Cristelle looked away, picking among the fabric samples, “No, he did that because he wants to tell the whole world that no one can bully his children. He didn’t do that for me.”
“Just for the kids? Cristelle, tell me the truth. What do you think about Mr. Bradley? Do you feel anything for him at all?” Fritzi teased her.
That was just a random conversation between the colleagues. Both of them were unaware of Linford’s presence behind the door. He had been standing there for a while.
He dropped by to talk to Cristelle. However, before he could come in, he accidentally heard their conversation.
He didn’t know why, but he started anticipating Cristelle’s answer. Did she feel anything for him at all?
Cristelle shook her head, “Can’t you guys see? I don’t feel anything for that man.”
“You don’t?” Fritzi’s eyes widened, “For real? You’re not playing hard to get, are you? I mean, who wouldn’t fall in love with Linford Bradley?”
“I’m telling the truth, Fritzi. I’m not playing hard to get. To be honest, if it were not for Cody and Candace, our paths would never have crossed. For me, he is just my babies father. And that’s it. I’ve never expected more,” Cristelle sighed, “What I’ve done is all because of my babies. You know how important a family is for the children’s growth. Besides, Candace loves him. Since he showed up, my babies’ lives have been improved. He could offer the babies a better education and environment. For me, he’s just a human ATM. I will say no to that.”
Human ATM!
The veins on Linford’s forehead popped out. He was so pissed off that he smashed the office’s glass door with one fist. The door was shattered into pieces.
Ignoring the gasping and screaming, Linford walked away in a rage.
The huge noise caused the people in the department to jump up from their seats.
Danny went to check it out, “Geez! How come the door’s just shattered?”
Mickey also exclaimed, “The whole door has been shattered. Did something hit it? I need to call the maintenance team so they can have it repaired as soon as possible.”
Cristelle and Fritzi stared at each other cluelessly. They didn’t know what had just happened.
Linford went back to his office, and Alfred happened to be there, “Mr. and Mrs. Wayne has been waiting for hours. Are you sure you don’t want to…”
“No. They need to know that there’s a price to pay if one fails to guard their big mouth. Tell them to disappear instantly. I don’t want to see them,” Linford threw the pile of files onto his desk. Blood trickled down his long fingers.
Alfred was startled, looking at his wounded hand, “Geez, Sir! What happened to you?”
Linford waved his hand dismissively, “I’m okay. You just go.”
Alfred still tried to approach him, “Can you at least let me take care of the wounds…”
“GET OUT!” Linford bellowed. Alfred went pale, not daring to approach him anymore. He left the room in a hurry.
What happened to him? Why was he so scary today?
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne had waited for Linford in the waiting room all day. But Linford still didn’t show up. They only realized how serious the issue was until now. At first, they thought Linford wouldn’t really halt the cooperation, given how deep the friendship between the two families was.
But now, they were truly scared.
“Jesus! What should we do? What should we do?” Mrs. Wayne, Mary, was almost in tears. The Wayne house was one of the big businesses in this city. They’d already thrown away their pride to apologize, but Linford Bradley still refused to see them. It seemed like there was nothing they could do to save it.
The Wayne house would be doomed.
Gary Wayne was even more panicked. After knowing how pissed off Linford was, he felt he was gonna have a heart attack, “We can’t just wait here and do nothing. Let’s go. We have to see his grandpa. Maybe it’s our only way out. Hurry!”
They went to Franco’s mansion in a hurry.
****
The working time had passed, but Cristelle was still in the office, examining the drafts. Alfred suddenly came to knock on the door, “Cristelle, Mr. Bradley said you can go home now. He’ll pick up the babies.”
Cristelle instantly stood up, cleaning her belongings on the desk, “I’ll be downstairs soon. Please tell him to wait for me for a second.”
She didn’t go to pick up the babies the last time, and it almost made Candace cry.
From then on, Cristelle decided to pick them up every day.
She packed her things and ran downstairs, getting in Linford’s car without any hesitation.
The air inside the car was a bit weird today.
Linford’s hand had been bandaged. His face was pretty grim as he looked out of the window.
Did he have a fight with someone today?
Cristelle’s intuition told her to stay away. So she squirmed in the seat and sat on the edge.
Linford’s face fell as he noticed that, his voice low and dangerous, “What? You’re scared of me so much? Do you think I’ll eat you alive?”
Cristelle went blank for a while before letting out a smile, “Did you fight someone today?”
Linford huffed and turned away, staring out of the window again.
Cristelle shrugged, not knowing what had happened to this man.
Linford somehow got even more pissed off.
The babies got into the car when they arrived. Candace noticed the wounds on Linford’s hand as she got in. She grabbed his hand with both of her hands, blowing air toward it. She refused to let Linford hold. She didn’t want to hurt him again.
Cristelle held her girl in her arms, leaving a kiss on her cheek.
Cody also noticed the wounds, “What happened to your hand?”
Linford pulled a face, “I accidentally scraped it.”
Cody sat straight, acting like a little man, “You should be careful. You’re not a little boy anymore, Linford.”
Linford pinched his chubby cheeks with two fingers, “And you’re not a man yet. Don’t tell me what to do.”
“Let… Let me go!” Cody protested.