Chapter 523 The BM Corporation


    Le didn''t mind that Charles had made an appointment with Aron and his wife; she knew she still had


    enough time to achieve her n.


    Charles allowed his employees to get off early from work that night. That was good news for David and


    Alice, as they could really use some quality time together. Their ns were already set: have dinner


    early and watch a goodedy movie.


    Le, on the other hand, didn''t care much for the time off. She gave Charles an appreciating smile and


    continued on with her work. As David went to start off his car, Alice had cleared up her desk and was


    getting ready to leave, when she saw Le still in her chair. Surprised, Alice sat her coat down, and


    approached Le inquiring,"Howe you''re still here?"


    "I have a few more tasks left to finish, but I won''t be much longer either," answered Le politely. "You


    go ahead; don''t worry about me." She then forced a quick smile and went back to handling her files.


    "Do you need help?" asked Alice slightly concerned. She remembered there was a kid waiting for Le


    at home. Perhaps if she could help her finish her work faster, Le could go home sooner to be with her


    son.


    ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    Le, however, wasn''t too keen on getting any help. She smiled at Alice once more and then


    replied,"That''s ok. I can handle them. This is a good opportunity for you and David to spend a rxing


    evening together; don''t waste your time here with me. I''ve got this."


    "But don''t you have your kid at home waiting?" wondered Alice, now even more surprised by her


    refusal. She was genuine in her offer to help and couldn''t understand why Le wouldn''t take her up on


    it. So she insisted,"Your son is very young, right? You should go home early and take care of him. I can


    help you; it''s no problem for me."


    As if awaken from a trance, Le immediately raised her eyes towards the wall clock and


    eximed,"Oh, no! I have to go pick him up from school. I''ll just take these files home."


    "Okay, then," replied Alice relieved. She was quite d that Le wasn''t going to spend more time at


    the office. "Bring your son here some day; I''d like to meet him," she added encouragingly.


    "Okay, I will," replied Le with half a smile. As soon as Alice left, she started packing up the folders


    that she needed to bring home with her.


    If it weren''t for the kid, she wouldn''t leave work until after Charles did. But she didn''t want to be toote


    to pick up Charlie.


    A sudden feeling of guilt started to ovee her since she had only been doing the strictly necessary


    at work. Le wasn''t giving it her all those days and Charles deserved more. Interrupting her thoughts,


    Charles opened up his office door all ready to leave.


    He was impressed to see Le there. "Are you still working?" he asked on a pleasantly surprised tone.


    "I just had a few tasks left. I would have stayed and finished them, but I''m going to bete to pick up my


    son. I will sort out all the files you need for tomorrow''s meeting, though. No worries." Her answer was


    confident. She was going to do as promised no matter what it took.


    Charles nodded lightly and then asked her,"How about I give you a lift?"


    "No need... thank you," she replied gratefully. As much as she would have liked to get a ride with


    Charles, she didn''t think it was appropriate to do so at that hour. "I can take the subway; it''s really


    convenient," she continued exining herself.


    "Ok. Be careful on your way there though. I''m going to go now. See you tomorrow!" It was almost time


    for his dinner with Aron and I; he didn''t want to bete, so he left right away.


    I had made the dinner reservation much in advance. This was something they did every year. She


    and Aron were really close to Charles. Not only did his firm often coborate with Lighten House


    Company, but also I had been managing Cloud Advertising Company for Charles as well.


    It was an extremely hot July day; even after dawn, the heat was permeating the air. As soon as he got


    inside the car, Charles loosened his cor and turned on the air conditioner to the max. Fortunately, his


    car was powerful enough and the temperature cooled off quickly.


    The venttion system at the restaurant, however, was having a hard time cooling the locale off to a


    but even those didn''t feel cold enough.


    I and Aron had arrived there early and were wiping off their sweat from their foreheads when


    Charles got inside. As soon as he stepped foot through the door, his leg was captured and hugged


    tightly by a tiny little being.


    He held her up immediately and asked in a soft tone,"Did you miss me?"


    "Yes, I did!" she replied eagerly. She had indeed missed him. She stretched out her hand, and,


    counting each finger, she said,"Yesterday, the day before yesterday and the day before that... I''ve


    missed you for so many days!"


    Charles smiled tenderly at the innocent expression on the little girl''s face. He had missed her too.


    "Amanda, give Charles some space to breathe. It''s already really hot in here," said I assertively to


    her daughter. Amanda was only two years old and quite a handful. She had gotten very close to


    Charles but, at the same time, unusually cold towards her father. Aron was struggling with that. He had


    tried his best to win his daughter''s heart by doing whatever she wanted, but his efforts still remained


    highly unappreciated.


    "No!" stated Amanda loud and clear in response to her mom''s request. I gave her a serious look and


    was about to argue with her, when Amanda''s face suddenly turned sad. She sniffed and pretended to


    start crying. In response, Charles intervened by saying,"It''s all right. I want to hold her for a while."


    Charles absolutely loved his sworn daughter. He always bought her lots of toys every time he would


    meet her, and this time was no exception.


    Excited to show her the new toy, Charles sat on the ground with Amanda in hisp, while emptying out


    his bag. Seeing that, I got teary-eyed.


    "Why are you crying?" Aron asked her. It was mostly a rhetorical question, as he knew what was in her


    heart. Autumn was her best friend, and I wished she was there with Charles and Amanda. The


    thought of her death had left a void in her heart.


    "I''m fine," she attempted to divert his question while rubbing her eyes. However, too many tears had


    umted and I was having a hard time hiding her sadness. She knew Charles was still hurting,


    too.


    If Autumn was still there, Charles would have a family now. The way heughed and yed with


    Amanda showed he would have been a good father. Amanda could have had a ymate, too.


    "Darling, stop crying," Aron said trying tofort her. He pulled her close and continued cheering her


    up,"He is happy with Amanda. Let them y together."


    Perhaps when Charles was with Amanda, he could forget about his sadness and satisfy his longing to


    be a father. So Aron and I didn''t want to disturb him.


    "Daddy, look..." expressed Amanda excitingly while showing him a trick.


    I smiled at the scene. She had picked the name Amanda for her because she knew Autumn liked


    that name. Unfortunately, Autumn left them before she knew I was pregnant. What wouldn''t she give


    for her to see Amanda now! Amanda had been her main constion after the sad news about Autumn.


    Her cute, little smile made any worry a bit more tolerable. Every time she looked at her, she somehow


    found faith that Autumn was ok wherever she was.


    ''Maybe God sent Amanda to us so that she could fill in the void that Autumn left, '' I thought.


    "What''s the matter?" asked Charles after noticing Amanda''s serious face. Leaning in close, he looked


    her attentively in the eyes with a reassuring smile.


    Pouting, Amanda replied,"Mom told me that I can only get married when I grow up. Daddy, can you tell


    me when I will grow up?"


    Charles couldn''t help butugh. Though, he didn''t want her to be embarrassed by hisughter; so he


    quickly settled for arge smile saying,"And why are you thinking about that now? You want to get


    married? Tell me, which boy have you fallen in love with?"


    "Stop talking nonsense, Amanda," stated her father angrily. Aron didn''t like hearing her talk like that.


    She was too young to think about marriage, and he felt it was inappropriate for Amanda to say that in


    front of Charles, especially after what she had told them at home.


    Amanda tilted her head slightly to the left, attempting to soften her dad''s heart with her cute look, and


    then said,"I didn''t say anything wrong."


    Her words made Aron even more embarrassed and slightly annoyed. Confused and frowning by this


    point, Charles attempted to rify,"What''s wrong with you?"


    "Let me tell you," intervened I. She then sighed and continued in an embarrassed tone as well,"The


    asked her why, and guess what she answered?"