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Therare vulnerability nagged at the back of my mind becausePoppyhad been acting uncharacteristically all night.Iknew her reservations aboutRosewere far from erased.Theway she still accepted my intrusion, putting up a limited fight, had set off the initial warning bells.Insteadof demanding answers,Idecided to tackle the problem later.WhatevertroubledPoppywas a more significant stressor than choosing betweenRoseand me.Ithad pushedPoppyright into my arms.
Inanother wildly implausible gesture,Poppyinitiated a conversation whileIpacked the laptop and projector. “Wetalked a lot about my family, but what about yours?Howwould they react if they knew you were romancing me with violent movies?”
“Unhappy,Ipresume,”Ireplied flatly, putting away the remaining items.
“That’san understatement.They’llhave you committed.”
Amused,Iconsidered the prospect. “I’vebeen thinking about taking a vacation.”
“Itmight be a permanent vacation if they find out,”Poppyprodded.
“Thenwe better make sure they don’t find out.”
“That’simpossible,” she argued. “You’rea celebrity with no privacy.Someonecan follow you here or leak our texts.Anyrestraint exercised against us would be considered disloyal if your family caught wind of it.They’llsay you can no longer perform your job because you’re compromised and fire you as theCEO.”
Iblew out a breath defensively. “Orthey’ll look the other way once we get married and merge the two biggest companies in our industry.”
DisconcertreplacedPoppy’scynical expression at the mention of marriage.Thesurety of it had slipped out after being cornered byPoppy’sdevil’s advocacy.
Sure.Myfamily would be ruthless in their dealings.Iwasn’t offended byPoppy’sinsinuation of their viciousness, merely irked at the suggestionI’dallow outside influence to dictate my decisions.
“Imeant,ifwe got married and combined our assets,”Itried to rectify the impulsive slip of the tongue. “Noone would be stupid enough to challenge the mega player monopolizing the field.Orturn down the pay bump from eliminating each other’s biggest competition.”
Thesound argument was met withPoppy’spensiveness.Shewas debating whetherIproposed a business plan or simply proposed.Moneywasn’t an incentive for people who had no need for it, andPoppysuspectedIknew as much.Thebad blood between our families was too deep-rooted and incurable.
Oursilent pondering in the dark ended whenPoppysuddenly leaped to her feet with the phone in hand.
“What’swrong?”Iasked.
“Youhave to leave now.”
“Why?”
Poppypointed at her room with a thumb. “Mycousin’s here.”
FightingAmbaniswasn’t howIenvisioned ending the night.Myback straightened with tension untilIcaught a glimpse ofPoppy’sphone.Ababy camera app on the screen displayed the video of a little boy.
“Youare babysitting?”Iasked somewhat incredulously.
Shetilted her head.
“Howold is he?”
“Two.Andhe might be waking up any moment.”Poppypocketed the phone and rushed inside. “Thanksfor the movie.Feelfree to let… climb yourself out.”
Poppyshot me an irritated look whenItrailed behind her instead of leaving, andIconcealed my surprise when she didn’t lock the doors on me.Sheopened her mouth, presumably to ask me to leave.Beforeshe could speak,Iplaced a finger over my lips, signaling her to keep quiet and not disturb the baby at the cusp of waking up.Shesnapped her mouth shut but continued to glare.Ipaid no attention to her, taking stock of her room instead.
Poppy’sbedroom was howIremembered it, gloomy but interesting, with a few new additions.Afoldable crib sat next to the bed adorned with baby paraphernalia and a diaper bag that said,Neil’sShit.
IjoinedPoppyby the crib.Insidewas the two-year-old, shifting restlessly from side to side and kicking off his blanket.Hewore black onesies that read “Stoptexting and change my diaper” across the chest.Nodoubt a satiric gift fromPoppy.
Poppyhovered by the crib on the fence whether the toddler was waking up or lulling himself back to sleep.WhenNeilstirred again, she picked him up and patted his bottom to check if the diaper was dry.Neilgave a soft cry, promptingPoppyto carry him to her bed.
Thedark linens on the mattress were meticulously tucked into the corners with military precision, indicatingPoppyhad made her bed rather than relying on housekeepers.Neilmade disgruntled noises as she lay on the bed with him, pulling a pillow under both their heads.Tinyfingers clutched at her strands, butPoppydidn’t pull away.Awarm body seemed to alleviate the little boy’s abandonment issues, andIwondered ifPoppypossessed the ability to comfort him due to personal experience.
Asif the scene weren’t astonishing enough,Poppydid the unthinkable.Withmy arms folded across my chest,Iwatched in fascination as she sang a lullaby to rockNeilback to sleep. “Monday'schild is fair of face.Tuesday'schild is full of grace.”
Shesings?
