With the arrival of his son, Matthew resented that he was not able to spend much time having fun with him.
However, he also had a job. He couldn’t just drop everything without a care and just stay at home.
If not for Clarissa’s vehement refusal, Matthew would have really brought Damian to work with him.
That day, Matthew had been dawdling. He had already eaten breakfast but was still reluctant to leave for work.
Matthew was waiting for Damian to wake up. He greeted the boy, hugged him, and played with him for a while before leaving.
This was also why Clarissa was urging him to leave.
“Goodness, do you know how long Donnie has been waiting for you? You said it would only take a while, but it’s been half an hour!”
As Clarissa was nagging at him from the sidelines, Matthew was still feeding Damian. His meticulousness made Clarissa a little jealous.
“Matthew, didn’t you hear what I said? Why aren’t you leaving?”
Clarissa tutted, seemingly irritated.
Matthew raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. He put down the cutlery, patted his son’s head, and walked over to Clarissa. Matthew snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her close into his embrace.
He angled his head and brushed his lips over her mouth, but Clarissa tried to push him away. She struggled a little before Matthew finally let her go.
He furrowed his brows, but Clarissa prodded his chest hard, motioning him to look the other way.
The pair turned around to look at Damian, who was staring at them with his mouth smeared full of ketchup. The kiss had caught his eye. His eyes bore a strong resemblance to that of Clarissa’s, which exuded an innocent air. He looked at them curiously, but there was also a hint of shame.
Matthew was the first to recover from his surprise.
Indifferently, he placed his arms around Clarissa before turning to look at his son. “Damian, your parents have a good relationship. Daddy loves Mommy, and Mommy loves Daddy too!”
Damian struggled to climb off his chair, then ran over to them.
Matthew reached down to pick him up since Damian ran straight towards them.
Both their faces were stained with ketchup, and Clarissa couldn’t help but burst into laughter. She looked at Matthew enquiringly, but he did not seem to mind.
Damian’s voice sounded cheerful when he responded. “Damian loves Mommy and Daddy too!”
“Alright, I know you love us. But let’s go back to the table, darling. Daddy has to go to work. You must let daddy earn money so he can buy you more gifts, okay?”
Damian was set down again. After hearing his mother’s words, he then waved at Matthew.
“Daddy, you can go to work now. Make money and buy gifts for me!”
Matthew grinned and shook his head with a smirk. Reluctantly, he left.
After Matthew left, Clarissa pouted and muttered, “I have never seen you this reluctant before.”
“Mommy?”
Damian did not catch what his mother said.
Clarissa picked up some tissue and wiped his mouth clean. “I said that Daddy really loves you. Do you love Daddy too?”
Damian nodded enthusiastically.
“What was that? You love Daddy more than me?”
Damien pondered over this for a moment, as if he were carefully weighing out the gravity of his answer.
His hesitance made Clarissa a little unhappy.
She playfully pinched her son’s ear and giggled. “Well, you’re so mean! Didn’t you say that you love me the most?”
“Mommy, I love you the most! I love you so so so so so much! More than my toys!”
Damian’s assertion seemed to satisfy Clarissa.
Mostly because she knew that he loved his toys so much.
Clarissa smiled and kissed the top of his head. “Alright, eat up.”
Damian smiled very flatteringly before busying himself with his food.
Clarissa did not bring her son along with her but instead left him in Zen Highlands. He could then explore the grounds on his own for a while.
Although Damian was a bit sad and started crying at Clarissa’s departure, he was easily coaxed with chocolates and a new toy. He then waved at Clarissa.”
“You can go off to work, Mommy. I’ll be a good boy and wait for you to come home.”
Seeing how her son reacted, Clarissa was worried that someone could easily kidnap him by luring him with toys and food.
It took a while before Clarissa arrived at the studio. When she reached, she brought Mandy along and went through her usual day’s work at the media company. Plenty of discussions were had on the script and its scenes. At the end of the meeting, she was asked to decide on the cast.
“In terms of the cast, I trust in the decisions you have made. You’ve always selected some decent actors. As long as you think they are the right fit, feel free. I don’t have an opinion on this.”
“Well, Mr. Yates and I think that since you’re the creator of the story, there would be some differences in how you’d want to approach it. I think your opinion will add weight and a few surprises to the production.”
Clarissa may have been the creator, but she truly did not have much of an opinion. It had to do with how busy she was taking care of her son of late.
Clarissa seemed somewhat embarrassed, but Conrad stepped in. “Of course. But if you have the time, I think you should also just take a look. If you’re too busy, it’s fine too. We’ll not force you. Some of the actors could use a few pointers, though.”
“Alright, thank you, Conrad, Mr. Yates. I’ll take my leave.”
“Ah, it’s no rush! Since we’re done with work, we should also have a meal together. There are two actors we have in mind. If all goes well, we’re casting them as the lead actors. Why don’t you tag along and get to know them a little? They already know of someone as famous as you are, but they’ve not had the opportunity to meet you yet. This would be a perfect chance for them. Besides, you’d have to meet them eventually, so it would be ideal if you were friendly to each other.”
Clarissa also knew that this was necessary.
Getting to know the cast first was ideal. It would be better than the whole fiasco involving Shermaine in the first drama, who ruined the show before it was released, after all.
Clarissa nodded in agreement. “Very well. I’m going to make a call first and notify the family.”
Conrad smiled and asked, “Aren’t you from W City, Ms. Quigley? Is your family not there?”
“Yes, my family lives there, but I brought my son here. I’m still a little anxious.”
“Your son?”
Maddox and the other producers were shocked. They did not know what to say.
Clarissa had no choice but to explain herself. “Yes, my son. Sorry, but I really need to make this call.”
Conrad and Maddox looked at each other, visibly surprised by the news they just heard. They also seemed to have other thoughts on the matter.
Rumors were circulating about Clarissa. Although, scandals would have been a more apt term when describing the nature of the gossip. They were curious about whether or not she was involved with Robert Johnson.
As such, they never expected Clarissa had a child of her own.
Were the rumors fake after all?
The pair seemed to be thinking the same thing and exchanged a glance. Although they knew about secrets that other people were unaware of, it was not useful information to them.
After all, they were not the type of people to sell secrets and gossip. They were all friends here, and this had nothing to do with them whatsoever.
Soon after, Clarissa turned around and beamed at them both.
“Alright, we can go. However, I might have to be back early, or my kid will be upset.”
“Got it. It’s just a meal, and there’s nothing else planned.”
After the bunch of them left the company, they were surprised at how cold it was. Snowflakes drifted about the air amidst a backdrop of flickering neon lights.
Being in a major city, the most difficult thing to deal with was the heavy traffic.
Clarissa looked out of the car window, observing the falling snow. Her thoughts drifted to how unhappy Damian sounded earlier, knowing that neither chocolates nor toys would be able to pacify him anymore.
Just then, Clarissa felt a pang of guilt.
When I leave for work, does he feel sad? He does cry so piteously whenever I go and is reluctant to let me leave. I always have to make up excuses or leave in secret so that he doesn’t notice.
Come to think of it, doesn’t his heart break every time I leave?
The heart of a child desired nothing more than his parents. Neglecting a child was just irresponsible parenting at best.
Fortunately, Matthew would be going home first to keep their son company.
When she arrived at the restaurant, Clarissa entered a private lounge. The three of them first sat down and chatted amongst themselves. A while later, two groups of people walked in.
Clarissa glanced over and was introduced to the two A-list celebrities. One was Leonard, a mature and attractive actor who became popular because of a period drama. The other was another popular actress named Skyler.
Clarissa knew of them but had yet to be properly acquainted. Having met them now, she found that they were quite friendly.
They both had a clean rap sheet, were not involved in any scandals, and seemed to be serious about their craft. Clarissa reckoned that she would get along with them just fine.
As the conversation went on, Clarissa thought that they seemed like decent individuals.
Leonard spoke very little, being a married man with children of his own. He looked and seemed like a sensible person. Skyler was also a little shy initially due to how they were strangers. After a while, however, she even managed to engage in a hefty conversation which Clarissa gladly participated in. It could have been the fact that they were both women and thus had more in common to discuss. However, Skyler was still much younger, and there was a generational gap in how they both communicated. Still, she found Skyler interesting.
Halfway through the meal, Clarissa’s phone rang.
Clarissa hurriedly answered the call as she walked outside. Before Matthew could get a word in, Damian started speaking.
“Mommy! Daddy and I are here to take you home. I miss you!”
Given how loud his voice was, everyone in the lounge could not help but look at her.
