HAPPY MOMMY

Typically, Vince would not use the main entrance of the Silvercrest building because he had his own. It was located near his secret parking area in their skyscraper's basement for practical and security reasons.

But today, he was feeling cheerful and spirited enough to actually enter the main entrance and use the common elevators.

Besides he had a mission... And he was early to complete it, too.

Not that he followed a time clock, but he did want to set an example for his employees. Hence, his regular attendance and daily punctuality at 7 A.M. on the dot when starting his workday. However, he decided to wait a few minutes as if in search of something… or someone. He hung out at one of the shops that rented space in their lounge area as he eyed the still small crowd of elevator passengers lining up in one of the ground floor hallways.

Though he acted like he was interested in a row of fresh pastries that were displayed at the store's window, all his wolf's heightened senses were focusing on was that particular line of people in front of a specific lift.

There she is. Come on, V! said the low growling voice in his head.

The thrilled Silvercrest President brisk-walked towards a particular elevator, hardly able to contain his excitement. Despite getting a bit of attention due to his height, looks and bearing, most of the people in that lift were not even aware of who he was since he didn't usually mingle with the blue-collar crowd. Which was fine by him...

It meant better chances of not being recognized, which is his main intention for this operation.

He was the second to the last passenger to enter the elevator, and he slowly pushed himself to the farthest end of the lift. Even as he leaned against the mirrored walls of this elegant compact enclosed space, he singled out the scent of a woman trying to huddle in the same corner where he was.

And inhaled deeply...

Good thing that she was too busy with her phone to notice that he was giving her his special attention. Otherwise, he would have been tagged as a creep by any mundane human.

But he was not at all mundane, and his wolf had to be sure that this woman wasn't either...

On the 22nd floor, this special lady stepped out, still typing on her mobile, as if she could sense what level she was on without looking up. V smiled as he watched her smooth, graceful movements, realizing that the woman didn't even know how sensual a sight she was...

And she was just walking!

It's her. It's definitely her, stated Roth with a resolute tone.

You don't have to tell me twice. And damn, I'm so glad it's her! Time to put our plan into motion, wolf...

* * *

It took a couple of days, but she finally got the angels filled with crayon drawings care of her babies. They wanted a doggy, a few toys, and something that made Siel's heart smile and cry at the same time...

A drawing of her, with a big smile on her face. She found it cute that the babies drew that.

It was just them being used to drawing their mommy, Siel thought.

Since the young mom didn't have more paper angels and couldn't let them make a mistake, she had to guide her babies as they drew. She remembered with a smile how, for the past nights, the three of them sat together while Rose and James intently drew their wishes. She even added small notes on what each drawing meant, including the one where she asked why her Rosie drew her that way.

"Happy mommy," said the little girl with a bright smile, and the proud mommy wrote it down word for word as the toddler stated.

"Happy mommy," Siel repeated, still sitting in her car. She was still smiling and mouthing the phrase right before entering the tall building with the large sign that read, "Silvercrest Enterprises".

The IT company where she worked, SCIT, was part of the Silvercrest business conglomerate. The Administrative headquarters were on their main building, which held construction, real estate, and hotel chains, among a number of their other businesses.

That morning she was surprisingly early, and that was why she had the time to reflect on her toddlers' wishes while riding the elevator and chatting with their nanny. Making sure that the paper angels were secure in her bag, she hoped to have time to go to the cafeteria, where the Christmas tree was.

It was open from nine to four and her schedule was from seven in the morning to four in the afternoon. But that easily extended after five, six, or even late at night like yesterday.

Usually, she didn't even have time for a proper lunch break. And that was what worried her…

Well, I shouldn't lose hope.

It's for my babies, after all!

The day passed. The white paper figures remained inside her desk drawer. At six in the evening, she was still sadly looking at them before leaving the office.

It will have to be tomorrow, Siel said to herself while letting a heavyhearted sigh out.

* * *

The door to Vincent’s office opened and in stepped his boyishly handsome personal assistant and the company's round eyed third-party accountant/auditor/industrial spy. And as usual, she was as perky and refreshing as sparkling soda water.

"Good morning, Myron. And hello, Raquel, I'm very glad to see you."

"Hello Mr. V, happy to see you too, and Merry Christmas!"

"Happy Holidays to you too. Please sit..."

The ebony-haired and brown-eyed assistant smiled at his employer and then kissed his grinning dainty wife gently on her forehead, "Please, I don't need to be here, Sir. I still have to confirm your afternoon appointments for today. Just call me if you want anything."

"Later, love," says the slim, pale-skinned minx, who had the same-colored hair and eyes as her husband's, before focusing her attention back at their CEO and Alpha.

"Now, about your report, Raquel. You finished all this in just two days?"

"Aren't you happy with that, Mr. V? I was hoping you'd like the fact that we've had fewer cases of property and intellectual theft, mismanagement, and other illegal activities this year. Since we've dealt with the bigger cases years before, all I did was check the intranet, go through the new hires and probationary employees for any possible irregularities..."

"I AM quite happy about your report R, but I need you to do some... additional work for me. What do you say to a little infiltration job?"

The girly female actually started to giggle and then clap her hands while her large round eyes sparkled, "Ooohhh... alright, I'm curious now. Who's the target, Mr. V?"

* * *

"Alright people, this is Raquel, and she's supposed to help us out with documentation. She's been sent from the higher-ups, so whatever she needs, you give it to her. Siel, you work directly with her, and you give her the moon if she asks for it! Understand?"

"Yes, Roderick."

"Hi! You're Siel, right? And you must be Diwa, from operations? How's it going here with you two? I hope you can help me out since I'm still a newbie at this."

"Oh no worries at all," Di replied while holding out her hand to the secretly familiar ‘new hire’. "We would really welcome some help here... especially, Siel."

Raquel shook hands with Di then shook the secretary's hand as well, "Gosh, do they overwork you here? Look if you need any kind of help, just tell me, OK?"

"That's really nice of you Raquel. Welcome to the IT service and sales division by the way," Siel said with a tired smile.

Even with the presence of the new girl, the poor single mom still ended up with the bulk of the work Roderick required. She liked Raquel and all, but she was afraid that the newcomer was inexperienced with the contracts and end up making things worse for her.

The best that she could do was ask her to recopy the contracts and other documents for her. And even then, Raquel always took longer than how she would usually do it.

If the girl wasn't so nice, I'd actually think Raquel is after my job. Damn it, Siel, stop thinking like that. She's so good to you and helpful, plus everyone likes her... and you're thinking like that? How could you?!

That was low, even for her. It must be because she really needed a job, and the threat of losing it to anyone, even someone as caring as Raquel, especially this Christmas time has pushed her to thinking that way.

Scary...

It took a lot of effort to keep her fears to herself. But she knew it was eating her up inside.

And she realized too that she was near breaking point...

* * *

"Everything you need is in order, Mr. V. Here are the hard copies, and this USB drive has all the soft copies. I even sent you encrypted versions to your personal email."

"Thank you, Raquel. You will get a bonus for all your extra work, that's a promise."

"Oh, that would be wonderful Mr. V. Although I kinda wanna give a little bit of help to Siel, if you don't mind."

"Yes, I mind R. If there is anyone who should be helping her out, it's me."

"Awwww, but can I at least buy her a cake so she can give it to her kids."

"Alright, only AFTER I've given my own gifts Raquel."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck then. I still want to give them that cake, so you better make this good, Mr. V!"

Vince's eyebrow went up at R's demanding tone while Roth was guffawing in his head. He pressed a button on his intercom...

"Yes, sir?"

"Myron, I think you need to give a little more attention to your wife. Please, go on a date, and stay up late because I'm giving you an extra day off tomorrow."

Roth was still laughing at Raquel's shocked face while her smiling husband escorted her out of V's office suite.

* * *

The next day came and went, and the next, and the next, and when she noticed to her horror that it was already the tenth...

And it was already 5PM!

Oh no, my babies' angels! I've forgotten all about them...

She had rushed the whole day to make it in time but was so busy that she didn't even notice how quickly time had passed.

Once again, I'm the last one to leave the office. And I've failed my babies... again!

To be honest, Siel was glad for once that no one was with her as she exited her workplace and entered the basement parking that night. At least, nobody would see the tears rolling down her face, or the pieces of paper in her hand that were getting crumpled into a tight ball due to her frustration, sadness, and helplessness…

For that whole week, she tried to find time to place the angels on that tree. She wanted to hang them herself, so even when Di had offered or Raquel, she turned them down.

In the end, you still didn't make it, Siel…

Since the year was ending, many of the companies they supplied services to wanted to sign renovations and extensions of service contracts before the holidays. That would ensure that their servers would be covered while they were on vacation.

Normally, this was the job of her boss, but since he demanded that she do it herself, she had been so busy that she hardly had time to go to the ladies' room. And now, she's so tired, guilty, and frustrated over losing the chance to give her kids a happy holiday.

Siel allowed her mind to go blank as she got into her car. She then sat behind the wheel, stared out for a long moment...

Then finally let out all the pent-up emotions, letting herself get crushed by its powerful waves!

She knew she couldn't let all of this out at home, but yes, she realized that she couldn't hold it in any longer. Her heart shattered, and her body shook with emotional pain as she grabbed the wheel, pressed her forehead against her hands, and just cried in anguish.

After half an hour of loudly sobbing, she finally tried to gasp for air to control her emotional outburst...

Meanwhile, she hardly noticed a shadowy figure who was watching her from afar.

It was actually someone who was casually walking towards his newly delivered blue Tesla Roadster, so it was parked in a regular parking slot at the Silvercrest basement levels. When he recognized her and heard her crying, he felt his heart breaking...

"Roth... shouldn't we..."

No, V, you're still a stranger to her despite your swift meeting at her office. We stick to the plan.

Temporarily frozen in place, Vince's enhanced eyesight allowed him to see her opening her car window, flinging a few pieces of paper outside then trying to compose herself. After about five minutes, she started her car and drove out of her basement parking slot and was soon out have left the building.

Finally managing to step out into the light, V slowly walked over to the white crumpled objects that Siel dropped, almost sure that the reason for her grief was within those wads of paper.

As he spread open the wrinkled angels, Vincent checked the drawings in red and green crayons. They were cute and colorful creations illustrating simple toddler toys and a puppy... Gifts that he would be quite happy to get for her.

But what called his attention the most was one crayon sketch of a freckled-face brown-haired woman with that now-familiar smile. It was labeled, "Happy Mommy" and it was in feminine handwriting too.

That drawing's smile was so contagious; he couldn't avoid grinning himself...

And it was a naughty one.

Folding both paper angels into his wallet, as if that action could get him closer to his mate, he turned around and got into his new car. With a head full of happy thoughts, he drove away, still smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"Roth, I'm thinking of changing the plan..."

My thoughts exactly. Just a little bit, though, to fit the festive heartfelt holidays.