Knife or Life?

"Kotah!" Rowen called to her son.

The addressed boy reluctantly peeled his caramel eyes off the grand chandelier illuminating the lounge and ran to his mom, taking her outstretched hand.

"Remember to stay by Mommy, all right?"

Kotah nodded, his head on a swivel as he stared at every shiny thing with saucer-like eyes.

Rowen smiled tenderly. Her son was only five years old, just being introduced to the big world in which they lived in.

"Do you have an appointment?" asked the lady at the counter.

Rowen cleared her throat and straightened her face. "Yes. A 1:30 meeting with Cory Westerhoff. I'm Rowen Cleves."

The receptionist glanced up from her computer to find a brunette with hair chopped at her shoulders. Rowen stared back at her with bright, superior emerald eyes lined by thick, black lashes. Her nose twitched slightly as her son tugged on her hand, making the shock of freckles splashed across her cheeks and over her nose dance and shift minutely. The brunette curled her thin upper lip and stuck her plump bottom lip out further to contain her choice words of irk for the small child.

The lady smiled sympathetically. "Welcome to Westerhoff Cooperation, Ms. Cleves. Mr. Westerhoff is waiting in his office on the twenty-fourth floor for your arrival."

Rowen smiled gently and bid her farewell with a thanks. Kotah stumbled beside his mother, now transfixed on her young, vibrant features. Each day he would observe her, waiting for the day that she would wake up looking like his friend's mommies: wrinkled and fatigued.

She was only twenty-two, single-handedly raising him while undergoing the change of becoming the director of Lyfe Organization. Even at the age of five, he already knew how to pack his lunches, make noodles and entertain himself. Sure, Nana and Nono were around sometimes to help Mom with him but they were the heads of Lyfe Org; they were more busy than his mom.

But soon, his mom had reassured him, Nana and Nono would retire, leaving Lyfe Org in her hands. From then on, they would be around to constantly care and play with him. She didn't seem to understand that he wanted her more than Nana and Nono.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open revealing a bustling floor filled with myriads of worker bees. Rowen had to nudge her son to get him moving along, pulling out his thumb from his mouth and lightly reprimanding him.

After a minute of struggling to get Kotah to move, Rowen picked him up and propped him on her hip. She walked down the aisle with open offices and desks on either side of her, making her way to the door at the end of the walk labeled CEO: Cory Westerhoff.

She could feel the stares and noticed how the rustling of papers diminished as she continued on, the sound of her heels resonating throughout the open floor plan. All Rowen wanted to do was shrink into her neck and dive into the desk on her left; but she couldn't, because not only was she the renowned Rowen Cleves, but also, her son was resting in her arms, staring at her with admiring eyes.

So, the brunette kept her head high, looking down at her son to rub his dark brown hair only for a moment.

"I'm here to see Mr. Westerhoff," she declared calmly to the secretary in front of his door.

The women nodded and dialed a number on the phone. "Mr. Westerhoff? Yes, Ms. Cleves has arrived." There was a moment of silence as the man on the other end spoke, then the women concluded, "All right, sir." The ladies eyes looked at Rowen only to become distracted by Kotah. "He is waiting to see you."

Rowen smiled and put Kotah down. "Thank you," she said.

Kotah clutched onto his mom's skirt and stuck his thumb in his mouth, daringly staring back at the secretary as she made lame faces. He blinked once and gave a soft smile merely to appease her. Then, he followed his mom into the room.