"That's my cue to kill you." She frowned, her eyes stating that she really meant it.
He reclined in the chair. "You can do that later. Before then, can you at least give the proposal a brief read? Who is to say that you wouldn't want to collaborate with me when it impresses you?"
When.
She took note of the word he had emphasized. He was certain that it would impress her and just needed her to read it. "Aren't you full of yourself, Mr. D'aboville?"
"If that's how you want to put it, it's up to you. All I know is that I'm confident."
"Okay." Knowing him, he would keep prattling about it and using it as an excuse to see her. She would not give him the satisfaction of having a reason to buzz around her so she agreed. "I will go through it and have Mina tell you my final verdict. If there is anything I find unpleasant even if it is the tiniest detail, I will reject it."
"Fair enough." It was not anyone else's fault that her eyes were covered with a vengeful lense when she was handling anything related to him. He deserved it so he had no complaints about it.
"Business aside. Can we discuss a personal matter now that we have settled work related matters?" He asked.
She shot a look at him. She was not certain before but now it was becoming clearer. He was ready to die.
"Should I take that as a yes?" He raised an eyebrow in response to her silent glare.
"No." It was almost a roar of fury. "I do not discuss personal matters during working hours. There are other people that need to see me and it is regarding important business matters so please show yourself out." Based on her tone, it was certain that she would get someone to show him out if he did not leave on his own.
"I see." Surprisingly, he did not push it. She watched as he stood and headed for the door. Was he finally giving up?
She could pretty much guess the personal matter that he was going to discuss with her if he let him. She was certain that it had something to do with Angel. She ran a hand down her face. Was she being too hard on him? She shook her head as soon as the thought surfaced. Mina was full of shit. She couldn't let her influence her into forgiving that scumbag so easily. Not that she was planning to ever forgive him.
…
When he gave up trying to discuss the personal matter that she was certain was the main reason for his visit at Vaillant Telecommunications, the last thing she expected was for him to wait for her at the parking lot and block her path as soon as he saw her. Or maybe he went on with his business and rushed back in time to catch her before she left. Whatever it was, he was now standing in front of her.
"What are you doing here?" She narrowed her eyes at him. Was he too idle?
"I'm here to meet you, if it is not already obvious, Miss Vaillant." He smiled slightly. "Can we discuss the personal matter now that it is past working hours?"
Her head almost hurt. "Will you disappear if I said no?"
"No." He remained in her path.
"What will it take for you to disappear?" She asked.
"Hear me out." He said matter-of-factly.
"Speak." She gave up trying to send him off.
He took a deep breath knowing she was likely to say no. Still, he tried. "I was hoping you could let me spend some time with Angel over the weekend."
She crossed her arms, giving him a resounding "No."
"Why?" He asked.
She shook her head at his audacity to ask the question whose answer he knew by heart. Not wanting to air her dirty laundry in public, she sucked in a breath. "That's my mother-son time with him."
It was not just an excuse. She had always spared the weekends for her son. It wasn't because she didn't spend enough time with him on other days, but because she loved spending time with him more than she liked going out and whatnot. Besides, the boy needed as much love and attention as possible from the people around him so it would help with his recovery.
Hearing her reason, he felt bummed. He thought for a while and suggested, "You can make it a mother, father and son time."
When she glared at him so hard that he could swear a slap was on its way, he cleared his throat. "What I mean is, I will only stay for three hours if you let me. I can play one game with him and be gone after that."
She glanced up at him and he understood that she couldn't tolerate seeing him for that long.
"One and a half hours." He pleaded.
_____
AN
What would the verdict be if you were Avery? Yes or no?
…
Side note, I'm sorry in advance if the update rate fluctuates too much. My keyboard broke down after I accidentally spilled coffee on it and several letters are no longer functional including a and e. I use these keys more often than others so it's been so hard to write lately. I have to type and when I get to the affected letters, switch to phone and write them. I have to do either this or type entirely using my phone (this is worse because I have 4 ongoing books. It makes my right thumb and pinky hurt.)
I'm so sorry. Updates will return to normal once I have it fixed.
She had her arms crossed as she looked at him sternly. "Forty-five minutes."
"Okay." He flashed a smile. It was much better than he thought. He had expected her to give him half an hour. It was only fifteen minutes of difference but heaven knew how valuable a minute was when it came to Avery giving him time to spend with Angel. He mentally prepared to show up half an hour earlier than the time she would tell him. She definitely wouldn't kick him out, right?
"What else?" She grew impatient when he stayed in her path without moving.
He looked down at her. Of course he had something else to say. Many other things. She looked so beautiful even when she was angry. He couldn't say that so he let out a gentle smile. "Thank you."
"You may get out of my way now." She glared up at him.
"I will." He spoke but still continued to stand before her. When her brows scrunched up, he stepped aside and let her walk away, speaking after her. "So, see you on Saturday?"
"Sure."
_
When he returned to his villa, he was greeted by the sight of the last person he wanted to see—his grandmother.
"Grandmother." He tried not to sound too bitter about her presence. His family had been the one who wrecked his life in the name of caring for him and doing what was best for him. It was amazing how they managed to keep a calm front despite everything they had done in the past.
Dorthe stood from the couch and met him across the room. "You finally came. I was starting to think that you spent the night out."
"Can't I?" His question came off as defensive. He was not a teenager. Not that they would have the right to control his life if he were.
Dorthe patted his back. "I would be the happiest grandmother if you had a nightlife."
"I would appreciate it if you got straight to the point." He knew that his grandmother was not here to simply smile at him and catch up on gossip.
Dorthe looked displeased but spoke anyway. "We wanted to invite you to a banquet but you have been too busy."
He slouched onto a couch and poured himself some of the scotch he had left on the side table and instructed the servants to leave it there with a clean glass. He downed the content in one gulp. "I'm busy investigating what happened five years ago."
Dorthe's eyes flickered for a moment. Watching him, Damon almost thought that she was going to detonate. Almost. At the last moment, she looked saddened by his words. "It was all our fault. We thought she was not good for you so we told her off."
"I see." He smirked. That was way too easy.
Dorthe let out a breath. "Anyways, we would like to make amends. Do you think she will forgive us?"
So that was what it was about. One would think they were merely trying to make up for what they had done but he knew them better than that. They had probably done some extremely shady deeds and were covering up by rendering his reason to investigate meaningless. At the same time, Dorthe has always wanted a great grandson and probably no longer cared that it was Avery's child. They must have investigated and found out that the boy looked like a copy of Damon.
He humored her while slumping against the backrest. "I don't know. She can't even forgive me, let alone you guys. My son has mild autism."
"What?" Dorthe let out a gasp.
His brows dipped. Didn't they know? She looked genuinely shocked. They probably didn't find everything there was to find out.
He let out a slow breath and gave a brief explanation. "He was born prematurely. I'm inclined to think that it happened because his mother was under too much stress. Do you know what this means? That whatever it is you told her, it had such a huge impact on her. If she hated you for telling her off as you put it, then she hates you even more that our baby was born premature as a result and became vulnerable, which resulted in his autism.
Do you really want to try and reconcile with her even though you never liked her in the first place?"
"Damon…" Dorthe looked guilty but she looked aside so her grandson wouldn't see it. "I'll be honest. I just want to be close to my great grandson. He is our family after all."
"I see." Damon poured himself more scotch.
"Will you bring him home for an afternoon to play? I heard that autistic children gradually lose the symptoms if they stay in a cheerful environment. Having a caring family could help."
A caring family. Her audacity to say such a thing.
Damon shrugged. "I cannot promise you that."
"What do you mean? You are his father! You have every right to bring your son to his family." She lost it.
"I'll let you know." He didn't make a specific promise but didn't deny it either. Maybe, just maybe, he should have been specific.
____
On Saturday, Avery had a brief meeting with a partner she didn't finish discussing with on Friday, so she let Damon go to her villa and keep Angel company before her return. She didn't stay out for long but returned to a compound full of cheer and laughter.
"Did Damon come?" She asked the housekeeper who took her jacket upon her arrival.
"Yes." She responded. "He is playing with little master in the backyard. Would you like something to drink?"
"I would like apple juice in half an hour. Go and get some groceries later. I will cook lunch." She instructed and gave a list to the housekeeper.
Then she changed into indoor slippers and went towards the backyard. The laughter became more apparent the closer she was to them. She had never heard Angel give a full laugh before. The sound was contagious in a good way. Her lips gave way to a warm smile.
"And the devil shot the sky, making the whole world crumble down on the angel." She heard Damon's playful voice as she approached.
When she clearly saw them, her jaw almost dropped. Her son was wearing an adorable one piece suit that was similar to Damon's, only that his was white while Damon's was black. Angel's had a small pair of wings attached to its back while Damon had a pointy tail on his costume and a pair of devil ears on his head. She should take a picture of him as blackmail material, she chuckled.
Both the angel and the devil had large toy guns in their hands, which shot off balls that stuck to each other's clothes until they were removed. How realistic.
Angel's adorable voice rang out. "What's a sky? Never mind." He shot at Damon while letting out a "boom".
"Urgh!" Damon fell on the ground and clutched his chest where he had been 'shot'. He reached for his own gun, feigning difficulty. "I will not die without a fight. Wait till I remove the bullet. I will destroy the world!"
Once he removed the 'bullet', he shot at Angel who was running away and laughing, but he missed it because of his position.
Angel freaked out when he saw who Damon had shot. "Papa!"
Damon didn't realize it and steadied up. "How are you not dead yet, you little angel?"
Angel remained stiff. Damon felt something was wrong and followed his son's gaze. He had to be dreaming. The last ray of hope was shattered when Angel looked over at Avery in panic. "Mommy?"
Damon felt his heart sink to his stomach. She was definitely pissed off. He sighed and shut his eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry."
She glared at Damon and held out a hand. "Give me that."
____
AN
When daddy gets caught teaching the son how to use guns XD
…
Unfortunately, my keyboard didn't work even after I tried drying it up using my hair dryer. I think it stayed wet for too long. The good news is I ordered a new one so I will resume daily updates soon!
bình luận đoạn văn
Tính năng bình luận đoạn văn hiện đã có trên Web! Di chuyển chuột qua bất kỳ đoạn nào và nhấp vào biểu tượng để thêm nhận xét của bạn.
Ngoài ra, bạn luôn có thể tắt / bật nó trong Cài đặt.
ĐÃ NHẬN ĐƯỢC