Page 25 of Kiss Kiss Bang
She was devastated and hated admitting it. They’d had a connection—not just physical, but also they laughed, and talked, and had what she thought was a very good time.
God, she hated dating. Which was why she had avoided it for all these years.
Maybe he’d gotten the message about her not being able to get involved with so many things on her plate. She had tried to push him away.
She let out a deep breath and pushed down her disappointment and instead focused on the work she need to do.
“I need water!”
Olivia loved her five-year-old daughter, God, did she ever. She was the light of her life. But Jesus Christ, she was a handful. It was as if the terrible twos had morphed into the threes and the fours and now fives.
Olivia slid her laptop to the other side of her empty bed, got up, and padded to Sophie’s room.
Again.
“This is the last time, Soph. You’ve had three glasses of water already.”
“Okay, Mommy.” She gulped down half a sip and then pushed the glass back to her mother’s hand. “Goodnight.”
Sophie had the same full lips Olivia had and a cute splay of freckles on her cheeks and nose, which Olivia had had when she was about Sophie’s age. Olivia bent down, kissed her daughter’s forehead, pulled her covers up, and said good night.
Again she got into bed, grabbed her laptop, and kept on trying to work. Mark had had the brilliant idea of using social media and the internet to disseminate her fiscal plan instead of scheduling another event. The details of her agenda were going to be uploaded via a pre-recorded Facebook video the next morning and she was excited to see how it would be received. The good thing about it was that if all hell broke loose, she wasn’t in front of a group of angry protestors.
Thoughts of Joey kept creeping in and messing with her concentration as she tried to make sure everything was in order for the next day. After the seven o’clock post, she had an intimate speech at a meeting room in a hotel in downtown, and then the rest of the day was a slew of back-to-back meetings. She would be lucky if she got home by ten in the evening tomorrow. Thank God for Winnie and her availability to watch Sophie all the time.
But Joey’s blue eyes, those dimples, the way the material of his shirt around his bicep pulled, was what kept drifting through her mind. She especially loved how she had to look up when she spoke to him. At five foot ten, she was usually either the same size or taller than her dates, especially when she wore heels, but not with Joey.
And damn, had she wanted him to kiss her goodnight. Why hadn’t he? “Arghh,” she whispered out loud.
“Mommmmyyyy! Mommmy!”
Being a single mother was rough, and being a single mother with a demanding job was nearly impossible some days. Again, she got out of bed and crossed the hall to her daughter’s room. It was almost two in the morning and she still had so much to do.
“What now, Soph?”
“You didn’t check under the bed. Check under the bed. There could be monsters, Mommy.”
“Sophie, honey, I’ve checked under the bed, I’ve checked the closet. I’ve gotten you water, I’ve lowered the temperature and I’ve read you two bedtime stories. Go to sleep.”
Again, Olivia walked back into the room and just as she expected, a minute later, Sophie was standing in front of her bed, tears in her eyes and her blankie draping behind her. Knowing that there were battles worth fighting, Olivia closed her laptop, put it on the night table and lifted the covers for Sophie to climb in. It was late, at this point, all they’d do was frustrate each other and eventually Sophie would end up in her bed anyway. So she skipped the middleman and just let her daughter in the bed.
“I love you, Mommy.”
The girl had her wrapped around her finger. She kissed her cheek and turned off the lap. “I love you too, sweets.”
Exhaustion took over almost immediately. Work would have to wait. Within minutes, both were fast asleep.
Four hours later, Olivia was sitting on her couch, the laptop on her lap, a mug of coffee in her hand, awaiting for the scheduled post.
As soon as it went live, the comments, likes, and shares began to flood her professional Facebook page. She was nervous about turning on the television. Around eight in the morning, Mark called her.
“Did you see the news? No major issues. Representative Warner had a few choice words to say about the appropriations to Florida Fish and Wildlife and the Everglades Preservation Project, but that was expected. McGregor has a press conference scheduled this afternoon and I have our interns answering questions on social media.”
She exhaled. “Okay, great. It’s still early, people are still waking up. We’ll see how things go throughout the day.”
“Are you on your way to take Sophie to school?”
She and Sophie were already ready. “Yes. As soon as Tom gets here we’ll head out. I’ll see you in about forty-five minutes.”
