"Howdy, stranger!" Paige lifted her eyes up to look at that exceptionally gorgeous smile that had entranced her at first sight and couldn"t help smiling back.
"How are you doing this fine day, Ms. Bai?" she inquired politely.
Xiu tapped her index finger on her chin thoughtfully, "Just a bit tired but I"m still doing very well. Thank you very much for your concern."
Paige chuckled a bit at her way of speech and stated, "I heard you were out of town."
"Yup just got back," chirped Xiu.
Paige raised her brow, "If you just got back, what are you doing here? Shouldn"t you be resting?"
Xiu bobbed her head up and down, "I was supposed to take a long nap but then I decided to have a late supper with my boyfriend first." Recalling something, she added, "That just reminded me, is he in?"
Paige nodded her head in reply, "Yes, boss is inside..."
Before she could add anything, Xiu went on, "He doesn"t have any meeting, does he?"
Paige shook her head, "No. But..."
"Then that"s perfect!" exclaimed Xiu as she clapped her hands happily and whirled around to walk towards Darren"s office.
Paige kept staring at her retreating back and mumbled, "You should let me finish first." Shrugging her shoulders, she added, "Well, you"ll know once you get inside anyway."
Inside the room, Darren was seated at his leather chair with a pile of doc.u.ments scattered before him on the table. He looked at the files then looked at the beautiful lady sipping on her coffee at the side sitting languidly on the sofa.
"Mama, why didn"t you tell me before coming?" asked Darren. He really wasn"t expecting to see his mother show up at his office so suddenly. He had been trying to convince her to visit for such a long time but she always refused by saying she was busy and now, all of a sudden, she just showed up.
"Why? Aren"t you happy to see me?" retorted Francesca with a bit displeased look.
"Why wouldn"t I be happy?" Darren got up from his chair and came to her side. He crouched down before her while he placed his hands on her knees saying, "You have no idea how happy I am to see you here. I"m just stressed now. If you had informed me sooner, I"d have finished all my work and cleared up my schedule. Now, how am I supposed to spend time with you?"
Francesca smiled affectionately at him as her hand stroked his head, "If I informed you sooner, how would it be a perfect surprise? Besides, I"m not disturbing you. You can still concentrate on your work."
"How can I work? I have so much to tell you. I want to take you to so many places. How am I gonna do that? It"s very rare for us to find time for each other."
Francesca chuckled at the way he was whining like a kid which was very rare in his case. Darren wasn"t like Dylan who would complain over every little thing or ask for attention all the time. But Darren wasn"t very different from Dylan as well. It was just that unlike Dylan, Darren didn"t like saying his needs out. He was a very sensible person who never bothered her. But it really made her feel guilty for not being able to give him the time that he really needed.
"Silly boy, I"m right here. You can just work and I"ll accompany you. What matters is that we spend time together as for how we do it, that shouldn"t be a big deal."
Darren pursed his lips together for a minute before speaking out his worries, "You"re not gonna leave, right? I mean you"re gonna stay with me longer this time, right?"
"You want me to stay longer?" asked Francesca.
"I do," answered Darren and even emphasized by nodding his head. "Can you stay longer? Please?!"
Francesca fixed his hair and nodded her head, "Of course, I can stay. For my one and only son, I"ll do anything."
Darren smiled widely as he heard her reply. He knew she didn"t just say those words. She meant it. Yes, his mother wasn"t always able to stay beside him but she was always there for him when he needed her. He had seen her giving up her everything for him and that"s why not even for a second was he willing to believe that those words were shallow.
"Now, chop-chop! Get to work. Don"t get distracted just because I am here," her light reprimanding made Darren smile wider at her.
He hurriedly went back to his seat and continued his work. Francesca was looking around his office when she asked, "How"s your girlfriend? And when am I gonna meet her? I have been hearing so much about her lately that I"m starting to get jealous."
Darren bit his lip. "Mama, are you here for me or Sweets?"
"Both," was her straightforward reply. "I"m here to see my son and also to meet the daughter he had chosen as a life partner." Her words warmed Darren"s heart instantly. "So, when am I meeting this new daughter?"
"Sweets is out of town. She"ll be coming back tomorrow. I"ll bring her to meet you as soon as she comes back. She"d be really happy to see you." Darren was already excited about his girlfriend meeting his mother. If there was one thing he was certain of, that was that his girlfriend and his mother were gonna be best pals. There was no way around it.
"Hmm... Good. It gives me enough time to buy a gift for her," said Francesca as she continued, "I came in a hurry and forgot that I was supposed to bring a gift for my future daughter-in-law as well. But n.o.body can blame me for forgetting, I"m quite oblivious to these formalities."
At this point, Darren knew that she was mostly chattering to herself like she usually did when she"d be trying to reason something.
"Mama, there is no need for any gift."
"What do you know?" Francesca gave him a displeased look which instantly shut him up. "I want to give something to my new family member. I just don"t know what to give. You gotta help mom with this..."
"Okay. I"ll do as you say..."
"Very well."
Francesca had just taken a seat back at the sofa when she heard a knock at the door. The door was pushed open and someone craned in her head with a wide smile.
"Hey, boyfriend! Missed me?"