"How do we know each other?" She asked sternly and looked at Damon. If this was one of his sly plans, she was not going to let him off.
"We met during one of my errands." Mabella explained how she and Angel first met. "I gave him a hug and then I saw you…"
"So that's how Damon knew about Angel." Avery interrupted and looked at both of them skeptically. "Did you also tell him about Damon? Is that how he recognized him when I thought they were meeting for the first time?"
"I'm sorry." Mabella whispered. "I couldn't keep it to myself after finding out that my brother had a son."
"Just get lost." Avery waved her off.
"Well, Angel doesn't look like he wants me to get lost." She looked down at the boy who had fallen asleep in her arms.
Avery glared at her and huffed but remained silent. She was not going to be ungrateful when Mabella had helped her calm him down. The boy stirred when she tried to take him into her arms so she let him be.
"What do we do now?" Damon asked. He was referring to their initial plans of going to the zoo. Angel would probably be in no mood to go after the meltdown that just happened. They would have to do something else.
"I'll make breakfast for my baby. You crawl back to whatever snake hole you slithered out of." She pushed her hand against Damon's chest dismissively.
He chuckled even though he was being discarded. "I don't understand. Am I a snake or a rodent here? Because snakes don't crawl."
"Are you asking for a beating?" Her eyes narrowed threateningly.
"Actually, make that a hug or a kiss." He leaned over to present his lips for her to kiss.
"Knee in your balls coming right up." She threatened.
He shuffled back to the couch beside Mabella. "On second thought, I'll just sit here and watch my son sleep. And probably wait for your unreliable pediatrician to drop by so I can give him a piece of my mind.
Her hands flew to her hips. "You have no right to say a word about him!"
As if on cue, Chris arrived, gasping after having run all the way.
"Avery! Is everything alright?"
"It is now." Damon stood to face Chris with a furrow of his brows.
Chris glanced at Angel who was asleep then at Mabella and Avery. "Is he alright?"
"You don't have to worry about him anymore." Her tone was cold with displeasure.
Chris looked at Damon and assessed him. "Are you Angel's father?"
"Dr. Chris, I don't think that's any of your business." Avery frowned in disapproval.
Damon shot a sharp glare at Chris. What right did he have to question him regarding Avery and Angel?
_____
Six years ago.
"Hey angel." Damon jovially chirped when he finally found Avery. He had been unable to see her all week and it had a lot to do with the fact that she was preparing for her task.
She turned when she saw him, slinging her bag around her shoulder as she faced him. "I should start charging a fee for every time you call me that."
"Is it okay to pay up in bulk in advance? Because I know I'll do that often." He scratched the back of his head.
He had thought that she was using the project as an excuse to avoid him but seeing as she wasn't trying to avoid the conversation or leave, he was relieved.
He flashed a grin as he announced. "Guess what? You are my partner for the assigned tasks! I still can't believe it."
"You better believe it. You arranged it after all." She mercilessly revealed what she knew, about him using underhanded means to make her his partner.
For the project this time, they were paired up so they would work in teams, and she was yet to know who her teammate would be until a few minutes ago.
"How is this going to work, exactly? Because I'm not going to use my imaginary celestial powers to get things done." She crossed her arms as she eyed him pointedly.
He sported a brilliant smile.
"It will work perfectly. We can have a whole day of work with no play and then a day of all play with no work. I'll definitely enjoy the latter a lot more but first, we can have our day full of work and get the task done with." He winked.
Just as Damon predicted, they worked smoothly together. It was as though they complemented each other as soon as they got into work mode.
Their task was to talk a tycoon into attending the charity banquet that would be held by the university in favor of children with leukemia. However, he hated everything to do with charity banquets and would end the meeting at the mention of anything along the lines.
As if magically, they managed to talk him into attending the banquet as well as donating a painting, and Avery had scored herself a chance to be an intern at his company while at it.
However, Damon looked like he had swallowed a fly when they left the building.
She took one glance at him and burst into laughter. "What the hell is wrong with you? We should be drinking wine and celebrating. Are you upset because I got an internship before you did? Are you jealous?"
She sounded like a girlfriend taunting her jealous boyfriend for taking to heart her platonic relationship with another man and that made him feel worse.
"Why would he let you intern at his company after meeting you only once?" He asked, not bothering to conceal the displeasure in his voice.
"Obviously, because of your charm. You have one convincing tongue." She punched his shoulder excitedly. He was such a convincing talker.
His eyes flared. "If I'm so good with my words, how haven't you recognized my feelings for you yet?" He mumbled.
"What?" Her eyes widened.
"He didn't hear a word I was saying. His eyes were glued onto your legs." He spat. Her eyes widened for a moment before she frowned and thought deeply.
He sighed. "You are qualified to intern at his company and even better places. You have enough skill and brains but I'd still hate it as long as your future boss has the slightest perverted thoughts."
"I didn't notice that." She snapped.
"Because you didn't expect it and your mind was focused on matters related to business." He explained.
"Well, whatever. As long as we don't cross paths, what's the worst that could happen?" She shrugged.
"Are you kidding me?" He stopped walking and glared at her. "Are you still going to work for him?!"
She massaged her temples. "This is my only chance, Damon. No one is going to help me get another chance and if he gives me a negative review, my family will make me drop out of school."
"Then screw them! You cannot work in such an environment." He raised his voice.
"You don't have any right to tell me what to do!" She snapped. "I'm tired of this, okay? I hate it enough that I'm being controlled by my parents and Gabe. I don't need a second Gabe in my life, Damon D'aboville."
"That's not what I meant. I'm only looking out for you." He explained.
"Then don't look out for me." She glared at him and sauntered away.
It was not surprising that she accepted the internship—not because she needed it but because she wanted to prove a point. How rash.
____
The present.
"She's always doing crazy things to prove a point." Damon whispered to his son who had just woken up as she watched Avery and Mabella discuss at one end of the living room.
Avery had just fired Chris for commenting that she had fallen in love blindly, causing her to have to handle such sticky situations, and was now considering hiring Mabella as Angel's new pediatrician.
"I'm not complaining." He laughed when Angel glared at him. He didn't comprehend most of the things his father had just said but since it seemed to be something against his mother, he was on the verge of declaring war.
When Avery was done discussing with Mabella, she picked her son up from Damon with a dismissive smile. "I'm going to make lunch for Angel. He is coming to the kitchen with me."
She meant for him to leave but he pretended not to understand her.
"I'll join you. Coincidentally, I have a fun game in mind that I'm certain Angel will enjoy playing." He flashed a smile.
She mumbled something about Chris being right about her blindness and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Do you need me to help with anything?" He asked as she wrapped a miniature apron around Angel.
"Yes. You can disappear for starters, or combust." She rolled her eyes and went ahead to pick the ingredients she needed.
He smirked and looked at the excited boy. "Angel, do you want me to teach you a really fun game?"
He nodded, and Damon smiled in triumph. "It's called baby washes, daddy chops and mommy cooks.
The rules are pretty much described in the name. You have to wash the veggies as fast as possible and I have to chop them faster than mommy can cook them. The winner gets to pick their own gun when we play Angels vs Devil.``
Angel's eyes lit up in disbelief and he looked at Avery for confirmation.
She smiled at what he was doing, agreeing with him for the first time. "Papa is right. The winner also gets to eat the largest portion of veggies."
She held her breath as the words sank in. This was usually the part where Angel would burst out of the kitchen and throw a tantrum if she got close to him.
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