My first several days at work flew by, and when my alarm went off Friday morning, I almost felt sad it was my last day of the week. The disappointment caught me by surprise as I woke up the kids and had Cora join me in the bathroom to get ready.

It made sense that I’d enjoy work. After years of being a stay-at-home mom, it felt amazing to make my own money, to succeed at something outside of packing lunches and keeping house. Even though I missed being around my kids all day and picking up Cora and Andrew from school, I was glad to have this piece of myself back. The professional drive inside me always left me feeling a little unfulfilled in my role at home, no matter how much I loved my kids.

I was halfway through my makeup routine when my phone rang on the bathroom counter. Cora looked up from her spot on the counter next to me where she was brushing her hair and said, “You gonna get that?”

I gave her a look. “Where did all that sass come from?”

She pointed at me and grinned evilly as I picked up the phone. “Hi, this is—”

“This is an automated message from Golden Valley Elementary. School has been cancelled today due to unexpected power outages at the main building. Classes will resume Monday as usual.”

“Shit,” I muttered.

“Mommy!” Cora hissed, waving her brush at me like it was a big finger saying no, no, no.

“Shoot. I meant shoot,” I corrected. I bent down to kiss the top of her head full of dark curly hair like mine and then went to find my mom. Dad had already been at Barry’s for several hours by now.

I found her in the kitchen with the boys, chastising Levi for being on the phone at the table. “Who could you possibly be texting this early?” she asked.

“Dad,” Levi deadpanned.

Mom made an exasperated sound, and I said, “Hey, Mom, Andrew and Cora’s school is closed for today.”

“It is?” Andrew was way too hopeful.

“Oh no,” Mom said, already worrying her hands. “Far, I’m sorry, but one of the baristas called in sick, so I need to go help your dad until the shop closes.”

Living with my parents must have brought out my inner teenager because I wanted to stomp and cry and talk about how unfair the world was. I was thankful my parents helped out as much as they did, but working a full-time job with three kids in school, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. I had only hoped this day would come after I proved how indispensable I was to Griffen Industries.

But from my online search of Gage Griffen, I knew he had three siblings. He had to understand unexpected things popped up when you had kids.

I let out a breath. We’d just have to make it work. “Finish eating and grab your art kit,” I told Andrew. “You and Cora are coming to work with me.”

On the way to the hotel, I called Mia between bouts of trying not to completely panic. The second she answered, I cried, “HELP!”

“What’s going on?” Mia asked.

Then Cora said, “Do we get to see you today, Auntie Mia?”

Andrew said, “I can draw you something. Anything you want.”

The line was silent for a long moment. “Are you running behind?”

“I wish,” I said. “The kids’ school is closed for the day, so I have to bring them with me. I have way too much work to call in sick, and I don’t think Mr. Grumpy Pants would want me taking a three-day weekend my first week on the job!”

“Can’t your mom watch—”

“No, and I already called two of her friends to beg for help. Everyone’s busy.”

“Shit,” Mia said.

“AUNTIE MIA!” Cora scolded.

“Sorry, sorry,” Mia said quickly. “Farrah, this is not good.”

I bit my lip, glancing over my shoulder at the kids in the back seat. Andrew was coloring a knight in his sketch book, but Cora’s eyes were on me. “Doesn’t Shantel have kids?”

“She also has a live-in nanny and a stay-at-home husband. I’ve never seen anyone bring children into the office, and Gage isn’t exactly the warm, fatherly kind. I mean, there’s a reason we don’t have a daycare in the building.”

I bit my lip, worry clenching my stomach. “Drew and Cora can be quiet, especially with their tablets going. He’ll hardly know they’re there.”

“I hope so,” Mia said, sounding unconvinced. “Hey, Drew, I know what you can draw for me… How about a woman walking off the gang plank into shark-infested waters?”

“Goodbye, Mia,” I said.

“Godspeed.”

My palms were sweating more than a glass of sweet tea on a hot summer day as we walked into the hotel. Cora pulled her hand from mine and wiped it on her pink sparkly dress. The one I had to wash every night with my dress clothes so she could wear it over and over and over again.

I kept my hands on my children’s shoulders as we walked past Cliff, the security guard, into the building. Once we reached the makeshift office, Gage Griffen glanced up from his computer, icy-blue eyes darting from me to my two children. His shoulders stiffened, and I knew the worst was coming.

I just hoped he would send my kids into the echoing, empty lobby before he fired me so they didn’t have to see me cry.

Before he had a chance to send me packing, I hurriedly said, “They’re not sick, but their school got shut down today, and I have no options for childcare. Trust me, I’d let the neighbor’s dog watch them if it wasn’t blind.” Cora gasped up at me, and I said, “Kidding,” then held up my hand like I was whispering to Mr. Griffen. “Not kidding.”

If I wasn’t mistaken, a hint of a smile shined in his eyes.

“This is not going to be a regular thing, but it’s going to have to work for today,” I said, feigning confidence. “And trust me, I can do great work while my kids are here. I brought activities to keep them occupied and headphones for the tablets so you won’t even hear their TV shows. Right, kids?”

“Right,” they echoed, out of sync.

Gage glanced from me to the kids, and I realized I hadn’t even introduced them.

“Kids, this is Mr. Griffen. Mr. Griffen, this is Cora and Andrew.”

Cora looked up at me, confused. “I thought you told Auntie Mia his name was Mr. Grumpy Pants?”

Ground, if you could swallow me up now, that would be great.

Mr. Griffen leaned forward in his chair, eye level with Cora. “Only my employees call me Mr. Grumpy Pants. You can call me Gage.”

I raised my eyebrows. Was my kid really getting to see the sweet side of Mr. Grumpy Pants Griffen? I mean she was cute, but come on.

Andrew said, “Can I draw you something, Gage?”

Gage tapped his smooth chin. “Do you know what a windmill looks like?”

Andrew nodded.

“And cows?”

Again, Andrew nodded. He always drew what he saw on our trips between Austin and Dallas, and that, of course, included plenty of farmland.

“Can you draw me a pasture with a windmill and cows around it?” Gage asked. “That would make my day.”

Make my day? Who was this man, and what had he done with Mr. Grumpy Pants?

Andrew smiled. “Okay.” He looked around at the table. “Is there another chair for me?”

And you know what this man did? He got up from his chair and said, “Take mine.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I said. “We brought a blanket in the bag so they can hang on the floor.”

His eyes traveled from Andrew to Cora, now sharing his cushy desk chair that looked so out of place in this room. Even the folding chairs had been removed after that first meeting. Then he met my gaze. “Your children deserve better than the floor, Farrah.”

I was speechless. Thoughtless too.

“Excuse me,” he said, picking up his phone. “I have a call to make to ‘Auntie Mia.’”

I had no idea what was coming as he left the office. For all I knew, he could be calling Mia to have Shantel bring over the paperwork to fire me. If paperwork was required. I’d been out of the workforce forever and had never been fired before. Unless you count that time I got caught making out with my high school boyfriend at the city pool after hours and my boss invited me not to come back the next year.

If I still had a job, I needed to get started on ironing out the details of the flooring with Griffen Industries’ Finance Department. So I set Cora up with the iPad, letting her watch one of her favorite shows with unicorn headphones over her ears. Andrew continued drawing, lost in his art.

Then I got out my computer and phone, calling Griffen Industries’ finance guy, Benjamin. I kid you not, the guy works with money with a name like that.

“Hey, Benjamin,” I said when he answered, and we got to work. He trained me over a screen share on how to submit a purchase order and told me that Mia would be bringing a company credit card with my name on it that I could use on smaller purchases. And the “smaller purchases” he was talking about? Anything under ten thousand dollars.

The resources at my fingertips were enough to make me think I was in designer heaven.

I wondered if I’d ever have another chance to design something so luxurious when this was done.

I’d just gotten off the call with Benjamin when the door opened. A man in a moving company uniform came in carrying three beanbag chairs and a pile of folded blankets. Behind him, another mover brought in three extra chairs, stacked together. Behind them, Mia had a massive clear tote full of toys, from Barbie dolls to action figures. And then Gage Griffen himself came in the room carrying what looked like a bright red briefcase, an easel stand, and a massive sketchbook.

My. Jaw. Dropped.

“Presents!” Cora cried, much less stunned than me.

Andrew came around the table, squeezing me around my middle. “Mom! Your work is the coolest!” He went back, taking his picture from the table. “Gage! I’m done with your drawing.”

“Slow down,” I said, “his hands are full.”

Gage set his items on the table while the movers and Mia worked around him to set up the comfiest play corner for the kids. He took the sheet from Andrew, his full lips forming a rare smile as he took it in.

God that smile—it was like the sun breaking through the clouds on a stormy day. It transformed his entire presence from intimidating to exhilarating. My breath was shallow and my heart beat faster as I watched the interaction between Gage and my son.

Gage held up the sheet, pointing at Andrew’s carefully sketched image. “You drew this?”

Andrew nodded, biting his bottom lip just like I did when I was nervous.

“There’s no way.” Gage looked at Cora. “You’d tell me if he snuck an adult in here to draw this, right?”

Cora giggled. “He drew it!”

“This is amazing,” Gage said, sounding completely genuine. “Mia, can I have the tape, please?”

Within seconds, my friend had a roll of scotch tape in his hand.

“I’m going to hang this up, right where I work, so I can look at it every day. Is that okay?” Gage asked.

Andrew nodded, bouncing up and down with a giddy smile on his face.

My eyes burned with tears as my boss stripped off pieces of tape with his strong hands and hung the paper up on the wall, right by his side of the conference table for everyone to see.

One of the movers said, “Anything else, Ms. Baird?”

Mia scanned the room, already perfectly set up for the kids to be comfortable here. “It looks great, guys. Thanks for your help!”

The movers left, and Mia looked briefly at me before facing Mr. Griffen again. “Lunch is set to arrive at eleven thirty, and the children’s art instructor will be here at one.”

“Great work, Mia,” Mr. Griffen said. “Be sure our coffee bar is stocked for my meeting with Jason Romero.”

She nodded. “And then you have a press interview at four.”

“Thank you.”

Mia sent me a brief, confused smile and then left the room, her straight blond hair swinging behind her.

“Mr. Griffen,” I said over the emotion in my throat as my children played with their new toys. “Can I speak with you for a moment? Privately?”

He nodded curtly, his intense mask back in place as if his heart hadn’t just grown three sizes.

I walked out of the office and checked once more on the kids before closing the door behind us. The sound of the door closing echoed over the cement floors, and I looked up at Mr. Griffen, trying to understand what had just happened.

“Art instructor?” I asked.

He nodded. “I thought it would be fun for Andrew to have some focused drawing time. And Cora too.”

“Fun?” I asked incredulously. “I didn’t even know that word was in your vocabulary.” God, why was I being such a bitch? “I’m sorry. I’m just a little… surprised is all. That was really kind of you, but you really didn’t have to do all that for the kids.”

A distant look seemed to cloud his eyes, making them a foggy day instead of crystal skies. “Yes, I did.”

“And why is that?” I asked, my voice almost a whisper.

His throat moved with his swallow. “Because, Farrah. You and your children are a package deal.”