Filed to story: Finding the Secret Daddy for My Baby Novel >>
That afternoon, she and the manager worked out two separate strategies in light of the sudden spike in sales. Given that the shop still had gift items in stock, they put up a sign outside the door to promote a giveaway activity. The second plan they came up with was for Anastasia to pay 30,000 out of her own pocket for a one-month advertisement in all the major shopping malls.
At 4.00PM, Anastasia left work to pick Jared up from school. The moment she got off the car, she instinctively turned to sweep her gaze across the parking lot next to the kindergarten.
She immediately noticed a familiar Rolls-Royce parked at the side, and the license plate was just as unique as the vehicle itself. The only person who could own this car was Elliot.
Much to her frustration, the man had come to pick Jared up from school again, and she began to wonder what he was trying to prove.
She was still simmering in disgruntlement when she saw Jared skipping out of the school gates in her direction while holding onto Elliot’s hand. “Mommy, Mommy!” he greeted as he bounded up to her.
Anastasia beamed and put out her arms as if to catch him.
“Mommy, Mr. Presgrave said he’s going to buy us dinner tonight,” Jared informed cheerily.
Upon hearing this, she looked up at Elliot and waved her hand as she declined the offer. “No, that won’t be necessary. I can manage dinner now that my hand is all better. You should get going if you have important things to attend to, President Presgrave.”
“I don’t. Let’s go back to your place for dinner,” Elliot suggested. When he saw the tired look on her face, he added empathetically, “We can always go out for dinner if you’re tired.”
“I’m not. Besides, I prefer cooking my own meals anyway,” Anastasia replied, not wanting this man to spoil Jaredn’s palate with expensive food.
“Very well, then. We’ll go pick up groceries together.” With that, he carried Jared in his arms and headed for his car.
Anastasia was just about to leave with them when a mother rushed up to her and said enviously, “You’re so lucky, Anastasia! You have such a rich and handsome husband who helps you out with your kid! He’s nothing like that deadbeat husband of mine; I don’t even remember the last time I saw him around the house.”
Anastasia forced out a smile, rendered speechless by this.
The mother went on to say, “I’ve never seen anyone as good-looking as your husband! I think he’s far better-looking than all those celebrities out there. Be careful, though—you have to keep an eye on a handsome man like him. After all, you never know if a woman is lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce on him!”
The smile on Anastasia’s face stiffened, but she nodded and said graciously, “Got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Jared was already in his car seat by the time she got into the vehicle. Right now, she was somewhat torn, and she wasn’t sure if it was a good thing for her and Elliot to go on like this.
She cooked up a few dishes for dinner that evening, and both Elliot and Jared polished their plates clean. They even devoured the oxtail stew that she was sure she had messed up.
Jared liked going down to the communal playground after dinner, and while Anastasia was distracted, Elliot decided to take him there.
It was 8.30PM by the time Anastasia was done clearing the dishes and tidying up around the house. She brought a glass of water out to the balcony, but just as she was gulping it down, she suddenly realized, with no small amount of exasperation, that she was drinking out of the same glass Elliot had used earlier.
Anastasia had been meaning to get disposable cups, but she always forgot about them. To date, she wasn’t sure how many times she had drunk out of the same glass as Elliot.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when her phone suddenly rang. She reached for it and put the call through after glancing at the caller ID. “Hello, Miss Chastain.”
“Miss Tillman, I’ve come bearing good news! We rounded up the sales for today at fifteen million. While the customers didn’t come in droves, they each bought more than a million’s worth of jewelry. Never have I seen such staggering business since I started working here!”
Surprise filled Anastasia’s pretty eyes when she heard this. She wondered how these customers came upon her shop in the first place. She was sure that she didn’t rally her friends or family for support, and she had yet to advertise the shop and the products. Could these just be customers who happened to drop by the shop?
It went without saying that she was elated by how things had turned out. She would like to think that fate was being kind to her. As the night breeze picked up, she suddenly remembered that they were in the depths of autumn now. To think that she had returned to this country in August, and in the blink of an eye, November was right around the corner.
Far too many things had happened in the last few months, the biggest of which was how Elliot had integrated himself into her life. He had shown up without warning like a storm no one could anticipate, and he was so demanding that he would not stand for rejection on her part.
The most frustrating thing about him, perhaps, was how he could make her feel like she was being devoured in flames, yet she didn’t mind it at all. She wanted him to do all those things to her; she wanted such pleasure to crawl under her skin and consume her. Am I truly so desperate to feel a man’s touch?
She started to wonder if her loneliness had made her feel such primal urges whenever they were alone, and she also questioned if the same would apply if she was with another man. If that were the case, it would only go to show that she was lonely and that this had nothing to do with Elliot’s own charisma.
At the thought of this, she suddenly became inspired to find a decent man that she liked and have a fling with him. It could be a platonic fling, and it would be sufficient to distract her from the effects that Elliot had on her. That way, she wouldn’t spend every waking moment thinking about that man. She was already terrified that she might become overly dependent on him one day.
When it was around 9.00PM, Elliot returned to the apartment with Jared in tow. The little boy was already drenched in his own sweat, but he was clearly enamored with playtime, for he turned to look at Elliot seriously as he said, “Mr. Presgrave, you have to bring me to the playground again tomorrow. I want to try out the monkey bars!”
“I promise I will,” Elliot said with a gentle smile.
Anastasia walked up to them and pointed out, “Jared, you can’t have Mr. Presgrave coming over every day just to play with you. He’s a busy man, and it isn’t right for us to take up his time, okay?”