Christine sat with her chair pushed back from her desk, legs crossed, manuscript in hand. Realizing she had just read the same sentence three times, she tossed it on her desk, then did the same with the pencil in her mouth.

A quick glance at her wristwatch added to her frustration. Half past eleven. A wasted morning; so far she had accomplished nothing. The usual Monday morning staff meeting had started late, and had run long.

Her weekend had been just as unproductive as her morning. After she left the park on Saturday, she had visited a few of her favorite family-owned bookstores, but had left empty-handed. Her evening ended as her Saturday nights usually did — home alone eating Chinese takeout and watching the same old movie over and over.

Sunday she returned to the park, finding it just as crowded as the day before. The only thing different was the absence of the three men with the baby. Her disappointment troubled her more than she chose to admit.

Even this morning, they were on her mind. As she stared out the large window of her office, she tried to reason why. It was normal to be curious, wasn't it? It had nothing to do with the fact that they were all three attractive men. It was about the baby.

So why could she not get the one with the mustache out of her mind?

The soft knock on her open office door made her jump, brought her back to reality. She turned to see her top assistant editor and good friend standing just inside.

Got a minute?" the assistant asked.

"Sure, Olivia, what's up?" Christine uncrossed her legs, reached for her desk, pulled her chair back to it.

"Umm…" Olivia began, gathering her hair in back with both hands and bringing it over one shoulder.

Christine at once noticed the brilliant shine of her colleague's long, thick mane. She had always envied Olivia's dark colorings, her natural beauty, considered her own fair skin tone boring. Suddenly self-conscious of her own hair slicked back in a long ponytail, she wished she had taken the time this morning to style it.

"I know we're busy right now," Olivia continued, "but...is there any chance I can take off this Friday? It's really important."

"Important," Christine repeated. "Family, medical, personal?"

"Umm...I guess personal."

"You guess?" Christine's lips slowly curved into a smile. She had no doubt it involved a man. The only question was which one. Olivia's love life was hard to keep up with, something Christine would have to admit she was a bit envious of at times, though she convinced herself she had no time for the complications of a love life.

Running her fingers through her hair, Olivia replied, "Tony has invited me to fly out to California with him this weekend. He has a meeting with a new client Friday morning, so he wants to go Thursday evening. And I really want to go."

"Tony? The film director?"

"Yes, but he's not actually a film director. Yet. Right now he's concentrating on commercials. What do you say? I'll put in extra hours next week, I promise."

"You really like this guy, huh?"

"I do." Olivia's eyes sparkled as she spoke.

Christine sighed. "It's fine. Go. Enjoy. I can manage without you for one day."

"Thank you! Thank you! You are the greatest boss ever!"

"Yeah, yeah...whatever. Now go, get back to work, so I can do the same." Christine motioned with her hand toward the door, and then turned her attention back to the manuscript in front of her. But only a couple of seconds passed before she raised her gaze.

"Olivia!" she called out as she pushed her chair back away from the desk.

Stepping back inside, Olivia replied, "Yes?"

"You've been seeing Tony for a while, right?"

Olivia smiled. "Well, a while for me. Why?"

"I just wondered if he might be familiar with an actor named Jack Holden. Perhaps he's mentioned the name?" Christine considered the possibility a long-shot, but she couldn't resist asking.

"Sure. He knows the guy well. As a matter of fact, we attended a birthday party at his penthouse not long ago. Why?"

"Penthouse?"

"Yeah. And you should see it! I mean, we're talking fan-cy! It's not just his though, he shares it with his two buddies. So why are you asking about him?"

"It's nothing really, I had a brief encounter with him in the park this weekend. He was with two other guys, must have been his roommates." She purposely avoided mentioning the baby.

"What did they look like?"

Christine described them both.

"Yep. That's them alright. Peter Mitchell and...oh, what's the other guy's name?" Olivia banged against her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"I have no idea." Christine stood, stepped around her desk, leaned back against it, anxious to learn more about these three men.

"The cartoonist. Michael something." Olivia held her hands out at her sides, wiggled her fingers, flashing red nail polish. "Michael Kellam, that's it," Olivia said, finally coming up with the name.

"Never heard of him."

"He draws Johnny Cool."

"Who?"

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Not who! What. The Johnny Cool comic strip. You know, Johnny Cool, the coolest cat ever."

Christine shook her head. "Never heard of it."

"Don't you read the comics in Sunday's newspaper?"

"Why would I do that?"

Olivia rolled her eyes again. "You know I love you, Christine, but seriously. You have got to get a life. You have got to get your nose out of a book once in awhile."

"And read a comic strip."

"Yes! And read a comic strip!" Olivia rolled her eyes a third time. "Never mind. You met these guys in the park?" She seemed quite overwhelmed by that.

"Just the actor. Not his friends. So, who are they? And by the way, I have a life," she added, feeling the need to defend herself against the personal attack.

"Really? When was the last time you had a date?"

"It hasn't been that long." It had, she didn't want to admit it to her friend. "And besides, there's more to life than dating."

"Says the woman who hasn't had one in a while."

"Whatever! Enough about me. What else do you know about these three men?" Christine turned and picked up the pencil from her desk.

"Besides the fact that they're three of the most eligible bachelors in New York and all three major playboys from what I saw at the party? What else do you want to know?"

"What about the third guy? Peter who?"

"Peter Mitchell. The architect."

"Which one is the tall, dark haired with the mustache?" Christine focused on the pencil in her hand as she asked.

"That's Peter. I can't believe you've never heard of him."

"Why should I have?" she asked, finding herself relieved he wasn't the cartoonist.

Olivia stepped over to the large window overlooking the city. "That skyscraper going up across the street," she pointed out the window as she spoke, "that's his."

At that moment, Jason from the design department knocked on the door, stuck his head inside.

"There you are, Olivia. You're needed in Bill's office. Like now."

"I'll be right there," she replied, then turned her attention back to Christine. "I want to hear more about this encounter in the park. All about it!"

Christine watched her exit, relieved for the interruption by Jason. She didn't want to go into detail with Olivia about her encounter in the park with these three men, though she would have liked to ask about the baby, and found it interesting that Olivia made no mention of her. Interesting, and strange. The whole situation was strange. Three men — all bachelors, playboys, and a baby. Very strange. Whose baby was it?

She walked over the window, stood, staring out of it.

So that was his creation, huh?

She frowned at the idea of it.

She hated that building. The higher it rose — the more it blocked her view of the city — the more claustrophobic she became.