"I can count." The little boy said, sounding proud. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven-"

"No!" Heidi cried in dismay as the chubby little finger lit up every number as he spoke.

"Anthony!" The man grabbed his son's hand away from the panel as the door slid open at the second floor. He glanced over at Heidi, seeing her white face. "I'm sorry."

"That's ok," she murmured, trying to smile, her whole body tingling with the realization-she’d never make it now.

Her watch said she had two minutes left, and those ticked away as the doors opened again at the third floor, and then the fourth.

Two men in suits got on and pressed the number twenty-three3. When they got off the elevator, she was officially two minutes late.

When the doors opened at floor forty-eight, she was five minutes past, and knew it the minute she stepped off the elevator and saw him.

He was pacing near the front desk, where she knew she should have been sitting five minutes ago, and there were no excuses that mattered. Late was late. She saw him

look past her to the man and the boy and the startled expression on his face surprised her.

"Marcus?" he murmured, looking down at the boy and back up to the man.

"Hey, Warren," the man with the dark, curly hair shook his hand and Heidi stared, nearly dropping the dry cleaning bag to the floor. Warren Kaiser's eyes were wide, his mouth working but no sound coming out

The little boy, Anthony, tugged at Warren's suit. "Are you my uncle Warren?

"I-suppose I am," Warren replied as Anthony wrapped himself around his leg.

"Oh, goodness… Heidi?

Warren looked over at his secretary, running a hand through his short salt and pepper hair, and she shrugged, her eyes still wide.

"I'm Heidi, Mr. Kaiser's secretary," she said, almost by rote. "Did you have an appointment?