Chapter 2

Chapter Two - 

NATALIE'S POV 

The phone nearly slipped from my hand.

“What the fuck?” I muttered. 

Jason was a lot of things, but this was a whole new level of low. 

I typed. “Are you stalking me now?” 

Then I cleared it. 

I stared at the message, panicking and thinking of how to respond. 

So I didn’t. 

I didn’t have the time for games. 

I changed my clothes to something more corporate. I bought multiple outfits specifically for this over the years, wishing and waiting for this specific moment. 

For months I had been sending applications into what felt like a black hole. Every rejection email felt like another door closing in my face.

But this…

This was different. It wasn’t another part-time job, or another promise of “we’ll get back to you.”

This was the opportunity I had been praying for.

I’d be stupid to let Jason and his petty threats get to me, at least not today. 

I looked back at Ava. “Are you ready?” 

She nodded. “Are you happy now?”

I smiled at her, almost crying again. “Yes baby, mommy’s very happy.” 

She smiled at me and for a split second, Jason came to mind again. I kept her a secret for years, who knows what his intentions were with her. 

“Okay, let’s go.” I picked her up and hurried out the door. 

I dropped her off at the daycare and surprisingly, she didn’t throw a tantrum. 

I got into the taxi finally feeling free, and oddly calm. Until, I got another call from Jason. I was so irritated by it that I pressed the block button almost immediately. 

It didn’t give me a sense of relief, but I didn’t have to worry about him disturbing me. 

As soon as I stepped out and looked at the massive building with people of high class going in and out, fear took over. 

Fear of not fitting in, fear of not being liked…fear of not being chosen. 

I stepped in either way, immediately searching for Mia.

I saw her at the front desk making a call. She looked up and waved at me to come over. 

I stood next to her for a few seconds just looking around. No one really paid attention to me, but I observed everyone and everything. 

Mia ended her call and immediately pulled me in for a hug. 

“Can you believe it?”

“Believe what?”

“Five years ago you were crying on my couch because your fiancé cheated on you.”

“Please don’t remind me.”

“Now you’re working at King’s Corporation. Ughhh, it feels so good to see you dressed like this.” 

“What’s wrong with how I normally dress?”

She laughed, “Nothing sweetie. Your office is upstairs, I’ll show it to you but you need to make an appearance at the boardroom first. That’s where you’ll meet our boss.”

“Our.” I smiled, unable to hide my nervousness. 

She stopped walking and turned to me. 

“Natalie, you have prayed for this for years, and you deserve it. You’re just as smart and talented as everyone here so shake off those fears and make Ava proud.” 

I took a deep breath. “Okay, what do I do?”

“First, you need a cup of coffee. I’ll get you one. Then, you have to attend a conference meeting. The CEO wants to see how well you work under pressure.” 

“Oh my God, okay.” 

Mia led me to the elevator. It was quiet for a few seconds, then I spoke. 

“Jason called.”

She turned to me. “What!”

The elevator door chimed open. 

“We’ll talk about it later. Right now we need to focus on me not peeing my pants.”

“Oh no, we need to talk about this now.” 

I stayed quiet.

We walked straight down to the coffee table and made myself a cup. 

“What did he say? What does he want?” 

“Mia, not now.”

We took a left and I saw a big room filled with people. 

At the extreme end was a man who was obviously the CEO. I could barely see his face at first, but there was something about him that just made me stare. 

His posture and voice was very familiar. I could only think of one person with that voice, and I hadn’t heard it in five years. 

“No, it can’t be.” I said to myself. 

While Mia was still ranting about how I needed to go in, I couldn’t move until I was sure he wasn’t who I thought it was. 

As soon as he turned, my eyes widened. 

“Nat? Nat?” I heard Mia’s voice faintly but I felt like I was in my own world. 

All of a sudden, he looked up and stared directly at me. 

I dropped my coffee on the floor. 

I could feel everyone’s eyes on me but I was still frozen in place. 

Five years. 

Five years of convincing myself that night didn’t matter, five years of pretending he was just a stranger, five years of building a life without him. 

And now he was standing twenty feet away.

My pulse stumbled.

Because suddenly every question I’d buried came rushing back.

Did he remember me? Did he ever think about me? Would he recognize me?

“Oh my God, Nat!”

“Huh? Yes I’m here.” I turned to look at her. 

My heart was racing, I could barely breathe. 

“Are you?”

A very angry looking lady came over to clean the mess and I immediately turned around and started walking. Mia followed behind me.

“What the hell Nat? Are you okay?”

“What? Yes I am.” 

“A-”

“That man in the conference room,” I cut in. “The one standing. Is he the CEO?”

She looked back but I refused to move. 

“Yes he is. Is this about Jason? Natalie this isn’t the time, you have to be in there”

“Oh my God!”

“What is it!” 

“Nothing, just nerves, I’m fine.”

“Well you better because he is strict as hell and you just gave him and everyone else a bad impression.”

I took a deep breath. “I’ll fix it.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine! I’ll fix it.” 

I straightened my shirt, lifted my chin, and forced my feet to move.

Every eye in the room followed me as I entered.

“Good morning,” I said, offering a polite smile. “I apologize for the interruption. I’m Natalie Hart. Thank you for your patience.”

A few people nodded before I took the empty seat farthest from him. 

The meeting resumed almost immediately. Apparently nobody intended to dwell on my embarrassing entrance.

Thank God.

A man seated near the center of the table glanced in my direction.

“Since Ms. Hart just joined us, let’s quickly get that out of the way.”

He gave a warm smile that somehow made me feel worse. 

“I’m Tom Reynolds, Director of Operations. The rest of the introductions can wait until after the meeting.”

Then his attention shifted toward the head of the table.

“And, of course, you’ve already met Mr. King.”

My stomach tightened.

Every head instinctively turned toward him.

Lucas King.

Founder and CEO of King’s Corporation.

The man currently watching me with an intensity that made it difficult to breathe.

And the man who had no idea he was staring at the mother of his daughter.