Chapter 27
Amy's POV:
Mr. Sterling's car smelled like leather and something expensive I couldn't name.
He climbed into the driver's seat and glanced back at me through the rearview mirror. His mouth curved up a tiny bit.
"You ready?" he asked.
I nodded so hard my curls bounced. "Yes!"
"Buckle up tight. I'm about to start the engine."
The car roared to life. Like a big, angry, beautiful lion.
I squealed and clapped my hands. "That's so cool!"
Mr. Sterling's eyes crinkled at the corners. "You like it?"
"I love it!"
He pulled out into the street, and the car flew. I bounced in my seat, watching buildings blur past the window like in a cartoon.
"When you're old enough to drive," he said, "I'll buy you one of these."
I froze.
Buy me a car?
A car like this?
"Why would you do that?" I asked slowly.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not your daughter. Why would you give me something this expensive?"
He was quiet for a second. Then he said, "Would you want to be my daughter?"
My heart started beating really fast.
"Mr. Sterling?"
"Yeah?"
"If you woke up one day and found out you had a daughter, what would you do?"
"That's not going to happen," he said.
"Why not?"
"Because it's impossible."
I frowned. "But what if it did happen? What if you just didn't know about her?"
He shook his head. "It won't."
Okay, Mr. Sterling. Keep telling yourself that.
"You hungry?" he asked suddenly.
"Yeah!"
"What do you want? Burgers? Pizza?"
I thought about it for a second. Mommy and I hadn't had tacos in forever because the good food truck was too far from our new apartment.
"Can we get tacos?" I asked.
"Tacos?" He glanced at me in the mirror. "Sure. I know a good place."
---
The taco place was in a neighborhood with narrow streets and old brick buildings. There was a long line outside, which Mommy always said meant the food was good.
Mr. Sterling let me order whatever I wanted.
I got three tacos—chicken, beef, and fish—because I couldn't decide which one I wanted most. And a horchata, because Mommy never let me have too much sugar.
He got two tacos and a Coke.
We sat at a little table by the window. I picked up my chicken taco and took a huge bite.
It was so good.
I took another bite. Then another.
"Slow down," Mr. Sterling said. "You're gonna choke."
I looked up at him, still chewing. "No, I won't."
"Yes, you will."
"No."
"Amy—"
"Mr. Sterling, I'm four. I know how to eat."
He pressed his lips together like he was trying not to laugh.
"Fair enough," he said.
Mr. Sterling finished his first taco and wiped his hands with a napkin.
"After this," he said, "we're going shopping."
I looked up at him, confused. "Shopping?"
"For toys." He picked up his second taco.
My eyes went wide. "You're taking me to a toy store?"
"Unless you don't want to go."
"No, no, I want to!" I put my taco down, suddenly too excited to eat. "Can I pick whatever I want?"
He shrugged. "Within reason."
I wasn't totally sure what "within reason" meant, but I nodded anyway.
The toy store was huge.
I mean, I'd been to Target before, but this was different. This was like... a whole building just for toys.
Mr. Sterling let me pick whatever I wanted.
I chose a jigsaw puzzle with a picture of the ocean, a set of building blocks shaped like rockets, a Transformer that turned into a car, and a big coloring book with fancy markers.
He didn't say no to anything.
---
Mr. Sterling's office building was huge.
The lobby had shiny marble floors and giant windows that went all the way up to the ceiling. There were people in suits everywhere, walking fast and talking on their phones.
Mr. Sterling took my hand and led me toward the elevators.
That's when I noticed everyone was staring at us.
A lady in a black dress stopped walking and just looked. A man carrying a briefcase turned his head as we passed. Two women by the reception desk whispered to each other, their eyes following us.
I squeezed Mr. Sterling's hand a little tighter.
"Why is everyone staring?" I whispered.
He didn't look at them. He just kept walking.
"Because they're nosy," he said.
I giggled. "Do you not like people?"
"Not particularly."
"Me neither."
He glanced down at me.
"Really?" he asked.
"Yeah. People are weird."
He didn't say anything, but I saw the corner of his mouth twitch. Like he wanted to smile but didn't want me to see.
We got into the elevator, and I clutched my bag of toys against my chest.
Behind us, I heard someone say, "Is that his daughter?"
Another voice: "Since when does he have a kid?"
"Who's the mother?"
The elevator doors closed before I could hear more.
---
After lunch, Mr. Sterling made a phone call.
A few minutes later, a lady came into the office.
"Rachel, take Amy on a tour of the building," Mr. Sterling said. "Show her around. Keep her entertained."
Rachel nodded. "Of course, Mr. Sterling."
He looked at me. "You okay with that?"
I shrugged. "Sure."
I didn't really care about seeing the building. But I could tell he had work to do, and I didn't want to bother him.
"Good. I'll see you in an hour."
I grabbed my bag of toys and followed Rachel out the door.
Rachel was nice. She had short black hair and wore a blue dress that looked really professional.
She took me to different floors and showed me where people worked. Everyone was typing on computers or talking on phones.
Boring.
But then we got to the cafeteria, and that was cool. It had a salad bar and a pizza oven and a frozen yogurt machine.
"Do you want some yogurt?" Rachel asked.
"Yes, please!"
She got me a cup with strawberry yogurt and gummy bears on top. I ate it while she walked me around.
At some point, another lady came up to us.
"Is that Mr. Sterling's daughter?" she asked Rachel.
"I don't know."
The lady looked at me. "Are you his daughter?"
I smiled. "Guess."
She blinked. "What?"
I just kept smiling.
Another guy joined us. "She looks like him."
"She does," the first lady agreed.
"So he does have a kid."
"Who's the mother?"
"Did you hear? Victoria Garrison showed up at Mr. Sterling's place last month. Made a whole scene outside his building."
"Yeah, and Mr. Sterling called the cops."
"Seriously? What did she do?"
"Confessed her feelings. Refused to leave when he rejected her."
"Could it be Miss Ashford? Word is she's his unrequited love."
"Probably. That would explain why he rejected Miss Garrison so coldly."
Miss Ashford.
Who?
Rachel cleared her throat. "Okay, that's enough. Come on, Amy. Let's go back upstairs."