First move

Wednesday

"We are invited to your ex's office building, Nat," Jerome told me. We just got back from the cafeteria of our new office building.

I glanced at him then back at my work, "I'm busy," I answered him.

"You need to be there with us," Jerome added, "Right, daddy?" Then he turned to Charles who was also busy on his computer.

"Obviously, we are busy. And we don't want to lose our jobs," Charles responded without looking at his boyfriend. He switched glances between Charles and me then he rolled his eyes. He went inside his room without a word.

I quickly opened my messenger and sent Charles a message:

What was the invitation for?

Charles responded: Mr. Sainz invited us for a little celebration. Just dinner after work.

I typed in: Can I skip this one out?

Charles: Yes.

I reminded Charles about my request for an early out because we needed to pick dad from the airport. He said yes and that he would cover for me in case Jerome needed anything.

Mom picked me up from the office around three o'clock and I sat at the back of her SUV with Timothy. My son brought his favorite pillow to calm him down during the drive. Because of traffic we did not wait for dad that long. When we got there, dad's plane already landed. We reached home around nine o'clock because we ate dinner on a restaurant during our stop over. There was a car parked near our gate and Paul came out of it.

Dad went out to open our gate and Paul walked over to shake dad's hands. Paul took Timothy from me because he dozed off on our way here.

"How long were you waiting out here?" I asked Paul as we entered the house.

"An hour, I think?" Paul answered and followed me to Timothy's room.

I removed Timothy's outdoor clothes and used wet wipes to clean him up a bit and changed his diaper. He was still sleeping when I changed his outdoor clothes to pajamas. Paul watched as I did all these things then I turned Timothy's lamp on and we went out.

"I'm going to get changed okay? You can wait in the living room," I told Paul and he just nodded.

I closed my door and turned my room light on. I leaned at the back of my door and sighed. Why is he even here? I shook my head and started to change my clothes. When I got out of my room; mom, dad, and Paul were seated in the living room. They all turned to me as I walked towards them.

"We need to talk." Dad said as he pointed to the other single sofa beside Paul.

I followed my father's instructions and sat. Paul and I were both facing my parents. Dad handed me a three paged letter. I read it and it showed DNA Paternity test results. I looked at Paul sharply.

"I got the hair from Timothy's hairbrush," Paul explained.

"Without my permission?" I raised my voice.

"I'm sorry, Nat," Paul said, "I just need this for legalities."

I returned the paper to him and I stood up, "We don't want anything from you, Paul! I thought I made that clear. We broke up!" I yelled at him and I went to the kitchen to get some water. I suddenly became parched. Paul followed me and waited while I poured water on a glass. He was no longer wearing a coat and tie. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

"This is for Timothy's future," Paul started, "I want to secure his future."

I finished my glass of water and placed it on the kitchen island. I glared at Paul and we stared at each other for a moment.

"Paul, I'm begging you," I clasped my hand together, "Leave us alone, please?"

Paul scowled at me, "Can you explain to me why you are like this? What did I ever do to you to deserve this kind of treatment?"

I gave out a heavy sigh, "Just go home, and don't come back." I walked out of the kitchen, went up to my room and did not look back.

Friday

"Why are you just telling this to me now?" I asked Jerome as I followed him to his office.

"I wanted to tell you last Wednesday but you said you're busy, remember?" Jerome answered me as he sat on his swivel chair.

"So you're telling me that you and Charles are just going to leave me here, alone? And my ex as my new boss? Without a warning?" I crossed my arms to my chest. I turned to my right when Charles walked in.

"I'm sorry, is it my responsibility to tell you that I wanted to go the the Netherlands so I can marry Charles?" Jerome asked me with raised eyebrows.

My jaw dropped with his statement, "That's nasty of you," I commented, "I thought we were friends." Then I walked out of the room. I sat on my chair and decided to continue with my unfinished work.

Jerome apologized to me before he went home and so did Charles. But it did not make me feel any better. Both of them would leave me under a new management and Paul was suddenly my boss! I closed my drawers and thought about quitting my job. But I remembered how hard it was to find a new job and my travel time.

I always commute because I did not want to drive after work. I brought mom's car to work for a week when I was new with Arnaiz Distillery, and I regretted it because of heavy traffic. I learned my lesson. From then on I walked to the train station then rode a van to go home. It was more convenient and cost efficient for me.

I pushed my swivel chair backward and got up when the glass door of our office opened. I turned to see who it was and Paul walked in wearing a black suit.