Always Been Yours (Tessa and Nicholas)

Over at Sawyer Group, Nicholas was still in the meeting when he got a call from Andrew. As soon as he heard that Gregory had gone missing, he stood up abruptly and walked out of the conference room with a steely expression, announcing through gritted teeth, “Dismissed!”

There was no hiding his anger and hostility. The sheer incompetency! What’s the use of keeping the staff if they can’t even keep an eye on a toddler?!

He looked more mutinous than he had seconds ago as he boarded his car. Just as he was about to rush back to the manor, his phone rang with an intrusive trill.

It was an unknown number, Nicholas noted, but he was in such a daze that he mispressed and answered the call instead of rejecting it.

As soon as the call was put through, an awkward female voice filled the other line, stammering, “H-Hello, President Sawyer. It’s me, Tessa, the violinist who performed at Young Master Gregory’s birthday banquet the other day. Do you still remember?”

She heard no response, but what she did hear was her heart thumping wildly in her chest. She wasn’t so presumptuous as to think Nicholas would still remember her after their brief meeting on the yacht, but then again, that wasn’t her priority at the moment.

Clearing her throat, she explained promptly, “President Sawyer, Gregory has come to the orchestra building to look for me all on his own. I was concerned that you might be looking for him, so I figured I’d give you a call. If it’s not too much trouble, could you please come and bring the little one home?”

Nicholas’ gaze darkened ominously at this as he said icily, “I see. I’ll be over right now. Thank you.” Then, he hung up the phone decisively and gave his assistant a call, snapping irritably, “Find every bit of information you can on a woman called Tessa Reinhart right now—her childhood, her accomplishments in school, every single detail there is to know about her!”

Keeping his phone, he stepped on the accelerator and sped over to the Heavenly Chorus Orchestra company building.

…

to get to the building in record time,

stormed through the main entrance of the orchestra building, anyone could

of him, Tessa straightened up and greeted him stiffly and awkwardly,

quiet, not daring

to their uneasy demeanors, Gregory was happily seated down, his little legs dangling over the edge of the chair as he looked entirely

depths of hell, as he demanded darkly, “Gregory. Sawyer. I don’t know where

the thunderous

to see the pretty lady, but you went back on your word, so I have no choice but to come here

He couldn’t deny that he had been stalling Gregory, hoping that he might eventually forget about the promise,

kid. I’ve been really tied up at work, but I did try to free up

working! Don’t think I don’t know that you see me as a dumb

Tessa sputtered aloud

but he, too, was amused. The rage that had welled up in him seemed to disappear after the little guy’s grumbling. Having calmed down, Nicholas went on to cajole the

and stumbled over to Tessa on his little legs, then scoffed at his father contemptuously once more as he snapped, “You can go home on your own if you want to, but I want to stay

his announcement, he wrapped his little arms around Tessa’s leg like a stubborn baby