Page 49 of My Cruel Billionaire

“Michael?” Mom’s eyes glittered. “I haven't met any Michael.”

She knew good and well who Michael was. My mom was just using the drawing as an excuse to talk about Michael in front of me without actually bringing up the subject.

“Michael is a man my mom works with,” Damon said easy as a breeze. “He’s really nice.”

Nice? I couldn’t help my jaw falling wide open. Nobody I knew of would ever categorize Michael as ‘nice.’ Not in a million years. Yet my son… our son… had used just that word to describe Michael.

Damon leaned over and whispered to his grandma in a conspiratorial tone.

“I think he’s trying out to be my new daddy, but Mommy doesn’t like it when I say that.”

Jesus Christ, both of them. Both of them were working against me. Or maybe as they saw it, working for me.

If only my mother and my son knew how convoluted the relationship between myself and Michael truly was. It went beyond an old affair, beyond being his employee. Beyond me getting fired and dumped in the same day.

“You know what?” Mom checked the time on her phone. “I think there’s new episodes of Wooldoor Sockbat on the streaming channel. Why don’t you go and see if there’s any you haven’t seen yet?”

“Yay, I love Wooldoor Sockbat!” Damon leaped up from the floor and raced into the living room. He knew just what remote to pick up and how to use it. The kid was only four and he had a leg up on me. I had no idea how to navigate all of that junk.

My mother was just arranging things so she and I could have a real talk. I knew it and on some level I no longer dreaded it as much as I used to.

“I’m sorry for burdening you with this,” I said.

“Oh, I don’t want to hear it,” Mom replied with a snicker. “It’s no burden. But maybe if you want to talk about it, I can help you reevaluate things a little bit.”

I heaved a long sigh.

“You know, maybe it did help me to reevaluate everything on a deeper level.”

I ran a hand down my face and grimaced.

“I didn’t even try to get a nanny or some kind of daycare for Damon the last couple of weeks. It’s like I don't want to leave him alone. I want to be with him all the time now.”

My eyes misted up a little bit and I sniffled.

“I guess with you getting sick, I was worried that something would happen to him, too.” I dabbed at my cheeks with a handkerchief.

“There's no need for that now. I can take him sometimes. In point of fact, I demand time with my grandbaby.” She laughed and tapped her chest. “I didn’t become a cyborg just so I could never see my grandson again.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, even though she’d just told me to stop apologizing. “I mean, I just have to finish this damn merger, and then I’ll change everything about my work-life balance. I swear.”

“You’ll know I’ll support you no matter what you decide, sweetie,” Mom said. “But I’ve heard that speech about work-life balance before.”

“I’ve said that speech about work-life balance before,” I said with a sigh. “Many many times. This time I mean it, though.”

Mom gave me a long look, and eventually I got tired of it.

“What?”

“I’m just saying, why not get daycare? Why bring Damon along to the office? I know that Michael is Damon’s father, you know. There’s no point in trying to keep it a secret.”

I sat down on the sofa and felt like a deflated balloon.

“I’m just so confused, Mom.” I covered my face with my hand. “I’m just so confused. I mean, Damon and Michael clearly like each other. It breaks my heart when I see them together and neither of them know the truth about each other.”

I shook my head and pulled my hand away from my face.

“And then there’s Michael himself. Sometimes, it seems like he’s really changed and become a more complete person. And sometimes…”

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