35

Nicole hurriedly took the elevator to the 8th floor. She stood in front of the president’s office and knocked on the door before she opened it without even waiting for a response.
When she spotted her daughter seated on Drake's couch, she immediately sighed in relief before shouting in anger, “Drea, are you trying to give me the fright of my life?! Why did you run off like that?!”
Drea didn’t expect her actions to have frightened her mother so much that she went pale. She hastily ran over and wrapped her arms around her leg. “Mommy, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”
Nicole also realized that she had overreacted, so she hugged her and sighed again. “Don’t do that again.”
“Go back to work and leave her to me. I’ll babysit her for you.” A man’s voice rang out from behind them.
She was stunned. This man must be trying to repay some kindness, but she didn’t want to accept any help from him apart from work. Moreover, she didn’t feel the need to bother him with a task like babysitting.
“It’s fine. Thanks for the offer,” a reluctant Nicole replied.
“Mommy, I like being with Mr. Handsome. Can you let me stay here until you get off work? Please?” The little girl asked happily with obvious anticipation on her face.
Nicole was speechless at her daughter’s behavior. She could have chosen anyone to stick to, but of all the people, she chose Drake.
“No. Come back to my office. I still have a meeting to attend, but I’ll treat you to something lovely for lunch.”
“I don’t want to! I want to play here in Mr. Handsome’s office.” The little girl began to sulk, which was actually rare for him.
Knowing that the meeting was still ongoing with the launch event for their new release on the agenda, Nicole gritted her teeth. She looked up at the impressive man in front of her before saying, “Then, please help me look after my kid's for a while.
“Sure!” Drake nodded.
“Drea, don’t cause any trouble, okay? Mommy is going back to the meeting.”
“I’ll be good,” the little girl promised.
Nicole turned and left for the meeting.
The little girl happily sat on the couch again, then fished out a Rubik's cube from her backpack and began playing with it..
Drake sat right opposite her and watched the little girl skillfully rotate the cube. Drea completed the puzzle within 2 minutes, a clear indication of her marvelous 1Q.
"Who taught you that?"
"I learnt it myself. Mr. Handsome, how long would you take to complete it?" The little girl laughed as he asked.
Drake took the cube and scrambled it, then he completed the puzzle within 10 seconds
He threw the item back to the little girl, who gaped as he looked at Drake in admiration. "You're awesome, Sir!".
It was just a little kid's praise, but Drake felt extremely good about it. He grinned and commented, "You're quite good yourself too."
If one were to chance upon this scene, one would be amazed to discover that the two looked exactly the same when they smiled.
Nicole returned to the meeting room. Fortunately, Felicia didn’t say much about the interlude and it was time for lunch by the time the meeting was done.
Nicole was wondering where she should bring her kid's for lunch when the landline rang. She reached over and answered, “Hello.”
"The kid's is coming with me for lunch. Come and join us. We're at the restaurant opposite the company." The man's low voice sounded, apparently not taking 'no' for an answer.
Her mind began to buzz. Drake has taken my kid's to lunch? Without my permission?Damn, this man just took my kid's away without any notice. How disrespectful!
Nicole grabbed her phone and bag before she hastily went out. The restaurant opposite the company was of a higher status, and when she walked into the hall, she immediately spotted her kid's and Drake seated by the window.
Nicole took a deep breath and walked over to sit next to her daughter. “This lunch is my treat, as my thanks to President Butler for taking care of my kid's.”
With that, she finally felt better about the situation.
Drake gazed at her with a meaningful gaze, his thoughts complicated. This woman had refused even a little bit of kindness from him.
“Mommy, Mr. Handsome only needs 10 seconds to solve the Rubik’s cube,” the little guy commented as she wanted her mommy to know how excellent Mr. Handsome was as a person.
She smiled carelessly. “Oh, really?”
After having their orders taken, they were served some ice cream before the meal. The little kid's happily took some right away and began to eat. As Nicole knew that her kids had stomach problems since they were young, they couldn’t eat too much alkaline food. Hence, she suggested, “Let me try some too.”
“Here, Mommy.” The little Drea scooped some ice cream up for her, which she hastily ate. Moments after that, she scooped up some more and looked toward the man sitting opposite them. “Sir, do you want some too?”
Nicole immediately panicked as she hastily stopped her. “Drea, I ate from this spoon earlier, so you mustn’t offer it to someone else. It’s not polite.”
However, the man sitting opposite them narrowed his eyes, thinking, We’ve already kissed before, so why do you care?
The little girl could only eat it on his own while Nicole had also eaten a fair share of the ice cream. The man opposite them watched their interactions and couldn’t help but find the scene interesting.
He was suddenly extremely curious about the identity of the child’s father. What sort of man did this woman sleep with to give birth to this child?
At this moment, Drake's phone rang. He took the device out and gave it a glance before picking up the call. “Hello, Amelia.”
“Drake, where are you? Can you have dinner with me tonight?”
“I’m at the company.”
“You don’t have to work overtime, right?”
“There’s something important I have to attend to.”
“B-But I want you with me.”
“I’ll call you after I’m done, alright?” Drake coaxed her in his gentlest voice.
Nicole immediately knew that it was Amelia. She looked up at the man opposite her and noticed his gentle expression as he coaxed Amelia just like a lover would. It looks like Amelia never lied after all.
It was true that she was someone important to Drake.
“President Butler, is Amelia your girlfriend?” Nicole gaze was sharp as she looked at the man in front of her.
“We’re just friends,” Drake explained in a low voice.
“Mr. Handsome is single. He doesn’t have a girlfriend,” the little girl suddenly testified.
She turned to look at her daughter. "And how do you know?".
“He told me himself. He also said that as long as you’re willing to marry him, he’s willing to marry you too. Mommy, let’s not be picky, all right? Just get married!” The 4-year-old kid was worrying about her mother.
Nicole was dumbfounded. Then, she narrowed her eyes as she shot a warning glare at the man opposite her. What did he tell Drea?
However, she was met with a complicated and meaningful gaze.
“You can consider the proposal,” Drake added in a low voice.
She replied without hesitation, “I shall not.”
“I quite like the Kid's and I’m willing to take care of you both all my life.” He looked at the little girl and realized that the reluctance in his heart had disappeared without a trace.
He was genuinely willing to take care of them.
Nicole had other ideas. She knew that the man had said those words without fully meaning it. He just wanted to repay the kindness and to compensate for the fact that her mother had sacrificed herself to save him.
And she wanted this man to remember how great her mother's sacrifice was, and it wasn't something that could be compensated with repaying kindness..
Moreover, she was still greatly bothered about the fact that this man had slept with Amelia before. She had only kissed him that night, but she was already disgusted about it after she knew about the relationship that Amelia and Drake had. In that case, what were the chances of her marrying him?
None. Never.
“I don’t need it, thanks,” Nicole politely declined.
Drake looked at her as well and their gazes met; one complex and messy while the other calm and clear.
After lunch, Nicole hurriedly left with her daughter. The little girl didn't forget to look back and bid the man goodbye. "Goodbye, Mr. Butler.".
“Goodbye.” Drake waved at the little girl. Nicole had taken the afternoon off, for she wanted to take her kids on a visit to the museum in the city.
It was already evening by the time they had finished a round in the museum. Nicole bought some groceries and returned to their apartment. The kid's then went to play so that she could focus on preparing dinner.
Then, a message notification rang on her phone at this time.
It was from Nigel. ‘I’m getting off the plane at 10.00AM tomorrow. Will you and the kids come and pick me up?’
Nicole thought that she would be holed up at home with her kids over the weekend anyway, so meeting Nigel sounded like a good idea. She sent her reply, ‘Sure! See you at the airport tomorrow.
"Can't wait to see you two .....
You will see us when you come back tomorrow .
"Wait for me l will bring gifts ..
Nicole smiled as she replied, ‘It better not be the exorbitant ones or I won’t accept them.
She informed her kids about it later that night. The little kids were also elated at the idea of meeting Nigel. After all, Nigel often came over to play with them when they were living abroad, just like a real uncle would.