The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Brandon planted himself in front of her, hands reaching out, and in a gentle voice he asked, "How about | take you to my company

first, is that cool?"

To Theresa, heading to his hor his company meant the sthing; it was all about hanging out with him.

She nodded her head with excitement, "Yeah, sure."

Considering the feelings of the kid's family, Brandon turned to Grace and politely said, "Hey, the little one seems to want to tag

along with me. Would it be okay for her to ccheck out the office?"

While gesturing towards a nearby skyscraper, he said, "That's our company right there, Starlight Group. I'm the current CEO,

Brandon."

As he spoke, he pulled out a business card from his wallet and handed it to her.

"Don't worry. I'm not schild snatcher or up to no good. You can find sphotos ofat company events on our official

website. They might be a bit blurry but you can still make out my profile."

Theresa was all in for following him, and Brandon knew deep down that taking her hmight stir up swild thoughts in her

parents' minds, but the office was different. For starters, it was bustling with people, making it a semi-public place; and secondly, it

was close by, within a safe distance, so everyone could rest easy.

Grace wasn't privy to Brandon's thoughts, but she did remember that Sophia had specifically told her not to stop Brandon if he

wanted to take Theresa out, just to go with the flow.

So, with a smile, she accepted the card he'd handed her, saying, "No worries, your company's just around the corner. | can bring

her back when she's tuckered out from playing. Hope it's not too much of a bother for you?"

"No problem."

Brandon replied casually and scooped up Theresa to head to the car.

Theresa, still mindful of her bottle and diapers, tugged at Brandon's clothes in a hurry, "Milk."

It took Brandon a moment to catch on to what she meant. That was when Grace remembered the bag hanging nearby, packed with

a bottle and diapers, and quickly fetched it.

"The kiddo's got her formula and diapers for the road," Grace explained with a laugh.

Brandon chuckled, reminded of the first the met her and how she had her bottle and diapers in tow.

He carried Theresa to the car.

Grace hurried to follow, introducing herself to Brandon, "Mr. Crawley, just callGrace."

She couldn't help but sneak a peek at the business card Brandon had handed her and was taken aback when she saw his title. She

couldn't help but glance at Brandon, speculating about his and Theresa's connection in her mind.

Seeing her inquisitive look in the rearview mirror, Brandon asked, "Anything on your mind, Grace?"

Grace chuckled awkwardly, "No, no, just feel kinda bad for imposing on you like this."

"It's all good."

Brandon replied calmly, glancing at Theresa, who sat quietly in Grace's arms, looking around excitedly.

When Theresa caught Brandon looking at her, she shyly smiled back at him, a little bashful. Brandon couldn't help but return the

smile.

The company wasn't far, and they arrived in no time.

When the car pulled up to the Starlight Group building, Theresa gazed up in amazement through the window at the towering

skyscraper and couldn't help but ask Brandon, "Is this your company?"

Brandon smiled and looked back at her, "Yep, this is where | work."

"It's so tall." She marveled, saying, "I've never, ever seen such a tall building."

She uttered while making a big circle with her arms to emphasize the height. Her exaggerated little gesture cracked Brandon up.

Without saying much more, he drove into the underground parking lot and then, carrying her, headed for the elevator.

It was Theresa's first tvisiting such a grand building, and her eyes were filled with wonder. She didn't know if it was good or

bad, and just reckoned that everything seemed so tall.

The building was tall, the ceiling was high, and even the elevator doors were taller and wider than those at her home.

Brandon took her in the elevator reserved for the top floors. They shot straight up from the underground parking lot to the

penthouse.

As the elevator doors opened, they were greeted by expansive glass walls. Theresa, held in Brandon's arms, had an excellent view

and could see the winding river and the high-rises outside through the glass.

This was a experience for her. Curiosity stretched her neck as she looked out.

Seeing her interest, Brandon brought her right up to the window. Theresa, pressing her face against the glass and looking down,

was extremely excited and turned to Brandon saying, "All those houses look so small."

Brandon smiled and patted her head, "Yeah."

Just then, someone cout of the office and was struck by the tender and indulgent look in Brandon's eyes as he stroked the

little girl's hair and smiled at her. The person froze in their tracks, and then sprinted back to the office at a hundred-meter dash

speed to gossip with the others.

"Mr. Crawley got a daughter now?"

Kent, coming out of an inner office, snorted at the comment, "Nonsense, where would Mr. Crawley suddenly get a daughter from."

The witness pointed toward the door, "For real, Mr. Crawley is holding a little girl by the window, looking at the view, and he's so

doting on her."

"That's even less likely." Kent dismissed without a second thought, "I just got back with Mr. Crawley from Zion City; where would he

have picked up a daughter? You must be seeing things."

As he pulled out a chair to sit, he saw Brandon walk in with a little girl.

The office was momentarily stunned, then burst into commotion. Even with the subject of their gossip present, they couldn't help

but whisper among themselves.

Theresa, unaccustomed to being the center of attention for such a large group, felt a bit uneasy and subconsciously clung to

Brandon's clothes a bit tighter.

Brandon gently patted her shoulder, reassuring her softly, "It's okay, sweetie."

The crowd was dumbstruck, but ultimately, they kept their composure and refrained from further discussion.

As Brandon, holding Theresa, passed by Kent, Kent finally snapped back to reality.

"Mr. Crawley, who's this?"

Theresa figured the question was aimed at her. She shot him a puzzled look but still sweetly answered for Brandon, "I'm Theresa."

Kent tried to flash her what was probably meant to be a friendly smile, but his gaze inevitably drifted back to Brandon.

"Just a kiddo," Brandon said.

Couldn't he tell she was just a little tyke?

Brandon didn't bother with him anymore, nor did he care about the curious glances from others as he carried Theresa into his

office. He didn't even close the door.

He settled Theresa onto the office couch. The bag she was holding ended up on the couch, too.

Brandon spotted her baby bottle and asked her, "Are you hungry?"

Theresa nodded, then turned to fish out her bottle from the bag and handed it to Brandon.

Theresa looked at him with those big expectant eyes. She only knew how to tote around her bottle and diapers, not how to make

formula. In her mind, that was grown-up business.

Grace, who was nearby, quickly stepped in, "Need to make sformula. I'll do it."

She reached for the bottle Theresa was passing.

"I got it," almost an instinctual reaction, Brandon took the bottle.

When he realized what he'd done, he furrowed his brow, puzzled at his own response. He didn't have a clue about making formula.

Grace could see Brandon was out of his depth, "Mr. Crawley, lethelp."

She moved to take the bottle from him.

"It's fine." Brandon stood up, "Just tellhow to do it."

Theresa had seen her mom make formula before and quickly instructed, "Put in water, then the formula."

The proportions were vague, but her earnest 'teacher' face was priceless. Brandon couldn't help but chuckle at her serious

coaching, nodding with a suppressed laugh, "Okay."

Then, with Grace's guidance, he managed to prepare the bottle. His very first tmaking formula.

Kent was gobsmacked from his spot outside.

Theresa, probably because it was the first tBrandon made her formula, drank it with extra relish.

She couldn't help but look around the office curiously as she sipped. It wasn't her first tviewing an office.

She'd been to Sophia's studios in Wye City and another location, and Sophia had taught her this was her 'office' and helped her

distinguish it from ‘home’.

But this office was different from her mom's. So, she peered around with extra curiosity and couldn't resist asking Brandon, "Is this

your office?"

Brandon watched her and gently nodded, "Yep, this is my office."

"My mommy, she has an office too," Theresa said excitedly.

Her excitement was infectious, and Brandon couldn't help but smile, "Really?"

"Yup." Theresa nodded vigorously, "Next time, I'll take you to my mommy's office."

In her little heart, since the HandsUnkie had brought her to his office, she wanted to return the favor, taking him to her

mother’s.

Brandon instantly got her drift and played along with a grin, "That sounds great."

Theresa, thrilled by Brandon's promise, eagerly described, "My mommy's office has lots and lots of pretty pictures, like.. like..."

She struggled to find the words.

Her eyes darting around in urgency, and when she spotted a stack of thick papers on Brandon's desk, she immediately dropped

her bottle, slid off the couch, and scurried over to the desk, tiptoeing to search.

Brandon wasn't sure what she was up to and picked her up to help her look. Theresa was just hoping to find pictures like the ones

in her mom's office.

Her eyes swept eagerly over the desk littered with documents filled with text, and to her delight, she spotted Sophia's Zenitha-

style resort design proposal, right on the top right corner of the desk, all by itself.

Theresa had a good memory. She remembered seeing it in her mom's office and immediately leaned towards it, reaching out to

grab it.

Kent had been watching from outside, following Brandon's indulgence with the little girl.

Now, seeing the tyke bend down to grab the design proposal and fearing she might tear it - tots her age still loved ripping up paper

- he hurried over and called out to Theresa.

"Little one, where's your hat?"

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