Brandon

"I don't give a shit which paparazzi were there! I want to know who tipped them off!" I shouted into the phone.

I had spent all morning trying to figure out who tipped the paparazzi off last night. It was hard though because I couldn't just ask them without getting them interested. So I had to find out who tipped off the paparazzi without actually contacting the paparazzi. That's where Zach came in. He's my best friend and CEO of a big PI firm.

"I'm working on it Brandon, you have to be patient. It takes longer than three hours."

I grumbled, frustrated with the speed of results. Of course I know that these things take time, that doesn't mean I like it.

"I'm working on it though Brandon," Zach assured me. "And I've got my best PI's on it too."

"I know, I'm sorry," I grumbled.

Zach chuckled and hung up the phone to get back to work.

With a sigh I sat down at my desk. I was restless, but I couldn't get myself to do any work. Not until I figured this out.

I'd never felt this stressed before. Not during school, meetings, speeches, Macie's birth, anytime something was wrong with Macie, nothing. And I didn't know why I was having such a big reaction this time. It wasn't even Macie I was worried about. It was Lyra.

She had been pretty worked up last night and it was all my fault. I knew how to deal with paparazzi but she didn't; I should've been more careful or at least warned her that this could happen. But that still didn't answer the question to why they were at her apartment. I'd only been up there twice, I'd been in the shop much more than that. It was weird.

And now I'm a mess. I hadn't slept at all last night, worrying about Lyra and now I'm a grumpy wreck. I just want to smash my fist through a wall, but I'm trying to hold myself together and hope for the best.

Zach is the best there is in the PI world. If anyone can figure this out, it's him.

____________________________________

Lyra

Macie and I were at the penthouse today. The Sweet Spot was going to be closed for the week because the paparazzi were still going over there. Brandon said it'd probably all blow over soon, but until then he said I should stay here.

As a thank you to him, I made pancakes for breakfast which both he and Macie seemed to enjoy. Brandon was doing so much for me when he didn't have to. I'm just Macie's babysitter who he met three weeks ago and he has been so kind to me; driving me home, making sure I'm ok, celebrating my birthday, and now this. I don't know what to think of it. All I know is that I'm grateful.

Macie was bummed that we couldn't go to the shop and bake so I decided to bring the shop to us. There was no reason we couldn't bake here.

So we did. We changed things up for once too and made sugar cookies. Macie had fun making shapes and decorating them, although her icing skills could use some work. Icing is a lot thinner than frosting and it was harder for her to control, but she certainly tried.

We made bunnies, stars, and gift boxes (an odd combination, I know). Macie was so proud of her hard work.

"I can't wait to show Daddy!" She exclaimed. And just then, the door opened.

"Maybe that's him," I said. I doubted it, but Brandon had said he'd come home as early as possible and I didn't know who else would have a key. It had to be Brandon.

I padded into the living room to check, but it wasn't Brandon's face I was met with. It was his girlfriend Claire's.

"What are you doing here?" She sneered.

"Babysitting Macie."

I felt like telling her I was staying here might not be the best route so I avoided it.

"You shouldn't be here," Claire told me, looking down her nose at me.

I didn't know what to say so I just stood there. And then as if matters weren't already bad enough, Macie walked in.

She wrinkled her nose upon seeing Claire. "What are you doing here?" She asked using the same words Claire had asked me.

"Let the adults talk, kid," she said and shooed Macie away. But Macie stood her ground with her hands on her hips.

"Go away Claire. Daddy's not even here," Macie said.

"I can be here if I want to." Claire was growing more and more frustrated by the second, I desperately needed to de-escalate things.

"So can Lyra."

"Macie sweetie, why don't you go play with your toys upstairs for a little while and I'll be right up."

Macie's eyes went to me and then Claire and then back to me before she huffed and stomped up the stairs.

"Brat," Claire muttered under her breath, assuming I wouldn't hear.

"Excuse me? How dare you call her that."

Now I was getting angry. I didn't get angry very often, but when I did, it wasn't pretty. I have a long fuse, but at the end is a huge bomb waiting to explode. And Claire was nearing the end.

"How dare you talk to me like that," Claire shouted. "You are nothing! Nothing!"

"I'm going to ask you to leave," I said as calmly as I could. "You can come back later when Brandon is home from work, but until then, please leave."

"You can't kick me out. You don't have the right," Claire huffed.

"Oh yeah? Wanna bet?"

Claire let out an animalistic sound and stalked towards me. I backed up until I was against the wall with Claire in my face, pointing a well manicured finger at my chest.

"Find your place," she said in a dangerously quiet voice. "I can get rid of you with a snap of my fingers. You don't want to mess with me."

And then she stalked out, leaving me utterly confused and a little shaken.

I could feel my brain start to overthink things so I cut it off and went upstairs to play with Macie as promised. I expected to find her playing with her dolls, but instead I found her pouting on her bed with her arms crossed.

"I don't like Claire," she said.

I went over and sat down next to Macie. "Why not?" I could clearly see why someone might not like Claire, but I wanted to hear it from Macie and make sure she was ok.

"She's mean," Macie told me. "And she doesn't like me. And she doesn't like you. If she doesn't like you then I don't like her."

"That's very sweet Macie, but don't you worry about me."

Macie climbed into my lap and gave me a hug. "I wish you were Daddy's girlfriend instead."

My whole body stiffened, but Macie didn't seem to notice.

I didn't know how to respond, so I didn't, opting to just hug Macie back and act like she hadn't said anything. That was the safest option.