Chapter 5

Maggie

"Why didn't you tell me about your father?"

Letting out a breath, she glanced up from the copying machine. For the past three days, she'd been avoiding this conversation. It wasn't that she thought she couldn't talk to Nadine. It was quite the opposite actually— she knew that one look from her would have her crumbling into a million little pieces. With a stack of papers clutched in her hand, she turned, facing her boss.

"Who told you?"

Of the few thousand seventh-floor workers at the State Department, she'd only told three people, so the list of culprits was minimal.

One hand on the doorframe, she said, "Blake."

Rolling her eyes, Maggie looked down, pressing a button on the machine. "Blake has a big mouth."

"Only when he's worried about someone." Crossing her arms over her chest, Nadine stepped further into the room. "When's the funeral?"

Sighing, she let her eyes fall closed. Two days into roundtable discussions to seal the deal on a bilateral agreement to reduce tariffs on certain industrial products between Japan and the United States, she just couldn't be thinking about this right now. With the Secretary pulled away in meetings, the trivial tasks of the department fell onto Nadine's shoulders, meaning she had to pick up the slack too.

"It's too busy here for me to step away."

"It isn't," Nadine insisted, touching her arm. "We'll figure it out. Even if you don't go home to Illinois, I'd be amiss not to encourage you to take some time off."

Nodding, her eyes began to water. Quickly, she turned her gaze to her shoes— a pair of black kitten heels. They'd been a gift from her father the previous Christmas. Like the rest of her presents, she'd sent him a link to purchase them online, but the sentiment had still been appreciated. Although her parents had divorced when she was twelve, he'd never given up on making Christmas special for her. On the verge of tears, she bit her lip. …This was exactly why she hadn't wanted to talk about it.

"It was a car accident," Maggie blurted out. "Just after midnight, he got called in for a surgery." Swallowing, she paused. "A drunk driver ran a red light."

Without a word, Nadine swept her up into a hug. For a moment, her arms stayed limp at her sides— her boss wasn't touchy, so she was shocked by the embrace. Eventually, as tears streamed down her cheeks, she sank into the older woman's arms.

"I can't remember the last time I told him I loved him," Maggie whispered.

Pushing her back, so she could see her face, Nadine told her, "He knows." Gently, she reached up and fixed a strand of loose blonde hair. "He knows, Honey," she repeated.

"You'll really be okay if I go home?"

Of course, she knew that Nadine would encourage her to book the first flight out to Chicago, but she didn't want to let her down.

"I'll be fine." Pulling away, she motioned toward the doorway. "Let's pack up your things, so you can get home."

"Okay."