine sense of pride as I uncomfortably stand rigid next to him in one of his suits that I borrowed.
It was one of the last photos we took together before he died.
“I met your father once, you know…” says Brock.
“Really?” I ask, taken aback.
“It was at a conference years ago. I used to look up to him so much.”
“Then you must not have really known him,” I say, taking a seat behind my desk.
Brock places the photo back on the shelf.
“I always wanted to get into business with him, but I was young. He would never take a chance on someone like me, just starting out.”
“He hardly took chances on anyone, really.”
“Not even you?”
“Especially me.” I laugh softly.
“He was a hard-ass then?”
“Ass, yes.”
Brock laughs and takes the seat across from me.
“My father was hard on me, too. I think it’s what helped me gain my success. I was always trying to prove myself.”
“I wonder if all CEOs share the same sob story,” I say.
“Daddy issues.”
“I’ll say.”
“When I become a dad, I’m going to do the opposite,” says Brock thoughtfully.
“Mmm,” I say quietly.
“What about you? Any plans for settling down and having kids? We aren’t getting any younger.”
If only he knew I already had one.
“I’m not sure,” I say. And I mean it. I don’t have any idea if I’ll be able to be a part of Josie’s life. Right now, it’s not looking good.
“If I do have kids, I’m going to try like hell to not screw them up,” I say, thinking of Josie’s heart-shaped face and mocha eyes peering at me through dark lashes.
“Amen,” says Brock with a nod and a smile.
I wonder if this little bonding we are having is going to help me close the deal. Maybe Jessica letting him in my office early helped. It gave him a chance to look at the photos on my shelf, striking up this very conversation.
“You’re a good man,” says Brock. “I know what everyone says about you. The whole Shark thing, but I can see you’re not just a man of business. Which is why I want to make this deal with you.”
I try not to let the smile I’m holding back come through my poker face.
“I know we can do great things together,” I say, holding out my hand.
He takes it and shakes it firmly. “I’ll have my lawyer draw up the papers and have them sent over next week. Then we can hammer out the finer details.”
“I look forward to it.”
Brock nods and stands from his chair, taking another look around my office.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sure your father is proud of you. Whether he’s looking down at you…”
“Or up.” I smirk.
“Either way. You’ve built yourself an empire. I look forward to being a part of it.”
He opens the door and slips outside, closing it behind him. When I’m sure he’s really gone, I throw my fist up in the air in silent celebration. It was not at all the meeting I had expected or planned for, but it had gone better than I imagined.
Now, if only I can have that smooth of a conversation with Erica. I know I’m dreaming. Luck isn’t that good of a friend to me, but at least my spirits are lifted temporarily. At least I have a pretty big distraction to try and get my mind off of my personal life.
I pick up my phone and call my mother, the one person I always call to celebrate my wins, big or small.
“Buenas dias, mi amor,” she answers the phone warmly.
“How are you, Mama?”
“Just fine. I’m heading to bridge club soon.”
“Oh right, it’s Thursday,” I say, looking at the calendar on my desk that coincides with my mother’s.
“I have a little time to talk though.”
“Great. I just closed a big deal.”
“It’s barely 10 a.m. and you’re already doing so well, Marco. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Mama. Can we celebrate tonight? Dinner?”
“Only if it’s at our spot.” I hear her smile through the phone.
“I’ll pick you up at seven,” I say before hanging up.
Later, my mother and I sit at a corner table after placing our order for tamales and horchata. I would have loved to treat her to the new Michelin Star restaurant, but I know my mother isn’t into those things. She likes comfortability. Simple things. She reminds me of Erica in that way.
I’m still peeved I didn’t run into her today.
I tried and failed the breakroom again, vowing to not do it again.
I can only take so much of seeing how paranoid people are in my presence, and I miss going out to lunch.
She must have stayed late or cut out early because she wasn’t in the lobby when I loitered there.
“What’s troubling you? I thought this was a celebration.”
Of course, my mother sees right through me.
“Nothing, Mama.”
“Mhmmm…” she says, unconvinced. “Is it that girl?”
“What girl?”
“The one I met in your office. The one you say nothing is going on with.”
“Nothing is.” I sigh. “It’s my fault…I said some things…”
My mother reaches for my hand. “Sometimes you let your emotions get the best of you, mijo. Something you get from your father.”
I grimace.
“It’s not always a bad thing, though. I know when you find love, it will bring out the best emotions in you. Just don’t be so quick to cut people out of your life. Okay?”
I nod, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. I know I need to find Erica and make things right. I just have to get up the guts to do it.