What God Has For Me (7 page)

Halcyon blinked. “What do you mean? This
isn’t an employee’s daycare room?”

“No,” Zachary said, walking up behind her. He
kissed her cheek before she could turn around to look at him. While
the children ran to him, Halcyon had more time to gather her
thoughts on how to respond to him. Finally, she pivoted on her heel
and nearly fainted. The tender look, the clothes, but it was the
twinkle in his eyes that captured her into a trance she couldn’t
pull away from. Plus, his cologne was drugging her. Only when she
heard his voice, could she move. “I hope you like it.”

Again, her eyes misted—she had to stop these
crying binges—as Zachary lifted Ashanti in one arm and Jonathan in
the other. “I do.” Shaking her head, Halcyon stuttered to correct
her bad word choice. That’s what Zachary would eventually want from
her. “It’s very nice.”

“And you look…” Zachary’s nostrils flared as
he closed his mouth. When his lips parted, the words seemed to
float out. “Breathtaking.” He gave an appreciative stare. “Ah, make
yourself at home, I’m going to introduce two of my three favorite
people to the staff and give them a tour,” he turned, taking her
children with him and leaving her alone with Lynette.

“Well, have fun, Miss Holland.” Lynette
turned to leave.

“Thank you, and please call me Halcyon. I was
named after my father.” She always explained her unique name when
introducing herself in an attempt to keep people from butchering
it. She liked being her dad’s namesake, especially after he passed
away. Just like Beyoncé had grown into her name, Halcyon liked to
think she had as well, but when Zachary called her Bridget, it made
her want to go by H. Bridget Holland.

She strolled to her desk and rested her
purse. Unlike the “toy room” several feet away, only one item held
her attention, a large vase of flowers, bursting with colorful
energy. She fingered the orange petals and inhaled its fragrance.
She smiled. Halcyon couldn’t remember the last time she received
flowers, not counting the ones Jonathan pulled out her mother’s
garden.

Halcyon flopped in the chair and rolled
herself closer to the desk where some files were stacked, possibly
waiting for her attention. A computer that looked as if Zachary had
just gotten it off his showroom floor was already on.

When Zachary returned and stuck his head in
the doorway, he leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms.
So many things were going through Halcyon’s mind like ‘Do you
really love me?’ They were in a stare dual until he finally
smirked.
What had he been thinking?
she wondered.

“Absolutely gorgeous.” He let her know
without her asking. Zachary winked, then disappeared again.

Frowning, Halcyon didn’t realize she had been
holding her breath until she exhaled. “God, how am I going to
resist him?” For some reason, that question made her think about
the Lord answering her earlier with a Scripture, which she had yet
to read. She would, but not now.

Looking for a distraction, Halcyon glanced
around her work space again. Although the severance pay from her
now defunct company had given her more time to nurture her children
after Jonathan was born, she didn’t realize until now how much she
had missed corporate America, and there was even a window.

A young woman, who appeared to be about the
same age as Halcyon, pranced into the room with a smile. Judging
from the woman’s coordinating sleeveless top and pants, Halcyon was
definitely overdressed, but she couldn’t help it. It was only for
one day.

“Hi, I’m Paisley like the print fabric. You
know, Daisy except with a ‘P’.

And Halcyon thought
she
had name
recognition issues. “Hi, Halcyon Holland.” She explained how she
got her name, then added, “But don’t be surprised if you hear
Zachary call me Bridget. That’s my middle name.”

Paisley eyed the flowers, then stepped closer
to shake Halcyon’s hand. “Well, it’s good to meet the woman behind
the man. And those children are adorable. Zachary is the proud
papa. I didn’t even know he had children.”

“He thinks they’re his.” Halcyon
chuckled.

The shocked expression on Paisley’s face made
Halcyon realize how her statement sounded. Glancing over her
shoulder, her new coworker stepped closer and lowered her voice.
“You mean Mr. Bishop doesn’t know they’re not his? Wow, well I
won’t say anything, girlfriend.”

Girlfriend after one minute?
Halcyon
considered which way she wanted this conversation to go: let
coworkers think she and Zachary were an item and she cheated on
him, or let them know she was an unwed single mother. In the end,
she wasn’t interested in adding to her circle of confidantes. She
had two sisters for that.

“Paisley, thanks for introducing yourself.”
Halcyon stood. “I better go find the boss so I can get started.”
Dismissing herself, Halcyon strutted out of her own office.

She found Zachary in the electronics section
where the flat screens were on display. Zachary was stretched out
on one of several sofas designed for clients, watching cartoons
with the children. The bunch looked as if they were sitting in her
living room. All they needed was a box of popcorn. She thought she
was quietly sneaking up on Zachary, but he suddenly turned and met
her eyes. He covered his lips with a finger to shush her, then
stood.

Folding her arms, Halcyon tried to look
intimidating as Zachary came round and towered over her. “So, what
do you think you’re doing?” she asked in a normal tone as if
nothing had changed between them. Well, at least, not for her and
she was sticking to that story.

“Flirting with my new hire.” His lips curved
upward. That’s when she noticed the slightest dimple. Actually, she
had noticed it a long time ago, but ignored it.

Halcyon did her best not to flirt back and
keep a straight face. She wanted to smack him for putting her
through this emotional change. “I’m talking about Jonathan and
Ashanti. You have to work and you can’t entertain them all
day.”

“I’ll have you know these are potential
patrons and I’m giving them a product demonstration.”

“Good point.” Her laugh broke the ice. Once
the moment passed, Halcyon needed a safe topic between them.
Immediately, she thought about the Scripture. “I experienced
something this morning.”

Zachary frowned. His concern seemed to stand
at attention. “Oh? What happened?”

Halcyon glanced around the showroom.
Customers were everywhere. Evidently, business was brisk, so she
whispered. “Well, let’s just say I’m ready to move on.”

“Yes!” In a surprising move, Zachary
knelt.

“What do you think you’re doing? Get up.”
Smacking him on his shoulder, Halcyon used all her strength to yank
him into a standing position. She hoped no one saw Zachary’s
stunt.

“You said you were ready to move on,” he
argued. “Thank You, Jesus. It’s about time…”

Gritting her teeth, she made a peace sign
with two fingers and gestured between her eyes and his. “Stay with
me, Bishop. This has nothing to do with our conversation last
night. I’m talking about with God.”

“Woman, don’t mess with my head.” Zachary
rested his hands on his waist.

“Look who’s talking. You messed with mine
last night.” His serious expression was rather amusing. She cleared
her throat. “Well, Mr. Bishop, where do you want me to begin?”

“Begin by calling me by my name. I hired you
to manage my three companies. I’m giving you an executive order to
be the boss.” He turned around and got the children’s attention.
They scrambled off their spot and came to him with no fuss. He
heaved Jonathan over his head and steadied him on his shoulders.
Ashanti’s hand hatched onto Halcyon’s, but the child kept her eyes
on Zachary as if she was waiting impatiently for a turn. Her
daughter better not think about asking for a ride on her shoulders.
Mommy carried you for nine months, little girl. No pony or
shoulder rides are coming from me.

“Come on, I’ll walk you back to your office
and give you the password to get into the program we use. My car
business really needs the most oversight, since I spend most of my
time here. I still want to hear about what God said to you.”

She nodded. Back in her office, she gave
Zachary the Scripture and he pulled it up from his Bible app on his
smartphone. Psalm 8:4. “‘
What is man, that thou art mindful of
him? And the son of man, that thou visits him?’
It sounds like
you were questioning God about something and He let you know how
special you are to Him… and me.” Without adding another word, he
left her office.

Did God know how long it had been since she
felt special? Mother’s Day didn’t count. Anyway, down to business.
As long as Zachary stayed out of her personal space, she was able
to acclimate herself to the businesses’ procedures and guidelines.
For almost two hours, amazingly, the toys occupied her children.
When they became antsy, she joined them on the carpet and shared
snacks with them.

Tomorrow, she would definitely return to
mommy attire where she could get down and play with them and not
worry about running her stockings or about her skirt climbing up
her thighs. She did catch glimpses of Zachary checking her out as
if he hadn’t seen her in a dress before.

Not long after they ate, Jonathan was the
first to doze, then Ashanti began to rub her eyes. Halcyon couldn’t
believe she planned for everything else but a nap. She would have
to buy sleeping bags.

Zachary walked in and shook his head. “Man, I
forgot about nap time. We’ll get them cots this evening. In the
meantime, let me run down to Kmart and get some comforters for
them.”

“Thank you”—Halcyon swallowed—“for loving
them so much.”

“I always will, Bridget,” Zachary whispered,
then walked out.

Less than a half hour later, he was back with
two twin-size, cartoon print comforters. In unison, they worked
carefully to get the children comfortable without waking them.
Halcyon’s heart melted watching Zachary’s tenderness. He would be
her choice of a man to fall in love with again, but Halcyon was
scared. She tried not to think about it, but she couldn’t help but
make the comparison. Why was this man more concerned about her and
the children than their own father?

“This may not be a good idea.”

“We’ll make it work, Bridget.”

“Ah, I was wondering if some of what I do can
be done telecommuting.”

“Sure, and you don’t have to work eight
hours. The children have to get adjusted. Let’s start off five to
six hours for three days a week and the other two at home.”

“Thank you, Zach…” she choked.

He held her hand. “Listen, I don’t want to
overwhelm you with the job or my feelings. I’m not asking for you
to love me back—yet, but I want you to see me in a different light
and let your feelings develop from there. All I ask is that you be
you, the Bridget I love, and when you’re ready to move on in
here”—he freed his hand and placed it over his heart— “I’ll be
waiting. But don’t take much longer. I’m not getting any
younger.”

She survived the first day on the job, but
her emotions were another thing. Later that night cuddled up in her
bed with Jonathan on one side and Ashanti on the other, she called
Desi to help her sort out everything. “How do you do it?” she asked
when her sister answered.

“Well, hello to you, too, big sister.” She
paused and shushed her fussy baby in the background. “Now, how do I
do what?”

Halcyon rubbed soothing strokes on her son’s
back as he slept. “Work with your husband all day and sleep with
him at night?”

Desi laughed. “Your first day on the job,
huh? Was my brother-in-law that irritating?”

“Zach? Never. He told me he loved me last
night.” She went into detail about the events that led up to his
declaration.

Desi made such a loud rooting sound, Halcyon
had to remove the phone from her ear to save her hearing. “Mom
already told us, but what did you say?”

Figures
, Halcyon thought. “That I
wasn’t ready.”

“Hmm. Fair enough. I remember when Michael
wanted to reconcile; I wasn’t ready either, but us getting back
together happened when it was supposed to happen.”

Halcyon stared down at her polished toenails
and wiggled them. “My question is, is this supposed to happen?”

“Whoever God has for you, the devil can’t
stop Jesus from giving him to you,” Desi said. “You need to talk to
Him. Now, tell me about your day while MJ is being a good boy.”

Despite her jumbled emotions, it really was a
perfect day. “Besides converting an empty room into a suite for me
and the children, he had my car repaired and delivered by the time
I was ready to go. Can you believe that he stopped by an hour after
I got in from work? He acted as if he hadn’t seen me most of the
day and asked me how my day was.”

“Aw, that was so sweet.”

“It was.” She heard Michael in the background
ask his wife what was so sweet.

“Your brother, dear. Now hush and come get
your son,” Desi ordered her husband. After a few moments and a few
loud kisses, the other end of the phone was peaceful. “Now, I’m
listening. That was so romantic.”

Closing her eyes to recall the memories,
Halcyon’s heart fluttered. “It was definitely one of those moments
I’ll never forget. Zach kept a straight face, so I played along and
badmouthed my mean boss. He feigned insult, but in the end, we
laughed. It was as relaxing as eating butter pecan ice cream.”

“Man vs. Food. Wow. That’s deep.” Desi
giggled.

Halcyon chuckled too at her sister’s
reference to the show Desi and her husband were addicted to,
starring Adam Richman. “We watched a movie with the children,
feasted on Mom’s stew, then he left. I don’t want to lose this easy
friendship between us. It has kept me sane on many days when I was
depressed and wanted to give up. But falling in love with him… do I
want to risk it?”