Chapter 27: Spoils of War

When Harrison Grant walked into his office, he found Felix Ford curled up asleep on the sofa. The boy was a tiny ball, his fair, tender face serene. He had probably fallen asleep watching his tablet, which now rested on his belly, rising and falling with each breath. The sight was unbelievably adorable.

Even a grown man like him couldn’t help but be charmed by the scene. A pang of sympathy followed. ’I was busy with meetings all morning and didn’t have time for him. He must have fallen asleep out of boredom.’

He stepped forward, moved the tablet to the coffee table, and called out to him softly.

Hearing the voice, it took Felix Ford a moment to realize he was being called. He blearily opened his eyes, rubbed them with a small hand, and mumbled, "Uncle."

Harrison Grant responded, "Let’s go. Time for lunch."

"Okay."

Felix Ford hopped off the sofa. He placed his hat on his head, first crookedly, then straightened it after a moment’s thought. Noticing his shoelace was untied, he squatted down. "Hang on a second, Uncle. I need to tie my shoelace."

"Okay, take your time."

Just as they were speaking, the door suddenly opened. Harrison Grant looked toward the visitor, pausing for a moment in surprise. "President Ford?"

Felix Ford froze. ’President Ford? It can’t be Dad, can it?’ His movements came to a sudden halt. He didn’t dare look up, terrified of being spotted and dragged back home.

Samuel Ford said nothing, simply walking forward slowly.

"Jean." Just as he was approaching the sofa, someone else entered the room behind him.

"Brother," Hayden Grant said. Then, noticing the man beside him, he raised an eyebrow. "President Ford. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

’I just ran into the second Mr. Ford, and now here’s the eldest. What is it with me and the Ford family today? What rotten luck.’

Samuel Ford’s gaze shifted from Felix Ford to the newcomer. He spared him a glance before his eyes landed on the woman emerging from behind him. He narrowed his eyes. ’It’s her?’

’The woman I saw in the fitting room at the July children’s clothing store.’

Amanda Vance hadn’t expected to find guests inside. She looked at Harrison Grant. "Brother, are you busy?"

She used to call him by his name, Harrison, but later switched to "Brother."

"Not anymore. I’m just about done. I was about to take Jean out for lunch. How about you two? Want to join us?"

Amanda Vance glanced at Samuel Ford, whom she also recognized, and shook her head. "We’ll pass. You two go ahead."

’I don’t even know him. It would be awkward.’

"I’m not going out either," Hayden Grant chimed in. "You two go eat. I’ll stay here with Megan and Jean. Don’t interrupt our happy little family."

With that, he noticed Felix Ford was still squatting on the floor and hadn’t greeted them when they entered. He walked over and gently nudged the boy’s chubby bottom with the tip of his shoe. "What are you up to?"

"Tying my shoelace," he mumbled.

Hayden Grant glanced down and saw that the lace was, in fact, untied. The boy’s chubby little hands weren’t very nimble, and he was struggling to tie it. Hayden clicked his tongue. "You silly goose. Let Daddy help you."

For once, Felix Ford didn’t retort. He pressed his lips together tightly. ’Why hasn’t Dad left yet?’ he wondered.

Amanda Vance shook her head, exasperated by Hayden’s constant attempts to get Jean to call him "Daddy."

To Samuel Ford, the scene looked like a mother doting on her husband and son.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. ’I must be seeing things. Even if someone really had taken my son, he’d never be this well-behaved, calling another man ’Daddy’. Besides, this boy’s hat is on perfectly straight. That’s not Colt’s style at all. He always wears his crooked, says it’s cooler that way.’

He glanced toward the child again. A moment ago, he could see the boy’s back, but now Harrison Grant was completely blocking his view. He couldn’t see a thing. He averted his gaze and said to Harrison, "President Grant, shall we go?"

’The paternity test results should be ready this afternoon. I’ll find out what’s really going on then.’

’And if it’s a fake, I will make whoever is pulling the strings pay.’

Sensing the sudden wave of hostility from him, Amanda Vance shot him a look. ’That’s strange. He seemed fine a moment ago. Why the sudden change?’

But since he was a stranger, she didn’t give it much thought. She turned her attention to the large and small figures still squatting on the floor. "Are you two done yet?"

"Almost! Hey, I just finished tying it! Don’t you dare undo it."

Felix waited until the footsteps faded into the distance before peeking out. Seeing that they were gone, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He said with a look of disdain, "Uncle, you tied my shoelace the wrong way. Forget it, I’ll do it myself."

With that, he undid Hayden’s work and retied the lace himself. Then he stood up, stomped his foot, and declared, "That’s the right way to do it."

Since they were facing opposite directions, Hayden’s knot was indeed backward from Felix’s perspective.

Hayden Grant, however, reached out and pinched his cheek. "You know how to do it yourself, don’t you? Why’d you ask me, then? Were you just messing with me?"

"BLEH!" Felix Ford stuck his tongue out at him, then ran giggling to Amanda Vance and hugged her around the waist. "Mommy, are you all done?"

"Yes, all done."

Felix Ford’s eyes narrowed into a smile as he took her hand. "Then let’s go get something to eat!"

"Okay."

After making an excuse to use the restroom and waiting until he was sure his father was long gone, Felix Ford finally walked out of the Grant Group’s main entrance, holding Amanda’s hand in one of his and Hayden’s in the other.

"Mr. Ford, I ordered a few of the restaurant’s best-sellers. I trust they’ll be to your liking."

"Thank you."

The restaurant was doing good business, and the number of people coming and going was especially high at this time of day.

Noticing him looking toward the entrance, Harrison Grant explained with a smile, "It’s right across the street from the Grant Group, so it’s convenient. That’s why so many people eat here."

"I see." Samuel Ford nodded in understanding. He took a sip of water, then happened to turn his head. Through the floor-to-ceiling window, he saw the same three people from the office.

He could only see their backs. The child held his ’parents’’ hands, so happy he was practically skipping. He kept turning his head to talk to the woman beside him, who listened with her head slightly bowed and her eyes fixed on him, a picture of rapt attention. This encouraged the child to talk even more animatedly, his sheer joy radiating even from behind.

’My son has never seemed to experience such simple happiness.’

Watching the child, Samuel Ford’s thoughts drifted back to Felix Ford. He remembered picking him up from kindergarten once and seeing him pressed against a window, watching a family of three outside. The boy’s eyes had been red-rimmed. ’Was he envious?’

He lowered his gaze, his mood sinking with the thought. ’Maybe I really should find him a mother?’

’But that woman... I’ve practically turned the world upside down and I still can’t find her!’

The thought of her sent a storm of emotions churning through him.

Harrison Grant took a sip of his tea, giving Samuel a surprised look. After a moment of silence, he thought to himself, ’Ah, young people. So fiery and restless.’

"Mommy, can we go home and eat? I want to eat your cooking, not restaurant food. Please?" Felix Ford asked, tilting his head up.

"Of course we can," Amanda Vance readily agreed. "But we’ll have to go back and get the car."

They had originally planned on eating nearby, so they hadn’t driven.

"Then let’s go get it," said Hayden. "We’ll go to my place. I’ve got a fully-stocked kitchen, and more importantly, we can eat in peace."

’The Vance family home is a toxic mess. Just looking at those people is enough to kill my appetite.’

"Okay." Amanda Vance felt the same way.

The three of them turned back to the Grant Group building and went to the parking garage. Felix Ford was dumbfounded as he watched Hayden Grant use a key fob to unlock a car and get inside.

He let go of Amanda Vance’s hand and ran to the front of the car to check the license plate. ’It’s right... that’s Dad’s car! How does he have the key?’

"What’s wrong?" Hayden Grant asked, noticing the boy’s strange expression.

Felix Ford stared at him, his face a mask of shock. "Where did you get this car?"

"What kind of question is that?" Hayden Grant said, slightly offended. It sounded like the boy was accusing him of getting the car through some shady means. He raised an eyebrow. "Your mother won this in a race today. It’s her prize. Got it?"