The Hurdle of Love

Chapter 3

ETHAN

I pulled off my suit and rested my back against the couch. My plate has been overflowing, work has been crazy busy for the last few days, and to make matters worse, Dad's Will was thrown into the mix; it had me stressed. I had been going nonstop on it for months now.

“Daddy.” I opened my eyes to look at my daughter, who stood there with a glass of water, Anny right behind her.

“Yes, baby,” I smiled at her.

“I brought you water, Daddy.” She meticulously brought the glass close to me. Her eyes glued on them like sharing a flash would pout the water.

“Oh, you did? That's so sweet! Thank you, princess.” Taking the glass cup from her, I drank it and placed the cup on the table beside me. “Come here” I picked her up and plopped her on my lap. “I’ll put her down for the night,” I told Anny.

“No, it's fine, son. I’ll wait.” Kaira rested her head on my chest and aimlessly toyed with the shirt button. Anny has been staying with us for as long as I can remember; she is already part of the family. She had always been there for me and treated us as hers. Mom has been busy lately with other assets Dad left us with, so if I could trust anyone else with Kaira, that would be her.

“It's okay, Anny,” I insisted. “You should get some rest now.” With considerable hesitation, she nodded.

“Goodnight, son”

“Goodnight.” Nodding, she departed, leaving us to bask in each other's presence. Kaira's presence alone always had a way of calming my frazzled nerves.

“So, do you want to talk about what happened at school today?” My fingers delicately combed her hair as I asked.

“Nothing unusual but today I wrote a poem. Can I read them to you later?” Her sleepy murmurs nestled into my chest as I softly hummed.

“Daddy,” she broke the silence after a brief pause; she leaned away, and her eyes looked on mine.

“Tomorrow is a free day, right?” She inquired in a glimmer of hope that her dad wouldn't have plans for the weekend as well. I felt a twinge of remorse for not devoting more hours to her.

“Yes, baby.” Her eyes, which had recently been in drowsiness, immediately lighted up with excitement. “Can we go for a smoothie tomorrow?” I chuckled.

“Definitely. Want me to take you to the best spot for smoothies?” I asked, but a pout came upon her face instead of the radiant smile I was anticipating.

“No, Daddy, we will go to the Daner.” It took me a moment to register what she was saying.

“Diner?” I gently pointed out the mistake, to which her embarrassed smile acknowledged.

“Yes, I want to meet Emily again. I saw her last Friday.” The mention of some Emily prompted an instant, bright smile radiating all over her.

“Who is Emily, Kaira?”

Her smile grew even brighter. “Emily is my best friend.” Her effusive tone, shows her deep fondness with this person, probably some server she knows from the bistro.

“Bedtime, princess; we’ll meet your friend tomorrow. Agreed?” She nodded in entity before encircling her hands around my neck tightly. As she nestled into my shoulder, I couldn't help but smile at her eagerness for a lift to her bed.

EMILY

“Bon appetit!” I extended a friendly, yet brief smile to the one occupying the last table before turning back to my counter. I'm not a French person; I just heard this from one of the servers.

The dining area was crowded today, preparing to take another customer when I heard Kaira’s voice.

The moment that followed was chaotic. I turned around, and everything happened in a twinkle of eyes. She collided with Victoria, another waitress who lost her footing, shattering glasses of juice on the floor.

“Jeez! What the heck!!” The lady at the adjacent table emitted a terrified yell. I looked at her dress, and it was in a complete mess by the drinks.

There was a moment of pandemonium, followed by a perfect silence.

“I'm so sorry-” Victoria's sentence was cut short by the fury lady.

“Will you keep quiet? Will your apology get this mess off my dress?” She scowled at her before she turned her scorching stare at Kaira and I felt a sudden heart jolt.

“And you, why were you running around? Does this place look like a playing ground, uhh?” The poor girl shrank away at her voice and so did I. With the way she was staring at her, one would think she was about to hit her.

“I'm sorry, miss,” Kaira apologized softly as tears streamed down her cheeks, but that didn't change the barking of the fury lady.

“Oh, you should be, you little thing.” I was boiling inside as to how rude she was, even to a little kid. I quickly checked around to see if anyone was streaming. Because with the way things are going, all this will be an episode of ‘If It Were You What Will You Have Done?’ But that wasn't the case; Kaira is not some kid star; she is a regular customer here as well.

“Miss, please can you calm down? She is just a kid; I request you don't speak to her like that.” I drew Kai close to myself, taking the impact of her wrath.

She fixed me with a piercing gaze. “Oh really?! Please tell me how to speak to her”

“I completely understand that you are upset. But this was just a mistake. You are taking this too far already, you are frightening her.” Talking to a stone! Every word didn't have an impact on her.

“And why on earth do you think you are to lecture me on how to speak, uhh?!” Damn! She exploded and I was almost taken aback.

“A nice person? Too bad we can't say the same about you, though.” I looked back at her as the Teen Crew sitting behind her stifled a laugh. Am I doing the right thing? I'm risking my job. Am I not? Maybe. Better than watching her bully the innocent child.

“How dare you address me like that? Are you blind, can’t you see my dress? This small sass just ruined it!!” She jabbed her finger at Kai, who shrank back and held me tightly. She stared so aggressively at her and I was getting annoyed by her audacity.

I took a deep breath. “Like I said, it was a mistake, an accident, and she isn't a sass because she apologized already, after which I think she doesn't warrant such rude and harsh words.” To be on safer side, I had to put this down in the nicest way I could compare to what my head was saying.

“Is this how you typically handle customer concerns? I will make sure I-”

“Why did you stop? Won't you complete your statement?” A velvety tone interrupted, that one that demands notice of everyone present. Immediately, I looked back, seeing the figure behind me, knocked the wind out of me. I was no newbie to the likes of cute men, and it seems he outshone them all at once.

He has a statuesque and lean build that makes his white button-down shirt fit perfectly. Black tresses compliment his rich, earthly tone and his jawline my God! Was so sharp enough to cut like a hot knife through metal.

He pointed out a business card. The shirt was a short sleeve showing his bulging forearms. “Here, reach out to me and give your details. Your damages will be covered.” His speech was razor-sharp, yet he kept a mellow voice as he looked down at her. She was in doubt and daunted; it was so obvious that she avoided eye contact.

“Never mind, you don't have to pay for what this brat has done, and this lady right here merits losing her job!” I couldn't help but scoff.

“That is the reason I will mind because this brat here is my child”

I was flabbergasted at the snippet of news, whoa didn't see that coming. Anyways, that was a stunning discovery.

I could see it in the lady’s reaction; she was in a brown study thing and she should apologize or not. I saw as his chilly glare pinned her in place.

Must feel empowering to intimidate others. Right?

“It would be good for you to take the offer and leave immediately before I make you face the consequences for harassing my daughter and this lady right here.” His firmness threatened to take action if challenged.

“I, I'm-” she struggled to find the right words.

“Get out, now,” he seethed; she looked between us, embarrassed, before hastily moving out of the building. Everyone was going back to their business, which reminded me of Kaira, and looking at the baby's face made me want to punch that lady in the face.

“I'm sorry, Emily.” More tears rolled down her cheeks. I squatted in front of her.

“No baby, the only one that needs to be sorry right now is that lady; she is such a meanie.” I crossed my eyes, hoping she would c***k a smile, but it was to no avail; the frown on her face was persistent.

“She got mad at you because of me, what will she do to you? Is she going to get you fired?” It was so sweet to see how thoughtful she was. Just as I was about to console her and hug her, her dad swooped in.

“Come here, darling.” He lifted her in his arms while she morosely stared back at him. I recognized something unique about his accent, which I had yet to figure out.

“She won't do anything to Emily, because I won't let her, okay?” Those words were all Kaira needed, I saw that she was comforted, and she clung so tight to him, so sweet- But why can't I get my eyes off them?

It's probably because he looks different from the cold personality I saw at the front hand earlier. It seems all his harshness melted away upon looking at his daughter.

I was so carried away by observing them that I didn't notice when the alarm went off. We have already run out.

He turned and caught me staring right at them.

What should I do? Should I introduce myself? I freaked out. I didn't want to be on the receiving end of his chilly glare. But then he checked me out, head to toe which caught me off guard.

When he finally looked me in the eye again, his eyes lit up for a second, and it wasn't anger or hatred I saw.

Then what was it?

Before I could think of it twice, I looked away, ending the stare-down and my gaze instinctively shifted to Kaira.

“Smoothie?”