by Emma Vikes
The question seemed to catch Ansel off-guard. He took a step back, turned around, and then shut off the burner boiling his pasta. He busied himself with preparing the food.
I knew he was doing this on purpose. He used to do this when we were still dating when he wanted to think about his answer.
Quietly, I went to his side and helped him plate everything. We worked side by side in silence, the same way we used to do and it honestly felt familiar to the both of us.
When we plated everything, Ansel turned around and faced me with a strange intensity in his eyes.
As I stared into his honey-colored eyes, I could feel him peeling off my layers with his gaze. As if he wanted to see through me like he was aware of the wall I’d built. But at the same time, I saw a vulnerability in his eyes I did not expect. He was peeling my layers but he was stripping his off away the same time. For some reason, everything suddenly felt intimate.
“It breaks my heart to know that you got divorced,” he began quietly and looked down at his slippers. “I knew you treasured marriage because of what happened to your parents. It hurts me to know that you’re going through the shit that I knew you always wanted to avoid.” His tone was so quiet as if there was a truth he wanted to be kept hidden in his words. “Then I also find out that you were unemployed for a month and raising your kid alone. I can’t let you resign knowing that you’re going to go back to what you suffered with a month ago. I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I let you.”
Facing me fully, Ansel reached out to touch my face.
I stayed rooted where I was, sucking in a deep breath while anticipating his touch. Something felt so intimate about this conversation and the way he looked at me as if he stared into my soul. It sent a shiver down my spine, a familiar sensation I hadn’t felt in a while.
That I’d only ever felt with him.
“I can’t let you go through shit again, Maia. Now that I’ve found you, I won’t allow it,” Ansel said quietly as the corner of his lips twitched into a small smile. “So stay here. Stay right here in Onyx Shrine. I won’t do anything that would make you feel uncomfortable and give you the space you want.”
“Why?”
It just seemed a little sad with how he looked at me when he said, “Because I’d rather watch you from afar, than lose you all over again.”
8
Ansel
Stay.
Over and over, the word echoed in my head like a broken record. A part of me couldn’t believe I had actually begged someone to stay. At the same time, Maia’s response repeated in my head too. Fortunately, she had decided to withdraw her resignation and stay with us but she rejected my offer to become Doug’s co-head chef.
Given her predicament, I really wanted her to take my offer. She must’ve struggled a lot and all I wanted was to help her out because I was in the position to do so. Yet, Maia rejected the offer but she did ask me to do her another favor. She felt bad for leaving Sage in Joanne’s care every time and asked if it was okay to have her come to the restaurant and let her stay there for the time being.
There was no way I wasn’t agreeing to this. Of course, I would let Sage stay with her at the restaurant. I’d spent the whole afternoon with her and I was aware of how well-behaved and well-mannered she was. She never missed greeting any staff she came across with a big smile on her face. Sage had such positive energy that I felt drawn to.
Even if Maia didn’t ask or if she didn’t want to, I would figured out a way to bring Sage around the hotel more often. I liked her presence even if she was the product of Maia’s romance with another guy. When I found out Maia had been married and she had a daughter, I didn’t know how I was supposed to wrap my mind around the fact that she had a kid with someone else.
It had never occurred to me that she would’ve gotten married and built herself a family. I knew it was always one of the things she wanted but I thought she would’ve gone for it later in life. I thought she would be building her career in her twenties and would get married in her early thirties or something close to that.
“Why are you suddenly ordering so much stuff for a little girl?” Joey asked after coming to my office with another package. This would be the fifth time that he came in with a new package delivered for me. During the weekend, I’d spent so much time shopping for things for Sage online. I bought her clothes and toys… anything I thought a kid her age might like.
After Maia had agreed to stay working with us and asked if she could bring Sage around the hotel from time to time, I wanted to make sure Sage would be comfortable here. I wanted her to feel like the hotel could be her second home. I actually considered giving her a room on my floor to make sure she would be comfortable here.
Shrugging, I opened the package and checked the items. “It’s for Sage. I like the kid, alright? She has this energy about her that I want to surround myself with. Is it wrong for me to spoil a kid?”
Joey narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously. “You never liked kids since I’ve known you, Ansel. Do you just want brownie points with the kid because she’s Maia’s daughter? I haven’t been asking many questions but I’ve noticed how much attention you give Chef Maia. It’s enough to draw everyone’s suspicion.”
I could only roll my eyes. I was aware everyone was talking behind my back and the attention I gave Maia was the main topic. I didn’t care but I’d been making sure to keep my distance, especially when people were around. I’d finally acknowledged Maia’s discomfort with my relentless pursuits and didn’t want her to hand in another resignation letter because of that.
Pointing at the packages, I said to Joey instead, “Have someone bring everything into my house and arrange everything.”
Joey sighed.
I knew he was frustrated with my lack of answers but I didn’t care. I’d been so public about pursuing Maia and it only made her want to steer clear from me. This time, I intended take things slowly and privately.
When Joey opened the door, he suddenly said, “Oh, hey there! What are you doing here?”
I leaned to the side to see who he was talking to and grinned when I spotted Sage.
She looked at Joey sheepishly. “I just got off from school and Aunt Joanne brought me here. I think they’ve settled with a different schedule wherein I don’t have to hang around the bakery too much.”
Still grinning, I stood up and motioned for Joey to leave with the packages.
By this point, he looked a bit confused.
I bought everything for Sage but I didn’t want to overwhelm her right away with the things I got her during the weekend. I wanted to build a rapport with her and make her feel comfortable around me. For some reason, I felt it was important for me to do so.
Sage came into the office and casually sat on the sofa. “Mom told me not to come here but I was really bored at the restaurant. She said I could roam around a bit or hang out by the pool but I thought I could just hang out with you.”
I cocked my head to the side and looked at her playfully suspicious. “You didn’t come here hoping that I’d let you play video games again, right?”
Sage’s eyes widened and she was quick to shake her head but a small grin appeared on her face as she did so. “Of course not! Mom said I’m not allowed to play video games during school nights, especially when I have homework. But I don’t have anything to answer or study for right now so I thought maybe you could think of something fun?”
I remembered how she wanted to swim last time but she didn’t have anything to wear. “Do you want to go swimming this time?”
Sage’s eyes sparkled with excitement and she eagerly nodded her head. “Of course!” But then a frown formed and she pouted a little. “I still don’t have anything to wear though.”
It was a good thing I’d kept that information in mind and bought her a couple of bathing suits to use. The only issue was that I didn’t know her size and all I could ever do was hope the ones I got fit her. “I thought you might say that, so I bought you a bathing suit. A
ll you have to do is get your mom’s permission to let you go swimming.”
Her light brown eyes were twinkling with delight as she squealed, abruptly standing up and rushing to me, wrapping her arms around me.
I froze when she hugged me and I didn’t know how I was meant to respond so I awkwardly put my hands around her too.
“You’re not the hugging type, I’m guessing,” Sage said as she pulled away from our awkward hug. She was still smiling though. “I’ll go ask for Mom’s permission but can I tell her that you’ll be with me? She might be worried if I go by myself because I don’t know how to swim.”
My eyebrows rose. She didn’t know how to swim? “You’ve been telling me you wanted to get in the pool but you don’t know how to swim?”
Sage shrugged lightly. “Mom had been meaning to enrol me in swimming lessons but we never got to it.”
I felt bad for her. Maybe they never got around to doing it because her parents divorced and then Maia struggled to raise her all by herself before she was fired from her previous job. I patted her on the head and stood. “You go to the kitchen and I’ll wait for you by the door, okay?”
Sage nodded eagerly then held my hand and tugged me out of my office.
I liked the fact Sage was comfortable around me even when this was only our second meeting.
She pulled me to the kitchen and let go of my arm when she reached the door. She was cautious to enter at first, signaling at a kitchen porter if it was okay for her to come in.
I watched as she interacted with the other staff. They were nice to her but I knew it wasn’t because Maia was in a higher position than them. It was the fact that it seemed impossible to be mean to Sage when she looked like an absolute angel. I watched as she approached her mom and tugged at her mother’s apron.
Maia looked down at her with a smile. Then, her eyebrows furrowed as she seemed to ask questions and then Sage pointed in my direction. Maia’s eyes locked with mine and I was frozen in place. Her lips were pursed and her gaze was unreadable. Then Maia shook her head.
Sage shoulder’s dropped in disappointment.
I took this as my cue to come in. “I’ll take good care of her,” I assured Maia.
Her gaze locked with mine again. “She doesn’t know how to swim, Mr. Moore,” Maia replied through gritted teeth.
I glanced at Sage who looked like someone just stole her favorite candy from her. I placed my hands on her shoulder and looked at Maia. “I’ll be right there in the pool with her, Maia. I’ll look after her and teach her how to swim. I swear.”
Maia looked around for a moment before grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me inside the pantry, telling Sage to stay put. She crossed her arms and glared at me with narrowed eyes. “She doesn’t know how to swim and do you think that I would trust her with you, of all people?”
Her words stung but I didn’t let it deter me. “There are lifeguards within the vicinity and I won’t even take her to the deep part of the pool. She wants to learn how to swim and I want to teach her, Maia. If you’re not comfortable with the fact that she’ll be left alone with me, then you can come with us.”
Maia glared at me but then turned her head to where Sage was.
I followed her gaze and saw how sad Sage looked. When I looked back at Maia, I could see the dilemma in her eyes. “Maia, you have my word that I’ll look after her and won’t let anything bad happen to her. But if you don’t trust me, I can bring Joey along.”
It wasn’t as if Maia and Joey were close but I felt like she would trust him more than she wanted to trust the guy who cheated on her.
She pursed her lips and closed her eyes and then finally released a sigh. “Fine. But only if Joey tags along. If anything happens to her, I swear I’ll have your head on the buffet table.”
I grinned and mock-saluted at her before rushing back to Sage and telling her the good news.
She squealed in excitement as she hugged her mom and pulled me out of the kitchen.
I laughed as I let her drag me. She was the one who punched the button that would lead to my floor and I liked how she was already so comfortable at the hotel.
“Don’t you have a house?” Sage suddenly asked as we stepped into my penthouse. She followed me to where the packages were located.
I had instructed a housekeeper earlier to set everything where I knew I could find them and everything was in the guest room. There was a spare drawer there and I knew they had neatly placed all the clothes there.
I took all the bathing suits I’d purchased and handed them to Sage, as well as extra clothes she could wear. “I don’t have a house. I think it’s more convenient for me to live here because I run it. As for these bathing suits, I’m not sure if they’ll fit you but the bathroom is over there so try to see which one fits you best.” Leaving her in the guest room, I went into my room, changed into my swimming trunks and a white shirt. I paused and texted Joey that he needed to be down at the guest pool area.
It felt weird to be going swimming in the pool for the guests since I had one here in my suite. But Sage liked that pool more than the one I had.
I waited for her to come out, so we could head out together.
“This is the only one that fits,” Sage announced as she came out wearing a black one-piece.
I nodded my head and made sure to note the size so I could replace the others. I had her put on a shirt and shorts and the two of us then headed down to the pool.
A small crowd waded around in the pool so we went to an area that didn’t have many people.
Joey was already waiting for us. He stuck out like a sore thumb in his suit and his annoyed expression.
I snickered at his sour expression as I went in first and realized it was a lot deeper than both of us expected. “Stay there by the stairs first. It’s a little deep.”
Sage had a determined look on her face though as she slowly went down.
Cincerned, I approached her. She held my arms and I guided her in the water and there wasn’t a moment when she showed she was scared. I taught her how to float first and we spent about half an hour doing that. Afterward, I taught her to swim short distances.
At some point, Sage came up and glared at me. “You keep moving backward!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I promise, I won’t move again.”
But over and over, I moved a little to lengthen the distance she had to swim and she would come up and complain and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. Sage was pouting and glaring at me when I approached her. I playfully ruffled her wet hair and then fixed it, so her hair wasn’t stuck on her face. Tucking a strand behind her ear, I told her, “If I don’t move back a little, how are you gonna swim longer distances?”
Sage let out a loud exhale but her mouth was still set in a grim line. “I still think it's mean.”
“I was doing it to help you,” I assured her. It reminded me of me and her mother so damned much. The same type of argument. “C’mon. I think we’ve been here for more than an hour. You must be hungry.”
At this, her stomach grumbled and she looked at me sheepishly. “I’m actually starving.”
I looked over at Joey as he sat right by where we were swimming.
He rolled his eyes but a small smile slipped over his lips. “I’ll have the kitchen staff prepare something for the both of you.”
We went back to the penthouse to change.
She changed into the clothes I had her wear earlier to cover herself. As we were heading to the lobby, she asked, “Why did you choose to live in a hotel?”
I glanced at her and then cocked my head to the side. “You’re really not letting go of that question, huh?”
Sage shrugged. “My teacher told me that it’s different when you live in an actual house. It turns into a home and a safe place for people. I think your penthouse can be a house but I don’t think it can ever be your home.”
Her statement piqued my curiosity. “Why?”
She sounded so nonchalant when she re
plied, “Because your house seems like it’s only meant for one person to live in, even with your guest room. It looks so formal and lacks the warmth a home should.”
Sage was seven years old and yet she was telling me all this. “Then how do you suppose I can give it the warmth a home has?”
She looked thoughtful for a moment as she weighed my question.
We arrived at the kitchen by then and Maia spotted us. Maia only glanced at me for a moment before focusing all her attention on Sage. “Did Mr. Moore teach you how to swim?”
I hated how Maia was making everything seem formal.
“Yes but Ansel keeps stepping away each time I swim to him!”
I felt happy to see her daughter had dropped all that formality when it came to me.
Maia looked at me.
I shrugged. “How’s she supposed to learn when she only swims a short distance?”
Maia chuckled and waved someone over. The snacks were already prepared for the both of us.
Sage and I sat down at a table by the breakroom then took a bite out of the roast beef sandwiches that had been handed over to us without hesitation.
Maia was fussing over Sage a bit while we were eating when Sage suddenly said something that took both of us off-guard, “Oh! Maybe you should bake cookies and brownies to make the penthouse seem homier!” Sage informed me with a toothy grin. “Mom’s not as good as Aunt Joanne as a baker but if you let her in your kitchen, I’m sure the penthouse will have the warmth it’s supposed to!”
God, I’m starting to love this kid.
9
Maia
I wasn’t sure how I was meant to take the sudden closeness between Ansel and Sage. It was clear to me Sage was comfortable in Ansel’s presence but she was like that with everyone. I didn’t want it to bother me more than it actually did. My daughter had the uncanny ability to befriend anyone she meets for the first time.
But…
I hated the fact that there was a, but. The fact Ansel warmed up to her so quickly ‒and just as easily as she did to him ‒bothered me. I knew he wasn’t the type to hang around kids. Hell, he hated it each time I forced him to tag along with me when I visited my sister because she had two toddlers at that time. Ansel was never good with kids and yet his dynamic with Sage said otherwise.