Chapter Ten

~McKenna~

I woke up somewhere around noon and I realized that I had completely ruined my overnight sleep schedule. I was going to have the worst time tonight and tomorrow -assuming I had a job.

That thought woke me up like a bucket of cold water to the face and I groaned. Could I not just have one happy morning to myself before reality kicked me in the face?

Whatever. I would just have to deal with it. I had been through worse in my life and I would get through this too. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t complain about it as I went.

Rolling over, I grabbed my phone and saw what I had missed. Sure enough, there was another email from work, but this one wasn’t from the generic HR account. Instead, it was from a Rafael Barbos, who just so happened to be the CEO of the entire company.

I gasped as I triple-read the closing signature. But no matter how many times I went over it, it stayed the same. The handsome man that I had a sex dream about was none other than the owner and CEO of the entire enterprise.

Good lord.

I realized that I had been so distracted by the email address and signature that I hadn’t even read the contents of the message. To be honest, I was probably self-consciously avoiding it in a chance to protect myself from the termination that I knew was coming, but I needed to bite the bullet and put my big-girl panties on.

My eyes flicked to the words at the center of the email and I was surprised to see that he wanted to meet with me again. I guessed he wanted to fire me in person or something. Stupid rich person didn’t understand the inconvenience of paying to ride a bus out only to get fired and then have to return right back home.

I could always just…not go, I supposed. I could just pack my bags and leave town before my name got out and everything was ruined. That was I would be safe, and I didn’t have to worry about him finding me.

No.

I was so tired of running. So tired of letting people dictate my life. While I couldn’t stop the mystery-man-turned-CEO from firing me, I could face his decision with my head held high.

That thought bolstered me and I got ready. I dressed in the nicest business dress I had, pairing it with woolen leggings and a matching cardigan. I had intended to save the outfit for a special work event or dinner, but I didn’t see that happening now.

It took me about a half hour to get ready, and once I was about to leave, I sent a polite but short email back telling my ETA. With another deep breath, I marched out into the world to face my fate.

Reality took on a surreal quality as I made my way to work. I suppose that was how it went when a guillotine was hanging over your head, waiting to inevitably swing down and end everything that had been going well for me.

Sure, while I had never intended to be a janitor and it wasn’t what I went to school for, it was so far away from my field that I doubted that he could ever find me. After all, who expected a ASL interpreter to be content with cleaning floors for a living?

And now I wasn’t even going to be able to do that.

Maybe, if I played my cards right, I could get him to spill how he had found me out. If I knew where I went wrong, I could perfect my technique, then I could try this again in a new city and maybe have some peace.

Yeah, that was a great idea. I would just have to be as charming as possible and hope I could get that vital info.

Having a plan made me feel better, and I walked much more confidently to the room that my world had crumbled in just twenty-three hours earlier. Rafael was already there, sitting at the head of the table with an impassive expression.

I wouldn’t let him cow me, however. I hardened myself and sat across from him, plastering a kind expression across my face.

“Miss Grady,” he said, tilting his head. He was using my fake name. Interesting.

“Mr. Barbos,” I said, just as politely.

“You made good timing here.”

“I try. Punctuality is very important to me.” Not that he cared.

“I see. Then let’s get started, shall we?” Crap! I didn’t even have any time to ask questions. How was I supposed to get info now? I guessed that I would just have to play this next part very carefully. “First of all, I owe you an apology.”

Of all the things in the world I had been anticipating, this was not one of them. I stared at him, eyes wide, as I tried to figure out what the hell he was talking about. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Our investigation showed that you have never participated in any sort of corporate spying, and that you have been a loyal employee from day one. You stated that your assumed identity was for your own protection and I should have respected that. I caused you undue stress and for that, I am quite sorry.”

…this couldn’t be happening… could it? Was something good actually happening to me? Was I getting off the hook for lying about who I was? Was I still dreaming?

“T-Thank you,” I sputtered, still so surprised by the turn of events that I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.

“No need to thank me. We would not be in this position if I had treated you with the respect you deserve. Please, allow me to make it up to you.” I knew that I was still staring at him like a monster with two heads, but what else could I do? He wanted to make it up to me? Was I hearing him right? “I’d like to give you a week’s paid vacation, as well as a dollar raise. But if you want to leave the company after everything that has happened, I understand, and I have what I hope you’ll find to be a quite generous severance package.”

Holy hell. I had no words, none at all, but I realized I needed to answer him. “I-I’d like to continue working here, i-if that’s okay.” I had to be dreaming. After everything that had happened to me, none of this made any sense.

“We’re happy to have you. I know you ride public transportation here according to your file, please, allow me to pay for-”

Suddenly the door bounced open, nearly giving me a heart attack, and a small figure streaked in.

“Daddy!”

I blinked and suddenly there was a little boy flinging himself at Rafael, arms wrapped tightly around the man’s neck. The similarities between them were so stark that I knew without a doubt that this had to be his son.

It was strange to think of the devastatingly handsome yet intimidating men of having a child, and yet the evidence was right in front of my eyes.

“Sorry,” the man murmured to me. “I’ll be back with you in a moment.”

“No problem,” I answered. I needed the time to catch up with everything that had just happened anyways.

He smiled gratefully and pulled his son away to look him in the eyes. The expression on Rafael’s face was full of kindness and pride, making me wonder just who he was outside of work.

“Hey, my little man, what are you doing here? I’m not supposed to get you until tomorrow morning.”

“I have a flight I have to get to, so I dropped him off early.” With impeccable timing, a woman stepped into the room. Dressed from head to toe in pink, designer clothes, I got the distinct impression that this was not a woman I wanted to mess with.

She had ice-blond hair that was impeccably coiffed under her hat that probably cost the same as my rent. Her waist was tiny, and her legs were shapely, but her chest and hips bore the telltale sign of implants. Huh. So, this was the kid’s mother?

“You know, with how hard you fought for joint custody in court, outside of it, it seems like you almost don’t care.”

The woman rolled her eyes and I had never seen such a calloused reaction. I felt my own temper flare, and as much as I didn’t want to get involved, I had to hold my tongue, so I didn’t say anything.

“Get over it. I have an important fashion show to go to. What, did you want me to miss it?”

Suddenly Rafael was on his feet, body tense. I flinched, expecting him to lay her out, but he made no move to strike her. Maybe… maybe he wasn’t like that?

“For your son, yes, I expect you to miss it! Or are those damn clothes more important than him?”

I knew what this was. A full-on couple fight, complete with raised voices and red faces. As awkward as it was for me, I couldn’t imagine what it was like for the little boy. Where was he, anyways?

Looking around, I finally spotted him under the table, sitting with crossed legs and looking dejected.

Well, that wouldn’t do. Sliding out of my chair, I knelt on the ground to and gestured for him to come over. He looked at me suspiciously at first, clearly wondering why an adult was on the ground, but a quick glance back to his still-fighting parents seemed to convince him, and he crawled towards me.

“Hey there,” I said, offering him my hand. “I’m McKenna. What’s your name?”

“Dominic,” he answered, making himself comfortable in front of me. “My Dad always tells me not to talk to strangers, but he’s in the room so I guess this is okay.”

Huh, he was certainly well spoken for looking so young. “That’s a very good policy to have, Dominic. Strangers can be dangerous sometimes.”

“Yeah, that’s why Dad made sure we have kidnapping insurance.”

“Kidnap- Oh, yeah, that’s very wise of him.” Geeze, what a strange thing to hear from a child. Being rich certainly came with its own set of issues. “So, Dominic, what do you like to do for fun?”

He gave me another skeptical look, as if he wasn’t sure if I was patronizing him or not. “I like to read I guess. And build things. With blocks. I like soccer too.”

“Oh! What kind of books?” I asked, clapping my hands. “I like fantasy books, with elves and all that, and Science Fiction too! Something about spaceships and aliens just gets me.”

Now he looked interested, and I felt like I was getting somewhere. “Really?”

I nodded emphatically. “Uh-huh. In fact, I just finished up this series about a shape-shifting alien and this boy she becomes friends with! It’s so good and the action had such a great balance with the banter and character progression.”

“What’s character pro-progression?” I could practically feel his distrust drop and he leaned forward, eyes alit in the way that all book lovers did when they found someone else to geek out with.

“Oh, good question. You know how sometimes a character will start out one way at the beginning of a story, but then by the end of the story they’re completely different? That’s character progression.”

“Ahhh.” The boy sat back, satisfied with the knowledge I had given him. I was so surprised at how into books he seemed to be. He had to be five, maybe six at the most, but he talked like a preteen. I was sure that Rafael had more than a handful with this little guy.

Our conversation went on, going over everything from foreshadowing, to my favorite troupes to even what a troupe was. It was absolutely fantastic, and I forgot about the adults until Dominic laughed and it suddenly went quiet.

The sudden silence was such a stark contrast that I looked up to where the two feuding parents had been standing. My stomach flipped several times when I realized they were just staring openly at me, both of their eyes wide.

Had… had I done something wrong?