Surprise Me Maybe

10. The V-Gal

It has been days since Ashton and I talked on my porch that afternoon, and I haven't heard much from him except for the dinner appointment which will be on Friday. This is becoming a pattern we have. He is around during weekends, being Chloe's dad and being a part of us, but he's back to the despicable CEO role during the week as if we've never crossed paths outside work.

Chloe has frowned less and less every time Ashton's name comes up, which is a good sign. After the day we met his family, I slowly told her that Ashton had nothing to do with the scene she saw at lunch. On the contrary, I was also not innocent because I insulted his mother, and it's the very reason why she has to stay over at my parents' house on Friday. Because I need to talk to her grandmother, Danielle Knight, to make things right.

"What if she gets angry and makes you upset again?" asked Chloe this morning when I broke the news about the dinner during our trip to her school.

"Then there is nothing I can do about it. The point is I have a good intention to fix our problem," I replied. "And Ashton will be there too to support me."

"Isn't he afraid of his mom?"

"Uh, why would he?"

She shrugged as she answered, "You and aunt Sophie are afraid of grandma sometimes. I'm also afraid of you when I'm being naughty."

"Well, Ashton is not being naughty at the moment. So, I'm sure everything will be fine."

The shuffling noise from behind me pulls my mind back to my office cubicle. Shanti drags her chair and positions it between mine and Gina's, forcing me to tear my gaze from my computer screen. Her eyes twinkle and her lips twitch, indicating that she has piping hot tea to share.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," she squeals.

"You don't need to summon me three times. I heard you alright, but I need to hurry up," Gina retorts without turning her head, her fingers dancing on her keyboard.

It's only 9 AM. Gina and I are doing our morning routine which is replying to emails before we leave for our client visits. On normal days, we won't start any office gossip until everyone is done with their clients for the day, but that's not the case this time.

"Oh trust me, you don't want to be the last person to hear this! This is fresh from the oven but it's spreading so fast like a bushfire. You gotta hear this now, girls." Shanti tries to suppress her excitement, causing her voice to thrill.

Gina groans. "Shan–"

"Our daddy has a baby!" Shanti blurts.

All of a sudden, the world seems to freeze. If Gina looks confused, I must look like I've just seen a ghost.

"Baby as in a new lover? Or a baby human that pops out of a vagina?" Gina asks, lowering her voice to match Shanti's.

"The vajayjay baby."

"Huh? Whose vagina then?"

Keeping my fake curious look, I shift uncomfortably in my chair while deep down, I hope that they don't catch my uneasiness. How has my vagina become our morning topic?

"Don't know," Shanti mumbles. "But the best part is this V-gal is an employee in the Remington group, but her identity has not been revealed yet."

"Maybe it's Diandra?" Gina speculates.

"No! She is working here at the moment, in this very building. We just don't know yet which subsidiary company and which division she is in," Shanti replies. "Rumor has it that she hasn't worked here for long which means our daddy must have something to do with her joining Remington."