“You’re safe, Soledad. Daniel is there and he’s watching everything, so you can enjoy yourself. I am on this every second of the day. You know that.” He assured me, and I tried to breathe.
“I can’t lose her, Alex.” I whispered as he sucked in his breath at the other end of the phone.
“You won’t.” He promised me as he told me how much he loved us. He mentioned that there was more work to do on the brewery campaign and asked if we’d like to have lunch with him. I knew that Lindsay would love seeing our office and agreed. He told me he’d send a car to pick us up to bring us to the building and that he’d order in. I ended the call feeling better and walked over to tell Rosie the plan.
“I love it. Are you feeling better now?” Rosie asked as I smiled shakily.
“I just get stressed out over this but he’s doing his best.” I told her as Lindsay came running over to us. ‘Hi, baby. Want to go have lunch at my office?” I asked her as she smiled. I got a text saying to look for a blue SUV and Alex sent a screen shot of the vehicle with the license plate. We walked over to the sidewalk where it was supposed to get us, and I looked around. I wondered if they were set up for kids and assumed as much since Alex picked it.
A bright blue vehicle pulled up and I saw a smiling brunette girl behind the wheel. I greeted her and got Lindsay into her designated spot before Rosie and I climbed in behind her. The car took off and I laughed as she turned right to head to the office. This was a comfortable driver. Lindsay asked about things she saw through the windows and I laughed at her ideas. I pointed out the office and she gasped as we parked in front of it.
“This is where you work?” She asked as I laughed and nodded. I missed this
place. We got out and I walked us across the parking lot to the glass door, opening it wide. We walked through the lobby and got on the elevator where I had Lindsay push the button for our floor. I held her hand as we left the car, hearing people greeting me as soon as they saw me. I didn’t miss the look of surprise on their faces as they took Lindsay in and the way they smiled after I introduced her to them. We made our way slowly to Alex’s office after I felt like I talked to everyone, but my smile was genuine when I poked my head into the team office. Rosie and Lindsay were already in with Alex and my colleagues jumped up to greet me when they saw me.
“Hey. When are you coming back?” Millie asked as she hugged me.
“Soon.” I told her as I pulled away and glanced out in the hallway. “We stopped by for lunch. Can you get away for a minute?”
“Sure.” Millie followed me out as everyone told me they were glad to see me. I led Millie down to his office and smiled as she opened the door. I walked in to find Lindsay on his lap and Rosie sitting on the couch beside them. I almost laughed as I remembered what happened on that couch in the past. I was happy we had a great cleaning staff.
“Hey, Lindsay. This is my friend Millie. We create together.” I smiled at the blonde as she sat down, smiling shyly at my daughter. There was no way she was going to get off Alex’s lap and I swore that my ovaries exploded a little as I watched them. I never considered having another baby before now since being a single mother of one was hard enough. Now that I had someone like Alex in my life, there was a possibility and I wanted it more than anything.
He told us that he ordered burgers and that they’d be here soon. I sat beside him and he slipped an arm around me before kissing my cheek. I could see the way that Millie was looking at us, almost in disbelief. This was a new side of Alex for everyone, including me.
I smiled widely in the picture that Rosie took of us to send to his family. I smiled again once we were finished with lunch and Lindsay hugged Millie goodbye. All curiosity was suppressed when Alex walked us out, carrying Lindsay on his shoulders. I was holding his hand and laughing at the two of them as I felt everyone staring at us. I knew that it was out there now, but I didn’t care. Alex kissed Lindsay goodbye before pecking my lips softly and I took her hand before we got back on the elevator. I knew that everyone was gawking as he walked back to his office.
Alex was calling us a car and I walked out to wait for it. Oddly enough, the original driver told us that she’d see us later. I glanced towards the old apartment, missing it in some ways. I wondered if they ever fixed the window or there were any other problems. Alex had been there and spoken to Carly, but he didn’t tell me anything about what they said. Our stuff had been brought over and there was no need to go back.
I got into the car and my mood dropped when I realized that she’d slept with Alex in the past. For the record, she was friendly to us and didn’t seem to hold any ill will towards us. I just had issues with his past still and when I was already tense, the timing was awful. I followed Rosie through the lobby with my hand clutching Lindsay’s as we got on the elevator. I was quiet, and Rosie gave me a curious look as the car moved to our floor.
Lindsay relaxed as she watched a show and Rosie pulled me to the kitchen. “Are you okay?” She asked as I gave her a long look.
“I get jealous sometimes when I come across his ex-flings. I know that’s all he’s had but it gets to me.” I admitted as she gave me a soft smile.
“He’s a handsome man with a past, Soledad. That’s common in these days but he loves you. Did you see him today?” She asked as I smiled.
“I wanted to have another baby immediately, but I shoved that aside. We’re just living together and there’s so much going on right now.” I laughed as she joined me.
“I am seeing a miracle with Alex. Don’t be surprised when it happens.” She winked and headed down the hall as I reached into the fridge for some water. I joined Lindsay to see her asleep against the cushions and sighed. She was going to be a bear tonight.
I took the time that she was sleeping to call the apartment, pretending to check if anything was left behind. I spoke to the manager on sight and she sighed. “Not that I know of. The apartment was ransacked shortly after the broken window and a lot of stuff was damaged. Luckily, your belongings had mostly been cleared out by that handsome man that took care of everything for you. I’d hoped that you were okay.” Her voice was concerned, and I nearly dropped the phone.
“I am. I just had some trouble finding a few small things from my bathroom, that’s all. I hope the damage wasn’t too extensive. I was sick and didn’t deal with the apartment at all.” I played the concerned card to hide the shock in my voice.
“It will be fixed up and rented out. Our insurance covered the damage, but it might take a while.” We ended the call and I sat down on the bedroom balcony, taking a deep breath. I was certain that Alex knew something about this, but he didn’t tell me. What else was he hiding? I noticed that Daniel was lurking closer to us these days.
Chapter Fourteen
Alexander
I fielded a lot of questions from the staff for the remainder of the day. The women gushed at how cute Lindsay was and how they didn’t know I had a daughter. I think their knees went weak when I told them that she was Soledad’s daughter. I didn’t feel that I needed to clear up the fact that she wasn’t mine.
I saw the way they looked at me and knew that I had every woman in the place wanting me to knock them up. No, thanks. I also explained that Soledad and I were happy together and getting quite serious. I knew that would lead to some stories, but I didn’t fucking care anymore. She was mine and that’s all that mattered.
I went home and headed inside of the apartment, seeing that Lindsay and Soledad were in the kitchen. She seemed to be teaching her how to cook noodles as I watched for a moment. I smiled as Soledad glanced at me and Lindsay turned to run towards me for a hug. Soledad didn’t smile, and I frowned as I wrapped my arms around the little girl.
I let her down and approached Soledad. “What’s wrong?” I asked her as she drained the noodles in the sink. “Where’s Rosie?”