MITCHEL

This week has been stressful and fully booked so much that I haven't even gotten a chance to go out by myself. The meetings are taking longer hours than they were allocated and the investors are doing their best to get the best deals for them. The company is also getting good deals from the new investors and by the end of the last meeting, the company's stocks are up by five percent. This is truly remarkable considering how much work we are working even though we are not back home.

Ben and I have been running almost everything ensuring nothing is a miss and even going back to our rooms late at night when everyone is asleep just to ensure we do not make a full of our selves. Nate is also under alot of pressure and since the night with the dinner, we haven't spoken about anything that doesn't concern work. I do my part of being his secretary well ensuring I do not mess up inorder to prevent one on one confrontation or letting the company down.

Today has been no different, meetings have taken place from eight in the morning till around eight in the evening. And then we went out to dinner as a company to celebrate everything we have achieved. I am seated next to Dan, one of the company's employee and someone I have come to be friends with. He is a good listener and a good friend.

He is handsome but not to my taste, he just is handsome in a way. Nate is on one end of the table full of people from the Paris office and the people next to him are the heads of the office. There are murmurs coming from all through the table and everyone is dressed to impress.

“By the way, when are you going back?“ Dan asks after we have placed our orders.

“ I was planning to ask the boss if I could fly tonight.“ I replie.

“Why are you in such a hurry? Are we that boring or is Paris not you place?“ He asks.

“ Noo of course not, I just have a very important occasion to attend tomorrow so I can't really miss it. So I need to leave tonight so that I may get there on time.“ I say.

“Ooh, what is it if I may ask? “ he asks.

I contemplate whether to tell him or not that tomorrow is Jason's birthday.

“Its just that…..it's my son's birthday tomorrow so I need to be there.“ I finally say.

“Ooh, you have a son? I couldn't have guessed.“

“Yeah I do. He is turning six tomorrow and I don't wanna miss it.“ I say

I have never told anyone I work with about Jason and having told him about him somehow makes me feel different and instantly regret overstating with him knowing I won't ever see him again.

“Can I see him?“ He asks.

And now the panic sets in. As Jason has grown he has started to look just like his father and if anyone was to compare them together, they would see the resemblance. I had done enough sharing about him existing and now, “umm my phone just died so maybe next time.“ I lie but he takes the bait and just nods.

As the night progresses, Dan and I get into a comfortable conversation and at the corner of my eye I can see nate watching our every move but I ignore him completely.

The dinner finishes and one by one people leave and go to their homes. I wait until everyone has left and when I ensure it's just me and Nate, I make my move.

“Hi sir.“ I say falling into step with him.

“Mitchel.“ He calls.

“I was hoping to talk to you sir.“

“Okay talk to me, what's up?“ He says finally stopping and turning to face me.

We are in a hallway and it's empty with just the two of us.

“I wanted to ask for you permission to go back home tonight since we are done with all the meeting and everything that brought us here.“ I explain in one go.

He is silent for a minute and then says, “Why are you in such a hurry to go home?“

“I have a personal thing I need to attend to tomorrow back home and I can't miss it so I want to go back tonight.“

“The plane tickets are booked for a plane that will fly tomorrow and what is that that is so important you can't wait one more day for?“ He asks looking me directly in the eyes.

“Like I said sir, it's personal and it can't wait. I'll buy my own ticket back I just need your permission.“

“Tomorrow I have a day planned for the three of us of going for a tour in Paris before our nine PM flight, so no you can't go today. Have you ever been to Paris before Mitchel?“

I can feel my heart breaking all over again from just those words. “No sir, I haven't.“

“Then I am sure you will enjoy tomorrow's plans. Now if you will excuse me, I am tired if there is nothing else I wanna go back to my room.“

“I just want to go home tonight sir that's all I want I don't want a tour.“ I say trying to make him see my reasoning.

“Tell you what, if you tell me what you are going to do back home I'll think about it. Okay?“ He says.

I can't bring myself to say the truth to him and reveal what I have been hiding. “Tour is just fine sir.“

“Good, see you tomorrow. Good night Mitchel.“

“Good night sir.“ I say through gritted teeth. I cannot believe the nerve of that man to refuse me a day off after all the work I have done. I mean I wasn't working alone but I was doing my part and even more than I was expected to.

I make my way outside the hotel feeling sad that I was going to miss my child's birthday and I had no idea what I was going to tell him. It will be the first birthday he celebrates without me around and it will suck for me knowing very well I am not busy but I can’t also attend his birthday.

After calling an uber,I make my way into my room. It had been a fun trip until now. Now I just wished I had teleportation powers so that I could attend my sons birthday.

“Hey Mitchel, what's up.“ Ivy calls from the other end of the call.

“Hey Ivy. I am not good at all.“

“What's up?“

“I won't make it back before the birthday tomorrow.“ I say feeling my voice break from the emotions inside me.

“What why?“

“Well my boss said that tomorrow will be our touring day so I can't leave before going touring with him and Ben and also that the tickets were booked for tomorrow.“

“That's nonsense, he just doesn't want you to leave, he is punishing you like the other times. Why didn't you just tell him about Jason and maybe then he will let you come back.“ She asks and I can feel the anger in her voice and the frustration.

“I won't tell him about Jason. I will just have to miss his birthday for the first time ever than have to tell this idiot about my son. I just can't believe he is that selfish after everything I have done for him, he still wants to hurt me over and over again.“ I say feeling tired of him and everything he is doing.

“Fine then, I'll let Jason know. He already went to sleep eagerly waiting for tomorrow. He is super excited for this I know he will be heart broken.“ She explains.

“I know. But I'll bring him back presents and I'll spend my next week with him since I'll be off. I'll make it up to him. Maybe even come back to Paris.“ I say. Ivy and I talk a few more minutes and I hung up.

I make a video wishing him a happy birthday and then try to sleep.

Paris is beautiful and even though my mind is miles away right now, I am enjoying myself very much. My mind keeps on going back to Jason's face this morning when I told him I couldn't make it back in time and my heart hurts each time. He was so hurt he started crying. I had to promise to get him whatever he wanted inorder for him to stop. We had decided that after I went back we would visit the beach for a week and have so much fun together. By the time the call was ending, he was smiling again.

I planned on getting him gifts after we were done with the tour so no one questioned me.

We were currently at the Palace of Versailles and it was breathtaking. The place was huge with long strong pillars holding up a colourful ceiling. The paintings on the ceiling are beautiful and very detailed. Our guide shows us around the whole palace including the hall of mirrors. I wont lie, but as much as I am hating missing my sons birthday, I am also loving the tour and all the places I am seeing today.

We visit a couple more tourist spots and by the end of the day we are all exhausted. Nate takes us to one of the cafes and the atmosphere changes completely. It's very quite but also bustling with activity. It looks beautiful on the inside and full of all types of desserts on the display. We make our way to the sitting area and start enjoying our desserts.

“So, did you guys enjoy today's tour?“ Nate asks in the middle of finishing our desserts.

“Yes I did sir. Thank you for organising and for allowing us to have this experience.“ Ben replied looking at Nate smiling.

“I am glad you enjoyed Ben it's was my pleasure. Mitchel?“ He called to me.

“Yes sir.“ I replied finally looking in his direction. I am still angry at him for not giving me permission to go back home but it's not as bad as it was yesterday. I kind of enjoyed today to be honest, and even though I am missing one of my son's important day, I feel alot better now that I talked to him and we found a way around it.

“What about you?“ He asks. His face unreadable.

“I enjoyed it, thank you sir.“ I say forcing a smile.

“I am glad you did.“ He says smiling back at me. A few more bites and we are done. We go for dinner and when our flight time arrives I am all but giddy to go home and see Jason and Ivy and show them all the gifts I got them.