“Well, what’s happening isn’t easy to deal with,” Deborah said with a frown. “Alright, sweetie, it’s your brother’s turn now,” she said, gently shifting her little girl to burp her.“But we’re here to support Dad,” she said, wiping the little girl’s mouth, who smiled at her.“Okay, ma’am, time to switch,” Danielle said as they swapped the babies so Michael could have his turn at breastfeeding.About 30 minutes later, the voices of Elizabeth and James could be heard as they returned from their outing.“Bye-bye, Grandpa,” Elizabeth said.“Bye, kids.”“Have fun with Grandma,” James said, as Nicholas had only dropped them off at the door because he had to go pick up Tatiana for lunch.After watching their grandpa leave, James and Elizabeth entered the house and immediately went to their siblings’ room.“Mommy,” Elizabeth said happily, but when she saw Deborah gesture for them to be quiet, both children smiled and quietly entered the room.Deborah had just put the twins to sleep an
Extra 5: SituationUnfortunately, the financial problems combined with the lack of rest brought out a cranky, irritable side of Jayden.“Deborah, don’t let them keep crying,” he complained while shifting in bed and putting a pillow over his head to muffle the cries and go back to sleep.Deborah just frowned and said nothing, heading off to check on the twins and tend to them.Frequently in a bad mood, Jayden sometimes wanted to stay away from his children… something that worried the kids because they had never seen their dad being cold and distant with them.Elizabeth and James felt hurt by the rejection they were experiencing, but their mom comforted them, saying things would soon change and that, for now, they should forgive their dad because he wasn’t himself due to the pressure from work.The kids felt a bit hurt by their dad’s behavior, so they tried to keep their distance and only spent time with their mom, Grandma, and Grandpa Nicholas… since Grandpa Eric was also acting s
“You’re in the wrong place. Turn around and leave if you want to live,” one of the men declared.“Good morning,” Deborah greeted as she got out of the vehicle.“Boss…” Max said worriedly, reaching for his weapon to protect her.“Relax, Max,” she said, stopping him from acting while pulling something out of her bag to show them. “I’d like to speak with Vox, please,” she declared, holding up a black card.Upon seeing the object, all the guards lowered their weapons, and the one who appeared to be the leader approached to take the card and verify its authenticity.“Welcome, Mrs. Cooper. Please follow me,” he said, handing the card back to her. “I just need your guard to leave his weapon with us.”“Of course, Max, please.”“But…”“Relax. Vox doesn’t usually attack his clients.”Max made a face but obeyed, handing his weapon to the men before following Deborah.They were led to an area that looked like a living room, where they took a seat while they waited.“Hi,” a little voice
Extra 6: Reviving the CompanyUnaware of what his wife was doing, Jayden was currently looking for buyers for the machinery while talking to a real estate agent to list some of their vacated properties for sale.“Sir,” the secretary came in to hand them some folders. “Here are the latest documents from Human Resources.”“Thanks… Ah… Now we’re trying to sort out the accounts to discuss their severance,” Eric said, looking disheartened because they were dismantling his company.“Jimmy, let me know if that person calls about buying the office equipment,” Jayden requested.“Sure,” the secretary replied, making a face before leaving. It hurt him to see what was happening to his bosses, who didn’t deserve any of this. At that moment, the sound of the elevator opening caught his attention. “Ma’am,” he said, confused to see Deborah there.“Hi, Jimmy. Where are they?”“They’re inside.”“Tell me, how are things going?”“Horribly, ma’am. We’re having trouble paying the last employees’ sa
"Good afternoon, Nicholas."“Now that everyone’s here, let’s head to the boardroom to talk business,” Deborah said, taking her husband’s hand.The father and son were confused, but the five of them went back inside the company building and headed to the boardroom.Upon entering, they noticed everything was set up to welcome a client, with coffee and some snacks laid out.“First of all, let me introduce you to Mr. Henry Gonson,” Nicholas said as they entered the room.“A pleasure, Eric Cooper,” Eric said, shaking the guest’s hand.“Nice to meet you,” Jayden said, then looked over at his father-in-law. “Um… excuse me, but why is Mr. Gonson here?”“To hire you to help me build several luxury apartment complexes,” Henry explained, taking a seat and sipping his coffee. “Your father-in-law here sings your praises, and after seeing the buildings you’ve done around the city, I can see it’s not just talk. You have great talent and quality in your work.”“That’s right. Our motto is not j
“Right away, sir,” Jimmy said, smiling as he pulled out his planner to dial the buyer’s number so his boss could speak to them.“As you always say, Dad, talking makes people understand each other, and I know I’ll reach a reasonable price to get everything back.”“You’re right, son.”“Boss, they’re on the line.”“Yes, good afternoon, this is Jayden Cooper. I’m calling about the purchase—”“Dad?”“Huh? James?” Jayden said, confused, looking at the phone and thinking maybe Jimmy had dialed the wrong number.“Brother, who is it?” Elizabeth’s voice could be heard.“It’s Dad.”“Daddy? I want to talk too!” she said, and they activated the speakerphone. “Hi, Daddy!”“Hi, Ellie. How… how are you?” For some reason, Jayden felt a lump in his throat as he wondered how long it had been since he had heard that cheerful voice speaking to him.“Good, but we miss you,” Elizabeth replied.“Yes, Dad, are you not mad at us anymore?” James asked, sounding a little sad.“Ah… no, I… actually, I’
Extra 7: ApologyAfter quickly reorganizing the company and leaving the managers to do the inventory, Deborah insisted that Eric and Jayden go buy something special to apologize to everyone.She had already arranged for the chef to prepare a special dinner.Meanwhile, Eric and Jayden stopped by the mall to buy some bouquets of flowers, toys, and a big chocolate cake.Once they had everything they needed, they returned home, where they were greeted by the little princess of the house.“Daddy! Grandpa!” Elizabeth called out, running up to them.“Hey,” Jayden smiled, catching his little girl and kissing her on the cheek.“Hello, princess,” Eric greeted.“Welcome home,” James said, holding his little brother Michael.“Good evening,” Samantha said, carrying Nicole.“My love,” Eric said, walking over to her and offering her a bouquet of flowers. “I… I’m sorry, my love, I shouldn’t have—”Samantha smiled and kissed him on the lips, cutting him off. “It’s okay, my love. Welcome back
“That’s true; it’s strange,” Jayden said, frowning.“They haven’t just hurt you; they’ve also harmed the smaller companies in the city.”“Huh? Them too?” Jayden said, surprised. “I didn’t know that.”“Hm… they’re monopolizing the market, which is very suspicious, and I want to know why.”Jayden looked at his partner with concern while she started reading the papers. “And… what did Brandon find out?”“I don’t know.”“Huh? But…”“This isn’t his envelope. It’s the sample invitations I ordered.”“Invitations?”“In a month, it’s a certain little princess’s birthday.”Jayden looked at his wife, surprised. “God…”“Yes, I know, my love. Stop torturing yourself.”“But…”“Instead of that, why don’t you give me the budget to create this masterpiece from your other page?”“Huh?” He flipped the page and saw his design of a princess castle with various playground features. “Oh, yeah, I was thinking of making this for her birthday.”“Then let’s get to work,” she said, noticing how exci