Chapter 6 - The Uninvited Guest
The brass handle of the gallery’s main glass doors turned, and Edward Hale stepped inside.
He was dressed in a tailored navy trench coat, holding a leather briefcase and an umbrella. Beside him walked his personal assistant, a sharp young man holding a tablet, and two gallery board members in expensive business suits.
Edward paused at the entrance, taking off his leather gloves, his sharp eyes scanning the gallery floor.
Then his gaze locked onto the glass-walled creative studio at the back.
Sophia and Lily were currently jumping up and down in front of their easels, covered in blue and yellow paint, holding up two massive sheets of watercolor paper.
Edward froze. His jaw dropped slightly, his dark eyes wide with utter shock.
He slowly walked across the marble floor, completely ignoring his board members, toward the back studio. He stopped outside the glass wall, staring in utter disbelief at the two five-year-old girls who had eaten chocolate cake with him on Christmas Eve.
Sophia noticed him first. She gasped, dropped her paintbrush, and tapped Lily's shoulder.
"Mr. Edward!" Lily cheered, her tiny voice echoing softly through the glass.
Before Charlotte or I could stop them, Lily slid the glass door open and ran out into the gallery, her hands covered in blue tempera paint, launching herself straight at the billionaire’s legs.
"Lily, no!" I yelled, rushing out of my workshop.
Edward didn't step back. He didn't care about his four-thousand-dollar bespoke suit. He instantly dropped to one knee on the cold marble floor, catching Lily in his arms as she threw her tiny arms around his neck.
"Hello, little one," Edward choked out, his voice cracking with sudden, overwhelming emotion. He looked up, his eyes meeting mine, and then drifting to Charlotte, who stood ten feet away with her arms crossed, her face a mask of cold stone.
"What is this?" Edward whispered, standing up slowly while keeping Lily perched on his hip. He looked at Charlotte. "Charlotte... what did you do?"
"I hired a head textile restorer, Mr. Hale," Charlotte replied coldly, using his formal title in front of the board members. "Her name is Abby Bennett. She is the most talented seamstress in Chicago."
Edward looked at me, his eyes shining with a mixture of profound gratitude and deep, agonizing confusion. "Abby... you're working here?"
"I am, Mr. Hale," I said steadily, stepping forward to gently take Lily from his arms. "Charlotte recognized my skill. She offered me a position, and I accepted."
Edward stood there in the middle of his daughter's gallery, surrounded by his corporate board, looking at his estranged child and the family he had randomly met at a restaurant three weeks ago.
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"This is..." Edward swallowed hard, his hands trembling slightly as he adjusted his coat. "This is incredible."
"It's business, Mr. Hale," Charlotte interrupted smoothly, stepping between him and my daughters. "The board meeting is in the conference room upstairs. Let's not keep the directors waiting."
