Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Henry's cute little face popped into Vincent's mind; he remembered spotting him once, all snuggled up in his mom's arms downstairs when two gorgeous girls had come looking for Leo. Little did he know, Henry was Andre's kid. And Leo...

Vincent felt his knees go weak. Even with winter on the horizon, cold sweat dripped down his forehead, making his legs feel like jelly. He started pondering if he'd ever done Leo wrong in the past.

The office was dead quiet. Andre's presence was like a force field, pressing down on everyone, making them instinctively hold their breath. Even the little one, tucked snugly in his dad's arms, seemed to sense it and stayed calm. "Heading home?" Andre asked his long-lost nephew, trying to make peace though his voice was still chilly.

Leo glanced at his messy desk and shook his head stubbornly.

Andre let out a fiery breath, realizing he'd offered Leo an easy way out. Frustrated, he grabbed his son and turned to leave.

Henry's gaze lingered on the cardboard box on his brother's desk.

Anya dashed after them, "Uncle, where you off to?"

"Back to work."

"I can look after the kid for you."

Seeing his son, or should I say, his little 'bundle of fun' squirming, Andre held him tighter and walked off.

Watching the elevator go down, Anya leapt for joy, then rushed back inside to Leo. "Chad, your uncle's here to take you home."

Leo glanced at her, knowing his uncle's visit was no accident. "We'll settle this later."

Anya cheekily stuck out her tongue, unfazed.

A colleague nervously asked Leo, "Leo, you and Andre, you know each other?"

Leo collected the documents, "He's my uncle."

The revelation hit everyone like a bombshell.

Anya, not done stirring the pot, pointed at the TV showing the news, "And that's my dad, Chad's father."

Bruce!

Yep, the Cedillo brothers: one a political bigwig, the other a business tycoon.

Vincent suddenly recalled a past chat with Leo, "What's your dad do?"...

Everyone was stunned again, eyes glued to Leo. Vincent almost popped a vein, Paige looked between the TV and Leo, caught between hope and dread, while Lee, sweating bullets, realized his secret beef with Leo was about to bite him. Anya, enjoying the chaos, clung to her boyfriend's arm, playfully.

Leo, looking at the "show-off" Ms. Anya, felt helpless but not mad; she was his sweetheart, after all.

Turning to Vincent, Leo handed Anya the documents, "You handle this."

"On it!" Anya chirped, stuffing everything into the box.

Standing before Vincent, Leo noticed his unease and gave a small smile, "Out of the hospital, huh?"

Then, he delivered another kick, not as hard as last time, and this time, nobody dared to help Vincent up.

Anya jumped but got back to packing.

Before leaving, Anya faced Paige, "Hey, I'm Anya. My dad runs Calder Corporation. No clue what our company's worth, but yours? Not even on our radar for a buyout. Anyway, meeting you was a drag."

With a skip, she returned to her boyfriend. Then, as if remembering something, she doubled back to Paige, "Oh, almost forgot, I was already getting millions in allowance back in grade school."

As the elevator arrived, "C'mon, Chad." Anya gleefully hopped in.

The doors closed.

"Did you do that on purpose?" Leo asked, his gaze softening with affection.

"Nope." Anya replied sweetly, "Uncle just came to pick up the kid."

Anya had realized after her uncle's hint yesterday. The kid was a "link," the crucial connection for her uncle and Chad to meet!

Her uncle's sudden appearance at the company wasn't without purpose. A man of his stature wouldn't show up for just anyone, apart from his wife.

So, she brought the kid over, giving her uncle a reason to show up, making the situation seem perfectly normal and giving both her uncle and Chad a graceful exit.

Plus, her uncle's mere presence, without saying a word, could solve all of Chad's issues-such was his influence.

"Yesterday, we went to Cedillo Inc., and I heard the little one call you dad, right there with you."

Anya felt a twinge of guilt, "I was worried about Chad."

The elevator doors opened, Leo handed back the documents to Anya, "I'll deal with you later."

In the car, Anya whined, "Chad, it's heavy. I don't wanna carry it."

"Henry's not heavy? You lift him every day with a smile."

Anya blinked, deciding honesty was the best policy. Sitting with the box, she daydreamed, "If the kid hadn't left, he'd be chilling in this box."

Leo scoffed, "Why did you suddenly reach out to your uncle?"

Anya quickly explained, "Yesterday,

Paige told me you were heading to jail, and her dad wanted to hold you accountable. That would screw up your future studies. She wanted me to be her dad's mistress for twenty grand a month."

Leo turned to her, "What else did she say?"

"She said being with me would ruin your life. That for a man, career comes first I'm not scared of the rest, but I don't want to mess up your studies. I didn't plan to apologize to her dad. Yesterday afternoon when I called and got no answer, I thought the cops had you. In a panic, I went to my uncle."

Anya had weighed her options, thinking about asking her aunt, who was stressed about her uncle's studies, She feared her aunt's temper might cause more drama, and her uncle would be upset if he

found out about Chad's issues that

way.

If she asked Dad for help, he was out of town and wouldn't arrive soon. Even if he did, Dad is Uncle's biggest fan and would definitely spill the beans. Uncle would find out everything eventually. Plus, compared to seeking help from his uncle, Chad definitely wouldn't want to lose face in front of his future father-in-law.

Her uncle, being a cop, if he got involved, it would look like misuse of authority, which isn't right.

Since there was no way around Uncle, she decided to go straight to him. Plus, this move might help them interact more and ease tensions.