Brandon

I was livid when I got that call from Ms. Mitchell. Not at her, but at Ms. Martin, Macie's actual babysitter. First, she loses Macie. And then, she doesn't even call me. She was probably too scared. And she should've been. Anything could've happened to Macie. Ms. Martin should be thanking her lucky stars that Macie is safe. Otherwise being fired would be the least of her problems.

"Ms. Martin is here," my secretary buzzed up and I told her to let her in.

Putting on a cool mask, I waited at my desk for Ms. Martin. When she got to my office I nodded at the chair in front of my desk, motioning for her to sit down, but didn't say anything. I just waited, staring her down as she fidgeted.

"I'm sorry!" She finally burst out. "I didn't mean to-"

"But you did!" I cut her off, my voice booming. "Anything could have happened to her while you were off doing God knows what."

I took a deep breath and Ms. Martin whimpered another apology.

"Where were you anyways?" What I didn't ask was What is more important than my daughter's safety?

"We were walking to the toy store because Macie's favorite doll broke. We were almost there when a bunch of runners came through and we were split apart. You know how New York sidewalks can be."

"And you didn't see it fit to call me?"

"I thought I could find her myself," she said.

"And yet, you didn't. You're fired. I never want to see you around here again."

I saw Ms. Martin's eyes fill with tears as she rushed out and I almost felt bad. Almost. But not really. It was her own damn fault that this happened and she should own up to it instead of crying into her pillow.

Sighing, I looked at my watch and saw it was time to leave. Since I didn't have a babysitter, I made one of the interns watch Macie. They were just in the other room where I could easily check on them. The reason I needed a sitter was because I had a date tonight and I clearly couldn't cancel on Valentines Day. Claire would kill me.

So, I gathered my things and got Macie down to the car. I was going to drop her off at Ms. Mitchell's house and then grab Claire. She wasn't the biggest fan of Macie which didn't sit right with me, but I was hoping she would eventually grow fond of her.

The drive to Ms. Martin's was relatively close. She lived in an apartment that was right above her bakery. It was convenient and I could definitely admire that.

____________________________________

Lyra

I was sitting on my couch with a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough when the doorbell rang. I put down my ice cream and rushed to get it.

I opened the door for Mr. Cole and it was then that I realized I had never changed out of my sweats. He probably thinks I'm a hobo or something. Great.

"Hello Mr. Cole, Macie. Please come in."

I stepped aside so the duo could come in and closed the door behind them. Mr. Cole was looking around my apartment. I'd made sure it was clean and neat, but it still wasn't up to the standards he was used to. Most of my stuff was from IKEA and garage sales; I can guarantee he does not frequent those.

"Nice place," he said and I couldn't tell if he was being genuine or sarcastic.

"Thanks."

Once Mr. Cole was done assessing my home, he turned to me and we went over everything I'd need to know about Macie. She seemed like a pretty easy kid to watch; no allergies, no behavioral issues, etc.

"All right Macie, I'll pick you up later," Mr. Cole said and gave Macie one last hug. She suddenly seemed a little shy and I felt the need to reassure her. "We are going to have such a good time," I told her and held onto her hand as Mr. Cole left.

"So, what should we do?" I asked Macie who shrugged her shoulders. "Do you like ice cream?"

Macie eyed the ice cream on the table and nodded vigorously. Yeah, we were going to be fine.

I had a great time with Macie. She is very smart for a four year old and we had some nice conversations. We also played with some dolls she brought and ate some ice cream. Then, we made some cupcakes for her to bring home with her. She decorated them herself and was very proud of them.

But it was getting late and Macie was tired, so I put her in my bed to get some sleep. I didn't know when Mr. Cole would be back so I didn't see any point in keeping her awake. She would just be exhausted tomorrow and that would be no good.

Around eleven thirty, there was a knock on the door. It was, of course, Mr. Cole.

"Hi Mr. Cole. Macie is asleep in my room. I can go get her."

"That's ok, I can grab her."

I showed Mr. Cole to my bedroom where Macie was snuggled up in my blankets. I couldn't help but smile at the sight. She was sucking her thumb just like I used to when I was young.

Mr. Cole expertly picked Macie up without waking her up.

He started walking to the door, but I stopped him with an "Oh!" He looked over and I rushed to the kitchen.

"Macie and I made cupcakes for you to take home. She decorated them herself and was so excited to give them to you."

I handed Mr. Cole the box and he smiled at me. "Thank you," he said, looking into my eyes. His were brown with gold flecks and I felt as if they were looking into my soul.

"Brandon?" A high pitched voice asked. I turned to the door where a beautiful woman stood. She looked like a model with her perfectly tanned skin and golden blonde hair.

"I thought you were waiting in the car Claire," Mr. Cole sighed.

"Well, you were taking too long." Claire turned her nose up in the air as a sign of superiority.

"It's been five minutes."

Mr. Cole seemed annoyed, but I wasn't positive. I'm assuming Claire is his girlfriend since he's spending Valentines with her so why would he be hostile to her?

"I'll be two minutes," I heard Mr. Cole say.

Claire huffed, but went back to the car to wait.

"Sorry about her," Mr. Cole said.

"It's fine."

"Thanks for watching Macie."

"Anytime," I told him. "She's amazing."

Mr. Cole gazed down at his daughter in his arms. "Yeah, she is isn't she."

Then his head snapped back up. "Well, I should be going."

I nodded and walked Mr. Cole to the door. "Seriously, thank you for watching her tonight," Mr. Cole said and handed me a check.

"You don't have to pay me," I told him. "I was happy to do it."

But Mr. Cole wasn't going to let me give the check back so I sighed and thanked him. Satisfied, Mr. Cole left and I closed the door with a soft smile on my face.