Chapter 4

Four Years Later

“Come on, Mommy. It’s time to wake up.” Hailey heard her son’s familiar voice, followed by tiny hands tugging at her.

“I’ve got my alarm. It will beep when it’s time,” she mumbled sleepily, eyes closed.

“But the alarm beeped already, and you didn’t wake up.”

Hailey opened her eyes. A glance at her alarm clock revealed she was fifteen minutes late. She mentally facepalmed, slowly sitting up.

“Good morning, Mama,” her son threw himself at her the moment she was seated.

“Good morning, my love.” She hugged him tightly, kissing his head.

“Are you tired, Mommy?” He looked concerned.

“Yes, a little, but I’ll be fine. I stayed up past my bedtime.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t do that again, Mommy. That’s not good for you.”

Hailey chuckled. If only he understood the weight of her responsibilities, the desire to give her children a better future than she'd had.

“Is your brother still asleep?” she asked. He shook his head. “Enzo is watching cartoons.”

Hailey nodded. She got out of bed, helped her son down, and hand-in-hand, they left the room.

Their children’s room was large, beautifully decorated with fine furniture and two double beds. As her son had said, Enzo was still in bed, engrossed in cartoons, oblivious to their arrival.

“Did he sleep well?” she asked.

“Yes, Mommy,” Oliver replied, nodding. He clearly enjoyed being helpful.

“Thank you, my love.” She crouched, hugged him, kissed his cheek, and then went to Enzo.

“Hi, Mommy,” Enzo smiled, moving toward her. She embraced him.

“How do you feel?”

“I’m fine, Mommy. Is it time for school?”

“Yes, baby. I’m late for work, but I’ll still take you to school.”

“Cool, Mommy! I’m going to introduce you to Aubrey,” Oliver announced.

Hailey smiled, glancing from Oliver to a blushing Enzo, then back to Oliver. “What did I miss? Who is Aubrey?” she asked, her attention fully on her sons. Her work could wait; this time with them was precious.

“Aubrey’s the new girl. She said she likes Enzo.”

“I don’t like her,” Enzo mumbled, smiling faintly.

“You share your snacks with her,” Oliver stated matter-of-factly.

“You do?” Hailey asked Enzo, amused. Unlike his outgoing twin, Enzo was reserved and shy.

“She liked my snack, so I shared it,” he explained.

“You shared?” Hailey was surprised. Enzo wasn't stingy; he was simply accustomed to being alone.

“He likes her!” Oliver giggled.

“We’re going to be late!” Enzo groaned, not in the mood for teasing.

“Okay, we’ll talk later,” Hailey said, leading them to their bathroom. She helped them clean up, then supervised as they dressed. They were at the age where they wanted to do things themselves, and she allowed it, sometimes supervising, sometimes letting them be.

Once dressed, she led them to the dining room. Elma, the maid, had prepared breakfast, and Hailey served the boys before getting ready for work herself.

Twenty minutes later, she joined them for coffee and eggs, then they left for school.

The drive was mostly quiet. The boys were occupied with their iPads, and Hailey focused on the road and her thoughts.

Soon, she pulled into the school's parking lot, helping the boys out.

“Be good.” She kissed their foreheads and hugged them.

Their teacher arrived, and after a brief conversation, Hailey watched as her sons entered their classroom. They turned to wave; she waved back. As she was about to leave, she saw a girl, the same height as Enzo, hug him. She smiled; that must be Aubrey.

Thirty minutes later, Hailey arrived at the office. Melinda, her secretary, met her downstairs.

“Morning, Ma’am.” She took Hailey’s bag and offered her coffee.

“Thank you.” Hailey took a sip. “I have a visitor.”

“Who?”

“He said his name is Julz.”

Hailey stopped, frowning. “Julz Carton?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“What the hell is he doing here?”

“He said he has important information for you.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Hailey shoved the remaining coffee into Melinda’s hand and rushed toward the elevator. Melinda followed, struggling to keep up.

Exiting the elevator, Hailey saw Julz seated in reception. She approached him.

“Hailey?” Julz exclaimed, incredulous. He stared at her, rising to his feet.

“How can I help you?” Hailey asked coldly, as if she didn't recognize him.

“You… remember me, right? Julz, your father’s frie…,” he hiccuped, “You’ve changed so much. Where have you been all these years?”

“Please leave,” she said, starting toward her office.

“No, wait! There’s something important.” He hurried after her.

Hailey stopped at her office door, turning to face him. Before she could speak, Julz said, “How did you disappear? This… this is your company? You’ve changed so much.”

“I’m sorry for my reaction. This is… hard to process.” Hailey glared at the man, nearly fifty.

“Yes, this is my company, and I’m asking you one last time to leave before I close this door.”

“What do you want?” Hailey stated politely, but her gaze made it clear she meant business.

“Okay, I’ll get straight to the point,” Julz mumbled, unsure how to begin. “You may remember me as your father’s friend, but I’m also your grandfather’s lawyer.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Your father’s reached retirement age. It’s time for you to take over the company.”

“What company?” Hailey was confused.

“Your family company.”

“What family?”

“Your grandfather’s will stipulated that his first granddaughter should take over once Eric retired.”

“Coming here was a mistake. You didn’t discuss this with Eric, because if you had, you wouldn’t be here.”

“Those people are from the past. I have nothing to do with them. I’m busy with my company.”

“I know this doesn’t make sense, but your family company is facing bankruptcy. They tried merging with Cole’s company, but it failed.”

“I don’t know how, but you’ve done incredibly well for yourself. If not for the proof the investigator sent me, I wouldn’t believe you run this company.”

“Your father’s company needs you, Hailey.”

“I don’t have a father, and I’m not going to have anything to do with that family. They can all go to hell with their bankruptcy. I don’t care about them.” Hailey strode into her office.

Julz tried to follow, but two large security guards grabbed him. He hadn’t noticed them before.

“Let go of me!” he protested.

“You can’t go in, sir.”

“Thank you for being rude and polite simultaneously.” Julz glared at them.

“Leave, or we’ll force you.” The other guard said sternly.

“Tell your boss to consider what I said. I know her family hurt her, and I’m sorry. But she’s the only one who can save the company. Her father may be an asshole, but her grandfather started it. She wouldn't want his legacy to be destroyed, right?” Julz said to Melinda, who was approaching Hailey’s office.

“Leave,” the guard repeated, and Julz went to the elevator.

Melinda entered Hailey’s office. Hailey’s eyes were glued to her iPad, connected to the CCTV outside. Melinda knew she didn’t need to explain.

“Do you know if any companies contacted us about collaborations?”

“We receive offers daily. HR decides which are worthwhile.”

“But we can’t accept them all,” Melinda answered, placing Hailey’s bag on her desk.

“Tell HR to see…” Hailey began, but a knock interrupted. She checked the CCTV and saw it was Titus, ENOL Enterprises’ HR manager.

“Perfect!” she muttered.

“Come in,” she said, and Titus entered.

“Good morning, Ma’am. Would you be available for a meeting with new clients this afternoon?” he asked, stopping near Melinda.

“It depends. What do you know about Summer Incorporations and Cole Matthis Enterprises?” Hailey asked.

“Like others, they’re facing bankruptcy. They need us to save them. Haggi and I reviewed their proposal and decided it wouldn't be a good collaboration. They'd pull us down, and we can't afford that; this company is top two in the country.”

“Crazy!” Hailey murmured. Then, remembering the pain they’d caused, she saw an opportunity for revenge.

“Reach out to both companies. Schedule meetings for tomorrow.”

“Are you sure, Ma’am?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

An hour later, Hailey was reviewing a file when there was a knock. Melinda entered with a large bouquet of red roses.

“From Mr. Tyler,” Melinda said, placing them on the table. Her phone buzzed; a text from Tyler.

“Thank you,” Hailey said as Melinda left.

“Hi, baby,” Tyler’s voice was sweet when Hailey answered.

“Hi.” Her voice was flat.

“You don’t sound cheerful. Anything wrong?”

“I’m fine.”

“Come on, Hailey. I know you too well. Don’t hide things from me.”

Hailey sighed. “I’m the heir to my grandfather’s company, and they want me to take over, which means I’ll run into my ex-husband. He doesn’t know about the twins, and I’ll be seeing them all tomorrow.”