Chapter 1 - The Little Girl Who Walked Into His Silence
"Good morning, Mr. Harrington. Your 9:00 a.m. call with the Singapore team has been pushed to 11. Your afternoon is clear. Do you need anything from me today?"
Marcus stared at the city through the glass.
"No."
There was a pause.
Then Diana said, "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"All right. I'll see you tomorrow."
The call ended.
Marcus lowered his phone.
Tomorrow.
Apparently, everyone had remembered that there was a tomorrow.
Nobody had remembered that there was a today.
He took another sip of coffee.
It tasted exactly the way it always did.
Bitter.
Expensive.
Perfectly prepared.
Completely joyless.
At 7:52, Marcus left for his office.
At 7:58, he returned.
He had forgotten his briefcase.
At 8:01, the private elevator opened.
Rosa stepped out.
She froze when she saw him.
"Oh. Mr. Harrington."
Marcus nodded.
"You're early."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Why?"
Rosa tightened her grip on her cleaning bag.
"My daughter."
Marcus glanced at the bag.
"Is she sick?"
"No."
Rosa hesitated.
"Her daycare called. They have a plumbing problem. They closed for the morning."
Marcus looked at her.
For the first time, he noticed how exhausted she looked.
"You brought her here?"
"I didn't have another choice."
"I'm sorry. I'll leave."
She turned toward the elevator.
Then a tiny voice came from behind her.
"Mama?"
Marcus looked down.
A little girl stood inside the elevator.
She couldn't have been more than three.
Curly dark hair.
Pink sneakers.
A yellow dress covered with tiny white stars.
And a stuffed rabbit clutched tightly against her chest.
She looked at Marcus.
Marcus looked at her.
Neither spoke.
The girl tilted her head.
Then she smiled.
"You're the birthday man."
Marcus stopped breathing for half a second.
Rosa's face went pale.
"Isabella!"
The little girl hugged her rabbit.
"What?"
"That's not polite."
"But you told me."
"I told you not to say anything!"
Marcus slowly lowered his briefcase.
"What did you tell her?"
Rosa looked mortified.
"Nothing important."
The little girl raised one finger.
"Mama said you're lonely."
Marcus stared at Rosa.
Rosa closed her eyes.
"I am so sorry."
But instead of being angry, Marcus felt something strange.
A laugh.
Small.
Unexpected.
It escaped before he could stop it.
Rosa opened her eyes.
Marcus was smiling.
It was probably the first genuine smile she'd ever seen from him.
The little girl smiled wider.
"See?"
She pointed at him.
"You look nicer when you do that."
Marcus actually laughed.
And somewhere inside the enormous penthouse, something changed.
Not dramatically.
Not loudly.
May you like
Just enough.
For the first time in four years, Marcus Harrington didn't feel quite so alone.
