---- Chapter 3: Man to Man Aaron came to an abrupt halt. He looked down and saw... a tiny kid hugging his leg like a lifeline, wearing a round, oversized cap. Irritating. He hated kids. Couldn't stand them. Why the hell hadn't his team dragged this brat off yet? "Whose kid is this?" Aaron rubbed his temples, his tone edged with obvious frustration. Matt, his assistant, immediately crouched down, trying to scoop the kid up. But the little guy had latched onto Aaron's leg like a baby octopus-and to make things worse, he was actually sitting on Aaron's damn shoe. Matt looked up helplessly. He knew Aaron had a serious cleanliness obsession. The man didn't even like strangers brushing against his sleeve-let alone some random kid gluing himself to his leg. Aaron's face darkened like a brewing thunderstorm. "Get him off. Now." Matt had no choice but to try harder. He grabbed the kid's arms and started to pull. But somehow, the kid was freakishly strong. Leo wasn't letting go. No way. This was his one shot! If ---- he couldn't collect the money today, he couldn't buy the apartment. And if he couldn't buy the apartment, he couldn't live next to Elsie! Mission critical! Come on, Leo! You can do this! he cheered himself on, then shouted at the top of his lungs, "Mister! Debts need to be paid! Pay me and I'll let go!" A crowd had begun to gather. No one dared openly stare, but plenty of people were sneaking peeks out of the corners of their eyes. Aaron tore off his sunglasses, irritation radiating from every inch of him. It had been years since someone had dared to threaten him. The air pressure dropped. Literally. Finally, Matt managed to hook his fingers under the kid's grip and forcibly peeled him off. He lifted Leo up-who kicked and struggled the whole way-and in the chaos, Leo's cap, backpack, and a magazine all went tumbling to the floor. That's when the kid's face was fully exposed. And just like that, silence blanketed the room. Because that face? That face looked exactly like Aaron's. Same slightly wavy dark hair. Same little cowlick swirl near his right temple. Same sharp, defined nose. And those eyes-those eyes!-a soft, pale violet. The exact ---- same shade as Aaron's. Matt's jaw dropped. He'd worked for Aaron eight years. In all that time, he'd never seen anyone else with eyes like that-not even once. He froze, still holding Leo. Too afraid to squeeze, too afraid to drop him. Thankfully, Leo finally picked up on the shift in atmosphere and stopped fighting. Aaron looked calm on the outside, but inside, it was like a Category 5 hurricane. He stared Leo down. "What money do I owe you?" Leo straightened up in Matt's arms, full of righteous fury. "Child support. One million dollars!" Gasps echoed around the room. Aaron Devereaux? The legendary founder of Devereaux Legal Group? That Aaron? A deadbeat dad?! What a scandal! "Bring him inside," Aaron said in a low, ice-cold voice. Matt jolted, grabbed Leo's scattered things, and followed Aaron into his private office. As soon as the door shut, the rest of the office exploded into a frenzy of pretend productivity-fingers flying on keyboards, heads buried in documents. But in reality, every group chat was blowing up. ---- This was the juiciest gossip the firm had ever seen. Inside Aaron's dark, minimalist office, Leo was plopped into a sleek black leather chair nearly five times his size. He sat across from Aaron like they were ina corporate negotiation-big eyes locked on Aaron's sharp gaze. "Matt," Aaron said without looking away, "runa paternity test-now!" Matt blinked. Seriously? You need a test? He's your literal clone! But one glance at Aaron's face had him moving without a word. He carefully plucked strands of hair from both Aaron and Leo, then handed them off to the intern squad to rush to the hospital. After that, he slipped back inside and waited. Aaron lowered his voice, trying to sound casual-but failing. "Who's your mother?" Leo didn't hesitate. "Clara Hartley." Aaron's brain did a hard scan. Nothing. No bells. No memory. Nada. "Got a photo?" Leo tapped his smartwatch, pulled up a picture, and held it out to Aaron. ---- Aaron studied it closely. The woman had porcelain skin, delicate features-not bad-looking, but kind of plain. Her eyes were clear, bright. She looked... eighteen? Maybe twenty? Young. Too young. And definitely not familiar. He'd never seen her before in his life. Not his type, either. Since puberty, his taste in women had stayed consistent: voluptuous, dangerous, sultry. He went for red lips and killer curves-not soft and sweet. There was no way this girl had ever made it onto his radar. "Call your mother," Aaron said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I want to speak to her." Leo scowled. "Why? This is man-to-man business. Why bring a woman into it?" Matt couldn't help it-he snorted. Aaron shot him a withering glare, and Matt barely managed to choke the laugh back. "Out," Aaron ordered. Matt sighed. Damn. All the ladies in the group chat were begging for updates. But orders were orders. He gave Leo a thumbs-up behind Aaron's back, then slipped out and quietly closed the door behind him.