My Boss is My Daughter's Father

Chapter5

LUCAS’ POV

I stared at my phone long after the call ended.

The conversation had lasted less than a minute, yet it was enough to leave me distracted all over again.

“Well?” Ethan asked from across the office.

I looked up.

“Her daughter is okay.”

Ethan leaned back in his chair.

“Good.”

Neither of us spoke for a moment.

I turned my attention toward the floor-to-ceiling windows behind my desk. Normally I found the view calming, but today it did nothing for me.

“Remind me why you called her.”

I glanced over my shoulder.

Ethan was watching me with an expression that already annoyed me.

“Because her daughter was in the hospital.”

He laughed. “Oh really? And that’s it?”

I turned back toward the window.

“I was concerned.”

“You were concerned about your employee’s child after knowing she existed for approximately three hours.”

“I don’t know why you’re making this sound abnormal.”

“Because it isn’t normal.”

I sighed and walked back toward my desk.

“Can we talk about something else?”

“Not until you admit you’re losing your mind.”

“I’m not losing my mind.”

Ethan pointed at me. “You spent five years looking for this woman.”

“I wasn’t looking for five years.”

“Oh but you turned down every woman mum tried to wed you with.”

“None of them were my type. And besides I didn’t want to get married.”

“Yeah because you were miserable, all for a one night stand!”

I sat down and rubbed my temple.

There was no winning an argument with Ethan.

Unfortunately, he knew me too well.

“You know what your problem is?” he continued.

“No.”

“You built this woman into some impossible fantasy.”

I laughed.

Before I could respond, a notification appeared on my laptop.

A new email from Emily Carter, Human Resources.

Ethan noticed the shift in my expression.

“What is it?”

“The report.”

“Huh? Already?”

“Looks like it.”

I opened the email.

Natalie’s employee file appeared on my screen. The first page contained nothing unusual. It contained her employment history, education, references.

I skimmed through everything quickly.

There was nothing particularly surprising. Hate to say I was hoping to see something eye catching.

She had worked hard jobs for years. Most of them involved customer service, administration, or retail. The résumé was solid but ordinary.

She also had records of owing lots of debt with multiple people, but never long enough for it to cause problems. That amazed me.

I continued reading.

Then I reached the personal information section.

My eyes narrowed.

“No husband?” Ethan asked.

I hadn’t realized he was reading over my shoulder.

“No.”

“Boyfriend?”

“We’re reading the same thing Ethan.”

He smirked.

“I can practically hear your optimism from here.”

I ignored him.

The information wasn’t important. Or at least that’s what I told myself.

Then I saw another name under her emergency Contact. One was Mia, unsurprisingly. The other was Ava Hart.

Relationship: Daughter.

My gaze lingered on the screen.

The image from earlier flashed through my mind.

Natalie standing in my office.

The way her voice shook when she asked for permission to leave. The fear in her eyes when she spoke about her daughter.

I scrolled further down.

Date of Birth.

The numbers immediately caught my attention. At first, I wasn’t even sure why.

Then I looked again, and again.

My heartbeat raced.

Ava Hart was five years old. Almost exactly five years old.

I leaned back in my chair.

“What?” Ethan asked.

I didn’t answer. My mind was already elsewhere.

Five years ago.

The timeline wasn’t impossible, but it wasn’t proof either.

She could’ve been married at the time. That would’ve been a really great explanation as to why she disappeared. But the files didn’t show that she had been divorced at any point.

There were multiple reasons to believe it was only a coincidence. Yet I couldn’t ignore the thought that suddenly appeared and refused to leave.

Natalie disappeared shortly after that night.

Now she had a five-year-old daughter.

A daughter with no father listed anywhere in her records.

“Lucas.”

I looked up.

Ethan was studying me carefully.

“What are you thinking?”

I hesitated. Because saying it out loud sounded ridiculous.

Then again, most things involving Natalie had sounded ridiculous over the last five years.

“I think I need to meet her daughter.”

Ethan stared at me.

For several seconds, he didn’t say a word.

Then he laughed. A full, uncontrollable laugh that made me wonder whether I wanted to fire him or punch him. Or both.

“You’re serious.”

“I am.”

“Please tell me you’re not about to convince yourself that child belongs to you.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. I know you.”

I closed the file and stood.

Maybe Ethan was right.

Maybe I was being irrational. Maybe seeing Natalie again had stirred up old feelings that should have remained buried.

But the more I thought about it, the less convinced I became.

Something wasn’t adding up.

And after five years of unanswered questions, I wasn’t willing to ignore my instincts.

Not anymore.

I picked up the phone and called for Mia.

“What are you doing?” Ethan asked.

“Just making sure Natalie returns to work.”

Mia knocked on my door shorty after.

“Come in.”

“You called for me, sir?”

“Uh yes.” I gestured for her to sit but she remained standing. “You were the one that got Natalie this job, yes?”

“Yes I was. Your mother asked me to find a personal assistant for you and I figured she was the best person for it. She’s really hardworking and—”

“It’s okay, Mia.”

“What’s your relationship with her?”

She looked confused by the question, but answered anyway.

“We’ve been best friends since we were little.”

“I see.” I looked at Ethan who looked like he was enjoying the conversation for some reason.

“Wait, is this because she left? Please don’t fire her, I promise she can do this, she just—”

“Mia,” I cut in. “I’m not firing her. But I do hope she comes back.”

“Excuse me?”

“I gave her a moment to attend to her daughter. I still expect her to be back here.” I looked at my watch. “It’s been what? Two hours? She should be back by now.”

“Oh, uhm. W-well..”

“How about you give her a call. It’s her first day, and you wouldn’t want her to give a bad impression would you?”

I smiled at her, she nervously smiled back.

“Of course not. But uhm, she has no one to watch her daughter and we don’t know if she’s stable yet.”

“She can bring her daughter here, it’s fine. Emily can watch her.”

She looked shook.

“You understand that as a personal assistant she’s meant to be by my side at all times? She has a lot to learn.”

“Yes I completely understand but she’s very protective of Ava. I don’t think she’d want to bring her here.”

“Oh so she’d rather lose her job?”

She hesitated. “I’ll give her a call now.”

I smiled, “thanks Mia”

“Of course.”

She stood up and left the office. I couldn’t help but smile.

“You are crazy Lucas.”

“You haven’t seen nothing yet.”