Single Mom's Sweet Husband (Charlotte)

Chapter 32

"Hello?"

Without so much as a glance at the caller ID, Charlotte picked up the ringing phone from her desk and brought it to her ear.

"Lottie, Sheryl and I are in the restaurant right downstairs from your office building. Quick, come join us." It was Anne.

'T m sorry, Anne, but I'm still working on something right now."

"But it's already the weekend, plus it's time for lunch! No amount of work calls for starving yourself. Besides, Sheryl misses you a lot," Anne said in protest.

'The weekend?' Charlotte blinked.

Her fingers paused mid-action and the pen she was twirling swiftly landed on her desk.

Subconsciously, her eyes darted to scan her desk calendar. To her surprise, it was, in fact, already the weekend. However, this was nothing out of the norm; it was easy for Charlotte to lose track of time once she got her hands on work.

She was currently revising the design drafts for the bidding of the opera house in the Eastern District. Though the bidding was to take place three weeks from the day of the notice, the company only permitted her two weeks to finalize the drafts for the presentation.

One week had now passed, yet she was still unsatisfied with the drafts.

She knew that this project was not only a test given to her by the company, but also a chance for her to prove her abilities to the rest.

It had been a few days since she started working overtime and spending the night at the company. Because of this, she had specifically asked Anne to look over Sheryl.

"Alright, I'll be down in a minute."

After hanging up the phone, Charlotte briefly cleared her desktop and picked up her bag, ready to head downstairs.

"Your mom will be here soon. Why don't you take a look at the menu and decide what you' d like to eat first?" Anne coaxed.

Hearing that she was going to see her mother soon, the gloomy expression on little Sheryl's face vanished without a trace. She joyfully picked up the menu and started flipping through. She then proceeded to order a glass of fruit juice to go with a children's set meal.

She also thoughtfully ordered a cup of mocha, her mother’s favourite.

As Anne and Sheryl engaged in chirpy small talk, Braden spotted them from not too far away.

He had always had this extraordinarily retentive memory for beautiful women, so he was quick to recognize Anne at first glance.

'There can't be anything in my way this time around, right?' Braden crossed his fingers.

He rose to his feet, adjusted his collar, and strode over with his long legs.

"I don't believe in fate, but it looks like we were meant to meet again," Braden announced with a pompous smirk stretched across his face.

Braden Collins was a man known by many in River City. He had dandy facial features accented by his firm, wheat- coloured skin. His presence always declared a sense of subtle daredevilry.

Countless women bowed to his allure, especially those sexy lips of his.

Oddly, Anne was resistant to the charisma of the man who suddenly appeared in front of her. She looked at him in confusion and asked, "Who are you?"

The smile on Braden’s face grew rigid. 'You must be kidding! This woman actually forgot who I was.'

After all, he was the famous Braden Collins, the man with a never- ending queue of admirers flocking behind him! Yet, this woman had completely forgotten about him.

To Anne's alarm, he swiftly pulled out an empty chair from under the table and sat himself down.

"I feel you ought to take a moment to recall." As Braden unbuttoned his suit, his gaze fell on Sheryl.

She sported a white pompom skirt that highlighted her bubbly face. Her lips parted and met repeatedly like a cute little duckling.

She was simply too adorable.

'But, she can't be the daughter of this lady, can she?' Braden mused in disbelief.

"Who’s this little girl?" he asked, pointing at Sheryl.

"Uncle, you're so rude," Sheryl remarked with pouty lips, peeping at the egomaniac man.

Anne nodded in agreement.

As Charlotte arrived in a hurry, she caught sight of Braden sitting down at Anne's table.

She stopped in her tracks but noticed Braden didn’t seem like he was planning to leave anytime soon. She looked over to Anne and she immediately realized what tricks Braden had up his sleeve.

Charlotte quickly walked over and greeted them.

"Mr. Collins."

“Mommy!" Sheryl squealed as she saw Charlotte. She leaped off her chair in excitement and dove into her mother's arms.

"Oh, she's your daughter? No, wait, you have a daughter?" Braden looked at Charlotte, shocked to his core.

He was incredulous that Charlotte, whom he had dubbed the 'old nun', actually mothered a daughter. Not to mention such a gorgeous one too!

"Mommy, do you know this rude uncle?" Sheryl raised her little head to meet Charlotte' s gaze. Her eyes contained a hint of displeasure for the man.

At the same time, Anne turned to look at Charlotte suspiciously.

"Yup, this is Mr. Collins from mommy' s workplace." Charlotte nodded and gave a brief introduction.

In response to Charlotte’s statement, Braden sneakily straightened his back and brushed his fingers through his hair.

Habitually, he pulled out a formidable demeanour of a successful CEO. He was almost certain that this would strike the ladies with awe over how truly stunning he was.

However, he was interrupted no longer than three seconds later as Charlotte vaguely probed, "Mr. Collins, we' re having a friend over later..." Charlotte gestured at the chair Braden was seated in, hinting for him to leave.

One should keep in mind that Braden was the owner of a head- turning face that had undoubtedly been mushed against many others. She couldn't let this womanizer get into Anne's pants.

As he processed Charlotte's words, Braden's smile froze yet again. He looked up at Charlotte in stupefaction.

'You have got to be kidding me.'

'Are you trying to drive me away?' he wailed to himself.

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However, Charlotte was a quick- witted woman. She diligently dodged Braden's gaze and turned to tease her daughter. Almost immediately, tension enveloped the group.