Chapter 90 - 86: Just Take It as Mr. Lewis Praising Me!
But he didn’t know!
Just a few minutes ago, he was eager to recruit those two prodigies into his team!
Feeling guilty, Timothy extended his little arm and started to massage his shoulders.
“Uncle, your shoulders are very tense; have you been working too hard?”
He tested tentatively, then motioned to Timmy with his chin.
“Brother, can you massage uncle’s legs for a bit? It must be tiring walking around the office all the time.”
Roy Lewis looked expectantly at his son. Remembering the boy’s grumbling in the morning, he was afraid that his son would turn his face away and start complaining again.
Unexpectedly, his usually spoiled and irritable little son nodded, brought a stool over, settled himself and started massaging his father’s calves.
In all the four years that Roy Lewis had doted on this little treasure, this was the first time he was being served by him.
ii
Uncle, is it comfortable? How’s the pressure?”
Hearing Timothy’s milky voice, Roy Lewis felt his bones melt.
“Very comfortable, the pressure is just right. Thanks, Timothy and Timmy!”
Emboldened by their father’s praise, the two brothers massaged with renewed vigor.
Always full of ideas, Timothy’s eyes darted back and forth between his father and his brother.
ii
Uncle, Mommy says, each child is a jewel in their parent’s heart, so your nickname for Timmy should also be ‘Little Treasure’!”
Roy Lewis looked at his son, who raised his head and retained his usual nonchalant appearance. “I don’t care…”
Now, Roy Lewis knew that when his son claimed indifference, he actually liked the idea.
Yet, he wouldn’t admit it straight away,
Richelle Dunn, who was bringing out tea she had prepared in the kitchen, burst into laughter when she saw her two sons serving Roy Lewis.
“Oh, Timmy and Timothy, what are you two up to?”
Timothy replied cheerfully, “Mommy, uncle works really hard, so Timmy and I are giving him a massage to relax his muscles.”
Pretending to be envious, Richelle said, “Wow! I didn’t know this service was available!” While saying this, she liberally rubbed her back, “Oh, my back and waist are so sore from running around all day!”
Tiffany, who had been quietly drawing, promptly put down her pen and rushed over.
“Mommy, Tiffany will massage you!”
Saying this, she took Richelle by her hand and led her to the sofa, asking her to sit down.
The sofa in the house wasn’t very large, just right for three people or spacious for two.
But with Roy Lewis sitting right in the middle, as soon as Richelle sat down, they were thigh to thigh, shoulder to shoulder.
Richelle suddenly regretted her decision. This was hardly enjoyable; it seemed more like a new trick her children had come up with to tease her.
“Never mind, I still have some things to do…”
Even as she was speaking, Roy Lewis shifted towards the edge and gestured to the space next to him.
“No need to rush, take a few minutes to sit and enjoy. It’s not often our children are so kind!”
As if, he was the real master of this house.
Richelle shot him a glance, wordlessly criticizing his audacity in making himself at home, thinking back about how she could enjoy these luxury services every day.
True to form, Timothy quickly chimed in.
“Uncle, Tifanny and I often give Mommy massages!”
The proud declaration of Timothy brought a radiant smile to Richelie’s face and she put her embarrassment aside. Flashing a confident smile at Roy Lewis, she proudly sat next to him.
Roy Lewis observed her actions, found them amusing and a little curious. His gaze landed unabashedly on her face.
Though Richelle was just 25, she was the mother of two children, and should have been mature, stable, and perhaps even somber.
But the more he interacted with her, the more he discovered many times that she could behave childishly.
You could say she was no different than Timmy and Tifanny.
What was it about her that made this 25-year-old married woman,
appear as innocent and cheerful as a young girl, without any pretense?
Richelle had intended to fully enjoy her daughter’s VIP service, however, Roy Lewis kept his gaze fixed on her face.
Though she tried to ignore him, his unabashed scrutiny was too imposing. Even Tiffany noticed, whispering in her ear, “Mommy, uncle is staring at you!”
Richelle was never a timid person. Although she was indeed bewildered by Roy Lewis a few days ago, she quickly rationalized it.
Her relationship with Roy Lewis, from the start till now, had always been strictly professional. The occasional blush and the flutter in her heart, were nothing more than a natural reaction to his overwhelming masculine presence, his lack of emotional intelligence and his blunt talk – often flirty without realizing.
It was only natural for her, a normal woman, to react like that.
Yes, the answer was that simple.
With a calm and composed manner, Richelle lifted her face and looked at Roy Lewis. “Mr. Lewis, is there something on my face?”
Roy Lewis shook his head nonchalantly, just as he did when she caught him staring before.
No!”
Richelle Dunn was inwardly fuming at his straightforward attitude, “So what are you looking at?”
There wasn’t a trace of flirtation in his eyes, only scrutiny and appraisement.
Richelie had always found this kind of gaze annoying.
Since childhood, because she was smarter than others, many people would use this kind of scrutinizing and measuring look to see her.
Roy Lewis seemingly didn’t interpret her words as resentment, and responded to her quite casually.
“1 was wondering, how can you look so much like Tifanny?”
Richelle was startled, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Her baby daughter was wearing a mask, could he still see the resemblance to her?
But it didn’t make sense, neither her daughter nor her sons looked like her or him. Was he trying to pry some information from her with his words?
Could he have started to have doubts?
“Ha-ha, how did you notice the resemblance between Tifanny and me?”
Even for the group photos taken on his birthday, she had carefully examined them and confirmed that the children wearing masks didn’t look in the least bit like Roy Lewis.
Nor did they resemble her.
Roy Lewis stared intently at her, then at Tifanny, “Just a feeling, you two have similar temperaments and personalities.”
Relaxed, Richelle mockingly replied, “Please, Mr. Lewis, are you joking? I’m not as cute or adorable as Tifanny. I’m notoriously hard to deal with, frivolous and reckless. How could soft and cute Tifanny possibly resemble me?”
Richelle was indeed very narcissistic, but she also had a great appreciation for others.
Therefore, she never thought there was anything wrong with her daughter being the way she was.
In fact, she often felt that her daughter’s tenderness and warmth were just right to soften some of her own cold, hard edges.
As Roy Lewis looked at her, he remembered that he had never voiced his opinion of her before.
“So this is how you see yourself?”
Richelie’s eyes were full of mischief, “Isn’t this how you see me?”
Roy Lewis raised an eyebrow in denial.
“I never said that!”
Even if he had thought so, how could she guess it?
Richelle shrugged, not exposing his true thoughts.
“Really, you never said that, but others have…”
Richelle had always had just this kind of face. Those who could tolerate her might call her candid, but those who couldn’t, naturally labelled her as frivolous and outrageous.
And from the first day she met Roy Lewis, the look in his eyes reminded her of those pretentious and self-important people.
Roy Lewis was surprised.
So, you’ve always been talked about this way?”
Richelle admitted openly, “Yes!”
“Don’t you mind?”
After getting to know her better, Roy Lewis had truly come to respect Richelle as a doctor.
But a woman of her age and experience couldn’t possibly be indifferent to others’ perceptions of her, could she?
Richelle countered him, “Is there a need to care?”
Seeing that Roy Lewis was still not quite understanding, she patiently continued to explain.
“My duty is to cure illnesses and save people. As long as the patients cooperate, 1 don’t care about the rest. I mean, what does it matter what others think of me? I’m not losing anything! Besides, why waste my precious time worrying about other people’s baseless opinions?”
These words stirred something inside Roy Lewis. He knew many people, but few lived their lives as clearly as Richelle Dunn.
As for those her age, she was the only one.
And those he knew who lived as clearly as her, were invariably very aged, having experienced much in life.
How did such a young, intelligent woman, born into a good family and with a successful upbringing, come to live so transparently?
Richelle Dunn, you really are strange!”
She spoke the most outrageous, most arrogant words, but her heart for her patients was very pure and steadfast.
Although she had a young and immature face, she lived much more clearly and lucidly than significantly older people.
Richelle met his deep gaze and responded with a raised eyebrow and a teasing smile.
“Really? In that case, 1’11 take Mr. Lewis’s words as a compliment!”
Compared to Roy Lewis’s dullness, Richelle had extremely sharp intuition and sensitivity.
From Roy Lewis’s eyes, she didn’t see any mockery or perfunctory attitude. Instead, she saw something like admiration.
Roy Lewis corners of his mouth lifted slightly as his eyes sparkled.
Rarely, he nodded honestly.
“Indeed, it is a compliment!”