The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Kent quickly agreed, "Sure thing."

Don looked at him, surprised, "Didn't peg you as a kiddo lover."

Kent kept his cool, "No biggie. As Mr. Crawley's right-hand man, | handle all sorts of personal errands for him. Taking the kid for a

spin every now and then is no sweat."

Don nodded as it made sense, "True that."

Brandon caught Kent's drift but didn't call him out on his white lie. He had no plans to let Kent babysit. He was going to take care of

his own daughter.

Sophia just smiled at Kent, keeping her lips sealed.

The two weren't officially an item yet, and it wasn't the tto stir the pot. One wrong move and they might back off.

Going with the flow was the best move.

Kent clearly saw the understanding in Brandon and Sophia's eyes and coughed awkwardly, steering the conversation back to work,

"Oh, Mr. Crawley, there's an international meeting at eight tonight. | was wondering..."

"Schedule it for daytime." Brandon cut him off, "No working late."

Both Kent and Don were speechless.

Sophia was taken aback to hear "no working late" coming from Brandon of all people.

Back in the day, he'd drive back to the office to burn the midnight oil even after coming hif work called for it.

Sophia glanced at Theresa, quietly eating, and had to admit that Brandon might really turn out to be a great dad.

When they had divorced, she often wondered who would be the girl to break Brandon's rules, never guessing it would be their

daughter.

Sophia felt a mix of relief and complexity in her heart, hard to pin down.

Don thought of Theresa and gave Brandon a thumbs up, "Looks like you're clearing your schedule for daddy-daughter time!"

Kent, being more observant and privy to the details of Brandon and Sophia's marriage, coughed lightly and chimed in, "Mr.

Crawley's taking tfor his wife and kid."

"Right, my bad." Don said with a chuckle, grabbing his glass, "I'll take a punishment for that."

He poured himself a drink, downed it in one go, and then poured another, raising it to Sophia and Brandon with newfound

seriousness, "Congrats, you two."

"Thanks."

"Thanks."

Sophia and Brandon responded almost in sync, lifting their glasses for a toast.

The mood at lunch was pretty chill with Don and Kent there.

Especially Don, an old buddy of Brandon's, knew his back story like the back of his hand and seemed keen on playing matchmaker

for Sophia and Brandon. He'd bring up embarrassing childhood and teenage tales of Brandon, giving Sophia a peek into his past.

Sophia just smiled the whole time, listening to the guys dish out Brandon's skeletons. It was a side of him she never knew.

These were things she should have learned during the early days of their acquaintance, the two years of their marriage, yet here

she was, getting to know them two years post-divorce. It felt odd.

Sophia realized she wasn't excited or looking forward to this new knowledge, not even curious.

It was an unpleasant feeling. She missed the heart-flutters from her student days and early marriage when she'd hear snippets

about him from others.

Brandon noticed Sophia's calm and subtly shifted the conversation elsewhere.

Both Don and Kent, sharp as they were, sensed the tension and smoothly redirected the talk to other topics.

Only Theresa, innocent of the adult undercurrents, looked around wide-eyed with curiosity after her meal, not grasping the

conversation.

Once everyone had set down their tableware, Brandon turned to Theresa and asked, "Theresa, have you got enough?"

Theresa nodded, "Yep."

Brandon then looked to Sophia, who also nodded, "I'm full."

Don and Kent followed suit, "We're all stuffed. Let's head out."

Brandon glanced at his watch and motioned for the server, "Check, please."

Kent quickly stood up, taking the bill from the server, "I've got this."

"Let me," said Brandon, taking the bill from Kent's hand and readying his phone to scan the code when his phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID and cut it off, only for the phone to ring again from the snumber.

Kent hurried to take the bill and pay, but Sophia reached out for it first.

"Take your call. Sounds like someone's got a fire to put out." Sophia told Brandon, taking the bill, "I'll cover it."

"No need," Brandon dismissed the call again, scanned the code, and paid. As soon as the payment went through, the persistent

caller rang once more.

Brandon answered, "Hello?"

The private room was noisy, and with Theresa seated between them, Sophia couldn't hear the other end. She just saw Brandon's

relaxed face tighten slightly, and then quickly regain composure as he calmly replied, "Okay, got it."

He hung up, and turned back to Sophia and Theresa, "Got surgent work stuff. Gotta step out. Can you take Theresa back to

the office?"

Sophia nodded, "Sure."

Brandon looked to Don and Kent, "Take Sophia and Theresa to the company for me, will you? I'll be out for a bit."

Kent rose, concerned, "What's up? Needto handle it?"

Brandon gestured for him to sit back down, "No, just look after Sophia and Theresa."

After saying that, he turned around, wrapped Theresa in a hug, and softly whispered a goodbye before placing Theresa back into

Sophia's arms and heading out, his pace quickening.

"What's going on?" Don couldn't hold back his concern and asked, "Should | go check it out? Kent, how about you take Sophia and

Theresa back to the office first?"

Kent nodded, "Sure thing."

Don turned to say farewell to Sophia, "I'm gonna join Brandon and see what's up. You guys head back first."

"Okay." Sophia nodded, "Callif anything comes up."

Don flashed an "OK" sign with his hand and then quickly made his exit.

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