"That's enough. Didn't you say you are hungry? Let's go." Edward rolled his eyes. As much as he wanted to give his father a hard time, he couldn't let his son get starved. Therefore he had to compromise.
"Yeah! Let's go! Eddie...hahaha!" Justin laughed out loud and dashed out of his father's office before Edward realized how he had addressed him. He knew Edward would be furious, so he practically ran for his life. Justin wasn't foolish.
"Justin Mu! Do you want to get punished?" As expected, Justin heard Edward's furious growl as he ran out of his office. Shuddering in terror, Justin ran forward without seeing where he was going. He accidentally bumped into Rain who was on his way towards Edward's office.
"Hey, little boy. Why the hurry? Watch your step!" Rain caught the little boy who staggered behind a few steps after running into him. He shook his head and sighed. The entire 88th floor could hear Edward's growl. He wondered what Justin had done this time to piss his father off.
"Uncle Rain, why did you come in my way? Ouch, it hurts!" Justin brushed the tip of his nose with his finger and grumbled with a pout. He looked adorable.
"Hey! Are you serious? You came out of nowhere and bumped into me! How could I possibly know it in advance and avoid the crash? And by the way, what have you done this time to upset your daddy?" Rain had always been a carefree optimist. It delighted him to see that someone was pestering Edward, since he couldn't do it himself.
"Uncle Rain, it's impolite to pry. Don't you know that?' Justin knew Edward would spank him if he gave away his 'nickname', so Justin decided to keep his mouth shut.
"Oh, come on! You are one to talk about 'impoliteness' with me. You are as insensitive as your father! What have I done wrong? I don't understand why you both team up to pick on me. I feel hopeless." Rain accused Justin and Edward with an exaggerated look on his face. He felt he was being attacked by everyone he met that day.
"Hey! Is that you, Rainy Honey? You've grown lovelier since the last time I saw you! Why do you feel hopeless? Life is full of hopes." Cynthia gazed at Rain with a hint of sly glowing in her eyes; she appeared younger than her age.
"Hahaha!" Rainy Honey! Seriously? Justin burst into laughter once again. He had underestimated his grandmother! Rain was a handsome guy; but the nickname 'Rainy Honey', made him sound girlish. It was hilarious! However, Justin thought the name perfectly suited Uncle Rain, since he often looked more beautiful than women.
"Auntie Cynthia, you're getting more gorgeous over the years. I bet uncle Jonathan keeps busy driving away all the flies around you." Rain didn't expect to see Cynthia, so he was pleasantly surprised. It seemed that Cynthia hadn't aged a day since they met last time. It was unbelievable! Was she an eternal fairy? Rain couldn't believe his eyes.
"What did you say, Rainy Honey? What flies? Are you implying that I'm trash? Are you tired of living? I'm happy to help you if you are!" With a sullen face, Cynthia hit Rain hard on his back. However, deep down, she was grateful that Rain and Edward were still friends after all this time.
"Auntie Cynthia, I wouldn't dare to! I'm not insane! I wouldn't dare make fun of you!" Rain was telling the truth. He still remembered how protective Jonathan was when it came to his wife. He shivered at the thought of Jonathan's grand aura. Rain wouldn't dare to challenge Jonathan under any circumstance. He wanted to stay alive and find Annie. He'd better keep a low profile and act discreetly until he found Annie.
"Are you done with your work? I'm seeing a lot more talking and a lot less working." Edward glanced at Rain with a frown. Lately, Rain had been using every opportunity to slack off on the job. He spent all morning sitting around, doing nothing in Edward's office, and now he was wandering outside the office?
"Boss, don't be so mean! It's lunch hour! See? I am allowed to have lunch, right? You won't violate the Labor Law by making me work off-the-clock, will you?" Rain could talk slickly with almost anyone. But when his counterpart was Edward, he always lost.
"Of course you can have lunch. But I need all the reports on my table by tomorrow morning. Got it?" Edward retorted with his eyebrows raised. Did Rain just mention the Labor Law? It seemed Edward hadn't made himself clear, and he had to warn Rain in a clearer and more effective way.
"Well... Don't bully me! Auntie Cynthia! Look at your son! I work so hard for him, yet he bullies me like this every day!" Rain turned to Cynthia and tried to play the innocent victim. Edward's face twitched in disbelief, 'How old is he? Being childish at this age? Does he think he is Justin's little brother? How shameless!'
"Ignore him, Rainy Honey. Let's have lunch." Edward had always been cold and indifferent to her, therefore Cynthia was thrilled to have someone at Edward's age who would play cute in front of her. That was how things should be between a mother and a son!
Rain smirked and winked at Edward, 'See?' The process was not important as long as one got what he wanted in the end! Now that Rain had Cynthia to back him up, he wasn't afraid of Edward anymore.
Justin and Edward looked at each other and rolled their eyes at Rain's dirty tricks. Edward shrugged. Rain felt safe being cute in front of Cynthia but that was only because Jonathan was not there. Edward knew that Rain would beg for mercy once Jonathan showed up; no one could protect him after that.
Senior employees of the FX International Group were familiar with Cynthia, however, all the workers on the 88th floor were new. They didn't know who Cynthia was. When they saw her coming into Edward's office with Justin, they assumed she was Justin's new babysitter. Later, everyone including Anna was shocked when she called Rain 'Rainy Honey'. It didn't occur to them that such a young and attractive woman would be Edward's mother. Some of them assumed that Cynthia was Edward's stepmother, which would explain why such a young woman like Cynthia would have a grown-up son like Edward.
As they walked out of the building, they saw Jonathan stepping out of the car. He was tired of waiting and was about to go upstairs to find them. He and Edward were alike; they didn't wait for anyone unless it was someone really special. Jonathan would have left if it weren't for Cynthia.
"Uncle Jonathan, you are giving me a serious complex." Although Rain was scared of Jonathan's grand aura, he forced a smirk in front of him. However, he was freaking out inside.
"Am I?" Jonathan still remembered that Rain once called him 'brother'. Did he and his son really look like brothers? Rain should have called him 'uncle'!
"You are. I keep wondering whether you will still look like this when I reach your age. How am I supposed to accept that?" Rain forced an aggrieved look and pretended to shed fake tears.
"Don't worry, uncle Rain. You'll still have me." Justin held Rain's hand with a sweet smile. Justin thought he was the only one to be surprised by Jonathan's youthful looks which obviously didn't match his age. It turned out that Rain was even more surprised than him. Justin could tell from his exaggerated tone. But did he really have to?
"Knock it off, little one! My day has been completely ruined by your family. I'm still trying to piece up my broken heart here." Rain felt like he was the most pathetic person among them. He should have seen it coming when Edward shoved him out of his office in the morning.
"Aren't you coming? And stop playing cute. It doesn't suit you." Edward knew what kind of person Rain was. He was pissed off not only because Rain was annoying, but also because he could get along well with Jonathan and Cynthia. Jonathan seemed much nicer to Rain as compared to Edward.
Justin made a face at Rain and joyfully ran towards Edward's car. He loved his grandparents, but he loved his father even more. He had gone through a lot to earn his father's love; he seized every opportunity to stay by Edward's side.
When it came to dining habits, Jonathan was quite different from Edward. Jonathan didn't like to dine in a private room. Edward knew this about his father so he chose a quiet restaurant, for the fear of too much crowd. No sane person would enjoy being watched like a monkey in the zoo, let alone someone as sullen as Jonathan.
Edward was used to be the cener of attention wherever he went. Now that he was with his father it was a hard to ignore combination.
Okay let's sit here! Cynthia knew Jonathan's preference, so she chose a quite table by the window to avoid much attention from other clients from the restaurant. She also did it because she didn't like it when other women stared at Jonathan with love and lust in their eyes. Jonathan belonged to her and no one was allowed to gaze at him.
Life is not that simple. Sometimes when you tried so hard to avoid someone, they turned up unexpectedly and catch you off guard. There's nothing you could do about it except feeling distressed and annoyed. As they were about to start their lunch, that's exactly how they felt when they saw the people in front of their table.