Filed to story: The Return Novel (Natalie & Bryce) PDF Read Online Free
Hearing this good news about her job, Natalie yelled in excitement, “Yay!” Overjoyed, she gave Liam a big hug and a kiss. “Liam, I got the job after all! Now I can support you. I’m so happy!” Feeling his mother’s joy, Liam was also very happy, although he was still a bit dizzy from Natalie’s tight hug.
He looked at her with his big eyes and said, “I knew you could do it! How good a company not want my mommy?” The pair of them danced around the room, shouting excitedly. This was the happiest Natalie had been since she returned from abroad.
Meanwhile, Bryce was downstairs having coffee in the dining room. He frowned when he heard the commotion upstairs, but he was curious about what was going on up there to warrant such noise.
Mrs. Perkins also chuckled; finally, there was life and laughter in the family home. She smiled and said to Bryce, “Sir, doesn’t it feel great to have a family?” Bryce looked at the ceiling but didn’t say anything. The feeling he had in his heart at that moment was a subtle one. Although he didn’t resent the people upstairs, it was also the case that he found such noise in his home hard to get used to.
After a while, Natalie and Liam calmed down. She got Liam ready and brought him downstairs. When she reached the corner of the stairs, she saw Bryce sitting in the dining room drinking his coffee.
She was slightly surprised, and an uneasy look flashed across her face. She thought to herself, “Don’t tell me he heard what I said to Liam just then.”
Even though she hadn’t said anything bad, she was still embarrassed to think of all her business being laid out in front of Bryce. While she was still mulling this over, Mrs. Perkins saw them both and called them over for breakfast.
As soon as Liam sat down at the dining table, he quickly spilled out, “Dad, Mrs. Perkins, my mom has a job! She can go to work now!” Natalie smiled happily. This was, after all, her first job since she came back home. It was a big thing for her. Bryce glanced at her and said, “So it seems like your boss was not as bad as you thought, huh?”
Natalie smiled awkwardly as she recalled the way she’d criticized her boss, someone whom she’d never actually met. She said, “It sure seems that way. I guess if I get a chance to meet him, I’ll certainly be showing my gratitude.” Bryce sipped his coffee. Sometimes Natalie seemed a bit too straightforward, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
After breakfast, Bryce raised his head to look at Liam and asked, “Liam, you should be starting school now, right?” Natalie had also been considering the same, especially now that she had found a job.
She wanted to send him to kindergarten, but maybe the little guy was too smart for that. Would he be willing to go to kindergarten? So, at Bryce’s prompting, she asked him, “Liam, will you go to kindergarten?” He snorted, “I don’t want to go to kindergarten. The kids in kindergarten are too childish. I don’t want to be with them.”
Natalie had suspected Liam would say that, and she also knew that if he didn’t attend kindergarten, his social and learning skills wouldn’t really be affected. But she still tried to coax him.
“Liam, don’t be like that. You’re a child too. One of life’s experiences is going to kindergarten at your age. It’s an important part of your childhood.”
It was rare for Liam to see his mother have such enthusiasm towards him, so he was very happy. He lowered his head, thinking. Finally, he raised his head, gave a slight smile, and said, “If it will make you happy, then I will go to kindergarten.”
Seeing his thoughtfulness and maturity, Natalie grinned. She gave a nod and said, “Deal.” After a while, she asked, “So, which school should we enroll you at?” This question was really directed to Mrs. Perkins.
Mrs. Perkins thought for a moment and said, “Of course, Liam will have to go to the best school. How about you let me take care of choosing based on my local knowledge? What do you think?”
Natalie was surprised by this. She wasn’t worried whether Mrs. Perkins was capable of finding a good school; she was sure she was, actually. But at the same time, she didn’t want to trouble her given the complexity of enrolling a child into an educational establishment. She glanced at Bryce and saw that he was looking at her too. Before she could say anything, Bryce said, “Mrs. Perkins, I’ll be happy for you to handle the school process for Liam.”
Natalie wasn’t sure how to respond, so she just smiled gratefully at Mrs. Perkins and said, “Are you sure? That wouldn’t be too much for you to do? I don’t want to bother you with Liam unnecessarily.”
Mrs. Perkins shook her head and said, “Natalie, please don’t say that. I’m glad to look after Liam. I certainly don’t think it’s bothersome. I’m very happy to do it.” She smiled happily. She had never been married, having worked for the CLA family from a very young age. To her, Bryce was like her own son. If she could now look after Bryce’s own son too, how could she not be happy?
Seeing Mrs. Perkins so happy eased Natalie’s concerns. Bryce went to work after breakfast, leaving Mrs. Perkins looking after Liam. Natalie went to start preparing herself for her new job. Although she had not gone to the office properly yet, she wanted to prepare herself for what was to come. After all, she thought, a good plan is required for a battle.
The first thing she planned to do was find out more about the employees at the company. She called the HR manager and briefly explained her thinking. The HR manager was quite cooperative. “Call me Daryl,” he said. “Daryl Maitland.”
“Mr. Maitland, um, Daryl, please, would you send me a list with the names of the other employees at the company?” Natalie requested politely.
“Darl, no problem. I’ll send you the names shortly. If you have any other questions, just feel free to ask me,” Daryl replied without hesitation.
Natalie hadn’t been expecting things to go so smoothly, so her mood was pretty good. She thanked Daryl and hung up. Shortly afterward, an email notification pinged on her computer. She was favorably impressed by Maitland’s efficiency. She opened the email and started reading through it. The more she read, the more disappointed she became. It seemed clear to her that the entertainment company was lacking talented and remarkable people, and had been lacking them for a long time.
Natalie had plenty of experience in the entertainment industry from her work abroad. During her time working in the industry, she had seen many talented men and women. People of that caliber seemed to be lacking here.