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.
Nadia’s mind swirled at the sight of the three people she resented the most in the world as they laughed and smiled together after they destroyed everything in her life and threw her on the street. A merging?! An Engagement?! She will see to it so that none of that ever happens. She will see to it so that they burn to ashes along with everything they took away from her. “Mommy! Are you okay?! Does your tummy hurt? Should I rub it for you?” Nadia’s dry heaving stopped, and she sat down on the kitchen floor taking a deep breath when her five years old’s voice reached her ears. The thought of Luke seeing her in this state startled her and she turned around looking at him. He was sitting beside her on the floor his wide and filled with worry. What was she doing making her son worry about her like this? Seriously… “I’m okay, honey. I was just having a hard time digesting the food that’s all,” she told him as she ruffled his hair and he nodded snuggling into her and rubbing her stomach
Dean’s phone rang and he groaned, turning to the other side hiding his head under the covers trying hard to ignore the persistent sound. His door burst open, and he heard footsteps thudding through the floor until they reached his bedside table, then the alarms stopped ringing. Dean sighed and snuggled deeper into his bed wishing for sleep to reclaim him. “Don’t even think about going back to sleep” said his friend in a voice that was clearly not pleased. Dean didn’t respond. Hopefully, Keith would be leaving soon and letting him catch a few more minutes of sleep. Dean’s covers were suddenly pulled away inevitably depriving him of any ounce of sleep he was trying to reclaim. Glaring at Keith, he found him looking back at him with murder in his eyes. “What the hell is wrong with you so early in the morning?” He asked and Keith threw the covers on the bed. “Me?! What’s wrong with YOU! Your alarm had been ringing like a freaking fire alarm! And here I thought I would get some peace
“Miss. Talbot! Can you tell us why you cheated on your fiancé?” “Miss. Talbot! How do you feel now that you’re going to be a single mother?” “What is going to happen to Colt Techs after this? Are you and Mr. Colt going to remain business partners?” The noises from her past filled her head as images of crowds chasing her flashed through her mind. She was running away from them trying to protect her belly when one of them grabbed the sleeve of her shirt ripping it and making her stumble forward. Her father and her cousin were watching her from afar within the safety of their office while Nadia was thrown to the gutter as vultures swarmed around her ripping out at her flesh. Miss Talbot! Miss Talbot! Miss Talbot! “No! No! Enough!” Nadia called out putting both hands against her ears trying to block away the sounds. “Nadia! This way!” Suddenly, Nadia wasn’t back in the past but instead, she was facing the same predicament as reporters threatened to swarm toward her. She felt a ha
“I uh… I might need to go in there alone,” Nadia told Dean who frowned down at her.“I think it’s a little too late to be worried about us being seen together,” he said.“No… uh, I need to talk to Luke’s teacher for a moment, give me a minute,” Nadia insisted as she got out of the car and made her way hastily toward the school where Mrs. Payne was anxiously waiting for her at the door.“What does he want?” She asked her and Mrs. Payne shook her head with worry.“He wouldn’t tell us what he wanted. He asked whether Miss Talbot was here and then corrected himself to your last name. I led him to the office when I called you claiming that you agreed to see him,” She explained, and Nadia nodded with determination as she made her way into the building.“What in the world is going on, Nadia? Why is there a reporter here looking for you,” Mrs. Payne asked as she followed after her worry evident in her voice.Mrs. Payne was one of the few people who knew about her past. So she was evidently wo
Dean took deep breaths trying to reign in his anger. He wanted to punch the daylight out of that Rolland guy, but he couldn’t do that. Not with all the press keeping their eyes on them. Not while he didn’t know the exact story behind this.Nadia is clearly keeping a secret from him. A secret she didn’t want Rolland to reveal to him.He heard Nadia’s phone ping and then the sound of her knees hitting the ground. He turned around to find her looking at her phone with a shocked expression. A mixture of pure disgust and horror, the exact same expression she was making moments earlier when she was being chased by the reporters.“Are you okay?” He asked kneeling down beside her and she looked up at him with a dazed expression as if she was trying to make out what he was saying in her jumbled mind state.“Hey, Nadia, are you with me?” He asked again shaking her shoulder lightly his heart catching as he peered into the empty look in her eyes.She blinked and looked at him for a moment then no
Nadia sat down at Dean’s kitchen counter silently watching him as he read through the article that already made its way to the media and was now infesting most of the news outlets. Her picture was palstered in the front showing her face from before and after her transformation to Nadia Rowell. Not that she did much except for dye her hair back and add the glasses. Sometimes simple modifications made radical changes. “To think that you were a Talbot…” He said with a sigh rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly looking at her. “You don’t have to treat me any different now that you know the truth…” She told him with uncertainty, and he looked up at her with a smile. “You think I would be upset about this little bit of news?” He asked and she shrugged internally relieved by his reaction. Last night, she had hacked into the newspapers’ system looking for Rolland’s article. It took her moments to find it, and minutes to realize that most of Rolland’s threats were bluff bravado. The story
"Dean..." Nadia said with an exasperated sigh as she leaned back from him.She really was taking him seriously there for a moment."Hey! I'm being serious," He said and she shook her head."How can it work out after all the mess that happened? Your best course of action is to announce that you gave me the job to help me out and that everything is a misunderstanding. Otherwise, your reputation is going to suffer and they may even take you for Luke's real father," She said."I don't care about what they say. Besides, I don't mind being called Luke's father," Dean said and Nadia's eyes widened."Dean. You must realize what you're saying right now," Nadia said her tone darkening, "This is not a game!""Listen to me for a moment, will you?" He insisted grabbing her hand to stop her from leaving her place. Sighing, Nadia looked at him and waited."I know for a fact that things are complicated right now. But I think that this is the simplest and surest way to resolve this problem. The media w
Nadia rubbed the back of her neck before she returned to typing on her laptop. As soon as she began working, she realized that this was a false alert and that she didn't need to follow the tracks of this hacker. It was simply an internal glitch, someone from the development department must be testing her firewall. Some of them were having a hard time accepting that WhiteFlower, an outsider, is doing a better job at protecting their digital system than they were. Wich was why she was paid a hefty sum of money which all went to support her multiple investments. If these fake alerts kept going she was going to have to report it to Dean to deal with the development team. It was high time they hired some female IT employees to drop those men's edge a few pegs down. She was always in for letting a little male ege take a healthy fall. Nadia then realized one thing. If she was going away in a few days, there was no way that she will be able to continue her relationship with WTech. So her pl