Fight Men Not Love

Chapter Thirteen

I had played with Inez for half a day and she was exhausted, to say the least. I managed to keep up with her. I was tired as well.

"Do you want to lie down, Inez?" I asked her when she leaned on my arm, yawning quietly.

"I'm hungry," she mumbled. It was almost 1 in the afternoon. Dominic hasn't come to us, so I'm not sure where he is. His office is right next to us, and he hasn't been there all morning.

It must have been the meeting.

"I don't know where your father is, Inez," I said softly, brushing the little strands of hair away from her face.

"I know where he is," she piped and stood up. "Come on, I'll show you," she said.

"No, Inez. He could be bus-"

"Come on," she was out the door. I ran, afraid of losing her in this huge building. Dominic would be mad at me if something were to happen to her.

"Inez, slow down. You're going to hurt yourself," I tried to get her to stop but she ran, giggling. She stopped by the elevator and I was breathless. "Why are you running so much?"

She went in and pressed for the lower ground. I caught my breath while in the elevator. As soon as the doors opened, she was out.

"Inez, wait!" I yelled out for her, to no avail. I rounded the corner and collided with someone. I yelped, feeling myself falling back. Arms wrapped around me and secured me.

I was met with a pair of light brown eyes and wavy blonde hair. The man smiled down at me.

"Oh my, an angel falling right into my arms. How lucky can I be?" He said. I steadied myself and stepped back. "So what was it like?" He inquired. I looked over his shoulders to see Inez disappearing in another passage.

"What?" I asked, trying not to get irritated.

"Falling from heaven," he smirked, looking me up and down.

"Ugh," I grumbled under my breath. Seriously? I pushed past him and was about to run after Inez, but his fingers wrapped around my wrist.

"Whoa, not so fast, babygirl," I yanked my hand off, glaring at him.

"Don't ever touch me again," I said and walked away, searching for Inez. I followed the last place I saw her. Damn, this place is huge. I met with a couple of security guards along the way.

"Have you seen Inez?" I asked Nico, the only one I knew. He pointed to the endless passageway.

"The boardroom is that way," he said.

I ran in that direction and turned the corner just in time to see her open the glass door.

"Inez, don't open-" I was too late.

I stumbled into the line of vision of many people, looking between Inez and I through the glass door. I gulped and averted my eyes.

"Daddy!" Inez yelled, running into Dominic's arms. He happily welcomed her, hoisting her up into his lap.

"What's going on, princess?" He asked her, eyeing me.

"I'm hungry," she mumbled, eyeing all the men and women in the room. f**k, there were so many people in this room. And they were all looking at me, as I stood by the door, not knowing what else to do.

Dominic stood up and walked over to me. Inez happily held out her arms for me. I took her.

"I don't know if Ashton is back. He usually gets lunch for her," Dominic tells me.

"I can take her," I blurted out. "For lunch, I mean. I don't mind taking her,"

"Thank you Evelyn. Take Nicolas with you guys, okay?" I nodded. He patted his pockets. "My wallet..." he walked back to the chair he was sitting on.

Inez busied herself with my hair, taking out the scrunchie. My hair fell down my back and she ruffled it, no doubt creating a mess.

"Hey, you're messing up my hair," I said softly and she giggled. She squirmed in my arms, trying to push it down with her hands.

"Here, take this. This should be enough. I don't have enough cash with me at the moment," Dominic said handing me a couple of R100 notes.

"Oh no, it's fine. I've got money in my bag," I said quickly. "It's fine, really,"

"Are you sure?" He was hesitant. I nodded. "Uhm, okay then. She's allergic to red meat and nuts, so try to avoid those things, please," he said stuffing the money in his pocket.

"Red meat and nuts, got it," I repeated.

"Thanks Evelyn. You guys can just come back here or go home, up to you," he said. I nodded.

I walked back, with Inez resting in my arms. I walked a distance away from the boardroom, before whispering to Inez. "Wanna race?" She perked up and giggled. I put her down once I reached Nico. "Hi, I have to take her out for lunch," I tell him.

"Of course. I'll bring the car," he said nodding at me.

"Hey, that's cheating," I yelled out to Inez, as she sprinted away. I took off as well, smiling. I ignored the looks and ran to the elevator.

I went back up to get my bag and fix my hair, in the bathroom. Picking Inez up, we walked out and to the car, already waiting for us.

"Where do you usually go for lunch?" I asked Inez when we settled in.

"My daddy takes me to this restaurant," she mumbled. "They make spaghetti and meatballs and it's so yummy," I scrunched my face, confused.

"I know the place," Nico said.

The restaurant was fancy as hell, that I can say. Nico parked right outside and I walked in. Inez was already walking around.

"Inez, don't-"

"It's okay," a woman appeared before me, eyeing Inez. "She knows where she is going. Are you her nanny? Mr Sullivan never hired a nanny before," the hostess appeared.

Bitchy behavior detected. She's probably crushing on Dominic. They probably smashed. She must think I'm his new fling. I cannot stoop to this petty behavior.

I walked past her and went to where Inez was seated. There was a waitress already attending to her.

"Okay, so you want the usual. No red meat, got it," she smiled at Inez lovingly. "Would you like me to bring your smoothie now?"

"Yes please," she said.

"Right on it," she turned to me and smiled. "Hi ma'am, can I get you anything?"

"Uh, cranberry juice please. Can I have a minute to look at the menu?" I said.

"Very well," she walked away. I picked up the menu and scrolled through, trying to figure out what I want to eat.

I decided on the burger and fries, which is a surprise that it is on the menu.

Inez danced in her chair as she slurped up her smoothie. She's such a happy child. I wish I was a happy child. I mean, I guess I was. In dad's own way. Man, the man roughed me up. I wondered if things would have turned out the way they were, if he wasn't the officer.

Either way, I'm grateful that he made me who I am today.

"Hey Inez, would you like to have some ice cream?" I asked her after I paid for the food.

"Yayy, do I get sprinkles as well?" She asked cheerfully.

"Well, of course. Come on," she took my hand. Nico drove us to the nearest ice cream parlor. I ordered for Inez and I and we sat outside.

"Hey Lyn, do you have a boyfriend?" I almost choked to death.

"What?" I asked bashfully. She giggled.

"A boyfriend? Do you have one?"

"No," I asked. When did we get here? "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," she shrugged and went back to eating her ice cream. I shook my head, giggling quietly. "Hey Lyn, did you know that my daddy doesn't have a girlfriend?"

What the f**k?

●

I walked into the office, with Inez sleeping in my arms. The men and women from the boardroom were gathered by the foyer, talking quietly. Dominic was among them. When he saw us, he rushed over.

"Hey, she fell asleep?" He said quietly, watching her so lovingly. He pushed her hair back gently. "I'll take her,"

"Oh no, she's fine. You go ahead. Looks like it's something serious," I eyed the crowd.

"Oh I wish it wasn't so serious. Thank you Evelyn. I'll be upstairs in a minute," he said.

I walked around these people back to Inez's place. Luckily, there was a bed for when she gets tired. Dominic really outdid himself.

I laid her down and brought the furry blanket over her. I decided to lay down next to her, since I had nothing else to do.

I plugged in my headphones and watched some Tik Tok videos to kill time. It won't be long until we go home.

My phone rang and I jumped. I went out quickly to answer the phone without waking Inez up.

"Hey b***h," Beckett greeted. "Listen, something came up and I need your he-"

"Nope,"

"What? You haven't even-"

"I don't want to, Becky,"

"Evelyn, please," he begged. There was chatter in the background. "Uh yeah. Hey, I'll come over to you and we can discuss it. Bye, I love you so much,"

Motherfucker.

"Miss Benedict?" I looked up to see Ashton approaching me. "You're Miss Benedict, right?" I narrowed my eyes at him. He shrunk a little and cleared his throat. "Mr Sullivan would like to see you in his office,"

Well, that's weird. He's right across me and there are people there. I crossed the rooms and knocked once.

"Come in," Dominic said.

I walked in to see an older looking Dominic and a woman. I eyed them for a second, before looking at Dominic. "You were asking for me?" Dominic looked rather tense. Suspicious.

"Yes actually, I asked for you dear," the woman spoke up. "Please, have a seat," she gestured for the empty chair next to the old looking man. I opted for the couch, furthest from everyone. "Right," the woman said.

"Here's the thing. My son, over there, has been running this company for years now and he's doing a great job," she began. "There's just one small problem,"

I turned to Dominic, who had his face down. His jaws twitched.

"Mom, don't do this," he said quietly.

"This is for your own good, Dominic," she said, glaring at her son. "My son tells me that he had to...bail you out from a tricky situation, with the R100 million that, supposedly magically disappeared," oh boy.

"And I tried to pay him back," I glared at Dominic, but he wouldn't look up.

"You did?" This was news to the parents, apparently.

"Nick?" The man, his father spoke for the first time.

"I don't need to tell you guys everything. This is my life," Dominic said.

"Well, here's the thing," the mom said. "And I hope you don't take this any other way, except for a...favour?"

"Would you mind getting to the point? I'm not patient with small talks," I came off rude, but I didn't care.

"Right. I want you to marry my son," she said. I looked at her, hoping she'd translate what didn't register in my head. "This business requires people who are focused. People who know how to settle down. Clearly my son doesn't know that, and it's up to us to do it for him," she stood up and walked over to me. She sat down next to me and put her hands on my thigh. "Think of it like, returning the favour. I figured since you probably can't pay back the R100 million, you could do this little favour in return to pay your debts, you know,"

"And it seems like my granddaughter likes you. This should work out with you two. If you want us to pay you, again, for this little favour, we can negotiate, how's that sweetie?" She gave me the most fakest smile.

"Well, here's the thing, Karen-"

"That's not my name," she said through gritted teeth.

"I don't f*****g care," she gasped at my sudden outburst. I shoved her hands away. "I don't know how long you've been controlling your son and your husband, but you're not controlling me, okay? It's not like I want to be here. I don't need this bullshit, alright? I have a lot of s**t going on in my life already," I waved my hands around.

"Well, you sure do have a foul mouth, while you're babysitting my granddaughter," she said.

"And you sure have a conniving little mind, while you are Inez's grandmother. I don't know who the f**k you think you are, orderig me around and claiming I'm after your son's money. I tried to pay him back the money that you think I don't have, but he refused me. Why don't you take it up with him and leave me the f**k alone. I don't want anything to do with this bullshit," I was seething as I stood up and left.

How dare she?

Fucking pendeja.

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UNEDITED