25

"A minute." I thought I should say hi to her.

"Sure," Kimberly said with eyes not unfixed to the painting.

I crossed the room.

"Mr. Cooper?" Amanda saw me before I could even reach her.

"How are you doing? I was over there, and I didn't expect to see you here." I shook hands with her with a warm smile on my face.

"Oh, my...I came here with a friend. She left just a while ago." She smiled.

"That's great."

"This is Jackson...another friend." She introduced the hefty man to me.

"Jackson. I'm Leo." And then we exchanged pleasantries before Kimberly walked up to the stage to make an announcement.

"For every purchase made in the gallery, there is a thirty percent discount!"

The crowd cheered.

"... I'm sure everyone wants to buy something now." She smiled just as Celine appeared.

"You have a call, sir." She informed.

"Who's it?" I asked, moving close to her.

"It's from President Xi." She responded.

"Hold on. I'll return the call. Let me see Kimberly. We are leaving." I said and made my way towards Kimberly.

"I enjoyed your company." She tucked her hair away.

"Me too. I have to run along now."

"That's fine. I expect my dad to arrive soon, hopefully before the sales end. Did you get a painting?" She questioned, her gaze fixed on me.

"Ah, I'll get that one." I pointed at the brushwork from earlier.

"It's pretty..." She chuckled.

"It's provocative." I winked at her.

She chuckled again.

"May I?" She stretched out her arms.

"Come here." I drew her in for a warm embrace.

"I think you are gorgeous and very smart," I whispered in her ear.

"Well," she brought her mouth to my ear. "I think you are the kind of guy I might have a one-night stand with." She added, flirtatiously, her lips brushing my earlobe.

I laughed, disentangling from her.

"Go on." She grinned and patted my shoulder. "I'll have the painting delivered to you, but I'm afraid you are excluded from the sales benefit." She added.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I need to rip off some Cooper billions." She added lightly. "I'm charging even twice the amount."

"Oh. I'll get it all right but on one condition." I decided to play along.

"Which is?" She arched one of her perfect brows at me and an amused look plastered on her face.

"I'd like to meet the artist. I think his work is an exceptional piece," I said.

"Deal." She said almost immediately.

Kimberly Lesley was the kind of personality I met for the first time. She was different, and for a moment, I felt she was a friend.

Layla

"Remind me, you are an executive at Laynat, right?" William Gould sipped while he stared skeptically at me.

"You are right, sir. I suppose you got an email, sir." I responded.

"Yes. It was out of the blue," he said.

"Yes, it's personal, as I had stated earlier."

He nodded.

"It's about your business with Ethan Brooks..."

He looked up at me from his cup, clicked his tongue, and dropped the cup of beverage on the saucer.

"May I ask how you came to know about that and how it personally concerns you?" He queried.

"I know you are quite taken aback, but I want you to know that Ethan Brooks' affairs are no secrets to me," I spoke calmly.

"Why have you come to me?" His expression became deadpanned.

"I am here because I believe we are both victims of Ethan Brooks' dubiousness."

He stared at me for a while, before he said in a cool tone:

"Victims, I see."

"Yes, you lost millions of dollars to a failed partnership with him which, from genuine sources, proves to be an orchestrated one," I said as a matter of fact.

"And that should be a concern to me, not to you. Is there a misconception?" He asked.

"The misconception there might be is the belief on your part that I'm a detective or something. I'm not, sir, as I had said earlier. We are both victims, and I'd like you to cooperate with me," I explained.

"What is your relationship with Ethan Brooks?"

"He was my husband."

As soon as the words issued out of my mouth, his facial expression transformed into a frown of auspiciousness.

"It's okay to react like that. We got divorced four years ago."

"What do you have against him?"

"He stole my company..."

He blinked.

"What company?"

"The same one he runs, which has subsidiaries all over the US."

"ETC?" His brows arched questioningly.

"It used to be CRT. Carter."

"And you expect me to believe that?" He scoffed.

"Perhaps you'd like me to introduce you to more of Ethan's questionable character. Here," I swept a file across the table. "Go over it, you'll find your answers there."

"What are your intentions?" He asked.

"There is only one, revenge."

"Revenge..." He repeated meditatively.

"Yes. I will allow you some time to think it through and then I'll be back. I'm sure we'll do business together in the near future, Mr. Gould." I rose to my feet and extended a handshake.

Reluctantly, he received my gesture.

Nathan sat undistracted, shoveling the food I had gotten for him in his face.

"Didn't he have lunch?" I was surprised to see how he was wolfing it all.

"Your son is a big eater," Hannah responded.

"Is he?" I said, more to myself. Perhaps Hannah had given him food below his usual ration.

"Well, I got some chips for you. I hope you are craving them. I'm not a fan of chips."

"Thanks, I'll have them later tonight." She responded.

"I can't find the peanut butter!" Sofia came out of the kitchen, crying.

"Weren't you the one who finished it last week?" Hannah frowned.

"I thought you got another one for your shopping..."

"Thinking doesn't bring things to reality, you must work towards your thoughts," Hannah snapped. Sofia went mute and slumped on the sofa.

"What will you have now? Shall I make noodles?" I asked.

"Nevermind Aunt Layla, Mrs. Carter has taught me a big lesson today. I'll make noodles for myself." She answered. Hannah shot her a malevolent look.

"How did your meeting go?" She asked.

"It went fine. I feel relieved to have visited the HQ for the first time." I reclined on the sofa, shutting my eyes.

"It's Saturday tomorrow..." Sofia began.

"And so?" Hannah's sharp voice queried.

"Eugene invited me to watch his team play." She continued. I opened my eyes.

"I thought you were not his friend." I teased.

"I am not," she asserted.

"You should stay back at home then," Hannah said.

"No, I want to be there...I should be there..."

"Why?"

"T-to...thank him for the food basket, yeah!" She stuttered the words out. I smiled at her naivety. I used to be a young girl like her, so I knew what it meant for a guy to ask someone out to watch a game when he was playing as well. But then I thought she was a lesbian. She wasn't meant to be so anxious if she were. Perhaps Sofia was delusional about her gender preferences.

"I'd only agree 'cause of that. He seems a nice boy." Hannah gently rubbed her tummy.

"Are you okay?" She was a little unsettled.

"Yeah, I think my baby kicked." She groaned.

"Oh my gosh!" Sofia cried, rushing to her.

"You'd better sit quietly, young girl." She warned with a hard glare shot at Sofia.

"I just want to feel it." Sofia frowned.

"Mummy, did it kick a ball?" Nathan asked curiously.

"Oh!" Hannah startled.

"Did it kick again?" Sofia's eyes widened in surprise.

"Are you sure you're okay? You nearly jumped out of your skin. It is bound to happen." I said, moving closer to her. Nathan's curious eyes found their way to us too. He touched Hannah's bulge.

"Ooh-wee! It kicked a ball!" He began to rejoice. Sofia was prompted to touch her too.

"Oh my God! There is it!" She cried, stifling her excitement. I was smiling all through.

Hannah was smiling too, it was the kind of smile that wasn't readily on her face but was cheerful, not the one she faked at get-togethers and social functions but the wholly genuine one. I was truly happy for her.

"You should start thinking of a name." I chuckled, feeling the flutter in her tummy.

I was finding it hard to lock eyes with him. There was an awkward lump in my throat that I was unable to swallow.

"Order something." His voice broke the seemingly everlasting silence, and that was when my hearing was opened to the murmurings coming from other diners in the restaurant.

It was a snowy Saturday afternoon in January, and Henry wanted us to talk over a meal.

"Sure." I went through the menu while he recalled the waiter.

"I'd like honey-glazed salmon," I said to the waiter when he returned to our table.

"Two servings of honey-glazed salmon please."

He took the order, left, and returned with the two servings.

"How does it taste?" Henry asked when I had taken a bite.

"It's delicious. Haven't you tried it before?" I asked him.

"No, it's my first." He responded. "You most probably love salmon as much as Nathan does..."

"Yeah," I quietly ate on.

"Ahem!" He cleared his throat. "About the other day..."

"Henry—"

"We kissed Layla," I swallowed. "And I can't get enough of you." He added.

I sighed, dropping my fork on the dish.

"Henry, you know—"

"I know you have feelings for me." He licked his lips, reclining on his seat.

"It was impulsive...I wasn't thinking straight." I defended, knitting my brows at him.

"No one's ever sane in love." He protested.

Goodness!

Was he ever going to stop?

"Henry, I thought we'd talked about this before—"

"Before we kissed, before we were intimate," he leaned forward. "You can't deny we were intimate, Layla."

"Do we have to talk about it? I'm—"

"Not in the right state of mind?"

"Stop cutting me off!" I snapped at him. He sighed and crossed his arms.

"I'm sorry about that." I apologized, looking away.

"You don't have to be. I know you are overwhelmed, it's fine. But I can't let it go, Layla." He said smoothly, with a tone that made you want to avoid dragging it further.

"I want to..." I whispered.

"Do you regret what we shared?" He asked solemnly.

"You are better off without me," I said.

"That's not true...I'm nothing without you. I'm emotionally empty, can't you see? Not only that, but I long to be with you, Layla. I'm..." He breathed and shut his eyes.

"I want you." He opened his eyes, staring directly into mine. I fidgeted with the end of my blouse. I haven't been like this in years now.

What was I to do?

I didn't want a lover yet. I didn't want to lose a friend.

"I need you." He took his seat closer to me.

"You are over him, ain't you?"

I knew he was referring to Ethan, of course, I was damn over the asshole! But that wasn't it! I truly preferred Henry to be my friend than for him to be my lover. It didn't feel just right.

He touched my face, caressing my cheekbones affectionately.

"Give me a chance." He breathed on the side of my face.

"It is not what I want..." I whispered.

"Be with me for a month...and decide afterward." His fingers traveled down my chin, towards my lips. His touch tingled the flesh.

"Henry..." I muttered, staring deeply into his eyes.

God. What was he doing to me?

I shouldn't lie, after the kiss we shared, I felt I should give him a chance.

I mean, I was beginning to get tired of finding who the real father of my son was.

"I'm mad about you, Layla. I need you..." He continued caressing my lower lip.

"May I?" He asked, his eyes lingering on my lips.

My tongue slipped out to wet my lower lips, and I watched his eyes trace every movement my tongue made and how his jaw twitched afterward.

My lips had begun to quake, but I tried to retain composure.

"We are in public," I finally took over. "Let's eat please."

He gave a slight nod after a long stare, disappointment almost overshadowed the affection I had seen in his eyes.

I didn't want our smooth relationship to become so sour, that we would begin to detest each other. It was a nightmare. So I briefly touched his hand, as a mark of assurance.

"A month."

I was giving him just a month, and I hoped I wasn't making a wrong decision. I hoped I wouldn't regret it.

I truly hoped optimism would help to put everything in place. I also hoped we would be able to go back if things didn't work out. I could only hope.