Gabriel had sat there cursing people that were the cause of his current predicament, under his breath as he turned on the TV. When Maria and Helen exited the dining room, they saw Gabriel in such a mood.
'He looks pissed' Helen thought as she was heading over to the sofa but when she noticed Maria wasn't following her, her eyes shot towards the stairs and she saw Maria slowly climbing them. "Where are you going?" Helen asked
"I'm giving Kali a bath and also taking one too" Maria said
"I'm coming with you. I wanna explore" Helen said as she rushed up the stairs and clung to Maria
"You're not a kid, you know?" Maria said as Helen was now the one pulling her up
Gabriel continuously glanced at the two of them until they were no longer visible and he sighed
'It's no wonder I had a perverted dream about Maria. My body's still reacting to that stupid nightmare, like it was real' Gabriel thought as he got comfortable on the seat and shut his eyes. Before he knew it, he had dozed off.
"Gabriel? Gabriel. Wake up" when he heard his name, he opened his eyes and they met with Maria's. Her hands were on his shoulders and it looked like she was tapping him. Looking away from her eyes, he noticed she was in nothing more than a bathrobe. "You shouldn't be taking a nap here" she said "Freshen up and take a nap in your own room if you're still tired"
"How long have I been asleep?" Gabriel asked
"An hour, maybe" Maria said and he sat up only for her to hear the doorbell "Who is it?" she asked as she let go of Gabriel's shoulders and headed for the entrance door
'It's most likely Mr Chu' Gabriel thought as his eyes focused on the entrance door before standing up and moving in that direction
As soon as Maria slightly opened the door, she saw Chu Cheng standing outside with two small bags
"Mr Cheng? What are you doing here?" Maria let out
"Miss Maria? Do you live here?" Cheng asked before looking at her get up "And why are you wearing a bathrobe?"
"First of all, I forgot to tell you this, but, I'm Mark's kids' nanny" Maria explained "And secondly, I was bathing the baby and had to run out when I heard the doorbell"
"Oh. Sorry" Cheng said
"Either way, what are you doing here?" Maria asked
"Master Wayne asked me to come"
"Gabriel did?" Maria asked before she felt a hand pull at her waist and her body slammed into muscle. Her whole body shivered under the touch of the person. "W-What do you think you're doing, Gabriel?" she asked
"I need to talk to Mr Chu. You're keeping him at the door" Gabriel said as he rested his head on her shoulder and pulled the door open, fully. "Come in....and shut the door behind you" he said while pulling Maria back to the living room
Cheng was confused as he entered inside and shut the door behind him 'What kind of relationship do these two have?' he wondered as he followed them into the living room
"What are you thinking?" Maria asked as she released herself from him
"I should be asking you that question" Gabriel said as he looked took in her whole figure "Although a bathrobe does look nice on you, are you trying to seduce me?"
"You beast. Pervert. Who would want to seduce you?" Maria asked and Gabriel raised a brow which made her purse her lips "Forget it. I'll go change" she said before heading upstairs
When she was gone, Gabriel turned his attention to Cheng
"How long do you plan to stand?" Gabriel asked irritatedly as he sat down where he was sitting before
"Sorry, Sir" Cheng said as he sat on another sofa "Forgive me for asking but...what kind of relationship do you have with Miss Maria?"
"She's the nanny of my godchildren. I have to at least try and get along with her" Gabriel said "However, I...don't trust her one bit. Everything about her is weird"
"Sir...if I may speak..."
"Spit it out"
"Don't you think you're overreacting about this too much?" Cheng asked seriously "I believe she's just a nice, well breed, young lady. Plus, a lot of us directors respect her....especially, me and Mr Fisher of Technology" he said and Gabriel raised a brow at him which made him keep quiet
"What's going on the company?"
"I heard from my subordinates that you got into a fight with Miss Maria yesterday and seriously injured her"
"Why does everyone love to bring up the same thing?" Gabriel grumbled "I already apologized to her several times after that" he got out of his seat frustratedly "Anything else?"
"I was shocked to hear, there were already new people sitting in the director of fashion and finance seats" Cheng said
"Mark did that without my permission and put Maria's friend in the seat of director of fashion" Gabriel said with a frown as he sat back down
"Well, if it's someone close to Miss Maria, then, it should be fine"
"Fine? I've only met that woman two times and I already hate her. She's crazy and a savage" Gabriel said "Don't get your hopes up"
"It's not like the ice sculpture to complain to his underlings" Helen said mockingly as she came down the stairs with her phone to her ear and a bassinet under her arm
"Did I forget to mention, she's disrespectful?" Gabriel said while resting on one hand
Helen faced her palm towards Gabriel "I seem to have stumbled across some trouble....I'll call you back" she said as she put her phone away and put her hand down. She dropped the bassinet on the sofa Gabriel was sitting on and adjusted it "I'm not going to argue with you....at least, not for now" she said
'The difference between her and Miss Maria is like day and night' Cheng thought when he stared at Helen
She was wearing a black turtleneck, with coffee chino pants and black ankle boots. Coupled with gold climber earrings and a matinee necklace.
After Helen had finished adjusting the bassinet, she turned towards Cheng "Good morning. What brings you here?" she asked
"M-Morning. The sir asked me to come" Cheng said
"You're the respectful type. But you've been staring at me for some time now. Is there something you want to give me?" Helen asked and Cheng placed his hand in his suit pocket before taking out an access card and tossing it towards her. She caught it and read through it
"You're Miss Helen Ashley, right? You're the one taking over the fashion department" Cheng said
"I am" Helen said "Thanks for delivering this" she waved the access card
"Well, I'm Chu Cheng. The director of transport" Cheng introduced
"Nice to meet you" Helen said briefly before turning her attention to Gabriel "Anyways, ice sculpture...."
"Didn't Maria tell you to call me by my name?" Gabriel asked
"Don't care" Helen said
"You're Miss Maria's friend right?" Cheng asked and she glared at him "Miss Maria most likely has respect for Master Wayne. Can't you at least...."
"You seem to be mistaken about something, Mr Chu" Helen said "Maria isn't my friend. She's my older sister"
"Your surnames are different" Cheng pointed out
"We're not related by blood. But, Maria raised me...in a sense" Helen said "The sweetness and innocence she has now, was what I had when I was a kid. But my father and mother hated everything about me...hated me enough to kill me. My father suggested it" she said "I hate men....that's the only thing I know. They have a horrible habit of judging without understanding anything. Mr Ice sculpture, you don't know anything about me and Maria, nor do you know our suffering. And Mr Lawyer, remember that you'll lose a case if you defend the wrong person without knowing anything"
'I seem to understand why Master Wayne hates this woman' Cheng thought 'It's as though her whole action is threatening you. And the Master, hates being threatened' he glanced at Gabriel who seemed much calmer compared to him
Just as Helen was about to say something, Maria came downstairs with Kali in arms and the twins closely following her
"Helen, have you set the bassinet?" Maria asked but then, she noticed how silent the room was
"I have" Helen said
"Did you...get into a fight with Gabriel again?" Maria asked
"Nope" Helen said
"Really? Gabriel's mood seems to have gotten worse than before and Helen you're glaring" Maria said before dropping Kali on Gabriel's chest
"Hey. Yesterday is proof that I don't know how to care for babies" Gabriel said as he put a hand to hold Kali's back "Moreover, even the baby's glaring at me" he said as he looked down and saw Kali raising her head to look at him grumpily
"Support the head" Helen said "Kali is probably angry because you're the reason Maria isn't carrying her" Gabriel glared at her
"Ignore her. Kali makes that face whenever she wakes up, has just been fed, or uncomfortable. It's all of them right now because, she has a rash" Maria said before changing the topic "Also, Gabriel, Mr Cheng, I apologize on Helen's behalf. Appearance and characteristics aside, she's a very reliable person. You'll see that once she starts working with you"
'Well, if she says so' Cheng thought before glancing at Kali's face 'She looks like Miss Maria'
"Aunty Maria, can we open the presents now?"
"Sure. You can take them up to your rooms and open them" Maria said
"No, they open it here. I need to make sure your savage friend, didn't buy them a gun" Gabriel objected before looking down and seeing Kali sound asleep "Also, is it normal for her to sleep like this?" he pointed at Kali
"First of all, I didn't buy them a gun and lastly, it's normal" Helen said as she slowly took Kali from Gabriel without waking her and dropped her in the bassinet
"Well, since Helen is fine with it..." Maria's voice trailed off as she noticed the twins had already moved towards the boxes at bags sitting on the floor near the TV. She let out a sigh as the twins looked at her innocently "Go ahead" she said before sitting next to Gabriel
"Alright, first gift" Dan said as he picked up a yellow box and shook it "Sounds interesting"
"If you want to know which is yours, there are names on it" Helen said before squatting next to them "For instance, that's for the baby"
"But Kali can't open it" Cia said
"Your parents will open it" Helen said and Cia searched for the rest of Kali's gifts before giving them along with the yellow box to Helen "You two are more well behaved than I thought" she said as she carried them and dropped on them on the sofa where Cheng sat
Cia picked up a red box with her name on it and shook it before ripping open the box and taking out a white, stuffed animal
'A stuffed animal?' Gabriel wondered
"I love it. White is my favorite color and it's a rabbit too" Cia said as she hugged the stuffed animal "It's so soft"
"I didn't know you like stuffed animals, Cia" Dan said "You don't have any in your room"
"Well, I didn't like them before" Cia said
"And now?" Gabriel asked
"After holding it, I realized why other girls like them...it's soft" Cia said
"Fine. My turn" Dan said as he searched for one of his gifts
"Be sure not to touch the bags yet. You'll open them at the same time, later" Helen said
"Okay" Dan said as he instead, took out a black box "Why's it black?" he asked and Helen shrugged. As soon as he opened it, he brought out a black cap "I like it" he said as he put the cap on his head
"There are four left" Cia said "It's my turn again" she said as she picked out a large pink box "I hate this color"
"Don't blame me, the shopkeeper ran out of other colors" Helen said and Cia pouted before opening the box and pulling out a violin
"Tch. Cia is getting better presents than me" Dan complained
"Am not. Open your large box and we'll see what you got" Cia said and Dan did just that before pulling out a trumpet "See"
"Oh. It's equal" Dan said
"Can I play this?" Dan and Cia asked at the same time
"Do you two even know HOW to play?" Gabriel asked "Plus, you know who, is very hard to put to sleep" he said while pointing at the bassinet
"Good point" Dan said as he dropped the trumpet and Cia dropped the violin
"On to the last one" Cia said
"Is there a guest bedroom on the this floor?" Helen asked
"Yes" Maria said "Follow the corridor leading toward the dinning...the last bedroom on your right"
"Good" Helen said "Kids, grab the last two and head to the guest bedroom"
"So you did buy them a gun" Cheng said worriedly
"Of course I didn't" Helen said "The last gift, is something they need to change out of their clothes for" she turned her attention to the kids "Let's go" and just like that, they were gone
"I hate it when your friend messes with me" Gabriel said
"Well, I can't do anything about her behavior" Maria said with a chuckle and Gabriel kept staring at her
"Sir...." Cheng called out
"What is it?" Gabriel asked and Cheng handed the small bags he brought to him
"I still have things to do at the company so....I'll be taking my leave" Cheng said
"Sure" Gabriel said with a sigh
"Miss Maria, Master Wayne, take care" Cheng said before standing up ready to leave
"Have a safe trip back" Maria added
"I will" Cheng said "Well then, excuse me" he left and Maria was alone with Gabriel
The room was silent and awkward as Gabriel kept glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. The sound of Helen's boots made the two to turn their heads towards the corridor
"This is my last gift for them" Helen said as she gestured to the twins
Cia was dressed in a navy blue, floral print, halter dress with a white headband to pull her hair back. It was beautifully designed and had flowers on the skirt and belt of the dress while Dan was wearing the black cap he got with a white graffiti Tee and dark blue Capri shorts.
"Don't we look cute?" Cia asked and Maria smiled
"Of course you do" Maria said
"Summer is coming soon. So I thought....why don't I design something for them as a gift this summer" Helen said
"You designed this?" Gabriel asked then he remembered the fashion designs that were littered around when he was searching the duplex for Mark
"It's a hobby of mine, that was never recognized" Helen said "At least...not until now"