Page 13

She asks me the same question every morning, and my heart swells with love to see how thoughtful and caring my Ava is.
“It was great. How about yours?” I ask as I help her get out of bed.
She rushes off to the bathroom, and I chuckle at her zero-to-sixty energy.
Once she has chosen her outfit, we move on to her hair, since she loves getting different hairdos each day. Maybe this week, we’ll stick to simple ponytails or a single plait.
“One plait sounds good?” I ask as I look at her through the mirror.
She nods happily, and I get on the task.
By the time we’re done eating breakfast and brushing our teeth, I jump into action with ten minutes to take Ava to school. I definitely need to adjust this routine tomorrow.
I haven’t worked regular office hours in years. After Ava was born, I decided to work at night and be present for her during the day.
And now, on top of that, I have to get used to wearing heels, dresses, and skirts—when my go-to look is usually jeans, Chucks, and tees. I didn’t even have time to put on makeup.Guess I’ll have to do it on the Tube.
“Are you ready, Mummy? I don’t want you to be late on your first day at the new job,” Ava says, grabbing her backpack and tapping her foot.
I chuckle as I grab my bag and follow her out the door. Sometimes, I can’t believe she’s only five—she acts like a teenager.
After dropping Ava off at school, I take the Tube and make it to the office at nine on the dot. It was pure chaos this morning, but it’s the fastest and most affordable way to get to work on time. And I got to listen to my favorite podcast without my tiny human interrupting me every two minutes. The makeup will have to wait until I get to the office.
Once inside the building, I’m sent straight to Human Resources. They square me right away, giving me my badge and a brand new computer.
Portia, the girl who helped me submit my paperwork, walks with me to my desk. It’s funny to think Mrs. Evans was the one working here two days ago, and now it’s me.
The desk is huge, made of dark polished wood. The chair seems to be leather, and it looks quite comfortable. Other than the furniture, the office is bare—no decorations, not even a plant.
If someone came in here without knowing, they would think it was an abandoned office. I make a mental note to get a few things to brighten up the space.
Once Portia leaves, I sit down and take a moment to take it all in. I think it’s the first time today that I feel I can breathe.
I quickly plug in the computer, and just as I power it up, the phone rings.
“Good morning. This is the Godoy Group, Camila speaking. How may I help you?” I say, feeling proud of myself for coming up with a nice greeting.
“Finally, Camila. This is Vicente Godoy. Where on Earth have you been? I’ve been trying to contact you for the past two hours.”
All the happiness and giddiness I was feeling about my first day evaporates as his voice booms in my ear.
“Um—hmm. Oh, hi, Mr. Godoy. I was at Human Resources getting everything I needed to start working,” I say, hating how small my voice sounds.This is definitely not how I expected my first day to go.
“You should have done that before the workday started. If you’re going to be my assistant, I need you to be ready to go by seven in the morning—at the latest. Understood?”
His sharp tone makes me flinch, the edge in his voice just shy of yelling.
I knew he was going to be somewhat difficult to work with, but I didn’t expect him to basically snap at me during our first interaction.
Seven? That’s when I get Ava ready for school. What am I going to do?
“Nevermind,” Mr. Godoy says in an exasperated tone. “That would actually be four in the morning here in Santiago. Fuck.”
Wait, isn’t he in the office across from my desk? “I’m sorry, Mr. Godoy. I don’t understand.”
“I had to make an emergency trip to Chile. I’ll be working from here for a while.”
Silence fills the space. I’m not sure how to respond to that. I had no clue he wasn’t going to be in town. Mrs. Evans didn’t mention anything.