I knew that this wouldn't be the end of this topic. Being patient was not in his dictionary whereas the the word impatient was right on the front page. If he didn't ask about it later, he would definitely ask about it tonight.

Ding! The elevator doors opened. I stepped inside and pressed my desired floor.

"Please hold the elevator!" a female voice called right when the doors began to slide shut.

I pressed the button to hold the doors open and waited for the person to catch up. Imagine my surprise when I saw who it was. Rushing into the elevator and now standing beside me was none other than Christian's mother. This was not a part of my plan. We were not suppose to meet again until.. until as long as possible.

"Good morning Mrs. Wright," I greeted politely.

"Ms. Wilson," she said with a tight smile. "Just the person I was looking for."

"Me?"

"Do you have the time to speak with me right now?" she asked.

"Um... sure." I didn't have the courage to refuse. I didn't want to make her hate me anymore than she already did.

We arrived on the 14th floor a couple minutes later. I followed her into a large conference room that I recognized as the VIP conference room. There was a long table in the center with swivel chairs around it. She took a seat so I did the same.

"Why, you really have no manners. Did I say you could sit down?" She looked at me with distaste.

As if I needed her permission! That's what I really wanted to say to her but I held myself back for Christian's sake and stood back up. "My apologies, Mrs. Wright," I said through gritted teeth.

"It's no problem, next time be sure to remember where you stand in this company. You're just a small contract employee that should learn how to blend in and not stand out," she said. "You may sit down now, Ms. Wilson." She gestured toward the chair directly in front of her and waited for me to sit down. Once I sat down, she opened her mouth to speak. "Let's not beat around the bush and get right to why you're here. Christian is my only son and as his mother, I want what's best for him."

She looked at me right in the eyes and continued, "Let's be honest here, you're not what's best for him. He doesn't see that now, but I'm sure he'll realize it in the future. I don't want his temporary delusion of what is love to ruin the rest of his life."

I was speechless. My mind went blank and I couldn't think of how to respond.

Mrs. Wright took my silence as a signal to continue. "Cali Wilson. You didn't come from a good background. Your father was a gambler while your mother abandoned you. When your father passed away, the debt was pushed onto your shoulders. You were only in high school, but you had to drop out, which means that you're not even a high school graduate. You worked many, many part time jobs in order to pay your father's debt. The debt wasn't paid until recently," she summarized. "Am I right?"

Wait a second, how does she know so much about me? "Did - did you get a background check on me?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes I did, is there a problem with that?"

I wasn't going to let her sense my fear and nervousness. I took a deep breath and put on a strong face before answering her. "Is there a problem with that?" I scoffed. "Oh yes there is! That's an intrusion of my privacy!"

"Not if you want to date my son," she said. "Oh wait, you two are already dating," she corrected herself. I was about go try and deny it when she toss a stack of photos onto the table between us, in front of me. "Don't even try to deny it."

I leaned forward and looked through the pictures sprawled across the table. What the hell? They were pictures of Christian and me. Christian confessing to me and then us hugging when I accepted him. Us kissing with the fireworks in the sky. Lining up for the roller coaster. Eating the hot dog. Christian helping me to a bench after riding the roller coaster. Playing bumper cars. Christian running after me as I walked down the street. It was all taken yesterday.

I took a second to calm my nerves before daring to answer her. "I wasn't going to deny anything, Mrs. Wright. You were bound to find out sooner or later."

Mrs. Wright took a long look at me. "That doesn't change anything, I don't want you near my son anymore. Leave this company, leave his life, and get out of my sight."

What I chose to do next was a bold thing for me to do. I rose from my seat. "If this is what you wanted from the start, I'm sorry that I won't be able to help you with this request. No matter what you say, I won't leave Christian's side. I'll be leaving now, good day Mrs. Wright." I turned to leave when she spoke up.

"Money."

I turned around. "I'm sorry??" Did I hear her correctly? Did she think I was a beggar??

"If what you want is money..." She reached into her black MK handbag and pulled out a checkbook and a pen. "Tell me how much, I can give it to you."

"I won't take your money." Who did she think I was? Just because I'm poor, it doesn't mean that I'll be shameless and take her money.

"Is a hundred thousand enough for you?" she asked as she scribbled it onto a check. It was like she didn't hear what I just said. "Here." She ripped the check out and threw it at me.

"I won't take your money," I repeated and bent down to pick up the fallen piece of paper that was worth so much. I held it out for her to take it back but she didn't accept it.

"Oh I know why. Is that not enough for you? What else do you want? A house? A car? Just tell me and I'll give it to you," she insisted. "There must be some reason why you're bent on sticking by my son's side

I couldn't hold it in any longer. I've only held it this long for Christian, but I've had absolutely enough of his mother's snobby attitude. "You know Mrs. Wright, this conversation is over.I walked into this room, not expecting you to treat me well but this is just ridiculous! Is there something wrong with being poor? Being poor is not a crime! But here you are, treating me with no respect. Having money isn't everything. No matter what you give me, it won't change my heart. Nothing will."

"You parasite!!! Why can't you just let go of my son?!" she exclaimed angrily. "He deserves someone so much better than you."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, I'll take my leave now." Again, I turned around to leave.

"Stop right there!!" she ordered. I heard her stand up and come up from behind me. Her heels clicked on the tile floors before she stopped in front of me. It all happened so fast. She lifted her hand up and whipped it across my face. The sound echoed in the room.

It felt as if time stopped. I instinctively covered my stinging cheek and stiffened in horror. I could feel my composition weakening, tears welled up in my eyes. I blinked hard to keep them from falling but a stray tear managed to free itself from my control. It slowly rolled down my cheek.

Suddenly the doors burst open.

"Christian honey-" Mrs. Wright started to explain when he interrupted her.

"We'll talk about this later." He turned to me and noticed my moist eyes. He reached over and carefully wiped away my wet cheeks before holding onto my hand. "Let's get you out of here Cali." He turned and dragged me away from his mother.