TAMING THE COLD-HEARTED BOSS

Chapter 03: A Chaotic Encounter

Chapter 03: A Chaotic Encounter

"But sir?" the driver exclaimed, confused.

The man in the back remained impassive, his darkened gaze fixed on Maggie.

"Paul, do what I asked you to do!" he snapped, still just as firm.

Maggie was completely lost in her thoughts.

The car was getting closer to her, and despite that, her steps remained just as slow.

Everything around her seemed frozen. The only sounds Maggie could hear were the beating of her heart and her thoughts, which were making her even more vulnerable...

The car kept moving. It did not stop, but the driver had reduced his speed slightly, hoping she would finish crossing without anything going wrong.

But Maggie did not know that.

And little by little, her steps came to a stop, simply because she could no longer hold it in... she could no longer hold back her tears.

And then, she stopped right in the middle of the road, much to the driver's distress.

Her only chance was that it was a small town, and very few cars drove through that area.

Maggie broke down crying right in the middle of the road.

"Sir? What should I do, sir?" the driver asked, shaken and shocked, his eyes wide open.

The man straightened up in the back seat.

His fingers came together. And with a strangely calm voice, he answered,

"Keep going. And until the very last moment, don't slow down."

"Sir?!" the driver exclaimed, confused.

"Paul, do what I'm telling you!" he repeated, still just as firm.

"Paul, just do it!"

"Yes, sir," the driver answered, resigned.

He slightly shifted the gear, and the car moved forward again, gaining speed as if nothing had happened...

The driver kept going, and he was now only a few meters away from Maggie, who was still crying.

The man in the back spoke in an even firmer tone,

"Honk!"

The driver immediately obeyed.

The horn blared loudly.

The car was now only a few small meters away from Maggie, who still had not realized what could happen.

"Paul, don't stop! Keep going and keep honking!" the man ordered, even more firmly and seriously.

One final, long honk echoed through the street.

Maggie turned around, her eyes widening in fear...

The car was moving toward her. She did not know what to do in that moment. She covered her face with her arm, hoping nothing would happen to her.

Then the car suddenly stopped right beside her, barely a wheel's distance away.

Maggie remained frozen, completely terrified, her arm still raised in front of her face.

Suddenly, the door opened.

The man stepped out.

Maggie could not see him. Fear had completely frozen her behind her arm.

All of a sudden, a firm hand grabbed her arm.

Maggie screamed in fear.

The man released her arm and grabbed her by the shoulders. He shook her firmly until their eyes met.

His gaze was dark, belonging to a tall, imposing, and mysterious man.

Maggie's eyes, on the other hand, reflected a mixture of sadness. They were filled with tears and fear as she faced the stranger standing in front of her.

"Are you crazy or what?" he snapped, furious, without wasting another second.

Maggie could not get a single word out.

She was frozen, staring into his eyes.

She watched him yell at her...

Without saying a word.

"You need to be careful! You could have been killed... Do you realize that?!" he shouted even louder.

Suddenly, the sound of a car door opening caught both their attention.

"Dad, who is that lady?" a little voice asked.

The driver got out of the car as well and immediately rushed toward the little boy.

"I'm sorry, sir. I couldn't stop him," he said.

"William, get back into the car and sit quietly. Daddy still needs to talk to this lady for a little while, okay? Listen to Paul."

"Okay, Dad," the little boy answered before calmly getting back into the car.

Slowly, the man turned his attention back to Maggie.

"Let this be the last time I find you standing in the middle of the street like this. If you want to get yourself killed, find another way. Don't involve anyone else. And let this be the last time I find you in my path," he said coldly.

Without giving her the chance to say anything, he suddenly released her and headed back toward his car.

He got inside, and the car drove away under the troubled gaze of poor Maggie...

She watched the vehicle disappear, fear still twisting inside her stomach.

"I... I almost got hit... If that had happened, what would Dad, Mom, and Lucie have said... If something had happened to me, how would I have kept my promise?" she whispered, her pupils still wide with fear.

She immediately wiped her eyes.

Then she hurried across the road as quickly as possible.

She ran, leaving behind the terrible risk that had almost cost her her life and her promises.

Maggie walked as fast as she could, but that feeling of helplessness and the sadness weighing heavily on her chest were still there.

A few minutes later, she finally exhaled.

Her arms hung loosely at her sides as she stared straight ahead. Fatigue could be seen in her eyes, but strangely enough, a smile slowly appeared on her face.

Right in front of her stood the orphanage, "The Heart That Gives," along with its founder, Mother Superior Sarah, who was coming back with the little children...

Her smile grew wider and wider, as if, for a second, all her sadness had disappeared.

She stopped, watching the happiness of the little ones and Mother Sarah's smile as she laughed with them.

That alone was enough to make Maggie smile too.

Suddenly, her voice rang out toward them.

"Mother Sarah! Children!"

She started running toward them, and all the children came rushing toward her.

"Children!" she exclaimed happily.

It was as if she had become another person.

She had gone from sadness to happiness; she was suddenly radiant, completely different from the girl she had been moments earlier.

"Maggie, my child!" Mother Sarah called as she also moved closer to her.

"You're already here, my child?"

"Yes, Mother. Are you doing well?"

"Yes, we are all doing well. Aren't we, children?"

"YES!!!" they all answered together, huge smiles lighting up their little faces.

When she entered this place where love and sharing came first, where smiles mattered to these little souls who had never asked to come into this world, and even less to lose the only people who had loved them unconditionally...

This was where she worked.

Sharing, helping, bringing joy, giving reassurance... that was what her daily life required her to do.

And she did it with the biggest smile, with all her heart, even though that same little heart that shone for others struggled to find its own ray of sunshine.

"Shall we go?" Mother Sarah asked.

Maggie nodded, and they all went inside.

A few minutes later, Mother Sarah returned to the living room.

Her expression became worried when she saw Maggie, who seemed lost in her thoughts again.

"Maggie," she called as she moved closer.

Maggie jumped and immediately stood up from her chair.

"Mother Superior, did you call me? Do you need me to do something for you?" she asked, surprised.

"No, my child, it's okay. But tell me, what's wrong? A few minutes ago, you looked so worried. Is something bothering you?"

Maggie struggled to look her in the eyes.

Everything was rushing through her mind.

She was torn.

"I... I'm fine. Everything is fine," she suddenly said, forcing a smile.

"Maggie, my child, I know you. And you know you can talk to me," Mother Sarah insisted in her calm tone, her voice so gentle that Maggie began to think.

"I... actually..." she stammered.

"Actually, I just remembered that the yard... the yard was dusty. I need to clean it. That's it."

"The yard?" Mother Sarah asked, surprised by her answer.

"Yes, Mother... Actually, I was a little embarrassed to tell you that I was starting to get bored, and then I just remembered that after the children come back, there is always a lot of dust in the yard. So I'm going to pour some water to keep the dust down. Excuse me, Mother," she said quickly, clearly embarrassed.

As soon as she said it, she immediately headed toward the laundry room.

Once inside, she closed the door behind her.

And then she could no longer hold back the silent tears.

"How can I tell you that my family and I need an advance as soon as possible, Mother? How could I ask you for that when you are already fighting as hard as you can for this orphanage? How?"

Suddenly, she heard footsteps.

Instantly, she wiped her eyes and quickly got herself together, placing water into a bucket.

Then she grabbed the broom and walked back outside as if nothing had happened.

When she stepped out, Mother Sarah was standing in front of her, her expression uncertain.

"Maggie, are you okay?"

Maggie forced a quick smile.

"Yes, yes, Mother... I was just embarrassed to tell you. Now I'm going to finish this as quickly as possible before the children's lunch."

She walked a little faster, as if trying to escape, which only made the Mother Superior more suspicious.

She could clearly feel that Maggie was not telling her everything...

As soon as she reached the yard, Maggie's expression changed again.

Her eyes no longer lied.

She was sad.

The light in her lowered eyes said more than words ever could.

She placed the bucket on the porch and looked across the yard.

"At least it wasn't completely untrue..." she murmured before sighing.

She pulled herself together and immediately got to work.

Suddenly, the gate rattled loudly.

Maggie headed toward it, intrigued.

"Who could that be?" she murmured.

Another knock sounded.

"Just a minute! I'm coming!" she called.

She turned the key in the lock, and the gate opened in front of her.

When she raised her eyes, they widened in surprise.

The broom slipped from her hands.

She had not expected this.

"You? You? What are you doing here?"

The tall man with the striking gaze she had seen earlier...

The man who had made it very clear that she should not make other people responsible for her reckless actions was standing in front of her once again.

And as for him, his expression did not change...

He looked just as intrigued, but he knew that their paths were never supposed to cross again.