Another Man's Treasure

14. Are You Two Dating?

An instant smile is on my face.

"Uncle Nay-nay!" I stand up when I see her smiling and rushing towards me and I pick her up for a tight hug.

"Daisy!" I try to match the same level excitement as her. "I missed you."

She slightly frowns. "I missed you too. Why you never come anymore?"

My mother greets me then says: "She really wanted you to come to her reticle last week, and boy was she mad when you didn't show up."

I give Daisy a small smile, and then kiss her cheek. "I'm sorry, it's just I've been busy with-"

"Work?" Daisy surprisingly finishes my sentence. "It's okay I forgive you." She wraps her arms around my neck once more, and I smile to myself.

"Thank you for sparing me, Princess Daisy."

She giggles and then wiggles out of my arms to go sit in my chair by my desk.
Pretending to call someone on the phone whilst writing something down.

"Daisy, dear please don't do that." My mom tries stopping her.

I chuckle. "It's okay. Let her play."

My mom and I walk to the small sitting area that's by the window. An exquisite art piece hangs on the wall infront of it, with a whiskey tray on a table right beneath it.

"I thought you weren't looking for anyone right now?" She asks raising a brow, and I know exactly where she's trying to get at. "You going to tell me who she is, son?" She smiles mischievously.

Here we go again...

"You know how the media can be. They always overexaggerate. She is...just a friend."

"Oh, okay that's nice. Luckily the backlash against Amelia has died down abit, right?"

"I don't think so, mom. But that's non of my concern." I try changing the subject. "How have you and dad been?"

She smiles at me. "Your father and I have been good. With Daisy around everything's perfect, we just want her to be happy."

I nod. "Which school you'll be enrolling her into, though? Private, online, or public?" My mom scrunches her face when she heard 'public'.
"What? Don't you think she should socialize more with kids her age instead of going to those strict ballet classes?"

"She actually really enjoys those classes. Maybe it's that Barbie and the Ballet shoes movie?" She chuckled

She continues. "But I just don't think she's ready yet. I don't want it to overwhelm her."
I look down for a few seconds, then over at Daisy.

"Does she ask about him?" I carefully ask. "Do you think she remembers him?"

My mom thinks for a moment while painly looking at Daisy too. "She asked once or twice about his photos around the house. She said she keeps seeing him, on the pictures hanged up on the walls, and also once in a dream she had."

Turning to look at my mom with a frown, I say, "Subconsciously she remembers him... And what about Delilah?"

"Nothing. She hasn't mentioned her at all."

Before I can say anything, small footsteps approaches us. Daisy turns to me. "That was fun, maybe I should become a businessman." She says.

It's crazy to think that what I have now should be hers, all of it. She's the heir to the company.
Who knows? Maybe one day she will understand everything that happened and would want this. It's her choice. But for now, patients is key.

"Businesswomen" My mom corrects her. "or a boss babe." Daisy and her laughs fills the room.

....

Madison~~

I took a taxi back to my unpleasant apartment. As I'm standing by the wide window by my small living room and watching the rain, there's a piercing rachet happening behind me.
My landlord, Carl, got a repair guy to fix my door for me. The sounds of the drill isn't that annoying to me but I just wish I wasn't here right now. I hate this place.

"I'm all done, ma'am."

I turn around, looking straight at him, only noticing now that he's way younger than me. I walk till by the kitchen counter, searching in my purse for money to pay him.
"Here you go. Thank you, it looks brand new."

He smiles at me, he's black eyes blinking softly. "Thanks, uhh. I uhm- I."

I raise my eyebrows.

"Can I get something else?"

I frown. Is he asking for more money or...? "Something else? Like what?"

The smile never leaving his face, he says. "Your number. May I have your number, please? I'd like to take you out for dinner sometime."

Flabbergasted, I ask. "How old are you? You look young, why would you want to take a old miserable woman like me out on a date?"

"I'm 21. How old are you?"

Before I could answer him, a voice comes from behind, from the hallway. "You know, if somebody has to ask another person's age, then the person that asked is probably too young. Don't be weird."

It's Shelly. She stands with a cigarette between her fingers, watching us from her door.
"Beat it kiddo." She presses.

The young man immediately starts packing up his tools and materials, when he's done he looks at me. "Sorry." Bows his head and leaves.

Shelly laughs after watching him go down the stairs. "He has mommy issues." And takes another hit from her cigarette.

"How do you know that?"

"I'm good at reading men, but maybe I'm wrong, you're a attractive woman so men must be drooling over you."

For the first time in weeks a real laugh escapes me and it feels refreshing, too bad it's only to cover up my own insecurities.
No man would want me. "My love life is nonexistent."

Surprisingly, Shelly is smiling at me. "Would you like to come in for a drink?" She asks, crunching the now short cigarette into the ashtray that is in her other grasp.
"Some tea? You look like you like tea."

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16 March 2021.
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