The Workaholic's Wife

13. Breakfast And Brownies

Scarlet

Cara, Evan and I were sitting on the dining table, silently eating the breakfast. The pin-dropping silence was disturbing but both Evan and Cara looked quite used to it. Now that I noticed, Cara always looked reserved in front of Evan and it was quite depressing. A girl of her age should not feel conscious before speaking in front of her father.

"Cara," I addressed her and she raised her head from the plate. "Would you like to come with me to the bakery?"

"Yes," she grinned excitedly. "I would love to." Passing her a brief smile, I took the last sip of my coffee.

Just then, the guard came inside. "There is a man outside who says he is here to pick you up." he said to me. Hearing that, Evan's attention converged to me as he assessed my face with his calculative yet gorgeous eyes.

"It must be Liam. I asked him to pick me up." I told him and then requested the guard to let him in. The way Evan's eyes narrowed told me that hearing this didn't make him happy.

"I will drop you. You don't have to ask someone else." he said, more like ordered.

"It's fine. Liam always drive me wherever I want to go because I don't have a car of my own." I replied.

"You can use any one of my cars." he argued but I didn't want him to think that I was taking advantage of his money. Besides, I was more comfortable with Liam because Evan just makes me nervous.

"Thanks for the offer but I am used to doing things in a certain way. Until I have a car of my own, Liam can drive me." I defended my stance but kept my voice sweet so Cara wouldn't think we were arguing.

Just then, we heard Liam's footsteps as he entered the dining hall. He passed me his signature wide smile and made his way to us. "Good morning everyone. I'm here to pick up my boss." he said and earned a groan from me.

"Liam, I am not your boss." I said, feigning anger.

"But you are, cupcake." he replied and I pouted.

"Have a seat, Mr. Clark." Evan interfered in his usual stiff tone.

"Oh, don't be so formal. Call me by my first name. You can consider me family, Evan." he chuckled as he rested his arm on my shoulder. The look on Evan's face told me that he didn't appreciate Liam's carefree nature and neither did he find his actions cute.

"Sure, Liam," Evan said through gritted teeth and if looks could kill, Liam would have been dead but my friend didn't even seem to notice it.

"Cara is going with us as well," I told Liam, changing the direction of our conversation.

Liam's smile widened as he turned his attention to Cara. "Is it true? How will I work normally with your royal highness supervising me?" he asked and Cara giggled in response.

I was smiling while looking at them when Evan suddenly stood up. "It's getting late. I should leave." he said dryly. George came running towards us to hand Evan his suitcase and files and together, they both made their way out of the dining room.

"He is like a grumpy old man," Liam whispered in my ears while Cara got busy in finishing her milk.

"He isn't that bad." I have no idea why I had this urge to defend him. Maybe because he was really not that bad, if we ignore his occasional dry attitude and the abnormal urge to work.

"Really?" Liam raised his eyebrows.

"Really." I said and Liam's eyes narrowed teasingly. "Shut up, will you?" I huffed, feeling flustered all of sudden.

"I didn't even say anything." he laughed in response, making me blush red. I didn't want him to think I had any fascination towards Evan but things were not going according to my wishes.

..........

"And then you mix your dry ingredients with your wet ingredients?" I said, uniting everything in the mixer.

Cara was standing beside me, carefully noticing everything with full attention. She was wearing a mini-apron, her long hair in a tight bun just like me so that we don't end up with hair in anything.

"And then, we will pour our batter in this baking tray." I said and let her grip the bowl. I kept my hands secured around her tiny hands so that she won't end up spilling everything.

"What is next?" she asked, looking genuinely interested.

"Now we will put it in the oven." I said and wore the oven mitts. After setting the time, I took off the apron and helped Cara do the same.

Together we both made our way to the counter where Mrs. Denise was waiting. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Denise. How is Robert?" I asked with a polite smile.

"He is okay. But that old man sometimes gets on my nerves." she rolled her eyes. Mrs. Denise was a kind, old woman who lived few steps away from the bakery. She and her husband were always involved in cute fights yet they loved each other more than anything.

"I am sure he does," I said and picked up her bread. "Here, just like you asked. Banana bread but with a hint of cinnamon." I gave it to her.

"Thank you sweetie," she said and paid for it. "And who is this little angel?" she asked, looking towards Cara who smiled shyly in return and hid herself behind me.

"This..." I pulled Cara closer to me. "This is my daughter." Hearing this, Cara looked up at me with a radiant look on her face.

"I didn't know you had a daughter." Mrs. Denise smiled.

"Well, I do." I chuckled.

After she left, I picked up Cara and put her down on the counter. "Are you tired yet?" I asked.

"No," she shook her head hard.

"Okay, we will check our brownies in twenty minutes. Do you want me to pack some for Daddy?" I asked.

"No, he won't like that." she said innocently.

"Why? Of course he will," I told her.

"Daddy doesn't like me much." she said with a hint of sadness in her eyes. My heart melted at the innocence in her voice and I stared at her face for a long, silent moment. I had no idea what was going in this cute, little head of hers.

"He does, Cara. Daddy loves you so much, more than you can ever imagine. He just doesn't know how to express his love for you." I muttered to her, trying to erase all the doubts from her mind.

She nodded, as if she understood every word I say. She was definitely a very intelligent girl, probably because of Evan Parker's genes. At the end, she whispered, "So will he like my brownies?"

"Of course he will," I said and pinched her cheeks, at which she started giggling. Although I was smiling with her, my insides were still clenched because of Cara's words. This girl needed the love of her father and I would do anything to give her that, even if I have to bear some of Evan's wrath.

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What would be Evan's reaction on eating the brownies?