When he heard Gwyn mentioned, Carlos calmed down a little. He took the kid from Evelyn. "We can't let Sheffield know he has a daughter," he warned. He realized they couldn't hide it forever, so he added, "At least, not until she's three! Remember what's at stake." He paused and cast a stern gaze at Terilynn. "Especially you, Terilynn, if you let Sheffield know, you and Joshua will have a hard time. And, Evelyn, you can't tell Sheffield until you guys are married. If you do, I won't allow the marriage to happen."
Evelyn reacted quickly and her eyes lit up with hope. "Married? You mean, I can be with Sheffield?"
Carlos' lips twitched. Did he say the quiet part out loud?
Terilynn felt he was being unreasonable, and howled, "Dad, why mess with me and Joshua? You can't bully Sheffield, so you take it out on us. That's unfair!"
"Fair? Who said anything about that? You'd better get your boyfriend to toe the line," Carlos snorted. Although he couldn't bully Sheffield now, he could at least make things hard for Joshua, a common prosecutor.
Blowing on her nails, Terilynn winked at Carlos. "Then we'll elope."
"You..." Carlos couldn't even complete his thought.
"Keep your voice down, honey. Don't scare Gwyn," Debbie reminded him.
Carlos hastily patted the little girl on the back and coaxed her in a soft voice, "I'm sorry, Gwyn. I didn't mean it. Don't be afraid. You're okay. Yeah. You're good." He smoothed her hair back. His lovely granddaughter was the only thing that could calm him down.
The other three women shook their heads without a word.
The next morning, Joshua and Terilynn walked into the offices of Theo Group. They had Gwyn in tow. They entered the elevator from the underground parking lot and went straight to the top floor, so almost no one saw them.
In the CEO's office
Sheffield was hard at work. Gillian put Nastas down, adjusted her clothes, and walked over to the young CEO's desk. She put on her best smile and said, "My brother-in-law asked me to drop off Nastas with you. He's been missing you."
Sheffield was about to turn her down, but changed his mind when he thought of Gwyn. The little girl was visiting today, and a playmate would be a good idea. "I see. Just leave him here. I'll take care of him."
Gillian felt resigned to his distant attitude. She took a look at her wristwatch, and her shift was about to start. She left.
When Terilynn and Joshua got there, a little boy was already there, playing among a heap of toys.
Joshua waved at the little boy and said, "Oh, Nastas is here too. Great! Gwyn has a playmate."
At the sight of them, Sheffield put his work aside and stood up. He walked up to Terilynn. With a warm smile on his face, he said to the little girl, "Hi Gwyn. Does your uncle get a hug?"
Gwyn didn't move. She just stared at him.
Sheffield was patient. He reached out his hands and waited. She was hesitant at first, but then the moment blossomed into a full-blown hug.
At this moment, happiness bloomed in his heart. He held the kid in his arms and kissed her little face. "We haven't seen each other for a while. Did you miss me?"
Gwyn reached out her hands and wrapped them around his neck, saying nothing.
Next to them, Joshua picked up the boy who was playing with toys and said, "Hey little one, call me 'Brother.'"
"Brother!" the little boy said. It was close enough. Nastas turned his gaze to Gwyn.
Gwyn met his eyes by accident and quickly turned her head and buried her face in Sheffield's shoulder.
After playing with Nastas for a while, Terilynn asked Sheffield, "So you're watching two kids today?"
Sheffield tilted his head at the boy in Joshua's arms and said, "No, he's only here for a little while."
"Let him play with Gwyn for a bit. I know you have tons of work to do," suggested Terilynn.
"Yeah. If you and Joshua need some quality time, I'd get on that," Sheffield nodded.
Joshua put the boy down and put an arm around Terilynn. "If it gets to be overwhelming, call us. We'll be close by."
"No problem." Sheffield put Gwyn down on the floor, and held her little hand to wave at Terilynn. "Nastas, Gwyn, come on. Say goodbye to Uncle Joshua and your sister!"
Nastas stared at Joshua with a rather perplexed look on his face. Wasn't he a brother? Why was he an uncle now?
Joshua shot Sheffield an angry glare. He then waved at the kids and said with a smile, "Bye, kids. We'll be back later."
Nastas waved his hand too and said goodbye to them.
Gwyn watched Terilynn leave the office. She didn't take her eyes off her until she was out of sight.
Sheffield put Gwyn on the sofa and said gently, "Wait here, Gwyn. I'll get you some juice. Nastas, come here and take care of Gwyn."
Nastas didn't know what the words "take care of" meant, but he knew Sheffield was summoning him over. So he walked over to Gwyn and stood beside her.
The two kids looked at each other without saying a word after Sheffield walked away.
At last, Nastas decided to do something. He scooped up a handful of toys and offered them to Gwyn. "Toys," he said simply.
Gwyn looked at the toys, but she didn't speak or move.
He called again, "Gwyn?"
The girl still made no sound.
Sheffield came back in. He knew he'd be taking care of Gwyn, so he bought some snacks. He came back to the office with his hands full of goodies.
"You hungry? Hey Gwyn, come here and see which one you want."
Nastas stretched out his hand to grab a pack of chewable candy milk tablets, but was stopped by Sheffield. He said patiently,
"Nastas, you are a boy and older than Gwyn. Let her choose first."
Nastas nodded his head, not really understanding, but he did as he was told.
Gwyn randomly picked out a fresh strawberry.
Then Sheffield told the boy, "Your turn."
The boy picked up the pack of milk tablets again and clumsily fished out a piece. He handed it to Gwyn. "Eat, please."
But Gwyn turned her face away. The boy seemed a little angry now and barked, "She won't talk!"
'Really?' Sheffield's face immediately darkened at the boy's words. "Hey, you. What are you talking about?"
"She's dumb!" Nastas said this loudly, afraid his big brother might not hear what he said.
The next second, Sheffield caught the little boy's arm and gave him a pop on the butt. "You are so rude! We don't point out people's faults here. Besides, she's not dumb or mute! Now, you won't say that again, right?"
Actually, it didn't hurt at all. Sheffield wasn't aiming for that. But it was the first time that Nastas had been disciplined by Sheffield. He was sad and afraid, so he cried, stammering, "N-no."
Only then did Sheffield let go of him and lifted him from the sofa. "You're a man. Act like it and quit crying!"
"Sorry, big bro." The boy hiccupped and stopped crying.
"That's better. Let's eat!" Sheffield turned to Gwyn and scooped her up in his arms. In a tender voice, he cooed "Gwyn, is that a good strawberry?" He took out a tissue and wiped the juice from her face. But she made no reply to his question.
Gwyn just took another bite of the strawberry, and nodded.