"Your sister?" Isla asked.
"No. My daughter." He avoided eye contact and stared at the food. Isla choked on her meal.
"What..." She coughed and reached out for the jug of water. She gulped little from the glass.
"Daughter? Why didn't you tell me you were married before moving into my house? What would your wife think about managing Isla Sinclair's house?" Isla thundered.
"I..I..I'm not married. Dora's mom accused me of raping her."
"I won't believe that. Men like you are always the one chasing after the stuff under girl's skirts!" Isla snapped.
"Me? Then why haven't I been all over the stuff under your skirts?" Isla felt embarrassed and rolled her eyes.
"Who knows if you're pretending?" She mumbled.
"Her name was Talia. She was our neighbor back at Hollywood. She used to make offensive advances at me, and I had advised we moved out. But my parents thought I was being childish. Later, I confronted her to stop and I was surprised at how we suddenly became friends, immediately she apologized for her wrong doing. Talia and I had one night stand, and that was how Dora came up." Cade explained, staring at his food.
"Then...what did you do when you found out Talia was pregnant?"
"I couldn't bring myself to tell my parents what I had done. Talia supported me, and got kicked out of her mansion, all because of me. But as always, the rich celebrity kids play with feelings and in the end, they complain."
"Talia's mom had to retire from modeling because of her sudden weight gain. Talia abandoned Dora and left with some – old man, only because she didn't want Dora to be an embarrassment or a barrier to achieving her so called dreams."
"Where's Dora? With you – or Talia?"
"Dora is at LA with my parents. And she's having so much fun over there. The last time I heard from her, she said she was visiting a modeling agency with her classmates." Cade smiled.
"Oh. When was that?"
"Last week."
"Why didn't you mention anything about her to me then?"
"You didn't need to know that. Everything between us is formal."
"I don't want it to be." Isla's phone buzzed and Cade had sent her some pictures of Dora. Isla's face brightened and she chuckled cutely.
"Oh. She's so pretty. How old is she?" Isla asked curiously, her eyes glittering in awe.
"Six years."
"I like her. She's really beautiful. She's got your dreamy eyes...and your lips."
"I can't believe you've been studying my lips, Miss. Sinclair." Cade sounded surprised.
"Its obvious you've got plump lips." Isla was inaudible.
"I want you to bring Dora here. Anytime. I just want to meet her in person. I wanna play with her, hold her hands, stroke her hair and tell her I'll always be there for her." Isla paused for a minute and went to the living room to search her handbag.
"Here." She handed a few dollars to Cade.
"What for?"
"I want you to give it to Dora. When I meet her, I'll get her toys. I'm using these dollars to introduce myself to her." Isla winked excitedly.
"Wait..what are you doing, Isla? Why are you suddenly trying to bond with my daughter?" Cade asked in a stern voice.
"I just want to be her friend."
"Dora is amiable and sweet. She's got friends everywhere. She doesn't need you."
"Oh c'mon Cade. Dora is going to a modeling agency. She might need my advice if she'd like to pursue modeling as a career." Isla tried to prove herself worthy.
"She DOESN'T like modeling. Isla, I know what you're up to. You're only trying to use Dora to get me." Isla flared up.
"Get you? I don't understand. You're my worker. I'm asking my worker to bring his daughter to work. How dare you refuse? I want to see Dora, and if you don't want to lose this job, you should obey me."
"You didn't employ me. Your dad did."
"So? Is that why I'll order you and you'll refuse? What is wrong with you, Cade? Why do you have such an ego? I know you've been through heartbreak with Talia, but what about me? Shouldn't I feel disgraced to be around a man ever since Brian passed away? I'm not using Dora to get to you or play with your feelings. I might have a physical attraction towards you, but that doesn't mean we'll ever get along! You're just two-face. On one hand, you care so much, on the other hand, you avoid me. Tell you what, I like you Cade and I find it so difficult to stay away from you." Isla thundered with tears in her eyes. Cade was shocked but speechless.
"I'll do absolutely anything to have you. But I can't use Dora."
"If you don't want her to meet me, then its fine." Isla snatched the dollars and stormed off.
Natasha sat comfortably on Rhea's queen sized bed.
"I love your room, ma'am." She commented.
"Thanks. Its a huge opportunity for you to be here. My bedroom is my private place. I have a lot of things I keep hidden from certain people." Rhea relaxed in her room cushion.
"Oh."
"Allow me to use the restroom." Rhea walked into the restroom with a smile as Natasha nodded. Natasha touched one of Rhea's envelopes on the drawer because there was a curious-looking logo.
"Isn't the envelope supposed to be with the stage presenter?" Natasha thought as she opened it up. Her heart stopped when she saw the real finalists' show winner.
"Isla Sinclair? What the..." Rhea flung open the restroom door and snatched the paper from Natasha.
"What are you doing with it? How dare you touch stuff on my drawer?" She was shocked when Natasha stood up to face her.
"Rhea Sinclair, what you did here was wrong. Isla Sinclair won the finalists. Why did you print a false information with my name clearly written as the winner? Your daughter worked so hard for the Interstate show."
"So what? How the hell does that affect you and your career?"
"But its wrong."
"What do you plan to do now? Go on social media and tell your fans that you're not the winner but Isla is?" Rhea folded her arms.
"You know I can't do that."
"It'll be too embarrassing to watch poor Natasha Jackson get dragged in the mud on why she knew and chose to keep quiet on stage." Rhea laughed hysterically.
"Why are you trashing Isla's efforts? Why don't you want her to have a stable fandom here in America? You're always after ways to defeat your daughter."
Isla sat down quietly under the stairs. Her head was buzzing with so many questions she had no answers to.
What was this feeling she had for Cade?
He was her house manager, an employee. How did he manage to steal her heart?
He was always so grumpy towards her, and she could have easily hated him.
Forget Cade's smoking hot physical features, he was caring, he was cool, he was encouraging, and there was this sense of understanding and easy communication that never happened with Jake, Nigel or Brian.
It would be lame to go before him and tell him she's got more for him, than physical attraction.
Is this what love feels like?
She couldn't eat, sleep or even chat with her friends. It burnt her to see him working around without turning in her direction or saying a word to her.
For Jake and Brian, it was totally love at first sight – but for Cade, the first sight was a little lustful, but she grew her feelings week after week, month after month.
Is Cade really one of the guys Mr. Sinclair was hammering about?
"Does Cade really need my body to come around?" Isla thought.
Their eyes met.
"Um...Isla, I'll be leaving for L.A tomorrow, and I'll be back the day after." Cade broke the silence.
"Why? Who's gonna manage the house then?" Cade didn't reply her. He just walked off with the duster.
"Are you just gonna ignore that question? Cade!"
"I wish you were here Brian. I wouldn't be stuck with this jerk. I would be in your arms, warm and peaceful. It hurts everyday when I remember you'll never come back to me. I'll love you forever, Brian. No man will take your place in my heart."
"What's for dinner?" Isla asked, sipping the juice served by her friend, Wendy.
"Apple soup and pepper chips."
"Why do you eat such things?"
"Because I love 'em. You're in my house, and you're gonna eat them too!" Wendy clapped and Isla rolled her eyes.
"How's your 'boyfriend'?" Isla made a quotation sign with her fingers.
"What's with the sign?"
"Em, because I think that guy you love so much is not a real man. I mean, he's not as rich as you, he's not as popular as you. How did you fall for him, ugh!" Isla felt disgusted.
"Love is not about a rich, tall and good-looking guy."
"Then...what is love?" Isla asked rhetorically.
"Its just affection – don't get me wrong, not infatuation."
"Infatuation is just like our high school crushes that doesn't last long!" Isla smiled.
"Does that mean if I like a guy whom I'm not planning to last long with, I'm only infatuating?"
"Something like that. Are you caught up in that type of situation?" Isla's eyes widened and she faked a hysteric laughter.
"No way, Wendy. Not me."
"It can't be you. Your stubborness has made you negatively different in the modeling industry. Hello, girlfriend! Move on. Switch places with Brian. If you died, do you think Brian would refuse to remarry?" Isla suckled on her teeth.
"You're a model. On the top 10 most beautiful models' list and you've got awards. International awards. C'mon, Isla. Men are dying to have you but they can't face you because of your strict decision to remain Brian's widow." Isla blinked a few times and swallowed.
"Wendy, I'll leave your house before this stupid discussion takes a bad turn on our friendship." Isla grabbed her handbag and walked out of Wendy's house.
"Ugh. Someone come for this sexy lady and drive her crazy! Make her forget her past. Brian's fucking dead and he'll never ever come back. Someone make her understand!!" Wendy dramatically cried out with clenched fists.
Isla was taking one step after another on her luxury staircase, thinking about Cade. She called him several times but he didn't pick up. The door bell rang and she gasped.
"Come in." She ran to the living room and as the door opened, there was a little girl in Cade's arms. A familiar little girl. Isla was about to speak but Cade placed a finger on his lips, warning her to keep quiet. The girl was blindfolded with a black cloth, and she was smiling cutely, watching out for what her father was up to.
Cade gently put her down on her feet and ordered her to walk a few steps, till she was right in front of Isla.
"Dad, when did you change your perfume?" The girl asked in a sweet voice.
"Dora, I'm going to take the cloth off now, and I don't want you to scream, okay?" Cade spoke gently to her.
"Okay. Take it off already!! I promise I won't scream!" Dora exclaimed.
"Yeah." Cade slowly took off Dora's blindfold and she stared up at the person before her. Isla knelt down so she could have a closer look.
"Hi, sweetie." Isla smiled.
"Wait...Dad.." A gasp escaped Dora's lips before she screamed aloud and flung her arms on Isla.
"Isla Sinclair??" She hit her back and caressed her neck.
"Isla, is it really you?" She pulled Isla's ponytail before breaking the hug.
"I'm a big fan of yours!" Dora said aloud.
"I'm glad. Your dad showed me pictures of you, and I liked you instantly."
"You're beautiful!" Dora complimented, pinching Isla's cheeks. Isla blushed uncontrollably with glittering eyes.
"Thank you my dear."
"But how does Dad know you? How did he connect with you?" Dora shared her thought with Isla.
"Actually....." Isla's eyes drifted to Cade.
"Your dad is my employee. He manages this house."
"Wow, wow, wow. I'll tell everyone about it. My dad manages Miss. Sinclair's great mansion!" Dora exclaimed.
"Uh, uh, oh no. You will tell your friends no such thing, okay?" Dora looked sad.
"The good thing about keeping this a secret is... you get to live here with us." Dora's eyes widened.
"WHAT? Yay!!" She cheered and laughed happily.
"You'll go to school with a latest Porshe, and you'll have an expensive backpack, shoes, pencil case and everything." Dora felt so happy and blessed. She turned to Cade and hugged him tight.
"Thank you daddy. Thank you for this surprise." Cade faked a smile.
"Its okay, baby. Go upstairs – the second room by the right is mine, and I've got lots of chocolates in the drawer." Dora ran upstairs excitedly. Cade frowned at Isla's glittering eyes.
"Why are you smiling like that, huh? Do you think you've done something great?" Isla was shocked at his words.