Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
He was aware of her being a foster child.
She took a deep breath. “And now that I’m an adult, I want the same thing. Only, I want kids, and to get kids, you have to date. Although the dating game sucks, and the truth is, I want to have a big family.” She shrugged. “I know it’s old-fashioned and a whole lot of people would be telling me to dream bigger or whatnot. This is my dream. I want to have kids, be a mom and a wife, and take care of my family. I don’t want a big corporate job.” She had a soft smile. “I like the idea of being taken care of, and me taking care of my family.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Yeah, well, it is not going to happen, because ... well, I see men cheating on their wives every night. Not only that, I see wives cheating on their husbands. I’m thinking of going to a clinic, maybe, but I don’t know if they are going to need me to be in a healthy relationship or what.” She clasped the picture within her hands. “Some of us don’t get to live our dream.”
And with that, he watched as she moved back to the mop.
Ella didn’t have a clue how real her dream could be.
Chapter Two
Ella left her picture underneath the magnet on the fridge right at home, in her apartment. There was no point in carrying it around with her all the time. Arriving at work, Bernie was already behind the bar. On Friday nights they always had two or three people manning the bar, including her. The bar wasn’t open yet, and she gave Bernie a wave.
“Ella, the boss wants a word with you,” he said.
This made her stop and turn to look at Bernie. “What?”
“The boss said to tell you as soon as you come in, that he wanted to see you.”
She nibbled her lip and then glanced back over at Bernie. “Did he say why?”
“No, and I didn’t ask, seeing as he is the boss, and so what he says, goes.”
She tried not to wince, but it was hard not to. This wasn’t good, was it?
She didn’t drop her stuff off at her locker, and instead went straight to Mateo’s office. The door was closed, and she lifted her hand and knocked.
His call to come in came almost immediately after. Her stomach felt incredibly tight. She had no idea why he would want to see her, and it freaked her out just a little. She had never been called to his office. Had a customer reported her? She tried to scramble her brain for a valid reason, and she kept coming up blank. There was no reason he should want to see her.
Stepping into his office, she saw no one was there with a complaint.
“Close the door,” he said.
Was this good?
She did as he asked, and then turned to look at him. He pointed at the chair opposite her, and she had no choice but to take a seat, although she just wanted to ask him what was going on. She licked her very dry lips, and waited. Her heart raced. She felt that spiraling sickness swirling in her gut, making her wonder what the hell she was going to do.
“I want to talk to you about a ... proposition,” he said.
Okay, she wasn’t expecting that, but at least it didn’t lead to her getting fired, which was a huge plus.
“A proposition?”
“Yes. I’m forty-five years old. I have no wife and no children.” He didn’t look away from her. “And it has come to my attention, Ella, that I want children.”
“Okay. Are you wanting me to help you find a girlfriend or a wife—”
“You’re wanting children, a family, someone to take care of you. How about you and I come to an arrangement that suits both of us?”
This was not what she expected. She had to remind herself to press her lips closed, because she was so close to losing her composure. Her mouth had literally fallen open and stayed open.
“Uh, you want to have a child with me?”
“Children, yes. I want to have more than one child, and based on your picture last night, you want a big family.”
“And you want to have those children with me?”
“Yes,” he said.
She smiled and pressed her lips together, wondering if this was some kind of prank. “You’re kidding?”
“No. I am not kidding. I’m serious, Ella. I want to have kids and a family, and I want to have it with you.”
“What, uh, what exactly would that entail?”
“We’ll get married. I have already made the arrangements. We can be at a church in less than twenty minutes. Everything would be legal. I promise I will take care of you, and in return, you’ll take care of me. Provide me with everything a loving wife can offer. I will give you the kids.”