Law, Lies, and Love Affairs

I'm Not Leaving You

"I'm not leaving you," Stephanie said, while Maddie sobbed against her.

"But he said." Maddie choked out the words, sneaking looks back at Mike who was sitting there like he'd never seen a five-year-old total meltdown before. Which he probably hadn't.

"This wasn't something you could have discussed with me tomorrow morning at the office?"

"You'll be on a plane by 8:00 tomorrow morning."

"No–o-o-o!" Maddie wailed, working up a fresh onslaught of tears.

"Like hell I will," Stephanie said. Who did he think he was?

"You will if you want to keep your job. And if you refuse, you'll be in breach of contract. And liable for liquidated damages. Look," he brushed a hand through his hair, "I'm not trying to be a jerk here-"

"Really? Because for someone who's not trying you're doing an excellent job of it. In fact, you've elevated it to an art form."

Lisa stared at one then the other, her eyes wide.

"Look," Mike said, "be reasonable. If we lose this deal it means millions."

"Reasonable? You think it's reasonable to show up here and demand that I leave Maddie tomorrow morning and fly halfway around the-"

"First of all, I didn't say anything about you leaving Maddie. I'm not a monster."

"So what did you mean?"

"Bring her with you. She has a passport, doesn't she?"

"Yes, but –"

"What about you?" he asked, looking at Lisa.

"Me?" Lisa squeaked, then her face fell. "I don't have a passport."

"See?" Stephanie said. "This can't possibly work. Maybe with some advance planning . . . "

"We don't have any time for advance planning. This deal is slipping through our fingers thanks to that moron O'Connor who pretended to be a CEO. And our biggest competitor is right there waiting to snatch it up."

"I'm coming too?" Maddie asked, sniffling back her tears.

"You're coming too."

"I'm not putting her in the hands of some stranger. It would be different if Lisa could have come with us, but even then. Strange city, strange country, I just don't know."

"You've spent more time in every major city in the world than anyone else I know, so don't act like strange city, strange country is an issue."

"I'm not trusting Maddie's care to just anyone," Stephanie said, hugging the little girl closer to her.

"Don't worry," Mike said, a light suddenly gleaming in his eyes. "I've got that part handled."

* * *

As the private jet touched down at the Malpensa Airport near Milan, Mike closed his laptop. He admitted to himself that he'd breathed a secret sigh of relief when he'd swung by in the limo to pick up Stevie and her niece and found them packed and ready to go. He'd been half afraid Stevie would just ignore the buzzer and leave him high and dry to deal with the Milan fiasco on his own. But she'd come through, just like the old Stevie he remembered from law journal days at Yale.

He knew she wasn't thrilled about taking Maddie on a trip out of the country so abruptly, but it really couldn't be helped. And he was actually looking forward to seeing how the little girl reacted to Italy. She looked so much like Stevie that he'd been taken aback last night when she opened the door. But her appearance was where the similarity apparently ended, as had been evident as soon as the little girl had opened her mouth. Where Stevie always seemed to have a chip on her shoulder and specialized in pushing people away, Maddie was like a beam of sunshine inviting everyone into her world.