Linford took the iPad and thought for a while. He almost worked out the solution within a second, but he didn’t tell his daughter the answer first, “If I solve this puzzle for you, will you give me any reward, Candace?”
Candace thought for a while, deciding to give her Daddy her favorite cake as a reward.
Linford nodded and turned to look at Cristelle, “How about you?”
Cristelle was thinking about the answer. She was a bit confused when Linford asked the question, “You want a reward from me?”
Linford nodded, “Of course, Candace is giving me a reward. You should reward me as well.”
Cristelle almost rolled her eyes, but she still suppressed the urge because she really wanted to know the answer. So she sighed, “Fine. What do you want?”
Linford’s eyes fell on her soft lips. Cristelle bristled instantly, “What?”
“Why don’t you cook a big meal for me?” Linford smiled.
“That’s it?” Cristelle sounded suspicious and stared at him intently, “Fine.”
And why was he smiling like a cunning fox? She thought.
Linford sat closer to Candace and explained the puzzle. Candace instantly understood. But it took Cristelle a while to figure it out. Linford savored the intent look on her pretty face.
When Cristelle realized Linford was staring at her, she instantly blushed.
The puzzle took them so long, and they still needed help figuring out the right answer. But Linford just solved the whole thing with a couple of glances.
No wonder Cody was a genius. He got Linford’s genes. Cristelle had to admit the strong power of Bradley’s blood.
She cooked Candace and Linford’s favorite meal at noon. The family enjoyed their lunch together.
Candace ate a lot as her mood became better recently. The girl was determined to recover faster, so she could run around with her brother when he came back.
After lunch, Linford received a call from Alfred, “Mr. Bradley, I have something important to report to you.”
Linford wanted to take a nap with his daughter after lunch. He was a bit annoyed being interrupted. His voice thus went a bit cold, “What is it?”
Alfred hushed his voice and told Linford everything as if he didn’t want to be overheard from his side.
Linford’s face had been clouded with dark anger as Alfred finished. But he didn’t say anything as Cristelle and Candace were still in the room.
“Okay then. I’m on my way back,” Linford ended the call abruptly.
“Anything wrong?” Cristelle asked, standing up from her chair, “Did anything happen in your company?”
“Nothing serious. I’ll be back soon. You just stay here with Candace. The nanny sent by Pop will be here soon. You must be really tired of taking care of our baby every day. Just go back and take some rest when the nanny is here.”
Cristelle was a little worried. To be honest, she didn’t trust anyone lately. She only wanted to take care of Candace herself. So she asked, “Who is this nanny?”
“Oh, her name is Lily, and she used to take care of me when I was a baby. After my mom passed away, she left the Bradley house. I told her about Candace a couple of days ago. So she decided to come back and help us. She’s a great person, don’t worry.” Linford answered.
“Oh…” Cristelle nodded, having no intention of going back or taking a rest even though Lily would come later. She can’t stay at home, taking some rest if she is not with Candace. She felt scared to leave her daughter after the incident.
Candace waved her little hand at Linford. Linford leaned over and left a kiss on his daughter’s cheek. He then left the ward quickly.
Cristelle climbed onto Candace’s bed and watched cartoons with her after Linford left. The girl drifted into a sound sleep soon. And then, a message came in. It was from Jasper.
“I’ve got a little problem during work. I want to talk to you. Is Linford still there? Do you mind coming out for a bit? I’m in the café right now.”
Cristelle frowned, thumbing back a message, “I’m in the hospital at the moment. Candace’s sleeping. Maybe you can come over so we can talk in the restroom.”
Cristelle didn’t want to leave her daughter alone for too long.
“Okay, five minutes, and I’ll be there,” Jasper replied.
Cristelle left a kiss on her baby’s cheek. When she walked out of the ward, she found the bodyguards standing by the door, “I need to go to the restroom for a few minutes. Candace’s sleeping right now. Don’t let any strangers get in.”
“Of course, Mrs. Bradley,” one of the bodyguards answered.
“I’m not Mrs. Bradley. Please don’t call me that,” Cristelle went red and walked down the corridor.
****
Jasper was waiting for her in the restroom on the 15th floor. He even brought his laptop this time. He seemed quite serious, “Cristelle, we’ve got another big deal. Someone’s quite interested in your design, and he gave us an offer. If we can make something he likes, we’ll get a ticket for the fashion week. I’m so excited after getting the news, so I came to tell you directly.”
Cristelle couldn’t believe it. Her eyes lit up, “For real?”
“For real. The studio that invited us is quite famous in Europe. They found you during the competition last time. I believe their boss was there to be the judge,” Jasper said with a big smile on his face, “I also can’t believe this would come.”
“Wait, what is this client’s name? Do I know him?” Cristelle asked curiously.
“Well, our client seemed to prefer to be anonymous. I don’t think he would tell us his name.” Jasper said hesitantly.
“Can we trust this person, Jasper?” Cristelle arched an eyebrow, “If he’s famous in the industry, I must have heard his name and studio somewhere before. I don’t know… hiding the identity during the cooperation just sounds a bit suspicious to me.”
Jasper smiled, “You worried too much, Cristelle. I can be sure the money is solid. Besides, this is a great opportunity. We are rookies in this field, but they chose us. So we have nothing to lose anyway, right?”