Jesse's Girl

Chapter Nineteen

Chloe sat on the couch in Beca's office, still fuming with anger. It was evident that Beca was taking her time at the studio and it both angered and soothed Chloe. She was glad that she was taking so long because she didn't want to face the woman just yet, but it also angered her because she wanted to hurry and get this over with.

After around twentyish minutes, Beca finally entered her office, looking more put together than before. She sat at her desk and buried her nose in her computer screen. She plugged the memory stick into the USB compartment and began her usual work before pulling her gaze to Chloe reluctantly, "Any specific song order?" A quick movement of the head gave her the answer and she was back at work. A few more minutes had passed before she voiced another question, "Would you like to design the album art or just upload something?"

"I already designed it. I emailed it to you." With a quick nod, Beca had her email open and searched for the message. Sure enough, she found what she was looking for and downloaded the content before uploading it into the correct position. She finalized everything before closing out and turning her attention back to Chloe. "Okay, that's everything, then. I will send you a copy of the finished product and let you make any necessary changes before we advertise and start production."

Just as Chloe opened her mouth to speak, the door to the office burst open and a tiny human raced across the room screaming, "MOMMY!" and jumped into Beca's lap. "Hey, princess." Beca said as she greeted the child with a delighted hug. "What are you doing here? Mama was supposed to watch you while mommy was with a client."

"Mama didn't feel good, so daddy picked me up." Chloe watched the heartwarming interaction, trying her damnedest not to smile but failing. "Why didn't daddy keep you home with him? He is off duty right now." The child lifted her shoulders in a shrug, "I like being wif you. You're funner than daddy."

"I like being with you, too." She attacks her daughter with a superfluous amount of kisses, pulling an earsplitting shriek from the girl's lungs of which her mother has gotten attuned to. Chloe emitted a soft giggle, thankful that the girl's louder noises covered hers. "I need to talk to your daddy." Beca said once she stopped, she then turned to her ex and current client, "I'm sorry. I know you probably just want to leave, but could you keep an eye on her? I know I can trust you no matter your feelings toward me."

"Um, yeah. Sure. What's a few minutes?" Chloe found herself unable to deny the request and after a quick thanks, the door latched shut behind Beca, stranding the two strangers together. The little girl climbed onto her mom's desk and sat on her knees, intently examining the ginger. "Hi." She said cheerfully. "Hi." Chloe repeated the greeting timidly, the child's eye drawing her in similar to the way Beca's once had. "My name is Anne. What's your name?" Her heart contracted when the girl introduced herself properly. "Anne? That's a really pretty name."

"My mommy gave it to me. She said that someone that she loves very much has that name. I think." Anne talked nonchalantly as she laid on her back and watched as she moved her feet in random patterns above her. "But she said daddy wasn't that person, I asked." She abruptly stopped and rolled onto her stomach, looking up the woman again. "Is it you?"

"What? No." Chloe denied immediately, "My name is Chloe, not Anne. What would make you think that I'm this Anne?"

"I dunno. Mommy has lots of pictures of you. See?" She turned the screen of the phone that she had recently snatched from her mom's bag, so Chloe could see it, breaking the ginger impossibly more as she caught sight of the photo that Beca had obtained the night of their graduation party. They looked so happy and stared at each other with so much love and affection. Before she knew it, she was lifting her hand and swiping her finger across the screen, scanning through the many photos. "Why does mommy have so many pictures of you? Nobody takes this many selfies in a day."

"You're very smart for your age, Anne." Chloe said softly, "Can you keep a secret?" Anne nodded vigorously, a lover of secrets. "This isn't the first time that I met your mommy. We went to school together."

"Weally?!" Chloe nodded with a smile and put her finger to her lips when she heard the doorknob jiggle, "Remember, keep my secret." She whispered just in time for the door to open and reveal the subject of their conversation. "Thank you, Ms. Beale. I will see you tomorrow." Chloe nodded, "It was nice meeting you, Anne." She said as she slowly stepped closer to Beca. The tiny brunette stared at the ginger as the ginger's eyes never broke contact with her own, her expression lightening as well. The two stood silently for a few moments, just staring at each other.

"Anne?" Chloe's soft voice was the one to break the silence. "Yeah, well...Chloe would have been too obvious." Beca admitted, a bright red creeping onto her cheeks but disappearing when she felt that embrace that she hadn't felt in over two years. "I'm sorry I was a bitch." The small puffs of air sent shivers down Beca's spine as Chloe whispered the words into her ear. "You don't have to apologize. After what I did...I deserve bitchy Chloe." Beca replied as her arms instinctively wrapped around the other girl, holding her tight. "We should talk about this, fix this. Let's go for a drink after work tomorrow." Chloe suggested and Beca agreed without a second thought about. "It's a date."

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow, Beca." A smile crept onto her face as Chloe used her name. Deciding to push it she replied, "Goodnight, Chloe." Her smile grew as her words were acknowledged by a pair of lips placing a gentle kiss against her forehead. She sighed when the body left her embrace, but the smile remained as she watched the woman walk away, her eyes being drawn south a little. "Mommy?" Her daughter's voice snapped her back into her current reality, "Yeah, sweetie?"

"Were you best friends with that girl in school?"

"The best."

Short as fuck, I know. I'm sorry for that, but I don't want to give away too much too soon. But, I hope that you guys liked this and I plan to have more up soon. I have been using the majority of my spare time to write this, so I seriously hope I am not disappointing. And if I am, please tell me what I could do to better this.