Katalina
“Mummy, I don’t want to go to school anymore!” David held my leg and started crying.
“David, baby. Didn’t you say you are a big boy, and that you want to become a pilot?”
“Yes, Mummy.” He pursed his lips and nodded. Balls of tears rolled down his chubby cheeks, while his bright eyes gazed at me like that of an aggrieved puppy.
“If you want to be a pilot, you have to go to school. We talked about this. You promised you would go. You promised you would be a good boy. Remember, big boys don’t go back on their words, right?”
“Right, mummy. But let’s come back tomorrow. I don’t want to go today.” He insisted, stomping the ground.
Checking the time, it was already 8:28 am. I woke up early to avoid running late, but with David throwing tantrums, I started contemplating calling my HR to let her know that I would be running late.
“David, dearly. I really have to go to work. Be a good boy and stay in school, okay. See, there are so many kids to play with.”
“No, mummy. Take me with you. I don’t want to stay here.”
“Why? Look, your school looks so lively and colorful. Remember you said you liked it before.”
“I don’t like it anymore.” He stomped, ready to go into a full blown tantrum.
Sighing, I picked him up and rocked him.
“Ms, Cook, you should leave. It’s normal for them to be like this on the first day. He will adjust within the first week. You have nothing to worry about.” Miss Vera, David’s new class teacher walked over and said.
The moment she said that, David tightly wrapped his hands around my neck and buried his face on my shoulder. I felt like laughing and crying at the same time.
“David. You need to get down and follow your Teacher.” I ruffled his hair and said in a pleasing voice, but my son simply played dead.
Miss Vera reached out, to carry him. The moment her hand touched him, he went berserk, trashing, wailing, and hitting me.
“David, stop!, Okay. Okay, we are leaving now!”
Giving up, I turned around and hurried to my car.
“Ms, Cook, That’s not a good idea.* Miss Vera called out, but I just ignored her and got him Into his car seat.
“Miss Vera, you saw how he clung to my neck. I am running late for work. I have a very important meeting this morning. I don’t have time for this drama. We will follow your style tomorrow. I promise.” I explained to her as I got in the car and started it.
“Okay, then.” She said in a sad voice.
As I made my way out of the school, I called Emilia. She couldn’t believe what I had to say.
“David, you are being such a bad boy this morning.” She said through the speaker, but my son just pouted with a frown that looked like his father’s stern face.
Seeing that, my heart clenched in pain, but I psyched myself into pushing it down.
“Anyway, can you come pick him up from my office? I have several meetings today and I really don’t want him to be rolling around the office.”
“That will be impossible, Kata. I have a presentation….”
“Oh, no. I am so sorry. I totally forgot. Go do your thing. I will figure this out.”
“I am sorry, Kata. I wish I could help.” She then raised her voice so David could hear from the back seat. “See, David. You have created so much trouble for mummy today. No more pizza for you.”
“Wuwuwuw. My pizza. I want pizza.” David started crying, and if Emilia was by my side, she would have received a smack.
“Emilia!” I snapped at her reproachfully, then ended the call. “Don’t mind her baby, your pizza is in your bag.”
David hardly throws tantrums, but when he decides to, he goes all out. There was no use pacifying him at that point. Just do what he wants or keep going back and forth with him.
I made it to the office at exactly 9:05 and my first meeting started at 9:20. I had just ten minutes to find someone to take care of him, and 5 minutes to prepare for and get to the meeting.
As I hurried to the office building from the car park, my mind was filled with the faces of my colleagues who should be willing to help me look after him. Considering that this wasn’t the first time he would be coming to the office with me, I shouldn’t have a problem with that, but unfortunately, the upcoming meeting involved the whole department, so I had a limited number of probabilities.
“Ms, Cook. Catherine!” A familiar man’s voice echoed in my ears just as I was about to step into the elevator.
I stepped in, turned around, and came face to face with Hoseok. This was the guy Emilia was talking about last night. Yeah, I spent the whole weekend listening to Emilia as she sang praise of this Korean-American man, who happens to be my boss’s boss.
The name of my company is TopLink. We deal in Finances, asset management and Liquidation. The company is an affiliate of a bigger corporation, and Hoseok’s family business. So, he isn’t just my boss’s boss, he is everybody’s boss.
Hoseok has been asking me out since the day I resumed work in this place. There is some rumors about me getting the job because he likes me, but that’s a lie. I came out top of my class and doing my masters.
Though I have been here for just 5 months, this unfounded rumor has stressed me out. Not only were the girls jealous and rude, there are executives in my department who are bent on making things hard for me because they look down on girls who climb social ladders using their pussy.
And how dare I have a child outside wedlock and still be gunning for one of the most gentle gentlemen of Huston? My audacity appalls them.
When I first came here, Hoseok would buy my lunch, and ask his driver to take me home. He helped me with school runs, and sometimes shopped for groceries. When I told my therapist and Emilia about him, they both agreed that I should try to date him. So I let myself enjoy the attention. At first, it was cringe, but since he was keeping his hands to himself, I was able to endure him and get used to his attention. But then, the rumors started and some ladies in my department went an extra mile to make sure it got to my ears.
At first, I had no idea the rumors were about me, and when I found out, I was devastated. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. I had no idea how to handle it. The best I could do was to start refusing Hoseok’s gifts.
Unfortunately, during the good time, I had exposed David to him and they clicked. The times when David had been to the office, he was always here to play with Hoseok. Therefore, when David insisted on coming to work with me, he was just telling me that he wanted to go play with Hoseok.
The moment I turned and David saw him, his pouty face broke into a beautiful smile. He then lurched at the man with his small arms, eagerly spread out.
“Uncle Hoseok!” He exclaimed excitedly.