Chapter four

It was Saturday morning. 6:30 am.

Paris was still asleep. The streets were empty, except for a few early taxis and the sound of a street cleaner washing the pavement. The sky was a soft, pale grey, the color of a pearl before the sun indeed rises. But inside the hospital, there was no light. There was only white light shining, cold air, and the smell of medication that sticks to your clothes and your hair and your skin.

Luna Alex's eyes were stressed and couldn't sleep.

She had been sitting in the corridor for so long, on a brown wooden chair that was too hard and too cold. Her back hurt. Her legs hurt. Her eyes burned. She had been wearing the same clothes from the office a white shirt that was now wrinkled and a black skirt that had a small stain of coffee near the hem. She had not changed to another cloth. She had not eaten anything. She had not even gone to the bathroom properly, because she was afraid that if she left, the doctor would come and she would miss the operation.

Maya was sitting next to her. Maya had bought coffee at 2 am, and then again at 4 am. The cups were already empty, sitting on the floor. Maya held Luna's hand, and she had not let go for hours. Aisha was on the other side. Aisha had brought a blanket, a soft pink one from her own house and she had wrapped it around Luna's shoulders at 3 am when Luna started shivering. Luna did not remember when she started shivering, but she did remember Aisha's voice saying, "Don't cry. She will be fine. She has to be fine."

Jack Black on the other hand was sitting on the other side of the corridor. He did not sit close to them. He was sitting far, on purpose, because he did not know if Luna wanted him near her. He was very quiet. He was looking at his phone, but he was not really looking. The screen was black. He kept turning it on and off. His suit was perfect, but his tie was loose. His hair was rough. For the first time in five years, Jack Black did not look like a billionaire. He looked like a man who was afraid.

Josham was with them. He was standing near the door, he crossed his arms. He was watching Jack Black like a father watches his son. Josham had worked for Jack for fifteen years. He had seen Jack when his mother died. He had seen Jack close his heart. He had seen Jack become cold. And now he was seeing something new. Jack was here, at 6:30 am, on a Saturday, in a hospital, for a girl who worked in the office near the toilet. Josham had never seen this before in a long time.

Luna looked at the clock on the wall. 6:31. 6:32. Time moved so slowly it felt like torture.

She was thinking about her mother. Her mother was 56 years old. She was a small woman, with grey hair that used to be black, with hands that were rough from cleaning houses for rich people in Paris. She had raised Luna all by herself. Luna's father had left when Luna was five. He had said he would come back. He never did. Luna's mother had never complained. She had worked two jobs, sometimes three, so Luna could attend school. She had sold her wedding ring so Luna could go to university. She had never bought a new coat for herself in ten good years, but she always bought Luna new shoes for the first day of school.

And now her mother is terribly ill. Her heart was weak. The doctors said if she did not have an operation, she would not live to see Christmas. Luna had begged the hospital for time. She had begged her boss for money. No one would help her. Until Jack Black. Until the impossible task.

96 hours. That was what he gave her. Get Béranger, or get fired. Luna had not slept for 96 hours. She had not eaten properly. She had cried in the office toilet. She had begged, she had called for help, she had gone to Béranger's office five times. And she did it. She did it with Maya and Aisha. They did what the whole company could not do for two years.

And now Jack Black had already paid. He had paid for the operation. He had paid for the best doctor in Paris for proper operation. He had paid for everything.

Luna closed her eyes. She prayed in silence. She was not a very religious person, but tonight she prayed like a child. "Please God, please let her live. Please let her wake up. I will do anything. I will work all the days of my life. Just let her live."

At 6:45 am, the nurse stepped out. She was wearing a blue mask and a white coat. Her shoes made a soft sound on the floor. 

"Miss Alex?" she said. Her voice was polite.

Luna stood up very fast and her legs shook. The blanket fell off her shoulders. Maya stood up too, holding her arm.

"Yes? Yes, that's me."

"We are ready to take your mother for the operation. You have five minutes to see her. Only two people, please."

Luna ran into the room immediately. She did not walk. She ran. Maya and Aisha followed, but they stopped at the door.

Luna's mother was lying on the bed. She was small and weak. She looked smaller than Luna remembered. Her hair was grey and spread out on the white pillow. Her hand was cold. Her lips were pale. There were wires on her chest and a small tube in her nose. But when she saw Luna, she smiled. That smile Luna had seen a million times when she was a kid, when she came home from school, when she had good grades, when she was sad that smile was still the same.

"My child," she whispered. Her voice was so soft Luna had to lean close to hear. "You came."

Luna held her mother's hand. Her tears fell on the white sheet. She tried not to cry, but she could not stop.

"Mother, I did it. I got the contract. Mr. Black paid for your operation. You will be fine. You have to be okay. You promised me you would see me get married. You promised mum."

Her mother looked past Luna. She saw Jack Black standing at the door. He did not come inside at first. He only stood there, holding the door frame, looking very scared. Like a little boy at a hospital door. Luna had never seen him look like that. In the office, he was always tall, always powerful, always cold. Now he looked like a boy who was about to cry out loud.

Her mother smiled at him. "Are you the boss?"

Jack Black stepped forward, quietly. His voice was quiet. It was not the boss's voice. It was the voice of a man who had not spoken to a mother in five years.

"Yes, Madame Alex. I am Jack Black."

Her mother took his hand. Her hand was shaking, but she held it tightly. "Thank you for saving me, I owe you my life. Luna talks about you a lot. She says you are cold, but I think you are not. I think you have a warm heart, but you are just too afraid."

Jack Black could not talk. No one had ever talked to him like that. Not his board. Not his friends. Not even his ex-girlfriend Camille Dupont. His own mother used to talk to him like that, before she kicked the bucket. She used to say, "Jack, you have a warm heart. Don't let the world make it cold."

He looked at Luna's mother and he felt something crack inside his chest. Something he had closed for five years.

"I lost my mother," he said, his voice breaking. He was looking at the floor. He did not want Luna to see his eyes. "Five years ago. In a hospital like this. I could not save my mother. I did not have the money back then. I was not a billionaire yet. I was just a young man. I watched her die. I wanted to save yours."

Luna's mother touched his face gently. Her fingers were very cold, but her touch was warm. "Then you have already saved me, son. You have a good heart. Don't let it become cold again. Don't let it become cold because of pain and anger. My Luna, she has the same heart. She will keep it warm for you."

At that moment, the doctors came. Two doctors in green, a nurse with a clipboard history in her hands. 

"We need to take her now," the doctor said. "The operation will take four hours. Please wait outside."

Luna kissed her mother's forehead. Her lips touched the cool skin. "I will be here when you wake up, Mother. I promise. I promise."

They wheeled her mother away. The bed moved slowly out of the room, down the corridor. Luna watched the door close. She felt her heart stop. It was the worst sound she had ever heard, the click of the door, and the silence after.

The waiting room was totally silent.

Maya was crying quietly, her head on Aisha's shoulder. Aisha was holding Maya's hand so tightly her knuckles were white. Jack Black was standing alone, looking at the floor. He had his hands in his pockets. He tried not to cry. He was trying not to think about five years ago, when he was in this same corridor, in a different hospital, and the doctors came out and said, "We are sorry."

Luna sat down next to him. She did not say anything. For a while, no one said anything. It was just the sound of the clock and the sound of a machine beeping far away.

Luna looked at Jack. She had never seen him like this. She wanted to say thank you, but the words would not come out. She wanted to say something, but she was too stressed.

Then, Luna's phone buzzed. It was Josham.

Josham looked at his phone and his face turned white. White like the hospital walls.

"Mr. Black, there's a problem," Josham said. His voice was low and urgent. "A real problem. The press. Someone has leaked the Béranger contract. The newspapers are saying you forced Luna to do it. They are saying you used a poor girl with a sick mother to get a contract. It's a PR crisis."

Jack Black stood up. "What? Who leaked it?"

Josham showed him the phone. On the screen was a big headline, in black letters:

“COLD BILLIONAIRE USES SICK MOTHER TO GET CONTRACT - Luna Alex Forced To Work 96 Hours" 

There were photos of Luna at the office, stressed, crying, with dark circles under her eyes. There were photos of Jack Black looking cold in a meeting, his arms crossed. There were lies, and there were truths mixed together. That was the worst kind of article.

Maya gasped. "Oh no. That's from someone from the office. Someone who hates Luna."

Aisha looked at the article, scrolling very fast. "It's the old team. The team that failed Béranger for two years. They are jealous. They want to destroy Luna and Mr. Black. They took photos when Luna was crying. They sent it to the press."

Luna felt her stomach drop. She felt like she was going to throw up. "My mother is in operation. I cannot do this now. I cannot face the press. I cannot."

Jack Black looked at her. He saw her fear. He saw the girl who had been brave for 96 hours, who had not slept, who had fought for her mother, now breaking into pieces. He saw the cracks.

He took a deep breath. He turned to Josham. His voice became the bosses voice again, but it was not cold. It was protective.

"Call a press conference. Today. At 12 pm. At the hospital entrance. I will handle it myself."

Josham was shocked. "Sir, you never do press. You dislike press. You have not done a press conference for a very long time now, since your mother..."

"I know," Jack Black said. "But Luna cannot do it. She needs to be here for her mother. So I will do it for her."

Luna looked up at him. "What will you say?"

Jack Black kneeled down in front of her. Not as a boss. As a man. He took her hands in his. His hands were warm.

"Listen, Luna," he said. "I have an offer for you. Not a business offer. But a real offer."

He took a letter from his jacket. It was an official one, with the company stamp. He had prepared it last night. He had not slept either. He had sat in his office, thinking about Luna, thinking about his mother, thinking about what he should do.

"I will make you the Head of New Client Relations. Your salary will be triple. You will have your own office. Not near the toilet. A real office, with a window, with a view of Paris. Maya and Aisha will be your team. They will work with you, not against you. You will not be alone anymore."

Luna felt emotional. "But why?"

"Because you earned it," he said. "And because I want you to stay. Not just for the contract. Because you made me remember what it feels like to be human again after so many years. You made me remember my mother. You made me remember that I am not just a boss. I am a man."

Maya screamed. She jumped up. "Triple salary! Luna, you are rich! You are going to be rich!"

Aisha smiled, but she started crying. "You deserve it. You deserve everything girl.”

But Jack Black was not finished.

"And I have another offer," he said. "I want you to follow me to the press conference. Not to defend me. To tell the truth. Tell them you did it for your mother. Tell them you did it because you are good at your job. Tell them that I am the one who needs you, not the other way around."

Luna was scared. She looked at the operation door. Her mother was inside. She could not leave. She could not be outside, smiling for cameras, while her mother was fighting for her life. 

Jack Black saw her worry. He held her hand gently. "Your mother will be in operation for 4 hours. The press conference is 30 minutes long. Josham will stay here. He will call us the second she wakes up. He will not leave. I promise you, Luna. On my mother's memory, I promise."

Luna took a deep breath. She looked at Maya and Aisha. They nodded. Maya said, "Go. We will stay here with her. We will watch over her."

"Okay," she said, her voice shaking. "I will go. But not in this dress. I have been here all night. I look terrible."

Maya laughed and opened her big bag. It was a huge bag, like a Mary Poppins bag. She pulled out Luna's clothes. A clean white shirt, a black skirt, and a small red lipstick.

"I knew this would happen," Maya said. "I brought it from the office."

"You are always prepared," Aisha said.

At 11:30 am, Luna changed in the hospital bathroom. She looked in the mirror. Her eyes were red. She was stressed. But she looked strong. She looked like a woman who had fought for her mother. She put on red lipstick. She combed her hair. She took a deep breath.

Jack Black was waiting outside. He was wearing a new shirt. Josham had brought it from his office. He had combed his hair. He looked kinda nervous. He kept fixing his cufflinks.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Luna nodded. "Are you?"

He smiled, a small smile. "No. But we will do it together."

They walked out to the hospital entrance. There were so many journalists. At least fifty. Cameras. Microphones. Lights flashing. The whole of Paris was watching. There were people on the street, watching them.

Josham handed a microphone to Jack Black. 

Jack Black stepped forward. His voice was clear. It was not cold. It was warm and protective. It was the voice of a man who had finally decided to tell the truth.

"Good morning. My name is Jack Black. For five years, I have been called the cold billionaire. Maybe I was. But Luna Alex changed that."

The crowd went quiet. Even the cameras stopped clicking for a second.

"Five years ago, I lost my mother because I could not pay for her operation. It became hard. I became very cold. I gave Luna an impossible task: get Béranger in 96 hours, or get fired. I wanted her to fail. I wanted to prove that love does not win. That money is everything."

He looked at Luna. His eyes were looking soft.

"But she did not fail. She did it. Not with money. Not with power. With a real heart. With her friends Maya and Aisha. She did what my whole team could not do for two years. And I am proud of her. I am more proud of her than of any deal I have ever done."

The journalists were shocked. No one expected Jack Black to speak like that. He was famous for being silent. He was famous for never giving anyone any explanation. 

Then Luna stepped forward. Her hands were shaking, but her voice was clear. She held the microphone tightly to speak. 

"My name is Luna Alex," she said. "My mother is inside this hospital right now, having an operation. I worked for 96 hours because I love her. Mr. Black did not force me. He saved her. He paid for the operation. He gave me a chance when no one else would. Please, do not destroy this moment with lies. Please, let me have this moment with my mother."

There was silence. Then one journalist clapped. Then another. Then all of them clapped. The applause was very loud.

A woman journalist asked, "Mr. Black, is it true you are giving Luna a promotion?"

Jack Black smiled. "Yes. Luna Alex is now the Head of New Client Relations. Maya and Aisha are her team. And Béranger is our client because of them."

Just then, Josham ran out of the hospital, shouting, his tie flying behind him.

"Mr. Black! Luna! The doctor is calling! The operation is finally done! Your mother is awake!"

Luna's face lit up. She forgot the cameras. She forgot the press. She forgot the journalists. She ran inside. Her shoes clicked on the floor. Jack Black ran after her. Maya and Aisha ran after them.

The journalists watched them go. They took photos of Luna running, of Jack Black running behind her, of Maya holding Aisha's hand, of Josham smiling.

The headline the next day was different:

“BILLIONAIRE'S HEART MELTS - LUNA ALEX SAVES MOTHER AND COMPANY"

In the hospital room, Luna's mother was awake. She was weak, but smiling. Her eyes were open. She looked at the ceiling, then at Luna.

"Mother!" Luna cried and hugged her, very gently.

Her mother opened her eyes and saw Jack Black. "You came back."

Jack Black stood at the bed, his eyes wet. He did not wipe them. "I said I would stay until she wakes up."

Luna's mother held Luna's hand and Jack Black's hand and put them together. Her hands were weak, but she held them together.

"Take care of my daughter," she said to Jack Black. "She is strong, but she needs someone who will not leave. She has been alone for too long. Don't leave her."

Jack Black and Luna Alex stared at each other. 

And for the first time, they both felt it. Something soft. Something realistic. Something that had started in a small office near the toilet, in 96 hours of impossible work, and now, at a hospital bed in Paris, had become something more.

Maya whispered to Aisha, "Oh my God, they are going to fall in love."

Aisha laughed, crying. "They already have."

And Luna, holding her mother's hand, felt her whole world change. She had her mother. She had a better job. She had her friends. And she had a man who finally understood her heart.

The offer was not just a job. It was a new life. It was the beginning of everything.

And outside, the sun finally came out in Paris. The light came through the window and fell on Luna and Jack's joined hands.

It was the beginning.