Gwyn ambled over to Evelyn and wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. The girl was initially silent while Evelyn was carrying her, but she eventually said, "Mommy..."
Evelyn was moved by what she said. She kissed her sweet daughter on the cheek and said, "Hi, sweetie."
Debbie walked over, took Gwyn's hand and told Evelyn, "Gwyn really did a good job today. She said 'Papa' and 'Nana.' It's about what she can manage at this age."
Evelyn smiled and asked Gwyn in a soft voice, "Great! Did you want anything special? You deserve it."
Gwyn held her toy and didn't respond.
Evelyn was used to this. She told Debbie and Carlos, "Dad, Mom, get some rest. I'll take care of Gwyn tonight."
Debbie replied, "Okay, she's had a bath tonight. Let us know if you need help."
"All right."
After Evelyn took Gwyn to her bedroom, Carlos summoned a maid to clean the nursery.
Then Debbie asked him quietly, "You wanted to say something?"
Carlos looked at her, hesitated for a while, and then answered, "I'm pretty sure Gwyn isn't hanging out with Terilynn and Joshua."
"Oh?" In fact, Debbie had been suspicious about this too. Now she knew Carlos had the same idea. "So who's watching her?"
The old man snorted, "I think your dear daughter is up to no good." He suspected Terilynn was dropping Gwyn off at Sheffield's office at Theo Group.
"Carlos Huo, what do you mean by that? My dear daughter? Isn't Terilynn your daughter too? And what do you mean by 'up to no good'?" Debbie demanded.
Carlos ignored her. When he and Debbie passed by Terilynn's room, he stopped and knocked on the door. It took a bit, but he heard a voice from inside. "Coming."
Terilynn opened the door, only to find her parents standing there. She felt nervous, as her father stood there, glowering. The lines in his face were deeper, and it was obvious he was unhappy. She had to fight the urge to close the door in his face. But Carlos had already taken that into account. His foot was blocking the door from closing.
When she realized that she couldn't avoid what was coming, Terilynn grinned and greeted them. "Dad, Mom, what's up?"
"Where are you taking Gwyn during the day?" Carlos got right to the point.
'I knew Dad would find out, ' Terilynn thought in frustration. So, she decided to come clean. "To see Sheffield. Please don't be angry. Can't you see she looks a lot happier? He's been nothing but good for her."
Carlos cast a sidelong glance at her without saying anything.
"I did it for her. You can't stand in the way of that. Just let Gwyn see her own dad, okay?" Terilynn did her best to help her niece get together with her biological father.
Carlos said nothing. Giving her a warning glance, he grabbed Debbie's hand and led her towards the bedroom.
Debbie turned her head to look at her daughter and winked at her.
Terilynn knew what her mom meant. 'Dad gave in.' She danced for joy in the doorway. Her lovely Gwyn would soon be reunited with her father, and her sister would soon marry the man she loved most in the world!
As if he had an eye on the back of his head, Carlos turned his head abruptly and caught her moving.
Caught off guard, Terilynn stopped and difficultly explained, "Um, just stretching."
Carlos finally broke his silence. "I'll forgive you if Gwyn stays that happy. But if she or Evelyn gets hurt, all bets are off!"
Terilynn's heart sank. "Dad, I can't control the future."
"Then do what you can," Carlos warned.
Well, it was her idea to take Gwyn to see Sheffield. Now that she knew she was in the wrong, she nodded and said in a low voice, "Oh, okay, Dad."
The next noon, Sheffield received a call from Evelyn. When he saw the caller ID, he smirked. He cleared his throat and said in a feigned relaxed tone, "Hello, Miss Huo."
Evelyn simply said, "Something happened to the director of the menswear show. I have to fill in for him. I can't come see you today. I'm sorry."
The smile on his face immediately vanished. He went to the trouble of clearing his calendar for her. And now she was telling him she wouldn't be able to make it. But he understood. What could he do about it, anyway? In the end, he said helplessly, "Okay, I see."
"Don't be angry. We'll do dinner tomorrow. My treat!" She had been mad at him for standing her up at the theater. This time, it was her turn.
"Oh come on, do you think I need you to make it up to me?" he protested.
Evelyn was amused. "Of course not."
"That's more like it."
"I think you're super petty, and really, really need me to make it up to you!"
"Wow, woman! Let's not forget who left whose bed!" Sheffield yelled, pretending to be angry.
Evelyn was at a loss for words. Luckily, she was alone in her office. "Could you keep your voice down?"
"Someone with you?"
"No."
"Then, why should I? Evelyn, I miss you. I want to kiss you all over your body..." Evelyn felt so embarrassed she couldn't even listen to him anymore.
She covered her burning cheeks with her hand, and interrupted him decisively, "Shut up. You have a lot of free time today. Is Theo Group going out of business?"
"No way. The place runs itself sometimes. All I have to do is review contracts and make sure our partnerships bring results. Frankly, it's boring."
Evelyn rolled her eyes. He had taken over Theo Group as the CEO. How could the place run itself? How could he think it was boring? She suggested, "If you're bored, maybe try doing some market research. It might help you make more money."
Sheffield agreed with her. "That's a good idea."
"Well, let me ask you a question, then. Theo Group owns tons of hotels. All the hotel sheets are white, right?"
"Yeah, so?" There were literally thousands of hotels owned by Theo Group.
"Why white?"
Leaning against the back of the chair, he answered lazily, "First, white looks clean and tidy; second, easy to clean; third, white doesn't fade; fourth, white is easy to go with other colors; fifth, white makes the room look more spacious; sixth, white looks classy."
His answer came as a surprise to Evelyn. "You've been the CEO for only a few days, and you already know this stuff. Pretty good!"
He grinned. 'I like showing off in front of her!' "I knew that before I took over the company."
Evelyn admitted, "Okay, you win." She had only learnt that after becoming the regional CEO.
"Now, it's my turn." At this point, Sheffield was energetic, nothing like a bored CEO at work.
"Go ahead!"
"It's a very simple question. You've been to the farmers' market, right?"
"Er... only once or twice." Evelyn felt a little embarrassed. She didn't cook and didn't need to buy any vegetables either. She'd gone there with Savannah a couple times. The two girls wanted to cook something together, so they decided to go.