Chapter 2
At three in the afternoon, the company suddenly called an all-hands meeting. Apparently, the new boss was coming for an inspection.
Our company had been acquired by a big conglomerate.
The new boss was assigned by the conglomerate.
In the conference room, everyone was quietly gossiping.
"I heard the new boss is really young. He is in his early thirties."
"And he is single. Like, the ultimate eligible bachelor."
"Seriously, he's gorgeous. I checked out his pics online."
I sat in the corner, couldn't care less about all their gossip.
Eligible bachelor? Like that mattered to me.
My biggest wish right now was for Mike to stop getting into trouble at kindergarten.
Last week, Mike hid the teacher's wig.
The week before that, he tied all the kids' shoelaces together.
And the week before that, he told stories to the whole class during nap time.
By the end, he made everyone cry.
The teacher said, "Ms. Thomas, your kid is seriously talented."
I couldn't tell if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult.
The conference room door swung open. A man walked in, trailed by a group of people.
The man wore a dark blue shirt with no tie.
His sleeves were casually rolled up to his forearms, revealing a solid, muscular wrist.
His features were carved deep and severe, his brow ridge sharp enough to cut, his mouth set in a thin, unyielding line.
He carried an air of untouchable aloofness, intimidating enough to make strangers think twice before approaching.
But his eyes were something else. They were deep and mysterious, like a bottomless pool.
I froze for a second. It wasn't his looks that caught me off guard; it was that he felt so familiar.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Zack Stone," the man said, his voice deep and magnetic. "From now on, I'll be running things here.
"Hope we can work well together."
He kept it short and sharp.
Then he scanned the room. When his eyes landed on me, they lingered.
Only a second, yet I noticed. That glance, as though he knew me from somewhere.
After the meeting, Amy grabbed my arm and squealed like crazy. "Tracy, did you see him? The new boss is seriously gorgeous."
"Yeah, I saw him."
"He totally checked you out. I swear, he was looking right at you."
"He was looking around the room."
"No, no, the way he looked at you was different. I saw it with my own eyes."
"You're seeing things."
"I'm not. That look... it was like a big bad wolf eyeing a bunny."
"Mike has been obsessed with Tom and Jerry lately. Are you watching it with him or something?"
"Tracy, stop dodging the question."
I smiled, grabbed my cup, and headed to the pantry for some water.
Standing there, I stared out the window at the city, lost in thought.
Zack Stone. I swear I had heard that name before, but I couldn't remember where.
I brushed it off. The only thing that mattered now was hitting my KPIs this month.
At 4:30 PM, I was about to head out early. I'd promised Mike I'd be home early.
Just as I was grabbing my stuff, my phone rang.
It was the kindergarten teacher. "Ms. Thomas, Mike is in trouble again."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "What did he do this time?"
"This afternoon, a man came to visit the kindergarten, and Mike wouldn't let go of his hand.
"He kept saying that the man looked like his dad.
"We couldn't stop him."
"What? Which man?"
"I think it was the guy who invested in our kindergarten, Mr. Stone."
My head was spinning.
Stone? The guy who invested in the kindergarten? No freaking way.
I said, "I'll be right there."
I grabbed a cab and rushed to the kindergarten, my nerves on edge the entire ride.
When I burst into the principal's office, here was what I saw.
Mike was sitting on a man's lap, holding a lollipop and grinning ear to ear.
The man was Zack Stone. He had Mike in his arms, looking resigned.
But his lips curved in a barely perceptible smile.
The principal stood nearby, clearly embarrassed. "Ms. Thomas, you're here."
"Mommy." Mike slid off Zack's lap and ran over to me. "Mommy, look at him. Is he not super cool?"
"Seriously, he looks just like me.
"My teacher said he's the investor. What's that mean?
"Does that mean he's really rich?"
I crouched down, put my hands on Mike's shoulders, and lowered my voice. "Mike, what are you up to this time?"
Mike replied, "I'm finding you a boyfriend."
"What?"
"Mommy, it's so tough for you alone. I want a daddy."
"This guy is tall, cute, super rich, and looks exactly like me.
"That's obviously my dad. God sent him."