CHAPTER 11. You have to trust meIf the ground had opened up beneath him and had the decency to swallow him, Zack probably would have felt better. He had never seen so much deprivation all at once, and the only thing he could think was that, with how hard this woman worked and the effort she put in, the lack of... everything couldn’t be her fault.He looked around and felt a knot forming in his stomach. She didn’t even have a bed, so he didn’t need to ask about anything else. Now he understood why she walked forty minutes from work to home because she probably couldn’t afford the bus fare.There was nothing in that space that wasn’t absolutely essential for life, and the only toy was a small stuffed animal, the kind they give out at the hospital.“Why didn’t you tell me?” Zack murmured, his deep voice half-choked.“Tell you what?” Andrea murmured, cradling her baby.“That you were in a difficult situation!” he replied.“Because it wasn’t your business. You can’t go around burdening ot

CHAPTER 12. The Good Deed of the DayBy the time they parted ways, both of their hearts were pounding, but for very different reasons. Andrea set her phone alarm half an hour earlier, and Zack took his phone to call his best friend.“Ben, I need to see you right now. It’s urgent.”Ten hours later, as Andrea hurried to the office, she noticed that her boss’s car was already there. But when she got to her floor, she realized that Zack wasn’t around. At least there wasn’t a scandal yet, but her boss’s anger was unmistakable.“Get out of here! You’re fired!” Trembley spat at her, throwing the dismissal letter, stamped by Human Resources, onto her small desk first thing in the morning.Andrea couldn’t hold back her tears and shook her head.“No, you can’t fire me, especially... especially for what it says here!” she exclaimed in desperation. “Incompetence? I’m not incompetent! I even studied for a better position, but you wouldn’t test me!”“Because you didn’t let me,” Trembley hissed unde

CHAPTER 13. The New OwnerAndrea couldn’t explain the dizzying sensation that overwhelmed her when she found herself face to face with Zack, especially when she heard him say he was the owner of the company. Habit is a hard thing to break, and her first thought was:"Oh my God, I spilled twenty coffees on the owner of the company! He's going to fire me!"...But then he smiled at her. He smiled, walked past her, and addressed all the employees on that floor. The astonishment was universal, but the most shocked of all was Peter Trembley, who was not only surprised but also red with rage, because the owner of the company had snuck in as an undercover employee, and he hadn’t even noticed. And finally, those words: "Peter Trembley... you’re fired," echoed through the room like a judge’s sentence.Trembley’s eyes widened and his chest puffed out as if he were about to explode. "You can’t fire me! I’m the manager of this company!""Do you want to say it again, louder this time to see if I c

CHAPTER 14. I thought you didn’t want to fire meAndrea stumbled after him, entering that office without fear for the first time in months. Ben, Zack's partner, smiled kindly at her, keeping to himself his impression that she was the most disheveled woman he had ever met."Are you okay?" Zack asked, and she replied with a trembling voice, "Yes.""It seems like you’ve been asking me that a lot lately..." she murmured. "Sorry...! I mean, you're asking me! I shouldn't be so informal... anyway... thank you for not letting them fire me, sir... really."Zack nodded, smiling, because if she seemed nervous before, now she looked much worse."I told you to trust me, that I would handle it, and I’m a man of my word," he stated. "I’m sorry it wasn’t fast enough, but I needed to get that man out of this company once and for all and make sure he couldn’t hurt anyone the way he wanted to hurt you. You understand that, right?"Andrea hugged herself, finding it all too surreal."Yes... of course. And

CHAPTER 15. Bad news—Well, I can confirm it, but I don’t have them —she murmured worriedly—. All the backups were with Trembley or they’re in the...!They looked at each other in horror.—The server room! —they shouted simultaneously, running out of the office.No one probably expected to see the new owner and his secretary running like kids across the floor and skidding to a stop at the stairwell, before racing up to the top level, but that’s exactly what happened.—Tell me they took Trembley straight out to the street! —Andrea exclaimed.—I hope so! —Zack replied, taking the stairs two at a time.They arrived panting and nervous, praying that Trembley hadn’t tampered with the backups. The head of the building's servers said he hadn’t seen Trembley that day and handed them backups from a week ago.As quickly as they had run up, they ran back down and plugged the hard drive into Zack’s computer to check it. Two minutes later, Zack was running his hands through his hair while Andrea w

CHAPTER 16. What happened to Dad?Zack felt a lump in his throat when he heard his mother’s voice; she was tearful and agitated, and he immediately knew something bad had happened.“What happened to Dad?” he asked as he sat down, fearing his legs might give out.“Your dad had another heart attack, son,” his mother said in a trembling voice. “We had to rush him to the hospital...”“And how is he?”“Well... stable for now, but the doctor has decided to put him on the transplant list.”Zack was struck dumb with shock. It wasn’t unexpected, his father had been sick with heart problems for a long time, but he was still a young man, barely sixty years old.“I’m coming over...” he said, getting up immediately.“No,” his mother stopped him. “We’re going to be here for a few days and then take him to the cabin in Lucerne. He wants to be there for Christmas, you know it’s our tradition. I just ask that you come. Come and bring your family so your father can finally meet them, son. He wants us a

CHAPTER 17. A Baby for Christmas“Yes, here it is… I’m sorry, it hasn’t been the best day.”“It’s okay, I’m happy to help…” Behind her, Zack heard the unmistakable sound of a baby crying, and Andrea trying to soothe her. “I’m sorry, Mr. Keller… What were you saying?... Shshshsh, it’s okay, my love…”“No, nothing, again, I apologize for bothering you so late…”“Of course, no problem… Yes, my dear, calm down… Mommy’s going to give you your bottle, calm down… let’s go…”Zack couldn’t help but smile unconsciously at the way Andrea handled her little baby. And then, a light bulb went off in his brain, complete with fireworks!He quickly said goodbye and hung up the phone, then turned to Ben.“You’re a genius!” he shouted, and his friend looked at him, startled.“I already know that, but boost my ego and explain why!” Ben replied.“That joke you made the other day, your tasteless joke, it’s perfect now,” Zack exclaimed. “‘Urgent notice: Magnate rents family for Christmas,’ it seems crazy…”

CHAPTER 18. A Fake BoyfriendAndrea looked around, confused, as if Zack had just hit her over the head with something blunt.“What are you looking for?” he asked, frowning.“A hidden camera...” she replied. “Or the straitjacket you must have around here... because you don’t seem very sane right now.”He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.“Okay, sorry if I expressed myself poorly, it’s just that I’m nervous…”“And you should be! You don’t ask something like this of anyone!” Andrea declared, eyes wide.Zack stood up and walked around his desk to sit in a chair closer to her.“Listen, I know this might seem crazy, but it’s really an important favor for me,” he said, looking her in the eyes. “My father is sick, very sick, and the doctor said these might be the last Christmases he spends with us. My parents think I have a family, a girlfriend, and a baby, and I don’t want to show up there and have to tell them it’s all a lie.”Andrea’s brow furrowed, and her mouth unconsciously fo

CHAPTER 19. An Endearing Nickname“Alright…” she whispered. “What do I have to do?”Zack sighed with relief.“Now comes the training!” he exclaimed. “I’ll treat you to lunch today, and we can go over the details.”And boy, were there details to discuss!When Zack took her to a nice restaurant later and courteously pulled out her chair, she felt herself shrinking.“How about we start seeing each other after work?” he suggested. “I need to spend more time with you two, or else my mom will notice that your baby isn’t familiar with me. I can bring you dinner tonight.”Andrea pressed her lips together. She couldn’t control the first time, but she didn’t want Zack coming to her house; she was embarrassed by the fact that she couldn’t even invite him to sit down because she had... nothing.“Well… Mr. Keller…”“Oh no! You can’t call me that anymore. If you slip in front of my mom, we’re doomed. Better call me Zack. You used to call me Zack before…”“Back then, you weren’t my boss!”“And now I

CHAPTER 20. For freeShe arrived hidden, camouflaged, chameleon-like, and so silently that when she heard that “Andrea,” she jumped about a foot out of her seat in fright.“Ahhhhh!” she stifled a scream and then clutched the arms of her chair, staring at Zack.“Feeling guilty, are we?” he teased. “Is it my imagination, or are you avoiding me?”“Who? Me? Nooo!” she murmured, turning bright red in a second.He leaned over the table and squinted, unable to believe she was actually blushing like a fifteen-year-old… but it didn’t hurt to check.“Hey, if it’s about the kiss, you don’t have to feel uncomfortable,” he murmured. “Think of it as an economic incentive. These lips”—Zack pointed to his mouth—“are worth ten thousand dollars.”“I’d kiss them for free,” she thought, but immediately averted her gaze.“I know, it’s just that we’re at work, and I don’t see the need for people to start gossiping. Remember, we still have to work with them when we get back, right?”Zack nodded in agreement