Single Dad Missed His Billionaire Boss’s Hints—Until She Yelled, “I Love You, Idiot!” )
Shadows and Steam on the 47th Floor
The fluorescent lights of Chen Industries’ 47th floor cast long shadows across Daniel Martinez’s desk. He stared at the half-eaten PB&J sandwich his daughter had packed for him that morning. A crayon-drawn heart decorated the Ziploc bag with the words “best daddy ever” scrolled in purple.
His eyes burned with exhaustion, but he couldn’t help smiling. Maya was only seven, but she had more emotional intelligence than most adults he knew. She had to grow up fast after her mother left them 18 months ago.
Her mother disappeared into a new life that apparently didn’t include a husband working two jobs. It did not include a daughter who still slept with a nightlight.
“Working late again, Mr. Martinez?”
Daniel’s head snapped up to find Sophia Chen standing at his cubicle. Her tailored black suit was probably worth more than his monthly rent. She was holding two cups of coffee, steam rising in delicate spirals between them.
The CEO of Chen Industries didn’t usually make coffee runs. This was especially true at 9:00 on a Friday night when the building was nearly empty.
“Just finishing up the Morrison account, Miss Chen,” he said, straightening in his chair and trying to ignore the way his back protested.
“I’ll have it on your desk by Monday morning.”
“Sophia,” she corrected him for what had to be the hundredth time in the six months since he’d started working there.
“And I wasn’t asking about work.”
She set one of the coffee cups on his desk, her fingers lingering on the ceramic for just a moment longer than necessary.
“I was asking about you.”
Daniel felt heat creep up his neck. Sophia Chen was brilliant, beautiful, and completely out of his league. She had an MBA from Harvard, spoke four languages, and had tripled her father’s company’s revenue in just three years.
Meanwhile, he was a single dad with an associate’s degree living paycheck to paycheck. He lived in a one-bedroom apartment where his daughter slept in the actual bedroom while he took the couch.
“I’m fine,” he lied, reaching for the coffee.
“Thank you for this; you didn’t have to.”
She perched on the edge of his desk, her expression softening in a way that made his heart do something complicated in his chest.
“Daniel, you’re always the first one here and the last one to leave.”
“You bring lunch from home, you never take breaks, and I’ve noticed you limp sometimes when you think no one’s watching. What’s going on?”
The genuine concern in her voice almost broke him. He wanted to tell her everything about Maya’s upcoming field trip he couldn’t afford. He thought of the second job he worked on weekends doing data entry.
He thought of the medical bills from his daughter’s emergency appendectomy last year that still kept him up at night. But you didn’t dump your problems on your boss, especially not when that boss was Sophia Chen.
“Just tired,” he said instead.
“Single parent stuff; you know how it is.”
“Actually, I don’t,” she said quietly.
“But I’d like to understand, if you’d let me.”
Daniel looked up at her, confused by the intensity in her dark eyes. Before he could respond, his phone buzzed with a text from Mrs. Patterson, his elderly neighbor who watched Maya when he worked late. His daughter had a nightmare and was asking for him.
“I’m sorry, I have to go,” he said, already shoving papers into his bag.
“Maya needs me.”
