"Mr. Chairman has arrived." The butler announced Ethan's arrival to his 'Granite Spring' Mansion.
As he walked in, his most loyal and trusted household staff/ housekeeper, Mrs. Pena followed him.
"Welcome home, Mr. Chairman. How did your day go?" The older woman began, her graying hair was neatly tied in a bun and she looked really professional in the black and white work uniform Ethan had gotten her.
"Great". He replied calmly,
"Where would you like to have your dinner?"
"How's Noel?" He asked instead.
"He's fine Sir."
"School?"
"Went well. He had no issues..."
"Piano lessons?"
"Mrs. Lily says he's probably going to be the Beethoven of his time."
Ethan nodded, clearly impressed.
"Math? French? Spanish?"
"Tutors all gave positive report on his performance". Mrs. Pena replied as she frantically tried to keep up with his pace.
"Did you give him his supplements at exactly 2pm and 7pm?"
"Yes, sir".
"Bath?"
"Yes, sir".
"Dinner?"
Mrs Pena went silent.
"His dinner, Mrs Pena. Did he have that?"
"…Um no, he didn't." She said, instantly regretting it at the same time.
Ethan stopped in his tracks and turned to face her, Mrs Pena felt a lump in her throat as she waited for him to speak.
"Are you telling me that Noel went to bed without having his dinner?"
"He hasn't gone to bed, yet…"
"... It's past his bedtime, Mrs Pena".
"He insisted that he'd wait till you return, Sir—"
"That isn't enough reason for him not to have had his dinner!" Ethan snapped,
"He rejected the meal his cook prepared."
"And?" He snapped.
"And…"Mrs Pena mumbled.
Ethan sighed.
"You know what, get me the damn cook!"
Mrs Pena nodded and immediately sent for Chef Alexis.
"What's your name?"
"A... Alexis, Sir." She stuttered.
"Who prepared Noel's dinner?"
"I... I did." She lowered her head,
"You're fired". He told her calmly without a second thought. Turning to Mrs Pena, he said,
"Mrs Pena, hire another cook before the end of tomorrow. In the meantime, ask Chef Jamie to make him a nutella sandwich. It's his favorite. Send it with my dinner to my room upstairs and bring him along."
"Yes, Sir." She replied then walked away.
---
"Daddy!" Noel greeted as he walked into his father's bedroom.
"Hey, kiddo." Ethan replied as he beckoned on him to come closer and lifted him to sit on his lap.
"How was school today?"
"Fine."
"Did anyone give you any trouble?"
"No."
"Mrs Pena said you didn't have your dinner. Why's that?"
"It was awful. I didn't like the taste." He told him in a matter of factly way.
Ethan shook his head in amusement.
"Don't worry, there won't be any more awful meals for you, okay?"
Noel nodded with a smile.
"I've had chef Jamie prepared a nutella sandwich for you. Is that okay?"
Noel nodded and then opened his mouth as if to say something but then held back instead.
"What is it?" Ethan asked, noticing his son's reluctance.
"Um, Daddy?"
"Yes, Son?"
"The finale of the school competition is on Friday and I'll be performing. Can you come?"
"Noel, you know I can't. I have a lot of work to do and I'll be out of town by then. I'm sorry, Son but I won't be able to make it."
"I know. You have to make money." Noel muttered sadly as he got off his father's lap.
"Don't worry. I'll have Mrs Pena go with you." Ethan said, trying to console him.
"I don't want to go with Mrs Pena! She's not my Mom! I DON'T EVEN HAVE ONE!"
"Noel—"
"And then you won't even show up! But it's fine. I'm going to bed!" He snapped as he stomped away,
"You haven't had your dinner yet." Ethan coaxed,
"I'm not hungry." He murmured as he rushed out of the room.
Ethan sighed heavily as he rubbed his temple, a habit he had subconsciously developed when stressed. His son was right. He really needed to find a mother for him but that was another issue.
First, he wasn't ready to settle down and definitely not with those so called models who only cared for their looks and themselves. But apparently, his family didn't see it that way, as long as these girls came from families with good names and everything, they'd throw them at Ethan, but to him, they were never going to fit.
'They'd never fit in as mother figures anyways.'
Secondly, Noel had developed major trust issues after an incident that had happened to him a year ago. So finding a suitable woman was another major thing he had to consider.
'Get married?'
'Hell no.' He shook his head.
'... What am I supposed to do? I can't bear to see Noel like this any longer. He's just so... Unhappy.' He thought.
"Don't worry Noel, I'm going to do whatever it takes to give you the right mom. That I promise. But for now, I just need to figure out how."