"You are firing me?" I asked in disbelief. "Why? What have I done?"
"Why?" Mrs Foyer scoffed, "You dare disobey my orders and stand there asking me why?"
"The children were bullying her!" I tried to justify myself, "They even pushed her. What if she had gotten injured? I couldn't just stand and watch—"
"You shouldn't have interfered, Maddison. None of it was your business. Whatever it was the children were doing had nothing to do with you."
Nothing to do with me? Was she being serious?
"The child could have defended herself. You had no right to interfere."
"I have every right to interfere," I felt anger bubbling in my veins, "I am her babysitter. Her parents left her in our care—"
"In my care," Mrs Foyer corrected. "You seem to forget I am the owner of this daycare. You are nothing but a worker here, a nobody, so act like one, Maddison. You've been fired so get out of here, I never want to see your face again."
"You cannot fire me." I started to panic, "Please, don't do this. I need this job."
I still had to find a way to pay Baron, losing my job now will only make things worse.
"You should've thought about that before you started sucking up to a six-year-old. Take the child with you and go meet her father for a job. That's what you're desperately after, isn't it?" She snorted and just like that, the panic I felt was replaced with anger.
"Not everyone is a gold digger like you, Mrs Foyer. You have a reputation for sucking up to people as long as they have money." I stated.
I watched the color truth slowly drain from Mrs Foyer's face. She must have been so shocked because I never stood up for myself.
"Oh and," I wasn't done, "You don't have to fire me because I quit so you can take your job and shove it down your wretched throat." I grabbed Sam's hand and without another word, walked away.
Once we were out, the reality of what had just happened dawned on me.
I had just lost my job.
"Maddy…" I felt a small tug on my sleeves and looked down to see green orbs staring at me. "Are you okay?"
I nodded and turned away to wipe off my tears before smiling at her.
"I'm sorry." Sam looked down, "It's all my fault."
"No, it's not." I crouched beside her, "Those people were bad people, it's best to stay away from people like that, okay?"
"Okay." Sam nodded and I smoothed her hair.
"Good girl. Now, care for some ice cream?" I offered and watched her face lit up.
I smiled, even though I was in dire need of some ice cream. It was the only thing that cheered me up when I was sad.
I took Sam to the nearest pack I could find and bought us ice cream before we found a place to sit.
I waited till she was done with hers before proceeding to ask, "Can I have your parent's details? I need to inform them about what happened."
Ramsey Acerman.
That was the name of Sam's father. She provided his contact details and I put a call across to him immediately.
He didn't pick.
I called a few more times and after a while, I decided to send a text message instead, informing me his daughter was with me.
His call came almost immediately and I rolled my eyes. So he was purposely ignoring my calls.
"Why do you have my child?" A husky voice boomed the moment I picked up.
I frowned.
That voice… why does it feel like I know that voice?
"Mr. Acerman, My name is Maddison Reeves," I introduced myself and went on to explain what happened at the daycare earlier. The man was beyond furious when I was done.
I handed Sam the phone when he demanded to talk to her. When they were done, she returned the phone to me.
"I will not spare them," His tone had gone from cold to steel, "Where are you?"
I told him my location.
"Meet me at the airport," His commanding voice came again. I didn't know if it was just me but the more he spoke, the more I was sure I knew his voice from somewhere.
His voice sounded so familiar, where on earth have I heard it before?
"I'm flying back to Rotwood right now. Wait for me with Sam at the airport, I'm on my way."
The line went dead.
I got Sam another cup of ice cream and biscuits before flagging down a taxi. We arrived at the airport about thirty minutes later and waited at the arrival lounge.
Minutes passed by yet there was no sign of Sam's father. The little girl had even dozed off at one point and woke up asking for her father.
I had assured her he was on his way and gave her the biscuits I got earlier, watching her munch on them happily.
My eyes returned to my phone. It was almost an hour, what was taking him so long—
"Daddy!" Sam's squeal startled me. "Daddy is here!"
Before I could say a word, Sam was already running towards a man who crouched down and took her in his arms.
I saw him pepper little kisses all over her face while I smiled, watching the heartwarming scene before me.
I grabbed Sam's bag and was about to walk over to them when the man got to his feet and our eyes locked.
I froze.
My eyes widened to twice their size as I recognized the strikingly handsome man in front of me.
What were the chances of Sam's father being the big shot who almost ran me over?
A hundred and one percent!
Recognition lit up in his eyes too but it disappeared as quickly as it came and was replaced with a cold glare.
His eyes never left mine as he made his way to me and stopped. A smirk slowly made its way up his lips.
"We meet again, wom