Chapter 6 I Don’t Want Her Near Gregory
“Well, I…” Tessa cast the briefest of looks at Nicholas, unsure how to answer Gregory’s question.
The next second, the little boy’s eyes turned red, and he pressed his lips into a thin line as he tried to keep from crying, but alas, his tears fell anyway.
His tears alone were enough to make Tessa’s heart shatter into a thousand pieces.
To one side, Kieran felt his heart twist at Gregory’s silent crying, and he quickly interjected, “Just let her carry him for a while, Nicholas. What’s the rush? Besides, this lady is going on stage in a bit, so she could just bring Greg into the hall and get right to the performance afterward. I mean, look at our baby—he’s crying! If Mom sees how puffy his eyes are, she’s going to freak out.”
Nicholas frowned, and his sharp gaze lingered on Tessa for a long moment. What is it with this woman? What did she do to make Greg so obsessed with her? But he didn’t want to see Gregory cry, either, so he maintained his composure as he said in clipped tones, “If it isn’t too much of a bother, Miss Reinhart, then we’d be much obliged if you could keep our Gregory company for a while longer. He’s just a child, and he can be a little clingy, so we hope you won’t mind.”
Instantly, Tessa shook her head. “Oh, please, there’s no need to be so formal. It’s no trouble taking care of him at all.” Frankly speaking, she was far too fond of Gregory to think of minding him as a chore, though she was admittedly surprised that Nicholas would allow an outsider like herself to take care of his son.
Gregory, on the other hand, did not dwell too much on this. He had cheered up considerably after his father had given the green light, and in his trademark childlike voice, he said, “Thank you, Daddy!”
Then, he hastily turned to look up at Tessa with adoration. “Pretty lady, you still need a violin, don’t you? I’ll take you to see Grandma’s huge violin collection, and you can pick whichever you like!”
Tessa nodded indulgently. “Alright, lead the way.”
With his spirits clearly restored, Gregory happily reached out his little hand and pointed out directions to Tessa.
Just like that, the both of them retreated from the vicinity of the VIP lounge and headed toward Madam Sawyer’s makeshift music room on the yacht.
Now that Kieran and Nicholas were the only ones left behind, they exchanged a quick look of disbelief. The former was the first to muse in bewilderment, “Wow, don’t you think Greg is being a little too generous here? Mom wouldn’t even let anyone breathe on her violin collection, and she only put them out on display because it’s Greg’s birthday today. Are we just going to let him bring outsiders into the room and borrow whichever instrument they wanted?”
Nicholas’ gaze darkened, but he said nothing as he watched Tessa and Gregory interact with each other up ahead.
Turning, he addressed the bodyguard next to him in a low voice, “Tell me everything about what happened earlier, and don’t miss out on any of the details!”
The bodyguard knew better than to keep him waiting, so he quickly recounted all that had taken place outside the orchestra’s lounge that led up to this present moment between Tessa and Gregory.
Having heard all that, Nicholas merely frowned. As far as he could tell, Gregory was the one who had offered his affections to the woman voluntarily, without her having done anything. But the little guy has never been this close to any outsider before, so why this woman? What’s so special about her?
Nicholas was still pondering on this when Kieran suddenly recalled something next to him. Rubbing his chin pensively, Kieran said quietly, “I remember Greg saying that he wanted a certain violinist to perform for his birthday, and he even told me her full name. Do you think that woman is the violinist he was talking about? If that’s the case, then… Greg must have met her before.”
When he heard this, Nicholas’ expression grew stormy.
“Nicholas, I think there’s something off about this woman! Maybe she’s trying to get close to Greg with some ulterior motive in mind. We have to be on guard.”
“As soon as the performance is over, I don’t want this woman anywhere near Gregory!” Nicholas barked coldly.
“Of course. Leave it to me,” Kieran promised solemnly, looking grim.
…
In the music room, Tessa was shocked when she was greeted by the sight of the dozens of precious, priceless violins displayed before her.
Of all the violins here, the cheapest one could fetch close to a million, and if there were an accident, she shuddered to think about how she was going to pay for the damages.
Just then, Greg reached upward and pointed at the violin on the highest shelf, then told one of the bodyguards behind them, “You there, take that violin down for us at once.”
Without wasting a second, the bodyguard did as he was told.
Gregory looked at Tessa meaningfully. “Pretty lady, this violin suits you.”
When she took a proper look at the instrument, she felt her heartbeat skitter to a stop. The violin presented to her was handcrafted by one of the most renowned violin makers in the world, and it was worth at least ten million. Asking me to play symphonies on this will only add pressure to my performance!
Presently, Nicholas and Kieran were standing in the doorway as they watched this scene with mild interest.
Perhaps swayed by Gregory’s insistence and somewhat bemused by Tessa’s subsequent hesitation, Nicholas spoke up coolly, “Miss Reinhart, seeing as it’s Gregory’s birthday today, you should take the violin for your performance if he likes it so much.”
Judging by the hard assertion in his tone, Tessa realized he was not offering room for negotiation or rejection. Nonetheless, she was still skeptical when she heard this, but she caved in and took the violin as graciously as possible. “In that case, I… Thank you, President Sawyer.”
Nicholas nodded curtly. “This violin is the only one of its kind, so I hope you can bring out its best, Miss Reinhart. We wouldn’t want Gregory to be disappointed now, would we?” With that, he lifted his arm and checked the time on his limited collector’s edition wristwatch, then pointed out, “The banquet is already starting. You may leave to get ready for the performance now, Miss Reinhart. I’ll bring Gregory out of here. See you later at the ceremony.”
Then, he deftly took Gregory out of Tessa’s arms.
Reluctant to leave, Gregory stared at Tessa wistfully and muttered, “S-See you at the banquet later, pretty lady!”
Nicholas did not spare him the chance to protest or dawdle as he spun on his heels and marched out of the music room without looking back at Tessa.
When his retreating figure finally disappeared from sight, Tessa let out a small sigh of relief.
She would be lying if she said she did not feel Nicholas’ wariness and aversion toward her, but she couldn’t blame him. Gregory was an important child, after all, one who stood to inherit the Sawyer family name and fortune. It made sense that he was under such intense scrutiny and protection at all times.
