I'm Still Your Boss, You know…

Nadia looked up at Dean her heart beating so fast in anticipation that she wondered if he was able to read it. His blue gaze so intense as he looked down at her drew her in ever so slowly as she gave away reason just to plunge into this moment.

His eyes were so clear and mesmerizing, that they were reflecting the sunlight coming through the window into them. They looked beautiful and a bit familiar. Just like…

Nadia felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head as she looked away from him. What in the world was she doing? Has she gone crazy?!

“Uhm… I will be seeing you tomorrow then…” She trailed off as she stepped away from him to open the door.

Dean sighed and rubbed the side of his face in something akin to frustration. He must be wondering what came over him for a moment. Nadia didn’t want to look at him as she collected what was left of her composure.

“I would like you to cancel my plans for this weekend and any plans after this in the future,” Dean stated in a composed voice that made her almost feel embarrassed about how affected she was by this.

“You can ask the other secretaries to take care of it,” Nadia stated as she opened the door once more to leave.

“Come on… Nadia… I’m still practically your boss, you know,” He said with a tone that held a smile in his voice making her sigh. She looked back at him with a fake smile, her annoyance reaching max levels.

“I will be waiting for you to come in tomorrow,” He added after her back and Nadia nodded as she walked away.

Of course, she was coming in for work tomorrow… She wasn’t about to quit because of this.

Nadia made her way toward the parking lot, Her black convertible lighting up as soon as she came close to it. The car was a gift from Dean, according to him it was for being able to work with him for more than a year. Something he found funny because none of his assistants lasted more than six months. A mystery that had remained unresolved.

Over those years, she had easily gotten used to her position, a position she got from his father. Dean was a very hard man to work with, demanding and a perfectionist, on top of his workaholic attitude. But she enjoyed her day job more than she had expected to.

Over the years, she and Dean had become somewhat friends, or maybe like siblings seeing the two-year age difference between them, and their constant bickering. Although he was younger than her, and a bit of a tease with a playful attitude. To the outsiders, he was a competent man who knew how to do his job.

Which was why she didn’t want to cross the threshold of a relationship with him no matter how tempting it was. She didn’t want to lose what they had, especially when she was in no position to let someone into her life.

****************

Nadia skilfully maneuvered her car into a spot in front of the preschool just as the animated chatter of emerging students echoed through the air. With purposeful strides, she approached the entrance.

Suddenly, a whirlwind of wavy chestnut hair collided with her, wrapping her in a tight embrace. In that precious moment, she was enveloped by the infectious energy of her small bundle of joy.

Dean would probably be surprised if he found out that the man in her life she was talking about was no one other than Luke. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

“Mommy! You’re here!” Luke said with an excited tone as he grinned up at her his cheeks seeming to almost burst out from his smile. Her chest squeezed as she looked at him.

“Hey there, sweetheart. Mommy got out of work early today because she misses you,” She said kneeling down to look at him.

He jumped on his small feet in excitement for a few seconds before reaching for her neck squeezing it with his small arms in a tight hug.

“I missed you too, Mommy,” He said as he patted her hair like she would do to him. Seriously, all she needed was Luke in her life and she would forever be healed. Who cares about her boss’s careless jokes…

“Aw, my little cutie pie,” She said hugging him back and lifting him up, spinning around for a moment.

Luke was giggling as he begged her to stop when she heard someone laugh behind them. Looking back, she found Luke’s kindergarten teacher looking at them with a smile.

“It’s always a joy to see you two together,” She said with a soft smile as she brushed her gray locks away from her face and looked at Luke.

“You must be so happy since Mom came to pick you up, right Luke?” The older woman said in a soft tone.

“Thank you for always taking care of Luke. He wouldn’t stop talking about you at home, Mrs. Payne,” She told her and the older woman looked her in the eyes and patted her on the shoulder.

“I’m just glad to see you two doing so well,” she answered making Nadia’s mind travel back to the past.

Back when she was left with nothing. With no family and no friends, the world was such a lonely place to her back then, if it wasn’t for the newborn bundle in her arms, she would have given up a long time ago.

Mrs. Payne had seen her that day. Sitting on a hospital bench waiting for her discharge papers as she gazed down at Luke’s sleeping face wondering how she was going to raise him alone.

She came up to her, asked to see Luke’s face, and then began chatting with her about anything and everything. Then she gave her her phone number and told her to call whenever she felt like it. Mrs. Payne became her lifeline and savior after that. The emotional pillar she’d needed to lean on in order to stand up and take one more step forward. Since then, she would never forget about what she did for her.

And she had made sure to repau her for it.

Soon after that, Nadia went on to work at WTech, and Mrs Payne has been helping her take care of Luke ever since.

“It’s all thanks to you,” Nadia answered with a soft smile.

“Mommy, when are we going to go back home? I’m super hungry!” Luke said patting her shoulder and both Nadia and Mrs Payne laughed at the lost moment they were sharing.

“Right away, buddy! We can’t have you go hungry now, can we?” She said gazing at her son’s beautiful blue eyes.

“Of course not!” Luke said with a haughty tone making her smile.

Nadia made her goodbyes to Mrs. Payne and made her way back toward her car securing Luke’s car seat before starting the engine. As Nadia drove, Luke chatted away telling her every detail of his day and reintroducing every friend he made again.

He was a surprisingly sociable child. When she was his age, and even older, she never was the one to talk to people first. She was always fine being overshadowed by her cousin Kate who was outgoing and liked the attention.

Nadia frowned, the memory of that person putting her immediately in a bad mood. Remembering her was always a trigger to Nadia if only she had noticed Kate’s real intentions back then-

That train of thought made her pause. If it wasn’t for what Kate did, Nadia wouldn’t have had Luke. There was no way that she was going to pull her son’s presence down her spirals of regrets.

“Mommy! Mommy! You’re spacing out again! We’re here!” Luke said and Nadia looked around her realizing that she already automatically parked the car and took out the keys.

Getting Luke out, they both headed up to their penthouse. Luke zoomed through the house putting down his bag and using the stool reserved for him to wash his hands. Then he sat down at the table waiting expectantly.

Nadia smiled deciding to put off changing as she made her way to the kitchen heating up what she had already prepared.

“Can we turn the TV on?” Luke asked,

“Sure, as long as you promise to finish your food,” She instructed.

“I promise,” He said touching his chest with his palm making her laugh.

Grabbing the remote, she turned the TV on only to pause for a moment frozen to her spot.

Before her on the screen, three, familiar, smiling faces looking back at her. The faces that had been engraved into her memory since that fateful day. Automatically, her fingers touched the remote again elevating the volume.

‘Talbot Developments and Colt Tech are making a collaboration on a new project. Although, this is not all there is to this collaboration. The CEO of Colt Techs Mark Colt, known as the genius developer, and Talbot Developments’ chairman’s niece and his only heir, Kate Talbot are rumored to be engaged. This makes us wonder if this talk about a project is the news of a merging under disguise is actually…’ The announcer spoke as the video went on showing the two men signing documents and shaking hands while the woman prettily smiled at them.

After the documents were signed, the younger man let the woman wrap her arms around him in a hug as the cameras around them went on a wild tirade to catch the moment.

A truly picture-perfect moment…

Before Nadia knew it. Bile was rising in her stomach as she dropped the remote and stood up. Emptying her stomach into the sink, Memories swirled around her head like a broken record throwing her into an endless loop of hellish torture.