Chapter6
1634 Words
NATALIE’S POV
I was helping Ava finish a cup of apple juice when my phone started ringing.
Mia.
I answered immediately.
“Hey.”
“Before you get angry, let me explain.”
My stomach immediately tightened.
“What happened?”
“Lucas wants you back at work.”
I stared at the wall.
For a second, I genuinely thought she was joking.
“What?”
“He said you already had enough time to deal with the emergency.”
I looked over at Ava. The sight alone made me want to hang up.
“Mia, she was literally admitted to the hospital.”
“I know.”
“He can’t be serious.”
“He is.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course he was. What had I expected? His two seconds of kindness meant literally nothing. A billionaire CEO wasn’t going to stop his entire schedule because his assistant’s child got sick.
The King family never worked that way.
I learned that lesson five years ago.
“Then tell him I’m not coming.”
“Natalie.”
“No.”
“Listen to me first.”
I sighed heavily.
“What?”
“I found someone who can watch Ava.”
I frowned, already unwilling to hear her out. “What do you mean?”
“My friend Carla.”
“I don’t know Carla.”
“She’s amazing with kids.”
“I still don’t know her.”
Mia lowered her voice.
“Nat, please. Stop for a second and think!”
I looked away.
I couldn’t afford to lose this job.
Not now.
Not after praying for an opportunity like this for years. Not when my bills were stacked so high I avoided looking at them. Not when I finally had a chance to give Ava something better.
“I don’t like this.”
“I know.”
“What if Ava needs me?”
“Then Carla will call.”
“What if she gets sick again?”
“Then Carla will call.”
I pressed a hand against my forehead.
Nothing about this felt right.
Every instinct inside me told me to stay exactly where I was. But instincts didn’t pay rent.
“When do I have to be there?”
Mia let out a relieved breath.
“As soon as possible.”
I looked at Ava again.
She was smiling at a cartoon playing on the television.
My heart broke a little.
“Fine.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m only doing this because I need this job.”
“I know.”
After ending the call, I sat beside Ava on the bed.
She immediately noticed something was wrong.
“Mommy?”
I brushed her hair behind her ear.
“I have to go back to work for a little while.”
Her smile faded.
“Now?”
I nodded.
“Just for today.”
She looked down at her blanket.
I hated seeing disappointment on her face. It made me feel like I was failing her somehow.
“Will you come back?”
“Always.”
I kissed her forehead.
“Always.”
An hour later, I found myself standing outside King’s Corporation once again.
The anxiety I felt earlier had been replaced by irritation.
The entire ride back, I kept thinking about Lucas.
The fact that he expected me to return on my first day after a hospital emergency shouldn’t have surprised me. It’s what any regular boss would do. I don’t know why I expected something good from him.
His mother practically gave me a lecture about dedication the last time our lives crossed paths.
Apparently the obsession with work ran in the family.
I stepped into the elevator and tried to push the thoughts away.
By the time I reached the executive floor, Mia was already waiting.
“You hate me, don’t you?”
I glared at her.
She laughed nervously.
“I’ll make it up to you.”
“You better.”
She handed me a tablet.
“Lucas has been asking for you every twenty minutes.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“Work-related questions.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Right.”
She grinned.
“Come on.”
A few moments later, I found myself standing in front of Lucas’s office.
My pulse immediately sped up.
This was ridiculous.
I was a grown woman. Yet somehow this man still affected me.
I knocked.
“Come in.”
The moment I entered, Lucas looked up from his desk.
His eyes briefly moved over me before returning to the documents in front of him.
“Miss Hart.”
“I’m sorry for the delay.”
“Your daughter is stable?”
The question caught me off guard.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
That was it. He simply handed me a folder.
“I need these meetings reorganized.”
I accepted it.
“Okay.”
For the next hour, Lucas walked me through his schedule.
He explained which clients mattered most, which meetings could never be moved, which board members required immediate responses.
The entire conversation remained strictly professional.
Yet somehow being alone with him felt more intimate than it should have.
At one point he stepped behind me to point something out on my screen.
The movement was necessary. Yet I became painfully aware of how close he was.
The scent of his cologne wrapped around me.
His shoulder brushed mine.
My fingers froze over the keyboard.
“Miss Hart.”
I cleared my throat.
“Sorry.”
Lucas remained silent for a moment before continuing his explanation.
If he noticed my reaction, he didn’t mention it.
Hours later, the workday finally came to an end.
I was gathering my things when his voice stopped me.
“Miss Hart.”
I turned around.
“Yes?”
He closed the file in front of him.
“If your daughter isn’t fully recovered by tomorrow, stay home.”
I blinked.
For a second I thought I’d heard him wrong.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“But today—”
“Today was your first day.”
I frowned.
“And tomorrow?”
His expression remained unreadable.
“Tomorrow your daughter comes first.”
For a moment, I didn’t know what to say.
Then he looked back down at his paperwork.
The conversation was clearly over.
I quietly left the office.
Yet the entire elevator ride down, one thought kept bothering me.
Maybe Lucas King wasn’t exactly who I remembered.
Or maybe I was making the mistake of trying to understand a man I’d never truly known in the first place.
The elevator doors opened and I stepped into the lobby.
Mia was still sitting behind the front desk typing away on her computer.
The moment she saw me, she grinned.
“Look who’s still employed.”
I rolled my eyes and walked over.
“Very funny.”
“I was serious. I wasn’t sure if one of you would murder the other before closing time.”
I laughed despite myself.
“Thankfully, I didn’t.”
She leaned forward immediately.
“So?”
“So what?”
“Don’t do that.”
I sighed.
“The day was fine.”
“Natalie.”
“The day was fine.”
Mia narrowed her eyes.
“How was Lucas?”
I thought about it for a moment.
“He’s exactly what you’d expect from a CEO.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning he spent hours explaining schedules and meetings.”
“And?”
“And nothing.”
She looked disappointed.
“Nothing happened?”
I hesitated.
His shoulder brushing mine flashed through my mind.
The way he asked about Ava. The way his lips were so close to my ears a slight turn would’ve led to a kiss.
“No,” I lied.
Mia immediately laughed.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“I have to go.”
“You absolutely do not.”
“Yes, I do. I need to pick Ava up.”
Her smile softened.
“How’s she doing?”
“Better.”
“See? I told you Carla would take good care of her.”
I grabbed my purse.
“That doesn’t mean I’m leaving my child with strangers again.”
“She isn’t a stranger anymore.”
“She’s still close enough.”
Mia shook her head.
“Whatever.”
My phone suddenly started ringing.
The smile immediately disappeared.
Unknown number.
My stomach dropped.
Not again. I had completely forgot about that psycho Jason.
Mia noticed my expression.
“What?”
I stared at the screen.
“I think it’s Jason.”
Her face darkened instantly.
“Answer it.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Nat.”
The phone continued ringing.
Against my better judgment, I answered.
“What do you want?”
Jason laughed softly.
The sound alone made my skin crawl.
“That’s no way to answer the phone.”
“I asked you a question.”
There was a brief pause.
Then he spoke again.
“I need the money.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“And I already told you no.”
“You should really reconsider.”
“I’m not giving you a cent.”
He stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then he spoke again.
This time his voice was quieter. He tried to sound dangerous.
“How’s the new job?”
Every muscle in my body locked.
My eyes met Mia’s.
She immediately knew something was wrong.
“What did you say?” I whispered.
“I asked how the new job is going.”
My heart started pounding.
“How do you know about my job?”
Jason chuckled.
A slow, unsettling sound.
“King’s Corporation, right?”
The blood drained from my face.
- Writer
