* * *
Standing in the hall outside of the meeting room, Kiley dried her sweaty palms on her khaki slacks as she tried to think of what she could say this time to convince the members to approve the increase in the day care center’s budget that she hadn’t gone over the last time they’d met. Of course, when Josh gave her the money to cover one month of the extra funds she’d asked for, he had promised that if he saw a need for the TCC day care center, he would personally recommend that the committee approve her request. But he hadn’t mentioned making a decision and she hadn’t asked.
“Ms. Roberts, the committee is ready to see you now.” When she looked up, one of the members was holding the door for her to enter the meeting room.
As she walked up to the conference table, Josh was busy entering notes into his electronic tablet and barely raised his head to acknowledge her presence. A sinking feeling began to settle in the pit of her stomach.
“Ms. Roberts, have your needs for the day care center changed since our last meeting with you?” he asked, finally looking at her.
Confused by his all-business tone and cool demeanor, she shook her head. “No, I still need the extra money to supplement what the committee has already appropriated for the center.”
Why was he acting so indifferent to the situation? He had stopped by the center enough times to know what the funds would be used for and that if she didn’t get them the TCC day care center would have to close by spring.
He gave her a short nod. “I’m going to excuse myself from the discussion and vote because of our relationship, but I’ll come down to the day care center after the meeting is over to let you know the outcome.”
Effectively dismissed, there was nothing left for her to do but go back to the center and wait for Josh to explain himself. But as she walked back to the center she felt her cheeks heat as her anger rose.
She could understand that he had no choice but to excuse himself from the issue because of a conflict of interest. But surely he could have given his report on what he had observed of the day-to-day running of the center. And why was he acting so aloof? Was it his way of telling her that she had little or no chance for additional funding? If that was the case, the day care center would be closing down shortly after the first of the year.
“Merry Christmas, Kiley,” she muttered sarcastically.
As soon as the holidays were over, she would have to start looking for another job. She had no doubt she could find something at another day care center, but she would have to accept whatever position they had open and she could only hope that it paid well enough for her to make ends meet for herself and Emmie.
By the time Josh opened the door and entered the day care center an hour later, Kiley wasn’t certain she wanted to hear the official outcome of the vote. At least not until after the holidays were over.
“Let’s go into your office,” he suggested.
Nodding, she led the way to the former storage room that served as her office. When he closed the door behind them, she shook her head. “You don’t have to tell me the outcome of the funding committee’s vote,” she said, sitting in the hard wooden desk chair. “I knew when I was summarily dismissed what the outcome would be.” She took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself. “What I’d like to know is what these past few weeks have been about, since you clearly never intended to recommend additional funding for the day care center.”
“The issue was tabled until a later date. But before we get into that, I have a couple of questions for you.” His eyes narrowed. “Are you aware that I’m Emmie’s father?”
Thrown off guard by his unexpected question, she slowly nodded. “Y-yes.”
“Is that why your ex-husband refused to have anything to do with her? Did he know or suspect that she wasn’t his child?” he demanded.
“No. As far as Mark is concerned, he still thinks he fathered her.” Anticipating his next question, she met his angry gaze head-on. “And before you ask, I didn’t realize it was even a possibility until you came by my house that first night with the pizza. That’s when I noticed that Emmie looks a lot like you.”
He rose to his feet to pace the small area in front of her desk. “Why didn’t you tell me as soon as you suspected it was a possibility?”
“I wanted to confirm my suspicions before I talked to you about it,” she defended herself.
His eyes narrowed. “And you’ve done that?”
She stood up to face him. “Yes.”
“When?”
“The day I went to lunch with Piper, I saw my ex-husband in the Royal Diner and asked him about his blood type.” She shook her head. “I had done enough research on the internet to know immediately that there was no way Mark could be her biological father.”