~Brie~

I set up my laptop as Roman sat nervously on a chair nearby. He stared at nothing in particular as his little face was caught between excitement and nerves.

“You okay, Manny?” I asked.

Roman fidgeted uncomfortably, avoiding my eyes.

“What if I'm not smart enough to get in mommy?” he whispered.

“Then you stay at Rutherford and everything will be fine” I shrugged playfully.

He looked up at me, his face almost miserable. I smiled.

“I'm kidding, Manny” I chuckled lightly and moved up to his side. “Roman, you're the smartest kid I know. You've got this in the bag, baby. Don't be scared, mm?”

“B-But what if I can't do it? What if I screw it up?”

“Roman...” I sighed. “You won't, okay? I know it's hard for you to speak up sometimes but if you start to freeze, remember that I am your biggest fan and that I believe in you. I know you can do this. You're my son.”

He slowly nodded.

“And Pacific View Academy will be privileged to have you go there, I know it. And I know you do too. Deep, deep, deep down in your big, big, big heart!” I chirped, tickling his chest.

He laughed, all his nerves disappearing.

“Energy zap?” he asked.

I let out a laugh.

“You've not asked for one since you were five.”

“Well I am now and since daddy's not here to give me one, I want my mommy to do it” he grinned.

He held out his index finger and I met my own to his.

“Zzzzzzzzap!” we cheered.

Roman smiled at me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

“Thank you, mommy,” he said.

I rubbed his back and kissed the top of his head.

“You're welcome, my love” I smiled.

He got up and moved to take a seat behind the laptop. From the corner of my eye, I spotted Miles Herve lurking in the doorway of the conference room.

“Do you need something, Mr. Herve?” I called out.

“No, no. Proceed.”

I furrowed my brows.

“But Mr. Herve...”

“You won't hear a peep from me. I wanna see how this interview goes.”

Right there, Aiden appeared behind him.

Oh great. It's a party.

He gave me a small smile and nodded at me.

“Mommy!” Roman called out to me.

I turned and he was pointing at the screen. I quickly moved over and fixed his hair.

“Okay Manny. You have my permission to kick her ass, okay?”

“Yes ma'am!” he said, faking his seriousness.

I smiled and hit the enter button on the laptop before taking a seat beside Roman. The screen changed to show a woman, probably the principal, looking at us from behind an imposing desk. Roman folded his hands in his lap.

“Hi. I'm Breanna Nolan and this is my son Roman. We're interviewing for the scholarship.”

“Um... h-hi ma'am. It's nice to meet you” Roman let out.

I slipped my hand to his knee to pat him but he grabbed it and squeezed it nervously.

“I'm Amanda Boucher Pye, but you can call me Principal Pye,” she said. “Shall we begin?”

I nodded, squeezing Roman's hand back.

“Ms. Nolan. What in your opinion is the most important value to instill in our children?” she asked.

“Kindness” I smiled. “If we want to make the world a better place, we have to teach our children to treat others with empathy and respect.”

The woman arched a brow and scribbled down something.

“From the application you filled out, Ms. Nolan, I see you moved to Virginia not long ago?”

“Yes. But I was born and raised here so it's practically my home.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And if Roman were to get this scholarship, it would not be a problem. We have a house here and my parents live here too.”

“Do you think you're economically fortune to care for your son, should he be given this scholarship?”

What?

I chuckled.

“I care for my son just fine, Principal Pye,” I told her.

“I see you work as a corporate photographer?”

“Yes. At Jewel Interactive... I'm sure you've heard of it. Do I need to show you my payslip so you know how much I earn?” I asked, not sure why I was getting upset.

Aiden watched me quietly from the doorway as Miles looked up from his phone as the words left my mouth. The woman smiled.

“You don't have to do that Ms. Nolan” she chuckled. “To maintain this scholarship, if given to Roman, you need to be a member of our PTA, which would be a considerable time commitment.”

“That wouldn't be a problem ma'am. I'm used to balancing a lot of responsibilities.”

She glanced down at the file on her desk.

“I'm sure, Ms. Nolan” she muttered. “I notice you've left the spouse section of the application blank. Would you be so kind as to tell me about Roman's father?”

A hot rush of disgusted anger flared at the mention of Beck.

“Roman's father... is no longer in the picture, ma'am,” I said, fighting to keep my voice even.

Principal Pye frowned and scribbled something down on the file. I looked at Aiden and felt the unease rise in my chest as the silence stretched on. Roman squeezed my hand and I looked away from my boss.

“Are there any more questions you'd like me to answer?” I asked calmly.

The Asian woman looked at me.

“I'm going to be frank with you Ms. Nolan. But the application isn't impressive” she let out.

Aghast, I glanced over at Roman. His hands had gone cold and his brows furrowed. I looked at the woman.

“Why send us the acceptance letter then?”

“My vice principal was moved by Principal Bennett's letter, Ms. Nolan. But I don't see anything here that proves that your son is Pacific View material.”

I caught Miles scoff and I frowned and clenched my fist.

“You're joking,” I said.

She shook her head.

“I'm sorry Ms. Nolan but it's the truth. What makes him different from any of the other kids that go to Rutherford?”

“Oh please Amanda” I scoffed. “You don't know half of the kids that go to Rutherford. Roman is already reading at a ninth-grade level. What more do you people want?”

She sighed.

“Ms. Nolan—”

“What about his science project, huh? Did that not count as impressive?” I cut her off.

“Ahh yes, the Saturn model” she sighed. “Well it was very... artistic. But it doesn't prove he has a detailed understanding of the—

Roman let go of my hand and frowned.

“I understand a lot about Saturn, ma'am!” he exclaimed.

I turned to him.

“I wanted to make the Phoebe ring like Mommy did when she was my age but she broke her arm and couldn't be there with me. Daddy didn't have a clue about the Phoebe ring so instead, he said it wouldn't fit in the car!”

The woman blinked.

“I'm sorry... the Phoebe ring?” she asked.

Roman's face suddenly brightened and Principal Pye leaned forward in her seat.

“It's sooooooo cool! It's like nine point nine million miles from the Earth and it has a retrograde orbit!” he chirped.

“You should tell her about Saturn's compositions and moons” I encouraged Roman.

“Well, it's a gas giant because it's mostly made of hydrogen and helium. But a bunch of the planet isn't actually a gas at all” he said. “The pressure is so strong inside Saturn, it smushes all the gases into their liquid form. Oh! And it's also the only planet in our solar system that's less dense than water. So if you put it in a tub... like our new hot tub, it would float!”

Aiden chuckled and I smiled.

“What do you know about Saturn's moons, Mr. Lewis?” the principal asked.

“Mommy” Roman giggled.

I looked at him.

“What?” I chuckled.

“Is there a problem Mr. Lewis?” the principal asked.

“No. It's just that it's basic Saturn knowledge but I'll tell you anyway” he said.

I chortled.

“Saturn has so many moons. We've found a hundred and twenty-four moons so far. Some of them are called shepherd moons because they keep all the stuff in the rings together. They orbit through gaps in the rings and if a chunk of ice or whatever gets out, their gravity can shoot it back like a slingshot!” he exclaims excitedly.

That's my Einstein!

“I wanted a slingshot when I was turning seven but mommy said it's dangerous” he added.

I chuckled.

“Daddy got it for me anyway.”

My eyes snapped to his face.

“He what?!” I asked.

“Shsusssshhh!” he whispered to me.

I narrowed my eyes at him for a second before turning to face the principal. She was nodding and writing stuff down.

“Tell me, Mr. Lewis, how do you calculate the surface area of a square?” the principal finally asked.

“Four pi multiplied by the radius squared” he answered like it wasn't a big deal.

“What are three things that distinguish insects from arachnids?”

“Insects have compound eyes, antennae, and six legs instead of eight.”

“What year was Marie Curie awarded the Nobel prize?” Principal Pye asked with a grin on her face.

“Which one?” he asked. “Cause she got one for physics in nineteen o three and one for chemistry in nineteen eleven.”

Aiden's smile grew from the doorway and my own heart swelled with pride. Principal Pye sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. After a long moment, she turned to me.

“He's really only nine years old?” she asked.

“Nine and three-quarters” Roman corrected.

The woman shook her head in astonishment.

“How long has he been into this kind of stuff?” she asked me.

“He's wanted to be an astronaut since he was four.”

“He knew what an astronaut was at four?”

“Yes,” I chuckled. “His aunt, Katie-Ann, works as an engineer at NASA so she used to tell him stories and I guess he just fell in love with it.”

“Really?” she grinned.

“Yes. He's got a whole plan laid out. Majoring in astrophysics, getting his pilot license... making sure the house he owns has fountains and pools everywhere” I chuckled.

The principal paused for a moment and smiled at Roman.

“Well then Mr. Lewis. As head of this school, I just know that Pacific View will be honored to have you as a student.”

I held back my excitement and grabbed Roman's hand under the table. He giggled.

“Thank you so much, Principal Pye,” I said.

“Please, call me Amanda” she grinned.

I already established that so okay.

“I'll give him the rest of the week to say goodbye to Rutherford and we'll see you on Monday.”

Roman grinned.

“Thank you, Principal Pye,” he said.

The woman nodded and disconnected the call. I let out my squeal and gathered Roman into my arms.

“Oh, Manny I'm so proud of you!” I exclaimed.

He giggled.

“Can we get ice cream cones?” he asked.

I pulled away from him and grinned.

“I will buy you a tub, baby boy,” I said.

“I do deserve a tub,” he said.

I chuckled and let him go. We stood up and I shut the laptop.

“Well, congratulations young man. You should be very proud of yourself” Miles chipped in.

Roman turned and pressed his back to my front.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

He glanced at Aiden and grinned.

“Would you please tell Iris I got in, Mr. Corleone?” he asked.

Aiden nodded.

“I will, Roman.”

“Thank you,” he said and turned to me. “C'mon, mommy.”

“Yep. Go wait for me at my desk. I'll be right there” I smiled.

He nodded and ran towards the door. Before I could yell at him to walk, Aiden stopped him.

“Walk,” he said calmly.

Roman glanced at me and then at Aiden.

“Don't let Mommy make you uncool” he said and walked away.

Aiden chuckled, glancing after him. I shook my head and picked up my laptop.

“Thank you Mr. Corleone” I smiled when I reached his side.

He nodded.

“You too Mr. Herve” I added.

He looked at me.

“He seems like a great kid” he commented.

“He is,” I said. “And he's my core.”

Miles smiled at me.

“Kids have a way of keeping us going,” he said.

Was he being nice to me?

I simply nodded.

“That they do,” I said, trying to smile back. “I know mine does.”

He nodded.

“Well, you should get going. Don't keep him waiting.”

As soon as Miles said this, Roman hollers for me. I chuckled.

“Goodnight Mr. Herve. Mr. Corleone” I bid.

“Don't be late Ms. Nolan” Miles called out after me.

I nodded and doubled my steps out of the conference room.

“Ms. Nolan wait!” Aiden called after me.

I stopped.

“Did you need something, sir?” I asked.

Miles leaned in the doorway and watched us.

“I just... I just wanted to congratulate you for Roman getting in. You had nothing to worry about.”

I smiled politely.

“And now you'll have a lot of free time to—”

“Rest” I cut him off.

His expression faltered a little. He had to get his emotions in check. I smiled.

“You were right. I do deserve it” I said.

“Brea—”.

“Excuse me, Mr. Corleone. Have a good night.”

And with that, I took Roman's hand and we walked out of the building.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

~Aiden~

“Are you even listening to me Aiden?!” the voice cut sharply through my ears.

I turned towards the sound.

“What?” I asked.

“I said everything's ready for the conference next week.”

“Okay,” I said. “What about the staff? Are the selected employees on board? Have they been briefed about this?”

“Miles said he'd personally see to it.”

I frowned.

“And you let him, Ron?!”

He shrugged.

“He keeps saying he's acting CEO... even though you're back.”

I exhaled.

“This is all your fault though so don't get upset, okay?”

“What do you mean it's my fault?” I asked.

“You could have asked me to head the company for you while you were gone. How long have you known me huh, Aiden? But no. And you chose to say nothing about them sending over Miles fucking Herve! And now he's trying to control what's yours.”

“No one controls what's mine!” I said angrily.

“Ask him to leave then. He's overstayed his welcome.”

I rubbed my forehead.

“You should have seen the way he worked your assistant. And his constant, “Ms. Nolan, in my office.” I never understood his problem with that woman. If he's not picking on her, it's on the intern Tameka, who supposedly has a crush on Herve.”

I arched a brow.

“And how do you know that?” I asked.

“Megan told me. How else would I know. She looked like something was troubling her so I asked and she told me.”

I leaned back in my chair. My friend looked at me.

“What?”.

“Megan, Ron?”

He made a face.

“We're not in the office and she's not here so yes Aiden. Megan.”

I chuckled.

“You know there's a no dating policy right?”

“Please, I was there when it was being written” he scoffed.

I shook my head and got up, pouring myself a drink.

“I hope you remember that too when you're with Breanna Nolan” I heard him say.

I downed my drink and turned to him.

“What are you trying to say, Ron?”

“That it's okay to like her, Aiden. It's not a crime to have a crush on her. She's Megan's friend so you're safe.”

I frowned.

“Did Iris put you up to this?”

Ronbie narrowed his eyes in confusion.

“What are you...”

“Iris... did she tell you to bring this issue?”

“There's an issue?” he asked.

I groaned and poured myself another drink.

“No” I replied curtly and downed the drink. “I'm going to bed” I stated.

“I'm sorry... why exactly are you upset, Aiden? Because I brought Breanna up?”

I turned and glared at him, my hand hanging in frustration in the air. But what I want to say never comes out and I exhale deeply, keeping my emotions in check.

“Goodnight Ron.”

And I left him alone.

Thank you for reading! ✨