Unlikely Allies (2 page)

He lifted his gaze and found the woman ushering Cece out the door. “Wait.”

Cece turned, beaming a huge smile at him. “I would a told ya bye.” And just as fast, her little face morphed from happy to perturbed, aimed at her mother, and with her arms crossed, Cece shook her head.

Without missing a beat, and as smooth as his mother would have, the woman redirected Cece. “Say good night to Mr. . . .”

“Stone, Rick Stone.”

She set a hand on Cece’s shoulder, nudging her and casting a do-what-your-mother-says
stare. “I have to get back to work. Say goodbye to Mr. Stone.”

“What’s your name?” He couldn’t let her get away that fast.

“Maggie.”

“Margareta Cassidy Tyson,” Cece shouted with emphasis, a pause between each distinction. “My mama works here.” She pointed toward the hall. “She plays on a phone and 'puter. It got
lotsa
buttons.” She shook her head, pigtails flinging back and forth over one shoulder then the other, followed by an overdrawn sigh. “She don’t let me push 'em. Don’t ya think I should get to push 'em? He let me push
his.
” Cece looked up at her mother and shot her arm toward him, her shrugging shoulders communicating, “See, everybody can do it. No big deal.”

Rick chuckled and then stopped when Maggie spun around, hands set on her hips. He rubbed his palm along the back of his neck and shifted from one foot to the other as an uncomfortable silence engulfed the room. “Let me explain.”

A
T THAT MOMENT, HERBERT LEAPT
out of Cece’s pocket and scurried toward his desk. Cece dove after the feisty rascal, crawling on her hands and knees.

He crouched down, his hands dangling from his bent legs and at the ready for the escapee. Cece caught Herbert by the scruff of his neck and came to a stop underneath his desk. She glanced up at him, shaking her head like an impatient mother. “He’s bein’ bad.” She crawled closer and plopped the squirming ball of fluff on top of his hand. “Ya take him.”

Before he could take hold, Cece’s mother plucked the mouse away. Helping her up off the floor, he grabbed Cece’s arm and pulled. As soon as she got to her feet, Cece extended her hand out to her mother.

Maggie held Herbert a foot above her daughter’s reach. “I told you to leave him at home.”

Cece’s other hand slipped into his, her fingers warm and a little damp. Maggie’s gaze dropped to their joined grasp. His did too. Cece’s little fingertips peeked out between his thumb and forefinger. A light squeeze in his palm brought him out of his stupor. Cece looked at him and jerked her head toward her mother a few times, whispering to him, “Tell her, 'kay? I didn’t do nothin’ bad.”

His shoulders stiffened as he faced Maggie, her pinched mouth and squinty eyes darting from Cece to him and back again multiple times. A look mothers perfected, causing even an adult male to cringe. He ran a billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions company, dealt with money-hungry investors, a demanding board of directors, his overbearing, power-crazy grandfather, and fifty quick-witted employees, yet one harsh stare from Maggie sent him in an unexplainable tailspin. No wonder Cece crossed one foot then the other back and forth while cowering into his side.

“Cece was looking for Herbert. He was on my keyboard, then he wasn’t. After a while, we found him on the floor. She saw my computer and pushed a few buttons. That’s what she was talking about.” He spit out his explanation as quickly as possible under her scrutinizing glare.

Maggie’s mouth fell open and shut several times. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” She handed the mouse back to Cece. “Put him in your pocket. There’s a box in my office we can put him in.” She took hold of her daughter’s arm and marched toward the exit.

“I’m hungry, Mama.” Cece’s growling stomach seemed to agree.

“I have some snacks in my bag, we’ll get them when we get back to the office, okay?”

Cece spun around to him. “Ya like hot dogs?”

He smirked at her out of the blue question. “As a matter of fact I do.”

“Ya wanna g—” Maggie’s hand covered Cece’s mouth, but the persistent wonder continued to speak, her garbled muffle asking, “eh smmm?”

The little dynamo tugged at her mother’s arm and wasn’t intimidated by him, yet staff who’d known him for years walked on eggshells even though he treated them well. In all the time he managed the business alongside his grandfather, replacing him after his retirement a couple years ago, none of his employees ever invited him anywhere, let alone to get something to eat.

Cece shoved Maggie’s arm, knocking it away from her mouth.

“Yes,” he replied before Cece could say anything else.

“No,” Maggie countered. “We’ll get out of your way now.” She tugged on Cece’s arm, but as soon as they crossed the threshold, Cece plopped down on her rear end, cementing herself to the floor.

“Mama, he says yeah.” Cece twisted toward him, her lower lip extended.

Rounding the desk, he approached them, both on the opposite ends of a tug of war. Maggie pulled as Cece leaned her full body weight in the opposite direction, her back an inch above the carpet. “Maggie, it’s no big deal. There’s a hot dog stand at the end of the block.”

In a swift maneuver executed better than any soldier in ground warfare, Cece rolled, leapfrogged, and dashed to his side again in less than two-point-five seconds. She grabbed his hand, shooting him a megawatt grin. He repeated the gesture.

Maggie threw her arms in the air, huffing out a huge breath. “I have work to do, Cece. There are plenty of snacks in my bag. That’ll do for now. When it’s time for my break, I’ll take you to the hot dog shack.”

“I know your boss, he wouldn’t mind. Get your daughter what she wants.”

Cece’s stomach growled louder and right on cue.

“I can’t leave the phones unanswered for too long. I was only supposed to take Cece to the bathroom and come right back.” Maggie glanced at her watch. “We’ve been gone for more than fifteen minutes. I have to go.
Now.
”

“I’ll get whatever she wants and bring it to you,” he offered.

“I wanna go.” Cece’s green eyes pleaded with him.

“No.” Maggie motioned to her daughter with a crook of her hand. “Mr. Stone is a busy man. Come on. Let me get back to work, and I’ll see what I can do about getting you a hot dog.”

Cece’s gaze dropped to the floor, and she shuffled over to her mother. She peeked back at him and trudged out the door. The complete devastation on Cece’s face made his chest hurt.

In a soft voice Maggie said, “Mr. Stone, Cece has to learn she can’t have her way all the time. This is a business, and she knows I have a job to do. She had dinner, so the snacks would’ve been enough.”

He raised his hands in surrender and nodded. Why was he getting involved in something that had nothing to do with him? He had tons of work to finish tonight, and he needed to focus on that—not them.

“You’re right.” He returned to his desk, flipping open a file and writing notes in the margins. What he jotted, he had no idea. He didn’t even see the words on the page. The image of Maggie still standing in the doorway was stuck in his peripheral vision.

“Have a nice night, Mr. Stone.”

He nodded, maybe grunted, and continued to scribble on the paper.

“Bye.” Cece’s disheartened farewell drifted from the hallway.

When he eventually looked up, a closed door locked him in—all alone.

R
ICK WAVED TO PAUL, THE
evening security guard, and exited the office building. Another midnight departure. It wasn’t that Rick noticed the time anymore; a fifteen-hour work day was common for him. Tonight though, he left with each task on his to-do list accomplished.

Dead tired, he focused on the parking garage across the street. At the walking signal, he jogged to the other side. Two huddled bodies in the bus stop enclosure captured his attention. “What are you doing?” He rushed toward them, stopping at the edge of the bench.

Maggie jolted and glowered at him. “You scared me half to death. I’m waiting for the bus.”

Was she out of her mind? “It’s not safe. You can’t even defend yourself. Not with a sleeping girl in your arms.”

Maggie rested her cheek on top of Cece’s. “I don’t have a choice.”

“You could have caught a cab.”

She tilted her chin up, shot him an agitated brow, and buried her face against Cece’s. “It’s far. It would’ve been too expensive.”

“I’ll drive you. Where do you live?”

“No,” she whispered.

“It wasn’t a choice, Maggie.” He leaned down to scoop Cece into his arms, but Maggie put her hand up, stopping him.

“Don’t.” She stared, unrelenting, and her back scooted into the corner of the booth. Her tight, squared shoulders were on full alert. “How do I know
you
aren’t some lunatic?”

He wanted to laugh, he really did, but her honest reaction shouldn’t have surprised him. Used to getting his way, he hadn’t thought twice or considered she’d protest the offer. His mouth pulled into a frown as he considered his intimidating stance towering over her. He backed up a few steps, raising his hands. Unwilling to relent, he scrolled through his cell, pressed a few buttons, and when he got an answer, he kept his focus on her. “I need you to vouch for me.” His best friend’s laughter on the other end ticked him off, but he wouldn’t rest until he had his way. “Mention I’m a good guy.” Then he eased closer to Maggie, his hand extended, urging her to accept a concession he wasn’t used to making.

Her eyes flicked from him to the phone and back a few times. He wasn’t sure if the blank look on her face meant she believed him or she’d scream for help. Several tense seconds later, she plucked the cell from his hands, her fingertips clipped to the top and nowhere near close to touching him. “Hello.” Her quiet, reserved whisper revealed hesitancy, but her intense observation demonstrated she wouldn’t surrender easily. “Maggie Tyson.” After a brief pause she answered with a relieved and happy bounce in her voice, “Oh, Matt, hey.” She listened and nodded, her lips curled into a quirky smile and disappeared before he could appreciate it. “Yeah. Uh, huh. Will do, bye.”

After he tucked the phone in his suit pocket, his hand clenched it over and over, waiting for her to say something, anything. Tired of the long silence and her scrutinizing inspection of his eyes, nose, mouth, and grinding jaw, he rocked back and forth on his heels for the second time. “Well?”

Without any further hesitation, she stood and said, “Okay.”

After all that, he got a simple yes? When he made his next move, scooping Cece into his arms, Maggie didn’t resist. Groggy eyes fluttered open and a tiny smile graced Cece’s lips as she cuddled her forehead into the crook of his neck and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Before Maggie could change her mind, he marched into the garage, pushing the up button at the elevator. Maggie came to his side, her eyes diverted to the tile floor.

“Where to?”

“Riverdale, Independence Street.”

“Is that in the Bronx?”

“No, a little south of Yonkers.”

They exited the elevator on the fourth floor. He shifted Cece in his arms and fumbled for the keys in his pocket. One click of the fob, and the lights and bleep of his Aston Martin greeted them. At the passenger side, Maggie placed a supportive hand on Cece’s back and the other gripped his shoulder. “I can put her in.”

“I got her.”

Maggie surveyed him like he spoke another language.

He jutted his chin to the car. “Open the door and I’ll set her in.”

Maggie blinked and grabbed the handle, giving him the space he needed to buckle Cece in the backseat. He took off his suit jacket, folded and pillowed it under her head. “Do you think she’ll be okay without a car seat?” The cozy bundle had her knees pulled up to her chest and a thumb in her mouth. Maggie’s light touch on his arm redirected him away from her daughter.

“I’ll sit with her.”

He dashed over to the driver’s side, started the car, and before he went anywhere, turned around to make sure they were both secure. Maggie placed a dainty kiss on Cece’s temple, skimmed a thumb over her plump cheek, and set Herbert on her chest. The mouse snuggled under her chin, curled onto its side and closed its eyes. The sight lodged a lump in his throat and formed a vise around his chest. Even with a mouse nestled in her red hair, Cece looked precious, natural, as if the occurrence were the most ordinary thing in the world.