Chapter Three - The New Assistant

By Friday, Selena had learned three things about Dexter Lim.

First, he hated being late.

Second, he hated pointless meetings.

Third, he apparently survived on coffee and stubbornness.

She placed a cup of black coffee on his desk.

Dexter glanced at it.

“I didn’t ask for coffee.”

“You’ve been staring at that screen for three hours.”

“And?”

“You haven’t had anything to drink.”

He looked up. “Are you keeping tabs on me?”

“I’m your assistant.”

“That doesn’t make you my mother.”

“I know.”

She returned to her desk.

A few minutes later, she heard him take a sip.

She smiled.

The week had gone better than she expected.

They had avoided the past, and Selena was grateful for that.

But Dexter had become steadily more curious about Adrian.

He asked where Adrian went to school, what he liked, who cared for him after school, and whether he had siblings.

Selena gave him as little information as possible.

Every question felt like a warning.

One afternoon, her phone rang.

It was Adrian’s school.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Richard? Adrian has a fever.”

Selena stood immediately.

“Is he all right?”

“He’s resting in the nurse’s office.”

“I’ll be right there.”

She grabbed her bag.

Dexter looked up. “What’s wrong?”

“My son is sick.”

“Do you need to go?”

“Yes.”

“Go.”

She paused.

“I’ll finish the reports tonight.”

“Don’t.”

“But—”

“Your son needs you.”

Selena nodded.

“Thank you.”

She hurried out.

Dexter watched the door close.

An hour later, he found himself staring at his phone.

He should not care.

She was his employee.

Nothing more.

Yet he kept thinking about Adrian.

Six years old.

Brown eyes.

Dark hair.

A small scar above his left eyebrow.

Dexter remembered having a similar scar as a child.

The thought unsettled him.

He stood abruptly.

“Gabriel.”

His head of security entered.

“Yes, sir?”

“I need you to find something.”

Gabriel waited.

“Everything you can legally discover about Selena’s life after she left the city.”

Gabriel looked surprised.

“Sir?”

“You heard me.”

“Yes.”

“And Gabriel?”

“Yes?”

“Discreetly.”

Dexter returned to the window.

He did not know what he expected to find.

Perhaps proof that his suspicions were foolish.

Perhaps something that would finally explain why Selena had disappeared.

Meanwhile, Selena spent the evening beside Adrian’s bed.

His fever had gone down.

She brushed his hair away from his forehead.

“Mommy?”

“I’m here.”

“Are you sad?”

“No.”

Adrian watched her.

“You’re lying.”

Selena smiled sadly.

“Sleep, dear.”

He closed his eyes.

Selena stared at her son.

For six years, she had protected him.

She had made difficult choices.

She had walked away from the man she loved.

And she had never regretted choosing her child.

But now Dexter was back.

And the secret she had spent years guarding was standing directly in front of her.

The next morning, Adrian was feeling better.

“Mommy, are you going to work?”

“Yes.”

“Is your boss scary?”

Selena laughed. “Sometimes.”

“Does he smile?”

“Not often.”

Adrian considered this.

“Maybe he needs a friend.”

Selena looked at him.

“Maybe.”

She kissed his forehead before leaving.

She had no idea that before the week was over, Adrian would meet the man who might be his father.