CHAPTER 6: DISTURBED

Lauren stayed in the front of the kindergarten playground as she waited for little Casper to exit the building. She checked her phone, scrolling through her social media accounts before glancing up at the school once again. After a few more moments of idly browsing, she noticed Casper running towards her with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey, buddy! How was school today?" Lauren asked warmly as she leaned over to unbuckle his seatbelt.

"It was great! We made finger paints and I made a picture of a dinosaur!" Casper exclaimed with excitement.

"That sounds awesome, kiddo. What do you feel like doing now?" Lauren inquired as she started the car and began driving.

"Can we get ice cream?" Casper asked, big brown eyes shining.

"Sure thing, we can swing by the parlor on the way home," Lauren said with a smile.

As they approached the ice cream parlor, Lauren noticed a man on the other side of the street. She couldn't see his face, but his body language made her uneasy. He was staring at Casper with a blank expression. She quickly parked the car and took Casper by the hand to walk into the parlor.

As they enjoyed their ice cream, Lauren couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. She kept glancing over her shoulder, trying to spot the man again. Casper seemed oblivious to any danger, but Lauren wasn't willing to take any risks. She pulled out her phone and called her boss, Damien, who owned the mansion where they lived.

"Hey, Damien, it's Lauren. I think someone's been following us. There's a man outside the ice cream parlor who seems to be watching us. What should I do?" Lauren asked him, hoping he would have a solution.

Damien was in the middle of an important CEO meeting when his phone rang. He glanced down at the screen and saw that it was Lauren. He let out an exasperated sigh before answering, "Lauren, I'm in a meeting right now. Can you handle this on your own?"

"I'm not sure what to do. Can you come home and help me check it out?" she pleaded.

Damien sighed again, "Fine. Just stay where you are and I'll come as soon as I can."

As soon as Damien hung up the phone, the CEO of the company he was meeting with piped up, "Is everything alright, Damien? You seem distracted."

Damien tried to brush it off, saying that it was just a personal matter, but it didn't stop the other CEOs from becoming curious. They started asking questions, and before he knew it, the meeting had been sidetracked by his personal issues.

Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Lauren and Casper waited anxiously for Damien to arrive. When he finally did, he was not pleased. He was in the midst of a high-stakes negotiation and had to excuse himself from the meeting to come home. He berated Lauren for interrupting him during the meeting and causing a nuisance.

"Seriously, Lauren? You couldn't handle a little guy watching you and Casper get ice cream? You had to call me in the middle of one of the most important meetings of my career? I thought I could trust you to take care of things when I'm not around," Damien said, clearly frustrated.

"I'm sorry, Damien. I just wanted to make sure that Casper was safe," Lauren said, trying to defend herself.

"Well, next time, use some common sense and figure it out on your own. I can't have my work being disrupted like this," Damien said before walking away.

Lauren felt humiliated and embarrassed as she watched him go. She couldn't help but feel like she had made a mistake by calling him for help. She knew she should have been able to handle the situation on her own, but the fear of something happening to Casper had clouded her judgment.

As she sat alone in the kitchen, Lauren felt like a failure. She knew she had screwed up, and now she would have to face the consequences. Casper walked up to her, sensing her distress.

"Are you okay, Lauren?" he asked, concern etched all over his little face.

Lauren smiled weakly at him, "I'm fine, Casper. I just made a mistake, that's all. But it won't happen again."

Casper gave her a hug and said, "It's okay, Lauren. Everyone makes mistakes. Even grown-ups."

Lauren hugged him back, grateful for his kindness. She knew that she had a lot to learn, but she also knew that she had a little boy who believed in her. And that was all the motivation she needed to keep trying.