"I see," I nodded. "Do you regret what you did?"
"No, why would I?" she said shaking her head. "I didn't bully anyone, they did. I was just standing up for myself."
"But you punched a girl," I said, wondering why I was having this conversation with a young girl I'd never met before. "Don't you feel bad about that?"
"Look, I know you adults get all high and mighty about antiviolence stuff," she said in an exasperated tone. "But do you really have any idea what goes on in schools? I don't think so. Do I wish those girls would have left me alone? Yep. Would I take the punch back if I could? Nope. They got what they asked for, and now other kids will leave me alone, too."
"It sounds like school is pretty brutal," I said, marveling at the oddly mature way Riley had explained the problem.
"You have no idea," she sighed as she rolled her eyes. "It's murder of the soul."
"Is that right?" I said, biting my lip to keep from laughing out loud at her dramatic assessment of the situation. "Well, you should be reassured by the fact that it won't last forever, and that someday these girls will all be parents who will be trying to save their own kids from the school yard bully."
"You'd think it would work that way, wouldn't you?" she said looking at me intently. "But that's just bullshit, and adults know it."
"Riley!" Leah exclaimed as she walked into the office and overheard Riley's assessment of my lack of understanding. "You cannot talk to people that way, young lady!"
"I'm sorry, Leah," she said hanging her head before mumbling. "Sorry, Jack."
"It's cool," I shrugged, trying not to make a big deal of it.
"No, it's definitely not cool," Leah said, giving me a warning look. "You cannot talk to adults that way. I will not tolerate it."
"I said I'm sorry!" Riley whined as she squirmed in her chair. Then quickly turning the conversation to a new topic, she asked, "Can I get something to eat? I'm starving!"
"There's food in the fridge out in the warehouse," Leah said. "You can get your bag and have a snack. Just don't bug the guys while they're working. And don't leave the warehouse!"
"Okay, thanks Leah!" she said as she shot out of the chair and ran down the hallway toward her waiting snack.
"Nice kid," I said smiling. "How'd you wind up with her today?"
"She's my sister's daughter," Leah said without smiling back. "Molly disappeared three years ago, so I took over while we looked for her. I guess it's just parenting by default."
"I'm sorry, I had no idea," I said, looking down at the floor and feeling embarrassed that I didn't know more about her.
"It's okay, I don't make it public knowledge usually," she shrugged before giving me a questioning look. "Was there some reason you needed to see me?"
"Norma said you wanted to know where you'd be working during the renovation," I replied as I tried hard to avoid staring at Leah's face. What I wanted more than anything was to feel her hands on my chest and her lips on mine again, but I knew we were a long way from that happening. The problem was that no matter how hard I tried to push it out of my mind, I always found myself right back at the moment when Leah's lips were pressed against mine and everything felt possible.
"So? Are you going to show me?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah, come see what they're going to do today," I said shaking my head to clear the image as best I could.
I led the way to an area that the crew was quickly putting together and showed her all of the amenities they'd be installing. The new office was five times the size o
f the little closet she now occupied.
"Bathroom,” I said as I showed her the large room where the work crew was installing a stand up shower in addition to the usual elements. "And over here they're going to create a conference area with a big table that will seat all of the workers on your team. Then over on the other side, there will be a seating area with a couch and some chairs so you can have customers here for meetings, if you want. And on the far wall will be your desk."
"You're kidding me?" she said looking around the room with wide eyes and a shocked look on her face. "All of this is mine? Why?"
"Yes, it's all yours," I nodded. "I just figured that you are here working like mad to keep the warehouse running smoothly, and you deserve to work in a space that respects your position rather than being shoved in a closet that resembles offices at the DMV."
"It hasn't bothered me before," she said defensively. "Your father didn't work in a luxury office, so I didn't feel like I was entitled to anything more than he had."
"Yes, well, my father was a miser," I said, rolling my eyes much like Riley had done earlier, and when I realized it, I laughed out loud.
"It's funny?" Leah asked, eyeing my suspiciously.