"Daddy!"
A sweet voice of a six-year-old girl put a stop to the bantering in the living room. The three men looked up at the railings; Christian rushed to the stairs when his daughter began running down.
"Be careful, Sam!"
The little girl didn't listen as she knew her daddy would catch her if she stumbled on the stairs.
"Your home! I thought you wouldn't come back until tomorrow," Sam said to her dad when she landed in his arms.
Samantha glanced over her daddy's shoulder, traveling her eyes to the living room just to be disappointed.
"What's wrong?" Christian noticed the strange behavior of Sam. She looks expectant about something. "Why aren't you sleeping yet, by the way?"
"I'm just excited," Sam replied with a disappointed voice.
"And why are you excited but look disappointed now?" he asked.
Christian brought Sam to the couch and put her on his lap. He asked further, "Have you texted Hobert to buy you a present or something, but he forgot to tell me?"
Hobert immediately pulled out his phone and his boss's cellphone to check all the messages they had received today.
He sighed with relief when he found none from the princess. Otherwise, he probably lost his job before the sun rose the following morning.
Samantha shook her head and replied to her dad.
"No. But my great-grandpa promised that you'll bring me a mom when you come back tomorrow."
Christian drops his jaw on the floor. Instantly, he throws daggers at his grandfather, who doesn't show any trace of guilt that he plots a crime against his grandson.
'And what has this sly old fox been telling my daughter!?'
Christian wanted to confront his grandfather, but not in front of his daughter.
Hobert, on the other hand, almost peed on his pants. The older man never misses executing a beautiful shock in his and his boss's lives.
'He never gives up!' Hobert thought, suppressing himself not rolling on the floor and laughing on his stomach.
This time, the chairman went overboard. He set up a dinner meal for his grandson to sleep with someone. And what next? Are they going to blackmail the girl or something?
Hobert realized he almost became the accomplice of the chairman's crime. 'This chairman is always a sly fox!'
Christian, calm himself. He must not let his annoyance display in front of his daughter, so he puts a smile on his face.
"Sweetheart, sometimes your grandfather only talks nonsense. You must not listen to him, especially since I didn't agree."
Samantha is perplexed by what her dad is telling her. But one thing she understands; her dad doesn't like her wish.
"Do you mean I won't have a mommy?" The little girl asked her daddy, squeezing a few tears out of her eyes. Her great-grandpa had already told her that her dad might disagree with the idea, so she must convince him.
It's the reason Samantha tried her best to look sad in front of her father.
On the other hand, Christian secretly clenched one of his knuckles into a fist. He had a strong hunch that his grandfather taught his daughter.
Samantha is a good kid. She rarely throws a tantrum over something. And the idea of having a stepmom would not be injected into her innocent mind if no adult constantly mentioned this to her.
Christian shoots a dagger in his grandfather's direction, who is calm and remains composed, showing an innocent face while sipping tea.
'He acted like he didn't scheme me today!' Christian helplessly roared inside his heart. He badly wanted to confront this older man, but he could not do that in front of Sam.
"Let's go, Sam. I'll put you to bed now. Kids should not stay up late at night."
Christian got up from the sofa and brought his daughter to the second floor. He had long strides climbing up the staircase.
On their way, Samantha brought up the same topic again.
"Daddy, why can't I have a mommy?"
Christian felt how his heart pierced with a sharp object.
Samantha's mom got into an accident when she was seven months pregnant. The doctor declared they couldn't save the mother, but they could take out the child through CS since it was already 28 weeks old.
But Samantha didn't grow up healthy. Samantha would be seriously ill if it weren't for Dale's fortune.
It's why Christian worked hard and had no time to have a relationship after losing Sam's mother.
Besides, how can he be sure that his girlfriend would treat his daughter nicely?
He had a stepmother, and he grew up mistreated. The reason he hates stepmothers and stepbrothers. Yes, he has a real issue with them.
Gratefully, his cunning, sly fox grandfather took him in and raised him under his sight. What's more? His father was kicked out of the Dale family along with his stepmom and stepbrothers.
News reached him that his father built his own company, but it's not as big as the company he manages now. It was nothing compared to how he brought Dale Enterprise to its peak success.
Thanks to his grandfather for standing up to him, he lived well and was raised as a decent man. Therefore, he could not entirely go against him but overlooked his grandfather's nosiness in his private affairs.
However, this time, his grandfather went on an all-out scheme to trap him in something.
If he didn't inherit his cunningness, he would already fall into his trap, and tomorrow he was on the headline that a noble single dad for six years finally with a woman in the same bed.
It's not a secret to the high society that he deliberately rejected all blind dates and arranged marriages; neither was he seen with a woman.
All of his time is only about work and his daughter.
"Daddy..."
Christian put his daughter so gently down on the bed. He treats his princess like a fragile doll. Thus, he would not let an outsider touch his daughter.
And so, he needs to do something to end his grandfather's crazy ideas about how to corner him and suddenly have a wife.
"Good night, sweetheart. Let's talk some other time, okay?"
Samantha didn't respond. After a few moments had passed, she nodded and closed her eyes.
"Good night, daddy."
Christian placed a loving kiss on his daughter's forehead before he left the bedroom.
He returned to the living room just to find his grandfather talking to someone on the phone.
"Don't worry, Douglas. I assure you Christian will sign the contract first thing tomorrow. Also, I am not giving up. I have plenty of time setting up my grandson."
Christian chuckled and shook his head, listening to the older man. He was there standing on the staircase, and he could hear the conversation. Still, his grandfather really has a thick face, boldly mentioning how he will continue scheming with him, which involves someone's employee!
Christian walked past, ignored his grandfather, and went to the kitchen instead.
Chairman Dale sneered at his grandson for being so proud and arrogant!
'It looks like I indulge him so much when he's young!'