Chapter 3

He decided to try his luck by turning the door handle, surprisingly, the door was unlocked.

He gently pushed it open and went in, and, as he speculated, the little guy was fast asleep under his cozy duvet.

He thought his room was posh, but, seeing Ken's room made him realize that there was no limit to luxury in life.

'Content is happiness.' Like his Nana always told him.

He walked up to Ken's bed, gently placing the mug on the bedside table.

"Ken, buddy, wake up," He lightly tapped the sleeping boy's shoulder.

As he stared at the boy, he realized they were complete opposites compared to when he grew up.

His parents weren't billionaires or even millionaires, but they were always together as a family.

He had never been left alone in the house and had never slept alone.

This poor child had everything that other children would be envious of, but they would never know how lonely he felt.

His parents were busy chasing the bag, forgetting that their child also needed their time and attention.

To him, money was useless if it was used to replace the presence of your loved ones.

He would always remain grateful for his family, maybe being Mexican was what made them value family and made their bond unbreakable.

Here in the states, New York precisely; no one cares about that, they all cared about the dollars.

"Leave me alone, go away," Ken mumbled sleepily.

"Come on, buddy. It's just a small cup of milk, for strengthening the bones, don't you want to be strong and healthy?" Zeno asked.

"I do," Ken replied, slowly rubbing his eyes.

"Here you are," Zeno saw that Ken was trying to sit up, so he helped carrying him up and placing his back on the headboard.

"Here," He carefully gave the little boy the warm mug of milk.

Ken took it and slowly took sip after sip.

Zeno patiently stood beside his bed, waiting for him to finish.

Ken finally drank every drop of the milk and returned the mug to Zeno.

"Go away," Ken said again, he still wasn't accepting of Zeno, he had only drank the milk because he wanted to have strong bones like his daddy.

"OK, buddy. I'll see you in the morning," Zeno gently tucked Ken in on the bed.

"Goodnight," He patted his head before he took the cup and left.

Back in his room, he exhaustedly sat on the floor with his back relaxing on the side of his bed.

He closed his eyes and sighed; it's been a long night. It's been a month since he lost his parents and his Nana became hospitalized, things haven't been beds of roses for him.

He never expected his luck to lead him here today, he guessed God didn't want to take his Nana now, so he provided him a means to save her.

He really owed Anna one

The last thought on his mind was to go take a shower and watch off the sweat and dirt from the fight, he planned to go home tomorrow and get his clothes, but, when he opened his eyes, sunlight was streaming in from the big rectangular window he had missed last night.

"Damn, I fucking slept off on the floor." He rubbed his palm over his tired face.

He looked over at the wall clock and was relieved to see that it was just 6. a.m., he thought he was going to be late on his first official day as a Manny.

He stood up and headed to a door by the left side of the room, he hoped that was the bathroom, he was in dire need to use it.

But, before he could reach it, a knock sounded on his door, pausing his journey to the bathroom.

He walked over to the door and opened it, Butler Nicole stood there with two, carrying two black duffle bags in his hands.

"Good morning, Sir." Zeno greeted.

"Good morning, Zeno. Here," Butler Nicole raised the bags to Zeno.

Zeno looked confused, but he still took them from him. He didn't want the old man to feel bad or insulted.

"What's in the..."

"Your clothes. You don't need to leave this house till the boss is back. Everything you'll need is inside the bag." Butler Nicole explained and left immediately.

Zeno stood at the door for some time before he went in with the bags.

He placed them on the bed and opened one of them, sure enough, towels, clothes ranging from pants, trunks, shirts, singlet, hoodies, joggers, and, even toiletries were all packed inside the bag.

The other one was filled with shoes, sneakers, sandals, and stockings.

He wondered again who the hell this boss was that treated his employees like they were in a five-star hotel. Being rich sure feels good.

He took a trunk, black shorts, a white shirt, a toothbrush, and toothpaste, and walked into the bathroom.

As expected, the bathroom looked classy.

He quickly brushed his teeth and took a shower. He didn't have time to admire the aesthetic interior that was used in the bathroom.

He came out of the bathroom to find the tablet beeping with a notification.

He came to understand that the tablet was like a guide to him, he noted to always take it around so he wouldn't miss anything.

He picked it up and swiped up to see six notifications;

• Wake Ken up.

• Brush his teeth.

• shower him.

• Make his breakfast (Vegetable sandwich).

• Do whatever he wants for the rest of the day.

• Never take him outside the mansion without permission.

He took the tablet with him and walked out of his room.

This time, he didn't knock because he knew Ken would still be sleeping, it was quite early for him to wake up.

He went into the room and saw the boy hugging his pillow as he slept. He felt a kind of feeling wash over him as he stared at the sleeping boy.

His whole countenance screamed loneliness, he remembered the few days when his parents would leave him for a business trip, he would always hug his pillow that way, but, he always had his Nana, he never really felt lonely.

He sat on the bed and gently tapped Ken's cheek. The boy mumbled incoherently and turned the other way.

"Hey, kiddo. Rise and shine!" He said a bit louder than usual.

He knew it would irritate the little boss, but he had a duty to perform.

"Leave me alone," Ken said without opening his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. Come on, into the bathroom." He lifted Ken off the bed and carried him into the bathroom.

"I said no! Leave me alone!" Ken struggled in Zeno's arms but it didn't deter Zeno's determination, his weight wasn't outrageous.

"Here you are," He dropped Ken to his feet when they entered the bathroom.

"Move!" Ken made to leave but Zeno stood in front of the door, blocking him.

"Sorry, son, you have to brush, and shower," Zeno said as he relaxed his back onto the closed door, lazily looking at his fingers like he had all day.

"I don't want to," Ken folded his hands on his chest.

"But, you have to," Zeno mimicked his posture.

"Okay, how about we strike a deal?" Zeno bent to Ken's level.

"What?" Ken asked, pouting.

"I know you don't like Vegetable sandwiches, right?" Zeno asked.

"Yes, why?" Ken asked, taking his face to the side with his hands still folded.

He made up his mind not to do anything Zeno would tell him. He wasn't going to fall for his tricks.

"Brush your teeth, take your shower, I'll make you sweet milk waffles, and..."

"Really?!" Zeno reeled back from the deafening scream.

He didn't know Ken was capable of such energy, he watched him as he jumped up and down, waiting for him to confirm what he just said.

"Yes, I promise," Zeno replied, smiling.

"Deal!" Ken took his brush and stood over his sink, he brushed his teeth like he wasn't the one who had refused to enter the bathroom a few minutes ago.

Zeno watched him with a smirk. He mentally thanked his Nana for teaching him everything he knew about children and how to care for them. He would have been so clueless with Ken.

"Can you make it?" Ken asked Zeno as he sat on a stool in the kitchen.

"Sure, man. Just watch," Zeno winked at Ken.

Zeno mixed the ingredients and poured them into the already-heated waffle iron.

"You see, it wasn't that hard," Zeno said as he removed his apron.

"Is it ready already?" Ken asked, giddy with excitement on the stool.

"No, sir. One more minute," Zeno said.

Zeno walked up to Ken and sat on the stool beside him.

"Tell me, son, they never let you eat sweets?" Zeno asked.

He already knew the answer but he just wanted to confirm how strict his parent were.

"No," Ken replied with a shake of his head.

"Well, if you accept me as your buddy, we could have cheat meals more often," Zeno offered.

He wanted to make the boy as comfortable as possible with him, he wanted to help alleviate his loneliness for the period he would be his Manny.

"Deal! You said it, don't go back on your words," Ken said, pointing his cute little finger at Zeno.

"Pinky swear?" He placed his last finger in front of Ken.

Ken hooked his pinky finger with Zeno's, smiling cutely.

He was starting to like this new guy, he seemed like he was going to be better than those previous female nannies.

Zeno chuckled at Ken's excitement.

"Here, young sir," Zeno placed a plate of waffles with freshly sliced strawberries, drizzled with Eagle brand milk.

"Whoa! This looks so yummy," Ken said, rubbing his palms together and licking his lips.

"Try it then," Zeno said, rubbing Ken's head.