Chapter Four

Kate Pov

I curled my legs up on my bed, tears streaming down my face. I felt both sad and humiliated after everything that had happened today.

First, I lost my job, and second, I was thrown out of that man's presence like I was nothing. I hated him. I believed he was arrogant and heartless. What had even possessed me to approach the most powerful man in Silvercrest? Was I out of my mind?

Where would I get a job now? All the companies I had sent applications to had yet to respond.

The door suddenly opened, and Emma appeared.

"Mum!" she called, running towards me before I could even finish wiping my tears. I didn’t like my children seeing me cry.

I believed it would trouble them. So, I quickly wiped my tears and forced a smile.

Emma looked at me with concern. "Mum, what's wrong?"

"Nothing at all," I lied. "I'm just happy to have you all around me."

"But we are never absent from you," Emma said.

Before I could say another word, Chloe and Sophia walked in and climbed onto the bed. Seeing their faces instantly lifted my spirits.

"Mum, you came back from work early today," Chloe said.

"Yes, I had to leave early because I was missing you girls so much," I said, smiling.

Emma looked at me hopefully. "Mum, we are starting school next month, right?"

Sophia simply leaned against my shoulder.

"Yes," I assured them. "Nothing will change that."

In reality, I had planned to use my salary as a dental assistant to pay their school fees at the end of the month, but now that I was fired, I had no choice but to apply even more aggressively for jobs.

"Where are your brothers?" I asked.

"They’re doing the cleaning," Chloe answered.

I nodded and ruffled Sophia's hair. "Debby, how do you like the new environment? Did you enjoy it?"

"I... just want to meet my dad," Sophia said in a small voice.

The joyful atmosphere immediately shifted into an intense one.

"You will meet him soon, I promise," I said, then quickly turned to Emma. "Why don’t you all go play with your brothers? I want to take some rest. I’ll come play with you once I wake up."

"Okay, Mum."

The children believed I deserved rest after work, and they left.

Once they were gone, I sighed heavily. There was no one I could turn to for help—I had to stay strong on my own.

My phone suddenly chimed. It was an unknown number, but I answered it anyway.

"Is this Kate Owen?"

"That's right," I replied, hoping for good news.

"We sent you a mail three days ago, but we haven't received a response. Please check your spam folder and let us know what you think."

Before I could say anything, the caller hung up.

I checked my email every day—every hour, even—so how had I missed this?

Quickly, I navigated to my spam folder and, to my surprise, I saw a mail from Alessandro’s Corporation.

Alessandro’s Corporation?

Their pay was the highest in NorthHill, and anyone would be lucky to work for them.

Excitement surged through me. I couldn't wait to start work the following day.

That evening, I spent time playing games with my six children. We had so much fun, but I knew that no matter how happy they were, their happiness wouldn’t be complete until they met their father.

Even I didn’t know who their father was.

There were over a million men in Silvercrest. How could I ever find the gigolo I had slept with?

The next morning, I left for work. After introducing myself to the receptionist, I was interviewed and hired on the same day.

The receptionist led me upstairs, showed me my desk, and introduced me to my head of department.

"Welcome to Alessandro’s Corporation, Miss Kate," the head of the department, Abel, said.

"It’s my pleasure, sir," I responded confidently.

"Here is our orientation book. It contains the company’s rules and regulations," he said, handing me a document.

I accepted it. "Alright, sir. I’ll go through it."

"And here is the project the person before you was working on. You need to complete it before the end of the month," he added.

"That’s not a problem, sir," I said.

After waiting a few seconds and noticing that Abel was busy writing something, I asked, "Can I take my leave, sir?"

"I need to take you to the CEO’s office first," he said. "It’s our tradition for every worker to meet with him before they start."

"Alright, sir." I stood up, waiting for him to finish.

Once he was done, he said, "Please follow me."

I followed him out of the room and down a hallway. Soon, we arrived at a door, and Abel knocked.

"Come in," a voice sounded from inside.

We stepped into the office.

A slim lady was standing there with a cup of coffee, but the CEO wasn’t in sight. It seemed he had stepped out.

"Miss Amara," Abel greeted.

"Hey, Abel," Amara said, placing the coffee gently on the desk. "I think the boss stepped out for something, but he should be back soon since I was asked to prepare coffee for him."

"Alright," Abel replied.

Amara left the room.

"That’s the CEO’s secretary," Abel said. "You heard me call her name, right?"

"Yes, I did," I answered.

We waited in silence for about eight minutes, but the CEO didn’t show up.

"Kate, you can wait here a little longer for him," Abel said. "When he arrives, just introduce yourself. As long as you’re not in his bad books, you won’t have any problems."

Then he walked away.

As long as I’m not in his bad books? What did that mean? I had never even met the CEO before.

I waited for another twenty minutes, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. When almost an hour had passed, I decided it was time to leave.

What kind of CEO orders coffee and then doesn’t show up for over an hour? Or maybe he got caught up with something.

Before leaving, I glanced around the office one last time, and my eyes landed on a bracelet.

It looked very familiar.

I walked towards it, picking it up.

Shock filled me.

It was my mother’s bracelet.

I had lost it six years ago when I left Silvercrest. I had always wondered how I misplaced it because it had never left my wrist.

How in the world did the CEO have my bracelet?

How?

I examined it again, confirming it was mine.

I couldn’t just take it—it would surely land me in trouble.

I needed to find out who this CEO was first.

Curious, I waited another forty-five minutes, but he never showed up. My legs were hurting from standing so long, so I finally left.

After work, I received an internal call from Abel, asking me to report to his office.

Sitting before him, he asked, "Did you meet with the CEO?"

"No, sir. I waited for hours, but he never showed up. Maybe I’ll go to his office tomorrow," I replied.

"Alright. How was your first day at work?"

"Very great, sir. Thank you! My colleagues were nice people, too," I said, even smiling.

"Would you mind if I asked you a question?" Abel asked.

"Sure, sir," I responded politely.

"I didn’t see a ring on your finger, so that means you’re not married. But do you have a boyfriend?"

It was my first day at work, and he was already asking me such a personal question?

"I don’t like discussing personal matters, sir," I said firmly.

"Oh," he exclaimed. "Okay."

"Can I leave?" I asked.

"I’ve got a lot of money. We could be in a relationship, and your time here will be easy. I promise," Abel said, his eyes filled with lust.

I could see exactly what he wanted.

"I’m not that cheap," I said, turning to leave.

His next words stopped me.

"Or I could make your life miserable here if you play too hard to get."

I didn’t respond.

I just walked out.