Chapter 6: A "Chance Encounter" from Mr. Sterling
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It started with Mom's work.
She suddenly got super busy, always rushing off to meetings at the shiny "Giant Castle." Every time she tries to leave me with Uncle Jack, I deploy my foolproof excuse: "I have to protect you!"
I don't really like that "grown-up box"—it's too quiet and smells like coffee and something weird called "deadline pressure." But I've found ways to entertain myself.
Like how a pretty lady named Susan is always sighing, and I hear her thinking: [Where on earth did I hide my emergency chocolate? I NEED sugar! I'll literally die without it!]
So I trot over and point behind a tall leafy plant: "Miss Susan! Your 'emergency survival chocolate' is hiding back there!"
When Susan discovers her chocolate exactly where I pointed, the whole office cracks up.
Every time something like this happens, I feel someone watching me. It's Ice Man Alex, standing behind his glass office door, pretending to read papers while actually staring at me. I hear him thinking: [Just as I'd expect from my son. Sharp as a tack.]
Wait—why does he keep calling me "my son" in his head? That's weird.
Later, his "accidental" run-ins get way more obvious.
At the neighborhood park where Mom and I like to play, a totally out-of-place figure in a fancy black coat starts showing up regularly.
The first time, he pretends to be jogging. But I hear him gasping in his mind: [Whose brilliant idea was this?! I haven't run since college! My lungs are on fire!]
The second time, he acts like he's admiring the trees. But his mind is having a full-on debate: [Should I approach them now? What would I say? 'Nice dinosaur hat, kid'? Too obvious. 'Lovely weather we're having'? So lame.]
The third time, he just sits on a bench with a newspaper—which is upside down.
Mom finally reaches her limit. The alarm bells in her head are ringing even louder than mine.
[This is NOT normal! Alex Sterling—billionaire CEO—just happens to keep showing up at our little neighborhood park? What's his angle? Was that lawyer some kind of test? What does he WANT from us?]
Mom's gone into full hedgehog mode, spines out in every direction. She grips my hand tight and marches straight ahead, pretending Ice Man doesn't exist.
So we have this bizarre parade through the park: Mom and me in front, Ice Man trailing behind, and their thoughts having a battle in the air between them.
Mom: [Stay back, Mr. Billionaire Stalker! Whatever you're planning, we're not interested!]
Alex: [Why won't she acknowledge me? Is my coat too formal for a park? Should I have worn a different tie?]
Stuck between them, I feel like my head might pop from all the loud thinking.
Finally, by an ice cream cart, our paths "accidentally" cross.
Ice Man takes a deep breath and approaches us. His face stays frozen, but his voice has a tiny wobble: "Ms. Campbell, Leo… good afternoon."
Mom jumps like a startled cat and takes a step back. "Mr. Sterling. What a surprise."
In her head she's yelling: [Coincidence my foot! You've been stalking us for weeks!]
The air between them is thick enough to cut with a knife.
I can't stand this anymore. Grown-ups are so DIFFICULT!
I let go of Mom's hand, march right up to Ice Man, and look him straight in the eyes. "Mister, are you lonely?"
He freezes completely.
Then I dash back to Mom, grab her hand, and announce loudly: "Mom, don't be scared! This man isn't mean!"
Mom's face turns tomato-red and she tries to shush me.
I dodge her hand and continue my "translation" service: "I can hear him! In his heart, he thinks we're nice people and that your invitation designs are the prettiest ever! And he wants to buy me strawberry ice cream because that was his favorite flavor when he was little too!"
When I finish, everything goes super quiet.
Mom gapes at me, then at Ice Man, her face a perfect picture of shock.
And Ice Man—the glacier on his face just cracks wide open. He stares at me with those blue eyes full of shock, amazement, and something soft and sad that I don't quite understand.
I see his hands clench into tight fists, like he's using every bit of willpower not to rush over and scoop me up.
I look from one to the other, head tilted.
Grown-ups are so weird. They think nice things about each other in their heads but act like strangers with their faces. Why can't they just say what they mean?
