Lauren let the kids play at the park a little longer after the handsome stranger took off before calling it a day to return the little ones home. It was a nice day, so they took their time walking back, and was a little more careful considering what happened earlier in the day. Lauren was just happy to return the kids home safe as they made it back to the their building and to the top floor to their parent’s penthouse. When the entered the large condominium, the little girl in the stroller was already asleep. Nathan took off for his room to play video games while Lauren took Alexia too her room and softly placed her into her crib, snuggling her with a favorite blanket. She returned to the kitchen and started to clean up a bit to pass the time, but was interrupted when she heard the door. It was only mid-afternoon, so Lauren was startled as no one usually came home until around supper time. She was even more shocked when her boss, Nathan and Alexia’s father, came storming into the kitchen. He looked a little shaken himself, and was frantically looking around as he entered the room.

“Where are the children?” he demanded with a very harsh tone.

“Alexia is sleeping in her crib,” Lauren answered, “And Nathan is playing his video games in his room. We just returned from park about a half hour ago after going to the gallery with the other nannies. Are you alright, Mr. Janssen?”

“No, I’m not!” Mr. Janssen said, as he did look rather annoyed at something.

“Is there something I can help you with?” She asked him.

“I don’t think so,” he rudely answered. “There is video online, showing my son nearing getting hit by bus! Where and when did this happen?”

Lauren looked back at her boss with a look a deer might have when it sees the headlights of an oncoming car. She remained silent as she was unaware of the video that he was talking about. Lauren just stood there and didn’t reply as she was unable to find the words to respond to what she was being asked.

“You know what, I don’t care.” Mr. Janssen said, “You’re fired.”

“Excuse me?” Lauren said, as she was surprised.

“You heard me,” Mr. Janssen said, “Pack up your shit and get out. Your last cheque and severance will be forwarded to your address before the end of the week.”

Lauren had every intention of letting her boss know what had happened earlier in the day, but she could tell by the look on his face that nothing she said was going to make a difference. His mind was already made up, and it wasn’t going to be swayed no matter what was said or shown.

“I’m sorry you feel that way, Mr. Janssen,” She replied after taking a moment, “I’ll gather my things and be leaving as soon as I can.”

Mr. Janssen paused for a moment and sighed. “Thank you.”

Rather than protest what was clearly an overexaggerating move, Lauren chose to take the high road as she gathered her belongings and left the building as requested. She did her best to hide the tears as her dismissal was a complete surprise, but considering what happened it was not hard to understand why her boss was so upset. Had it not been for Xander and his last minute save, Nathan very well might have been killed and it would have been her fault. If there was a video, it might make the incident look uglier than it really was. She was going to have to check it out before passing judgment on Mr. Janssen and how he was responding to it. Lauren stopped by a local café and picked up something to drink, a warm cup of chai to calm her nerves. She used the café’s wi-fi to check out the video and it didn’t take long for her to find it.

The traffic cam made the incident look far worse than she remembered it, and even closer to disaster than it appeared. She couldn’t get angry at her employer for feeling like he did since that was his kid that was almost run over by a bus. Had it not been for the actions of that young man who was so nice to her that day, Nathan might be around and that would anger any parent. If that were her son, she would honestly consider firing herself as well. Especially after watching that video. After finishing her tea, Lauren still didn’t feel like going home so she went shopping instead. She had already planned to pick of groceries after work but chose to be a little more frugal with her spending because of her sudden onset of unemployment. She took her time looking around the store and picked up everything she needed and then took a nice quiet walk home. Her roommate was already home, but was surprised to see Lauren walk through the door considering that she should have still been at work.

“Lauren?” she called out.

“Hey Ash,” Lauren called back.

Ash, formally known as Ashley, was a long time friend from school, and they roomed up when they realized the lived in the same city to save money. They split a one bedroom place, but they made the living room Ash’s bedroom and the dining room was the living room instead. They ate most of their meals in front of the television so it was still the dining room anyway. She knew Lauren long enough to know by her demeanor that something was up.

“Lauren,” she called out, “What are you doing back this early?”

“I lost my job,” Lauren said. She took out her phone and handed it to her. “This is the incident that resulted in my dismissal.”

“Oh shit, that was close!” Ash said, watching the video. “But no one was hurt! What kind of asshole fires someone for something not happening?”

“That asshole would be my boss,” Lauren answered, “And I’m not sure if I blame him at all after watching that about a dozen times.”

“That’s still bullshit,” Ash protested, “Nathan is fine!”

“Apparently it was too close for comfort,” Lauren explained, “So I suppose Mr. Janssen would rather hire someone new than take their chances with me than have to take the wrath of his wife and fight about it. I can only imagine what she’ll think of me. They’ll just hire someone new. We’re expendable.”

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself.” Ash said, giving her friend a hug. “Just take it easy and try not to panic.”

“Hard not to panic when rent is due in a few weeks,” Lauren reminded her.

“Don’t worry about that,” Ash replied, “We have money put away, so we can stay afloat long enough for you to find new work and get back on track. We might have to postpone the Vegas trip.”

“I suppose,” Lauren said, “But who’s going to hire me to watch their kids after seeing that video?”

“You might have to expand your options,” Ash suggested. “I’ll help you. We’ll get through this, okay?”

“Okay,” Lauren said, appreciating the pep talk. “Thanks, Ash.”

“Hey, that’s what friends are for!” Ash reminded her. “Let’s make something to eat and watch some new shows.”

Ash took her groceries into the kitchen and used them to cook an early supper. They sat with their dinner on their big couch and watched cheesy reality tv while eating, which made Lauren feel a little better but she couldn’t help but review everything that had happened that day. She was also thinking about Xander and what happened after the near miss, and the fun they had at the park. She was so taken by his charm and manners that the incident was a distant memory by the time she had gotten the kids home from the park. It had felt like a lifetime ago, despite it only being earlier that day.

“Hey you,” Ash said, noticing her distraction. “Don’t let today get to you.”

“It’s not that,” Lauren said, “Despite what happened, up until I was fired the day was a pretty rather well. I even met someone.”

“Wait, you?” Ash said, surprised. “You met someone? Who?”

“The man who saved Nathan,” she answered, “He hung out with us for a few hours and walked us to the park. I really liked him. He was… nice.”

“Wow,” Ash said, floored by the revelation. “I did not see that coming.”

“Neither did I,” Lauren said, wiping a tear from her cheek, “But now that I’m this evil nanny whose neglect almost killed a child I’m ruined. Not only will no one want to hire me to watch their kids, I’m never going to hear the end of this in class.”

“Hey, that’s not true!” Ash protested, “No one was hurt, and they’ll be another story to take over the next news cycle. You’ll be old news by week’s end.”

“I hope so,” Lauren confessed, “Cause it will be hard to find work if this lingers and sticks with people for a while.”

The conversation seemed to end there, as they watched the cheesy show on tv and allowed it to distract them from the life they were trying to escape. Lauren had a hard time sleeping that night, thinking about the incident, the man who saved the day and then being fired. It was a whirlwind of a day, and she laid there in bed looking at the ceiling and wondering what was going to happen next. She had no work the next day, so it felt weird waking up the next morning with no urgency to run off to get to the condo to make breakfast for the kids. Ash was already gone when she strolled out of her room, as she took all her classes in the morning. She liked to get them over with and have the whole day ahead of her. Lauren stood there in the apartment with literally nothing to do, so she decided to leave and get some air. She picked up a latte from a shop and just went for a stroll to clear her mind. Before she knew it, Lauren had walked downtown and found herself standing in front of the same place she was just twenty-four hours earlier with the other nannies: the art gallery. With nothing but time on her hands, literally oodles of it, Lauren strolled into the gallery and paid for herself this time and entered the gallery. Without kids nagging her to keep moving, she was able to stroll with ease and enjoy each piece at her own leisurely pace. It was this moment when she came up to the piece that had grabbed her attention the most the day before. The piece from Paris that now resided in their fair gallery. Rather than just pass by it, Lauren took a seat on a bench that was in the middle of the room and took a moment to just really look at the amazing work before her. She tried her best to forget what had happened, and just focus on the piece and how magnificent it was.

“Pretty cool, isn’t it?” a voice then called out.

Lauren turned to look at who had said that, and there he was. The young man that had saved Nathan and spend the day at the park with them. Xander was standing there with a grin one his face, but this time was in a full suit that looked custom made, which made him look even more handsome than before, which she honestly didn’t think was possible. The addition of the jacket and tie made him look like he owned the place, which distracted her for a moment before Lauren came back to the real world.

“Xander?” She called out, “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I needed to clear my head.” Xander said to her, “And I remember you said you went the gallery with the kids yesterday, so I got the urge to pay a visit.”

“It’s nice to see you again,” Lauren confessed, “Are you going right to work after this? You look ready to take on Wall Street yourself.”

“Oh, yeah.” Xander said, realized how sharper he looked that day. “I plan to get some work done today. You know, bills to pay and what not.”

“It is nice to see you again,” Lauren repeated.

“It is,” Xander agreed, “Especially since I never got your number last time.”

“What makes you think you’ll get it this time?” she asked, but was only being playful. She wanted to give it to him but forgot as well.

“Touché,” Xander said, smiling as he enjoyed the banter. “So, what do you think of this piece?”

“It’s amazing,” Lauren confessed, “I thought it was still in Paris. I was told yesterday that it was donated a short while ago.”

“It was,” Xander confirmed, “This one happens to be my favorite.”

“Mine too,” Lauren agreed, “It’s priceless.”

“Only metaphorically,” Xander corrected her, “The previous owner’s estate actually sold it at auction for seventy-five million euros.”

“How do you know that?” she asked him.

Xander paused for a moment, and felt this might as well be the moment as the cat was eventually going to come out of the bag whether he wanted it to or not.

“I happen to know this because I bought it,” He answered, “I paid seventy-five million euros for it.”

Lauren took a moment to process the statement.

“You paid for this?” She repeated.

“Sure did,” Xander said, grinning back at her.

“You?” Lauren repeated, her mind a tad blown away.

“Well, I was surprised it was put up for auction at all.” Xander said, “It seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity. One of those moments that you have to just seize whenever it happens to come along.”

Lauren looked at the small details and then back at up at Xander.

“Hold on,” Lauren said, still stunned by the revelation. “You’re Alexander Hopkin’s Jr.?”

“Only my dad calls me Alexander,” Xander says, pointing to the details beside the painting. “I prefer Xander. The fact that using the shorter name pisses off the old man is just an added bonus.”

Xander paused for a moment, as something seemed amiss.

“Lauren,” he asked her, “Are you alright?”

It was at that moment when Lauren fainted and fell off her bench.