All by Chance {Brollins}

/ Chapter 14 \

The whole room froze, and to Rebecca, all time stopped. Her heart dropped, and tears immediately filled her eyes.

She hadn't even gotten out of the office when she heard it, and when Rebecca finally turned she found all three adults staring at her with different expressions that were all underlaid with shock.

Ron was a hard man to get a lot of emotion out of, even if you were close to him. But even Rebecca could see it in his eyes as they darted between her and Colby.

Holly's hand had made its way to her mouth as she sat stunned. However, her shock didn't seem to be as overwhelming as Rebecca would've thought, almost as if she expected it.

When Rebecca's eyes deviated towards Colby's, his gaze was almost apologetic. Almost as if he was waiting to see her reaction to gauge his, like he was impartial to it.

He went to shift a still squealing Danielle so she could lay her head back on his shoulder, but the second Rebecca was out of sight, the cries for her 'Mama' grew more cohesive and loud.

Rebecca didn't know what to do. She moved her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her brain told her body to do something, but it refused.

"Aw, you're not about to get fired right now, are you?" Rebecca's head turned towards her side, which was being shoved by an ignorant brunette.

"What the hell are you doing, Sarah?" Colby's look of disgust was infectious as all other adults swiftly followed suit.

Danielle was still whining, so Rebecca swiftly walked over to Colby and relieved him of having to deal with her, making sure she bumped into Sarah's side on the way there. She then sat down on one of the chairs at the side of the room, more agitated that Sarah had shown up but still at a loss for thoughts when it came to Danielle.

"I need you to sign these." Sarah held out a file for Colby, completely ignoring the others.

"I'm not signing shit." He shook his head with a sinister-sounding laugh.

Sarah rolled her eyes, "They're just to confirm you sign over all of the rights of our child to me."

"I'm sorry, what?" Ron spoke up with a raised eyebrow.

Holly shook her head, trying to understand, "Your child?"

"It's bullshit." Colby turned towards them, "She's broke and desperate, this is her trying to get child support from a man she doesn't have a child with."

"You have no business here." Ron stood up, "Either you leave now, or I'll have security escort you."

Sarah was relentless, and after trying to be cordial, Ron buzzed the security. He, as well as Holly, walked out with them to ensure she'd leave. Colby looked over at Rebecca, who was sitting and silently staring at the little girl falling asleep in her arms. "Rebecca-"

She looked up at him with a look that almost made it seem like she forgot he was there. "I better get going. I'm already late for the site explanation."

"She said it once before." He blurted out as she gave him Danielle back. "But you've always been referred to as Becca. I don't know why-"

"It's okay, Colby." She nodded slowly, "I get it. We hang out a lot. It's easy to get confused."

Mentally he agreed, but he also knew what was going on under the surface. "Yeah, but-"

"It's fine. We can discuss later." She waved him off, sending a few texts around, purposely distracting herself. "I'll come by your place?"

"Yeah, of course." He nodded emphatically, relieved that she wasn't seemingly wanting to stay away from them.

"Okay." Rebecca replied, trying to hide the shake in her voice. She looked through the large glass panes surrounding them before turning around and giving him a quick kiss.

She walked out of the office and entered the elevator, letting out a sigh. "Hello, Rebecca."

She jumped and put her hand over her chest, "Jeff. Sorry I didn't see you there."

"No worries, I walked in after you." He chuckled and pressed his floor's button.

Rebecca began to zone out as she thought about rescheduling the meeting and just going home, but Jeff spoke up again. "The meeting went well?"

She blinked a few times to refocus before smiling politely. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, it was."

"Off to do some site visits?" He asked, seeing her nod while scrolling through her phone.

"Yeah. You know how it goes." She laughed, and if Colby were there, she knew he would've called her out for the fake tone it held.

"Hey, I was actually wondering if you were free tonight?" He looked at her, and she immediately shifted uncomfortably.

"I can't. I have plans." She replied sympathetically, relieved that the doors opened for him on his floor.

"No worries." He nodded to himself, "I get it. A successful woman is always a busy one."

Rebecca was quickly off to the job site discussion. Meanwhile, Colby finished his boring day at the office without Rebecca. He settled in at home and gave Danielle some medicine before making dinner.

"You're looking a little better, Dani." He tickled her as she sat in her high chair, mashing the fruit in the bowl in front of her. "But you're still a mess."

He laughed, seeing more food on her face and the high chairs table rather than in her mouth. "You silly little bean."

Colby tried to clean her face up as much as he could, even though he knew she'd just get messy again. Danielle squirmed around, giggling as he did it, just before the doorbell rang. "That must be Becca!"

Colby laughed with a shake of his head before opening the door and immediately sobering up at the sight of multiple men with badges. "Mr. Lopez, we're here on behalf of Child Protective Services. There was a call stating the concern about Danielle Lopez's well-being."