Zachary’s hands were shaking even as he slowly moved toward her.
Could it be her? No way! How could it be? Was it not over between them?
“Hello, Mr. Slate.” Lulu finally turned and greeted him when they were just a few feet away. “Weren’t we going to have a discussion? Please, feel free to tell me anything.”
She pointed to the chair in front of hers, showing the propriety of a child care worker.
On the other hand, Zachary felt a moment of awkwardness as he lost his composure in front of her.
He cleared his throat and smoothly sat down, though he paused again when he did—the coffees were his and Lulu’s favorite!
“I don’t know what you like, so I asked for the waiter’s recommendation.” Lulu smiled faintly. “I’m not sure if you’d like it.”
“Oh, it’s fine!” Zachary smiled and picked up his cup of coffee for a sip.
He looked up again after lowering the glass and said, “Stan told me that you had experience with many children abroad. What can you tell me about it? My child has been crying a lot since I’ve been busy lately, so I have to get a child care worker… Moreover, I’m a single man and not exactly the delicate type, so caring for children can get inconvenient.”
He certainly was not careless with her child, and he was left sighing upon remembering how Jean kept crying into the middle of the night!
Lulu felt warmth in her heart seeing Zachary’s attitude—any man who realized that he lacked the delicate touch was certainly giving his best!
“I have cared for the children of several families abroad. You may read some of the feedback!” Lulu said, and handed him some of the materials she prepared. “I asked Stan to bring me back since staying abroad permanently isn’t doing me any favors either.”
“Wendy Jones…?”
Zachary could not help being disappointed to see a name he did not recognize.
Still, the data was detailed and presented in an official format, and they were prepared so comprehensively that one would not find any flaws.
“Yes,” Lulu replied with a straight face.
She could no longer be Lulu Adams now that she had returned to Zidonia—she needed a new name, which was a symbol of her new life!
“You used to care for infants too, and the family has put in a good word for you.” Zachary smiled as he combed through the materials. “Not bad… though I think there’s a difference when it comes to childcare here and abroad. Do you think you’re up for it?”
No problem!” Lulu smiled in retum. “You have nothing to worry about- have worked localy a while before heading abroad. You can cal my formeremployers if you want.”
“No, it’s fine-you’re Stan’s cousin, and il blame him if anything happens.” Zachary shook his head this time and put his hands on the cushion of hisseat. “Stil, my child is very young, and the maid l recently hired had trouble caring for her. When can you start? And how much would you ike to bepaid?”
“Just the standard pay would do, and some bonus if you find my work satisfactory,” Lulu replied.
“Of course—I brought an agreement, and we can sign it if you find no issues.”
Zachary took out the document from his bag, which he drafted yesterday although it was quite detailed.
“Of course.”
Lulu took the agreement and scanned through it. She smiled and nodded when she saw the pay!
She made herself appear to be a gold digger so Zachary would have that impression of her!
“That’s more than what I was paid abroad. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your child!”
Zachary asked for a pen from the waiter, and after they both signed it, Zachary offered a handshake. “I look forward to working with you!”
Lulu did not hesitate to shake it—she was just a step away from seeing her baby again!
On the other hand, Zachary’s heart skipped a beat as their hands touched, but he said nothing.
“Oh, by the way…”
Zachary suddenly remembered something as he packed up. “I named my child earlier, but I’m not satisfied with it. Could I ask for a suggestion since you’d be more knowledgeable?”
Lulu did a double take.
She and Martin had come up with the name ‘Jean’ for the baby, but Martin was dead and herself disfigured. Likewise, she could not say anything against Zachary renaming the baby—it was fortunate that she was young, and her ties to the past would be severed after that.
Still, Lulu pretended to hesitate and shook her head. “I’m just going to take care of your child, sir. You should decide on your child’s name yourself… though I do have a good name if you just want a suggestion!”
Zachary’s gaze remained calm even as he felt butterflies in his stomach. “Do tell.”
“How about Luna? Luna Slate. Her namesake is the goddess of the moon, often depicted driving a chariot by herself. I’m sure you’d like your daughter to grow up to be strong and independent too, Mr. Slate!”
Lulu could not resist elaborating— ‘Jean’ was a good name too, but if Zachary did not want that name, she was pleased to be a part of her renaming as a mother.
“Luna Slate…” Zachary repeated the name as if to taste it, and he eventually turned back to Lulu with a smile. “That’s a good name. You’re a really cultured person, Ms. Jones.”
Lulu lowered her head. “lf anything, I believe I’ve spoken too much.”‘Sure, we can go right now.” Lulu nodded. “l have nothing much to do here, and I’d like to meet your baby!They headed to the basement parking lot, though Lulu immediately took the backseat.
“Oh, baby! I’ve fed you and gave you everything you need… Why can’t you just stop?”
To no surprise, Erma was trying her best to coax Jean to calm down again, but this was starting to get on her nerves. She had raised two sons herself, but neither were as fussy as Jean! The sight of Jean’s pale, tiny face almost drove Erma to clasp a palm over her mouth!
The door opened with a click just then, and Lulu’s heart almost leapt to her throat!
“Baby…” she blurted before quickly clasping a hand over her mouth.
She saw Zachary’s look of surprise beside her and could only smile. “The baby’s crying so loud! I think something might have happened. Let’s go check it out!”
Nonetheless, Zachary became wary…
Both Zachary and Lulu hurried into the room, where Erma had Luna in her arms and was coaxing her to sleep.
Lulu scowled at the sight of Erma, storming angrily toward her.
“What are you doing?!” Lulu demanded accusingly while taking Luna off her arms. “Can’t you get some training? Why can’t you hold the baby right? She’s so young!”
Luna had been crying for so long her voice was hoarse, and Lulu actually felt the impulse to cry upon seeing Luna.
She finally got to see her baby—the baby whom she had carried for ten difficult months and thought of every waking moment.
On the other hand, Erma was left stunned—that was how she always carried her children, and no one told her that it was wrong!
“Mr. Slate, I…” she stammered, left awkward and unsure what to say.
“Go back to cleaning the house!”
Zachary waved her off dismissively, his eyes fixed on Lulu’s nervous reaction.
There was nothing wrong with what she said, and she acted just like a childcare worker… But did she have to be that worried?
As Erma left, Zachary leaned against the window, watching as Lulu gently patted Luna on the back.
A ray of sun just happened to spill in, illuminating Lulu as she coaxed the baby softly, “Good girl… Good girl… It’s alright now. Don’t you feel more comfortable like this?”
Zachary could hear her despite her lowered voice, and somehow, he had flashbacks of another person even as he watched her from behind.
It was such a shame that the woman before him was not her…
‘Mr Slate?” Lulu suddenly turned toward him while he was spacing out.lt was not surprising now that Luna was crying for over a day–she was sickErma stood there, stunned, but she quickly took out a thermometer.
“Her forehead’s a little warm, Do vou have a thermometer for children?’
That’s for adults… Oh, forget it, You probably don’t have that many tools for children ready anyway!
When she pulled it out, she panicked. “100.4 degrees?! And none of you thought to check on her after she cried so much?!”
She picked up Luna’s blanket and snapped, “We need to take her to the hospital right now. This cannot wait!”
Erma was left flustered. “Wait… I didn’t know she had a fever! She was just fussy after I started work here. There’s no way she was sick for days!”
“Shut up!” Zachary was furious right then.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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