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On the third night, she comes to join me by the fire. At first, I can’t read her expression but then she smiles so widely that she looks undeniably thrilled.
“Okay, I’ve decided to resign from my teaching position. I want towrite.”
The very next morning, she calls to resign and chatters at record speed over coffee about how excited she is to launch into her new career path.
“It finally feels like I am doing what I truly want to do with my life!” she exclaims. Her eyes look a little bloodshot since she’s been up late writing, but she lookshappy—happier than I think I’ve ever seen her before.
“I’m glad,” I smile over the top of my coffee cup.
“It feels like a dream, and I don’t know how you managed to pull it all together butthank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, there is one more thing that I still want to do.”
“Should I be worried about what that is?”
“No,” I laugh. “But it’s a promise that I made to myself, and to you and Teddie, that I need to live up to.”
“What is it?” she asks.
“I want to smash my old image of being the wealthy, grumpy billionaire and replace it with a new one.”
“What kind of new one?”
“You’ll see,” I say, being purposefully vague.
The next day, I bring both Tabitha and Teddie into the office with me.
“Where are we going?” Teddie asks on the ride.
“I want you to meet some people where I work,” I say, noticing Tabitha’s question and glance from the corner of my eyes.
“Are you sure about that?” she asks. “I'm pretty sure the last time we were in your office, things didn't go so well.”
“And that’s exactly why I'm bringing you both back again. This time I’m going to make things right.”
“Right for who?” she asks.
“All of us.” I don't blame her for being skeptical. It's not like I haven’t let her down before. But this time, things are different.
As soon as we walk inside, my secretary is there to greet me and walk us into the conference room where she has gathered my entire staff upon my request. Tabitha looks worried, and so does Teddie who is holding onto her hand and to Archie. I reach over to take Tabitha’s hand in mine and pull the both of them up alongside me, much to her surprise.
“Everyone, I would like you to meet two very important people in my life,” I say as my staff has all eyes on us. I’m used to being at the forefront of people’s attention, but Tabitha and Teddie are not.
I gave her hand a little squeeze to reassure her that everything is fine and pat my son on the top of his small head.
“This is my son, Theodore,” I beam proudly before then looking over at Tabitha. “And this is Tabitha, Teddie’s nanny and the absolute love of my life. She is also a brilliant up-and-coming author and the soon-to-be-mother of my child.”
Tabitha lets out a small gasp of surprise and looks over at me with her mouth dropped open. In contrast, Teddie looks incredibly pleased to have been just introduced to so many new friends.
Everyone at the table starts to say hello, and one of my employees asks Tabitha when the baby is due. For a moment, she stands there looking a bit overwhelmed and stunned so I stepped in to answer the question for her.
When Teddie goes to make his rounds, excitedly shaking hands with everyone that he can and introducing them all to Archie, Tabitha whispers in my ear.
“You just announced in front of everyone here that you are a single father,” she says in a hushed voiced. “Andthat I am pregnant withyourchild. What happened to that being bad for your image?”
“I don't want that image anymore,” I explain. “Like I said, it's time for me to be something new. Something that I should’ve been a long time ago.”
“What is it?”
