“Mr. Berrett, you requested for me,” Eric said at the door of Garvin’s office whiles walking in. Garvin let out a rare smile at the sight of him. Since Eric had arrived, Garvin would have time to pursue all his interests without worry. “Were you able to handover to anyone?” Garvin asked whiles Eric walked over to give him a handshake. “Not a proper one, sir. I might have to go back twice a week or so to do that.” Eric left Brooklyn as abruptly as Garvin demanded yesterday, and his replacement had not even arrived. “We shall arrange for it on days I don’t have anything to do outside the office,” Garvin said thoughtfully while beckoning Eric to sit down. As soon as he did, Garvin gave his instructions, “Get my daily activities plan from Serena and adjust yourself to it. The number of meetings you will attend will depend on my unavailability,” Garvin explained. Over the years, the only person who knew the affairs of the company like the back of his hand, except for Garvin, was Eric
He was already considering them a family together, so how else was she supposed to explain to him that they were not a family? Knowing that a week from now, he was going to hate her, she did not want to entertain the idea. “Garvin, please, you are too close,” Iris managed to say in deep breaths, in contrast to what she had in mind. Garvin’s closeness was driving her insane, and she needed fresh air. The corporate office had a canteen where everyone could eat for free so luckily, there were not many people at the car park. Garvin moved away and opened the door for her. Only after he sat in the driver’s seat did she have the guts to respond to him. “Having a son together does not mean that I can’t have male friends.” Since she was not ready to do as Garvin instructed, he decided to find another way. “If it’s too hard for you to do, I can do it for you, and also, you have to let your secretary know who I am to you.” Iris was speechless. This egocentric man was treating her as if h
“Uhm, Ma’am, I was not informed about your coming,” the manager let out an awkward smile. Her palms were already sweaty at the sight of Iris. The deputy CEO never came to the branch after ensuring its full operation, so this was unexpected. “Do I need to inform you before coming? Arrange a meeting in your office with the chef right now.” Iris’s tone was neither warm nor cold, and Garvin loved it. She just handled things calmly. The manager was sweating like a fish out of water. After working here for over a year and seeing how flexible things were, she recruited her relatives without using the right channels. “There have been some changes, ma’am. I wanted to inform you, but, hey, it got really busy here,” she smiled awkwardly. Iris picked up her phone and called the HR Manager, speaking as soon as the line connected.“Among the managers you recruited for other states, is there any amongst them who lives in Manhattan and has to relocate?” “Yes, ma’am,” the HR Manager responded. “
Garvin had a sleepless night after the time he spent with Iris yesterday, especially with all those men he saw. He did not doubt her integrity that she was a decent woman, but neither could he endure seeing them around her or imagining her having lunch with them. Garvin closed the doors to his heart to any and every woman over a decade ago but almost six years back, Iris Parker woke up in his bed, and everything changed. After the misunderstanding they had because of his inability to control his temper, he vowed to find her, just to apologize, but then, she sent him a parcel. That parcel changed everything. Garvin did not just want to apologize anymore but also wanted her all to himself and their son. He would fight any man, physically, financially, or business-wise, who tried to compete with him in having the mother of his son as a wife. Iris was stubborn, but Garvin was persistent. When he realized yesterday that she was still trying to avoid him even when they had chemistry, he
When Garvin ended the call with Iris, he felt an indescribable pain in his heart at the fact that she was indeed going out, but why was the investigation report different? He pulled out his phone to check the soft copy of the report in his email when Cooper tugged on his sleeves, “Daddy, I want ice cream.” Garvin’s mood brightened at the sight of Cooper, and his heart was warmed by his smile. If they came to the park during a weekend, he could never deny Cooper’s request and buy him ice cream, unlike other times. “Okay.” Garvin walked Cooper to the ice cream shop, and after getting him his favorite chocolate ice cream, Cooper was eating whiles he asked, “Daddy, will Mommy come with us next time?” The question caused Garvin to remember that Iris was going out on a date with some guy called Adam Sanders. He knew he had to investigate the guy, too, but he smiled at Cooper and asked, “Do you want Mommy and Daddy to be together?” Garvin was ready to use anything to break whatever r
“Cooper has a twin brother. His name is Curtis,” Iris blurted out in a hoarse tone as a tear slid down her cheeks. Garvin chuckled, wondering what Iris was up to this time. Was it another way to scare him away? “Iris, whatever joke you weaved with that so-called boyfriend of yours, it's not funny to me.” Iris tensed even more that he did not directly believe her. She bit her lower lip so hard; it was painful. It was better now than never when the cat was already out of the bag. “I had twins, and I wanted to keep them both, but after a week, I was constantly tormented by those gray eyes. I thought, Why should I suffer alone? Perhaps you should have a taste of how being hurt felt, so I sent you the elder of the two, Cooper.” Iris’s throat was now moist with tears, so they were cracking rather than croaky. She looked at Garvin, and her heart sank because he did not seem to be paying attention to her. He was looking at something on his phone. She got upset and was about to excuse he
Two days earlier “I had twins, and I wanted to keep them both, but after a week, I was constantly tormented by those gray eyes. I thought, why should I suffer alone? Perhaps you should have a taste of how being hurt felt, so I sent you the elder of the two, Cooper.” Garvin was trying not to believe that what Iris was saying was true, so he decided to check the investigation report, reading from where he had left off the last time on his phone. ‘She has a son, Curtis Parker. There is a record at the hospital where she gave birth that she had twins, but Iris has only been seen with one child, so perhaps something must have happened to her other child. In her spare time….’ Garvin stopped reading instantly, understanding that she was not lying to him but was too numb to react. He felt stiff as he wondered what his other child would think of him, most probably that he was an irresponsible father. Garvin was eager to see his other son but was greatly angered to have been kept out of his
“Will you tell them or I should?” Iris had no idea what Garvin expected her to tell them. She took his warning to keep men away from herself like a joke. Right now, she was desperate to see Cooper, thereby not wanting any misunderstanding whatsoever between them. Whatever made Garvin happy, she did not care for as long as she could see Cooper and for him to make time for Curtis as well. “Go ahead and tell them,” Iris said and began to walk away when Garvin grabbed her arm and pulled her into his arms, her eyes widened and her breath ceased. His movement was instantaneous and unexpected, she was caged in his strong arms. Since she was shorter, he bent over and said in a whisper, his hot minty breath turning her ears red, “How else would they believe me if you leave?” He circled his arm around her waist, pulling her closer, she squirmed under his touch making her face crimson from his closeness. The three men looked like wolves, ready to pounce when Garvin glared at them and said,