All Or Nothing: A Billionaire BWAM Single Parent Romance Read online

  The two women looked at him wordlessly for a moment. He had never expressed that wish before and even though he was so tender in age, she had explained to him that his dad had left because he was not ready to be a father.

  Elise felt the anger burn inside her at the bastard who had fled his responsibility and left her to pick up the pieces. She reached out and took his hands, oily from the slices of pizza he had consumed. He had a chocolate mustache on his top lip and she used the napkin to wipe it off. “Honey, remember how I explained to you about not having a dad?” he nodded solemnly. “And I also reminded you that I did not have a dad either and that grandma no longer had a dad? What did you say to me?”

  “I will be the man in the house!” he said his eyes sparkling and his mood changing.

  “That’s right, sweetie,” Leslie said exchanging looks with her daughter. “We are happy with the way we are right now and we love one another and that’s all that matters.”

  He nodded.”May I have another slice of pizza please?” he asked, already forgetting the subject of his absent father, but Elise was still feeling the anger burning inside her.

  “Where do you put all the food?” she teased him, handing him another slice.

  “Right in my tummy,” he told her with a laugh.

  *****

  That night as she tucked him into bed he asked her: “Mommy, are you sad that I asked you about a dad?” Elise closed her eyes briefly, she had forgotten how very intuitive he could be and she forced a smile to her lips.

  “Of course not darling why would I be sad?” she sat on the bed beside him and held him close to her.

  “I don’t know,” he shrugged slightly, snuggling close to her. “I pray for a daddy sometimes for me and that you won’t have to work so hard every day.”

  Elise felt her throat constricting and she had to take a deep breath in order to continue. “I hope your prayers will be answered.” She said huskily. “In the meantime, can you bear with only your mommy for now?”

  “Of course mommy, you are the best mommy in the whole wide world!” he told her flinging out his hands to emphasize his point.

  “Thanks sweetie. It helps that you are the best son in the whole wide world!” she hugged him before pulling up the comforter and turning out the light.

  Her mother had already turned in for the night. Elise went inside her room and dropped herself onto her bed. It was the first time he had ever mentioned needing a father and it pained her that as much as she tried to give him whatever he needed, she could not give him his father.

  The bastard had not wanted any part of the beautiful sweet child they had made. She had spent so many nights beating herself up and wondering where she had gone wrong and how she could have fallen for his pretty looks and smooth talk until her mother had sat her down and talked to her.

  “You made a mistake honey, and no matter how you try to analyze it, the mistake has already been made. Now you just have to dust yourself off and be there for your son, no matter what, because he is going to need you!”

  She had done just that and had moved on from the lousy bastard, but no amount of wishing on her part could erase the fact that he was indeed Daniel’s father.

  Chapter 2

  “Of course Mrs. Hamasaki. I will do up a proposal as soon as I come and look at the place, and thank you very much!” Elise could not keep the excitement out of her voice; she had gotten the job of remodeling the entire kitchen in the Hamasaki’s home. It meant quite a bit of income. She knew about the family, had seen them featured in the papers, especially the son Peter who ran the company.

  “Please call me Mitsui my dear. Mrs. Hamasaki makes me sound so old.” The woman said with a smile in her voice. “So can you come over this afternoon to take a look?”

  Elise hesitated briefly, trying to piece together in her head what she had to do. It was already Friday and she had promised her son to go trick or treating later, and she had to finish up a bathroom job as well. “Of course. I will be there this afternoon around two o’clock, if that’s okay with you.”

  “Good,” the woman said. “I will be waiting.”

  “Mom, would you mind taking Daniel to school this morning? I have several things I need to do,” she said pulling on her jacket. She had already bathed and gotten her son ready for school. He only needed to eat breakfast. He was already hyped up about Halloween and could not stay still. She told her mother about the potential job.

  “Honey, that’s great! Of course I will take Daniel to school, and pick him up afterwards. I only have some pastry to deliver to the shop downtown then I am free for the day.” Leslie told her.

  “Thanks mom.” Elise said gratefully.

  “Just make sure you do not disappoint little man for later.” Her mother warned.

  “I won’t,” Elise reassured her, stooping down as her son flew from the living room and into her arms.

  “Mommy, I ate all my pancakes and strawberries!” his mouth had maple syrup and bits of strawberries all around it. There was a syrup stain on his school uniform.

  “And you got some of it on your clothes and all over your mouth.” She said with an indulgent smile, grabbing a bag of wipes from the side table and cleaning his face with it.”Okay buddy, mommy is going to work now so grandma will take you to school and pick you up after, but I will be by later for us to go trick or treating together. How does that sound?” she ruffled his curls as she stood up.

  “Sounds good Mommy. Have a good day at work.” He told her solemnly.

  “Have a super duper day at school honey,” she told him with a smile.

  *****

  “So we got the Hamasaki gig?” Jack asked, his dark brown eyes squinting as he examined the tiles he had just laid.

  “Hopefully.” Elise looked at the tiles briefly. The bathroom had been gutted completely and everything, including the dingy tub, face basin and toilet fixtures, had been removed and replaced with powder blue fixtures with beautiful chrome fittings, and matching blue and white tiles on the floor and on the walls. She especially loved the sea nymphs patterned on the top of the tiles on the wall. “I have to go look at the place and get a feel of what we need to do.”

  “Want me to tag along?” he asked her, wiping his hands on his already messy denims. Michael was cleaning the grout off the tiles and not saying anything. Ever since she had scaled down his duties he had been taciturn and surly.

  “No, I can take care of it. You guys have the portico to finish remember?” she reminded him.

  “Oh yes, I had forgotten about that.” He said slapping his gloves on his thigh.

  “I will let you know how it goes.” She told him briefly.

  *****

  “Come on in dear,” the woman told her as she met her in the driveway. It was a cold and blustery day and wind had whipped at her loose ponytail and now her hair was all over the place. The place was massive with a circular driveway and cobbled stones on the walls out front. It was beautiful and the grounds were well kept. “Now I am going to ask you the obvious question: why is a beautiful girl like you doing such rough work?” Mitsui glided in front of her, her curtain of fine black hair raining down her back as she led them through a large parlor, an elegant living room with shimmering chandeliers and a sweeping staircase at one end, and into the large kitchen, big enough to be used in a restaurant.

  “I like what I do,” she told her politely, her eyes quickly assessing what needed to stay and what should go.

  “Ah, I have been put in my place.” Mitsui said in amusement. “My son is always telling me that I am too nosy.”

  “No, I am sorry. I tend to get distracted when I am on a job.” Elise told her apologetically giving the woman a tentative smile.

  “So what do you think?” she asked sweeping her hands to encompass the room. The lighting was poor, but it was due to the lack of windows, and the wallpaper was too dark and dreary. The marble countertop was exquisite and Elise was sure it had cost a pretty penny. The chrome fittings were s
ome of the best. The floor was made of highly polished wood and shone beautifully.

  “I think we should put a large bay window right there.” She pointed to the area above the sink. “And another one over there.” She indicated the opposite side of the room. “The wallpaper needs to go. We could put tiles instead, and if you want I could add a little breakfast nook right in the middle.”

  “My thoughts exactly.” Mitsui nodded in approval. “We have two more kitchens in this veritable mansion, one on the east wing and the other on the south, which belongs to my son. He never uses the place because he spends more time in the office than here and he never cooks for himself, but I would like you to do those as well.”

  Elise could feel the excitement rising inside her. Three kitchens in this massive house? And who's to tell if there won’t be other jobs as long as they do excellent work? It would mean money going into her son’s college fund!

  “How soon do you want me to start?” she asked, impatient to get started.

  “How about tomorrow?” Mitsui asked with a smile. “I will just instruct the girls to move their things out so that you can have space to do your work.”

  “That sounds great!” Elise said with a quick smile.

  “And my dear, you don’t need to spare any expense.. I want the very best.” Mitsui told her.

  *****

  “Stand still sweetie, I need to put the hood over your head. No self-respecting ghost would go without it.” Elise secured the material over his head making sure it was not too tight and pulled down the sleeves of his white sweater down to his wrists. It was cold out and she was making sure he was warm enough.

  “Mommy, you are funny,” his teeth flashed white inside the opening through the material. “Do I look scary?”

  “I am scared right now,” she said with a little shiver.

  “Boo!” he said.

  “Stop you are going to give me a heart attack!” his mother held a hand to her chest.

  “And me as well,” Leslie said coming into the living room with a basket full of candies and various treats. “Here you go darling, make sure you don’t come back with any of these.”

  “Thanks Grandma. Mommy, come on! We are going to be late.” He said tugging her hand impatiently.

  “Okay buddy, I am coming.”

  “I will hold down the fort here until you two are back.” Leslie told them as they went through the doorway.

  *****

  Darkness had already descended. Even though it was only a few minutes after six o’clock, she could see other mothers and some fathers with their small children in tow. The costumes were many and varied and she even saw that there were several other ‘ghosts’ milling around.

  Her energetic son dragged her around the neighborhood handing out treats and trying to trick people into believing he was a ghost. She looked at her watch and realized that it was almost nine o’clock and the overflowing basket was empty.

  “Mommy, we are out of treats,” he told her worriedly, holding up the empty basket.

  “And we are also out of time.” She told him gently, waving to a parent she recognized. “It’s past your bedtime honey.”

  “Okay mommy,” he look wilted and Elise picked him up into her arms, thinking to herself how heavy he had become.

  Before they had reached the house he was fast asleep in her arms. She shifted his weight to her right so she could open the door and go in.

  “All tuckered out?” her mother came over and took him from her. “Go on honey, I will tuck him in tonight.”

  “Thanks Mom, he is quite a handful.”

  *****

  The job commenced the very next day with the measuring and the knocking down of the walls to accommodate the windows. They had arrived at a quarter to seven and had been offered breakfast in the form of a buffet, with a variety of dishes including pancakes with maple syrup and strawberries, eggs and lightly browned toast, and flaky, delectable croissants.

  “I was not sure what you ate so I told Miki and Linda that they could not go wrong with a continental breakfast,” Mitsui told them with a charming smile, shaking Michael’s and Jack’s hands as they were introduced. “Please make yourselves at home. The two ladies will get you anything you need. I have to run out to get some things done. My son has already left for the office.”

  “Classy lady,” Jack commented, his eyes eagerly going to the table laden with food, sniffing the scent of coffee. “Do we eat first?” he asked hopefully.

  “Go ahead,” Elise suggested even though she was impatient on getting started.

  She poured herself a cup of coffee while the two men ate, and wandered into the kitchen, seeing in her mind’s eyes what the finished product will look like.

  It was half an hour later before they got started. Elise did the measuring while Michael and Jack got ready to remove the walls. She had already ordered the necessary supplies from the hardware and were going to be delivered as soon as the place was opened. Usually she got the run around whenever she placed an order and had to wait a bit for the order to be filled, but apparently the Hamasaki name carried a lot of weight.

  It was mid afternoon before the real work started. They had settled down to have lunch, which had been placed on the table where the breakfast things had been removed.

  “What a feast!” Jack said clapping his hands as he viewed the table filled with lots of goodies. There were several different kinds of large chunky sandwiches, a fruit bowl, jugs of lemonade and fruit juice, a whole chocolate cake with vanilla icing, and a pot of coffee. They had seen the two helpers briefly but never saw them putting the food on the table.

  “It’s almost like a food fairy takes the food here and then returns for the empty plates.” Michael said slowly, picking up a chicken sandwich and putting it on a plate.

  “Was that a joke from you man?” Jack demanded, clapping Michael on the back.

  The man gave a slow smile and ambled over to the corner of the room to eat his lunch.

  *****

  By the time Mitsui returned,which was after three, Elise and the two men were laying the tiles. She had chosen pale lemon tiles with fruits and vegetables inlaid.

  “Looking good already and it’s not yet done,” Mitsui exclaimed. Elise admired the elegant way she carried herself and the subtle expensive pants suit she had on. “How long is it going to take?” she asked staying just inside the doorway away from the dust.

  “We should be finished by Wednesday. We are going to start on the other kitchens as soon as we are done in here.” Elise told her.

  “Good,” she nodded. “Let me know when you are ready to leave and I will come down. Linda and Miki will take the message up. And please do not think you should be here working until six o'clock or after. I am sure you have lives to go home to.”

  “As I said, classy woman,” Jack commented, staring after her.

  *****

  They wrapped up at a quarter to six and Elise told the helper, Miki, who was a young oriental girl with long black hair to her waist, that they were ready to leave. She nodded and bowed and then hurried off to get her mistress.

  Mitsui had changed into red silk lounge pants and a blue shirt and she came down to see them off. “I hope you had something to eat before you leave,” she told them accompanying them to the door. “I was so caught up in some paperwork I was doing that I completely lost track of time.”

  “Yes, thank you very much.” Elise told her with a smile. She was feeling grimy and badly needed a shower and to wash out the dust and the grout out of her hair.

  “Okay I will see you tomorrow.” She said waving them off.

  *****

  Elise told her mother about the house. They were having their meal around the dining table, and she watched as her son picked at his brussel sprouts. He had eaten the fried chicken and corn but was trying not to eat the other vegetable.

  “Sweetie don’t you want to get big and strong?” Elise asked him gently as he stared at the vegetable fiercely.
/>   “Yes, but why do I have to eat this? It’s so icky!” he said mutinously.

  “How about this?” his grandmother suggested. “Eat at least three bites and then you will get a chocolate chip cookie and a little bit of ice cream.”

  His eyes brightened as he looked at the two women. “Can I mommy, please?”

  “May I,” she corrected automatically. Usually she did not allow sweets before bedtime but she decided it would not hurt. “Okay but you have to try and eat all of the vegetable.”

  “Okay,” he scooped the vegetable, put it inside his mouth and before long he had finished everything on his plate.

  “Good job, honey.” His grandma told him with a smile, getting up to go and get dessert. The grownups had coffee with cream and cookies and he had his ice-cream and two cookies.

  She had made sure he brushed his teeth and had tucked him into bed before she came back out to join her mother on the sofa in the living room, pouring herself another cup of coffee.

  “The house is a dream mom. It looks mellowed and old and had been redesigned over the years but it is a magnificent building and the grounds are so big, at least what I caught a glimpse of.”

  “I am glad you were able to get the job, honey,” Leslie said with a smile. “How is the lady of the house?”

  “Very nice for a rich lady, according to Jack,” she said with a laugh. “I haven’t met the son yet because his mother says he spends most time at the office.”

  Later that night as she prepared for bed, she reflected back on the glimpses of luxury she had seen in the house. The rich oak paneling in the parlor, the parquet floors and the various works of art hanging on the walls. She had recognized Renoir and Monet and several others that she had not recognized but seemed to be highly expensive. She had never wondered what it was like to live in houses of such grandeur but she loved the feel of a beautiful piece of wood in her hands, and she had learned to appreciate fine things from her father. What does one do in a house that size for the whole day? She wondered, shaking her head as she slipped on her simple cotton nightgown with the intention of going to bed.