After I thanked Harry for the container of food awhile later, I sat on Angel's lap facing his computer. I stared at the box with napkins and a clear package of plastic utensils on top of it.

"Did you ask for anything specific?" I asked softly, tilting my head back to rub it on his chest.

Angel leaned back. "Why, are you worried?"

"Just a teeny-tiny bit. What if it's spicy?"

Angel kissed my head. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I told him not to get anything spicy."

I breathed a sigh of relief, my tail thumping between our legs. "Thank you, Angel."

"You are very welcome." he murmured, hugging my waist while he worked on the computer with one hand.

I removed the napkins and unfolded one to lay across my lap, then I opened the plastic package to retrieve my knife and fork. I placed them on top of the other napkins, then cautiously opened the box.

"Ooh, what's this?" I asked, picking up the fork to poke at the chicken and pasta in the box. I could see spinach, tomatoes, and some kind of cheese (and lots of it).

"Just taste it, sweetheart." Angel chuckled, kissing the top of my head again.

"Mmkay," I murmured, then twirled some pasta like I had watched Waltz do the other day, and stabbed a small piece of chicken to cap the end.

I lifted the bite to my mouth and my saliva started to gather. It smelled so good. The cheese smelled a bit tangy, and it was very much so when I put it into my mouth. I put the empty fork down while I chewed, my tail wiggling with happiness at the new flavors bursting on my tongue. The chicken was moist, and the spinach was kind if gritty, but it worked well with the dish. The pasta was perfect and overall it was kind of creamy.

Angel kissed my head. "You really like food, don't you?"

I tilted my head, still chewing, then nodded. Once my mouth was clear, I answered him, "After my third birthday, the most I ever got to eat every day was a piece of stale bread, a small half-rotten apple, and a tiny piece of moldy cheese, and I was beaten if I stole food or sneaked a bite of anything I made. So of course I love eating now, but that doesn't mean I eat every chance I get. I just enjoy the food I'm given and the meals I make as well."

Angel's face had darkened dramatically. "What's your mother's name?"

I cocked my head to the side again. "Why?"

"Just tell me her name, sweetheart." coaxed Angel, cupping my cheek.

"Um, it's Makayla Weber. I think I'm more DeLuca, though, with my dragon side."

"Of course you are, sweetheart. And you're just too cute in both forms."

I blushed, twirling the fork again. "Th-thank you, Angel."

He chuckled, resting his chin on my head. While I made my delightful second bite, Angel was doing something different on the computer. When I saw my mom's picture show up, I froze in place. Angel rubbed my back, trying to get me to relax.

"She's not here, sweetheart."

"It feels like she is." I whispered, closing my eyes. I left my second bite in the container and turned around to cuddle into Angel's arms.

He squeezed my waist quite hard, but it felt good. It reminded me of where I was and what my life was like now. I rested my chin on Angel's shoulder, shuddering with each breath.

"Hmm, no wonder." muttered Angel, then he petted my hair. "Turn around and keep eating, sweetheart, your mother is gone."

"Oh, okay." I whispered, then felt Angel's hands maneuvering me to the same position as before.

I reached for the fork with trembling fingers, but I didn't want to make a mess, so I dropped my hands and tried to calm down with deep breaths. Angel nuzzled my head, almost seeming to purr as he lifted the fork and put it to my lips. I took the bite and my tail started wiggling faster.

"Ah, now I understand why Alexandre loves to feed his baby boy." commented Angel, his tone full of amusement.

I blushed, rubbing by head on him while I chewed. Instead of continuing to feed myself, Angel did it for me. I was quite pleased, since I hadn't recovered from seeing my mom's face again. Her face came back into my mind with startling clarity.

Unnaturally dark skin (kind of orangey from tanning), mousy brown hair, almost black eyes, a slightly crooked nose, full lips, and a tattoo around her neck with multiple daggers. I would have thought that tattoo was cool had it not been on my mom. She was terrifying to me, even in a picture.

Once I was happily full, Angel ate the rest and hummed at the flavors. I think he liked it, too. I wiped my face, then looked at him to make sure I got everything. Angel gave me a thumbs up, then looked to me for the same. I giggled, nodding at him.

Angel didn't want me to get up, so he tossed the used stuff into the garbage can next to his desk. He used some hand cleaner goop to make sure all was well, and even gave a couple drops to me to clean my small hands with. They smelled like antibacterial things now.

He gave me a pen, so I doodled on the extra napkins. I began to draw a unicorn laying down and a small wolf flopped over his back. I giggled when Angel glanced down and chuckled at my drawing.

I did different poses, with me cuddled against Angel's side, or underneath him in our would-be animal forms. I even had one with us kissing. I liked it because it looked cute.

"Are you wanting to me to kiss you, Anwyll?"

I jumped a bit, startled by Angel's sudden question. A fair bit of time had passed since he last said anything.

"U-um, we're in your office." I mumbled, my cheeks turning red.

Angel chuckled. "That we are."

"And u-um, there's p-people outside."

He smirked at me. "Yes, sweetheart."

My face burned. "Y-yes, please."

"Please what?"

A soft whine slipped out. "I don't want to cause trouble for you, Ange." I whimpered, hiding my face.

Angel turned my body around and pried my hands off my face. "Sweetheart, you won't cause me any trouble. I closed the blinds, if that's what you're worried about."

"So no office gossip or any scandals will come from this?" I asked, staring worriedly into his sparkling sky blue eyes.

Angel laughed and pecked my lips. "Sweetheart, there is already a ton of office gossip from you just being here."

"O-okay."

I blushed when I pushed forward to kiss him. Angel's eyebrows shot up, but he deepened the kiss nonetheless. I was thoroughly satisfied at the end of it, and completely happy to snuggle into his arms and snooze for a bit.

It was about a couple hours later that the secretary knocked, reminding Angel about the lunch meeting. Angel popped a mint, then gave me one, and stood up. He saved his work and shut down his computer. He grabbed his briefcase and shuffled several booklets of information inside, because he checked the contents beforehand to make sure they were the correct ones. Angel, with me in his left arm and briefcase in his right hand, headed out the door and firmly locked it.

I suckled on the mint, hearing it clank against my teeth when I rolled it around with my tongue. The secretary smiled at me from below, so I grinned back and wiggled my fingers.

"Your name is Anwyll, right?" he asked, walking slightly behind Angel. "Who are you exactly? How could you know all those topics by merely looking at the notes?"

I could sense that Angel smirked with pride. I refocused my attention back to the secretary. "I used common sense and logic. I was getting irritated just listening to her avoid the basic information. I don't want Angelique to make a bad investment choice right off the bat due to her inability to communicate on the important issues. I'm sure Angelique wouldn't have made a bad decision anyway, but the possibility of it happening was still there."

Angel kissed my nape again as we entered the elevator. I turned my head and nosed his dark blue suit. The secretary was stunned.

"Say, what's your name, Mr. Secretary?" I asked with a giggle, my tail wagging.

"Johnathan Crow, but I go by John." he said, a small smile on his face.

"Okay, John it is." I beamed, hugging Angel's neck.

"Why did Mr. Michaels bring you here?"

I frowned a bit. I guess Angel's last name is Michaels.

"Um, I don't really know, but I'm happy to be here." I grinned, my tail now whirling.

Angel subtly shifted his hand down to calm it, so I nosed his neck in thanks. I peered at John again. He was watching Angel and I, both curious and confused.

"I heard Mr. Michaels say that you're family. Is that true?"

"Mmhm," I nodded, rubbing my right cheek on Angel's shoulder. "I love my family a whole lot, too."

Angel squeezed my body, and I could sense he was very pleased with what I said and likely how I said it as well.

John frowned a bit. "You don't look anything alike, though."

"So?" I asked. "Blood doesn't always make a family."

John's face paled and he quickly apologized. "Anyway, Mr. Michaels, the meeting is being held at the restaurant you requested, and the man you've worked hard to entice to come has called me to say that he will attend, but he may be a bit late."

Angel's demeanor seemed to brighten. "That's wonderful. Thank you, John."

John's eyebrows shot up. I guess he wasn't used to Angel being thankful.

"Contact Clyde for me. Tell him that I need him out front in a few minutes."

"Yes, sir." responded John, taking out his phone. A few moments later he said, "It's done, sir."

"Very good."

I tucked my head against Angel's neck and closed my eyes. When the elevator ground to a halt, we were on a different floor and not in the underground parking lot. I'm assuming that this is the ground floor, though, because I could see the road outside.

Angel walked up to the front desk, where the women were busy working away. One woman looked up and quickly finished what she was doing.

"I'm sorry for the wait, Mr. Michaels. How may I be of service to you?"

"Has Ms. Veronica Herald left the building?" asked Angel, and I felt the woman's gaze snap to me for a moment.

"I don't believe so, sir. May I ask why?"

"She is to attend a lunch meeting with me at noon. If she cannot make it, make sure to have someone retrieve the data she collected and contact my secretary to hand it over to him. Is that understood?"

The woman firmly nodded. "I will get right on it, sir."

Angel said nothing in response and strode away to the front door. I saw Clyde standing just outside the car, ready to open the door. He seemed surprised to see me again.

"Sir, is it wise to bring a child with you? Perhaps the clients and other investors will not be so pleased."

Angel stiffened, and Clyde's face paled. Angel was clearly upset with Clyde's behavior, but merely glared at him as he climbed in. Clyde shut the door while John slid in on the other side, then Clyde hopped into the driver's side.

"You know the address for the restaurant." said John to Clyde, so the latter nodded and cautiously pulled out into traffic.

Angel strapped us both in with one seatbelt, which made John raise an eyebrow. I turned my head to look at him again.

"How long have you been working with Angelique?"

Angel petted my hair, but remained silent while John and I talked a bit. I was happy to learn more about Angel and what kind of work he did, but I still wondered why everyone called him the "boss." Did that mean he was in charge of a lot of people, stocks, or otherwise? Or was he in charge of the company itself? But how was that possible? He's only four years older than me!

When we arrived at the restaurant, Clyde offered to babysit me, but received a piercing glare that made him curl into himself. Angel kissed my head, then sighed when I nuzzled his jaw.

There was a woman standing at a wooden podium-like thing when we came up.

"For three?" she asked, but Angel shook his head.

"I have room reserved under the surname Michaels."

The woman's eyes and eyebrows shot up. "Oh, of course! Please come this way, Mr. Michaels. I will have a server assigned to your room. Would you like anything to drink to start off? Juice or milk for the little one?"

I pouted a bit, which made Angel chuckle when he felt my cheeks puff out. John had frozen in place when Angel laughed, but managed to force himself back into moving to catch up with us.

"What would you like, sweetheart?" he asked in a low whisper. "Would you like juice?"

"What's that?"

Angel paused, his heart thudding a painfully fast rhythm under my ear. "Wh-what was that? What did you ask me?" his breathy voice was starting to twist in anger.

"I asked what the drink called 'juice' was."

John had just caught up when he heard the tail end of my words. His breath hitched, then coughed. "S-sir, surely you know he's messing with you. All kids know what juice is."

Angel tensed, his body starting to radiate pure anger. "Anwyll didn't grow up like a normal kid. He never lies, always speaks truth."

John almost started laughing until he saw my grave face. "Who exactly are you?"

"I'm Anwyll DeLuca and I am eighteen years of age. I have spent the last fifteen years with my violently abusive mother. She deprived me of anything a normal child had and could do, and beat me if she thought I was happy at any time."

John's face paled, and he turned away. I heard something, and several shocked cries. I heard him mutter something to the woman, then he dashed off in another direction.

"Angel, is juice kinda like fruit juice? I remember seeing boxes at school."

Angel breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, sweetheart. It's sugary, so I don't recommend having a lot."

"Mm, okay." I hummed. "I trust you, Angel."

He chuckled. "All right, thank you, sweetheart."

I nosed his shoulder and absentmindedly nosed his shoulder while he spoke to the hostess, looking over the clientele in the restaurant. They seemed to be dressed well. Occasionally they would glance up when Angel walked past, then their eyes slid over to me. I smiled with a wave, and sometimes the men and women would wiggle their fingers back at me with amused smiles.

"Here is your private room, sir." said the woman. "The drinks will arrive shortly."

Angel entered, and I looked over to see that it was empty, but he told me it would fill soon. It wasn't quite noon yet, apparently. Angel petted my back as he stood silently, my tail lazily swishing back and forth. A few minutes went by and the door opened, revealing John and who I assumed to be the server. She was pushing a cart with water glasses on them, but handed the odd cup to Angel, who took it with a silent nod.

"Here, sweetheart." he said, so I sat up a bit and took the clear plastic cup with an orangey-yellow liquid in it.

It already had a straw poking through the top, but it had half the wrapper on it. I kissed Angel's cheek in thanks, sliding off the paper. John watched with anticipation in his eyes, which made me look at him with concern. Angel chuckled and stroked my ears, then my head.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I had it watered down a bit for you."

"Mm, thank you." I said, kissing his cheek again as I wrapped my lips around the straw. I furrowed my eyebrows for a moment. How do I use a straw?

"What's wrong?" asked John.

"U-um..." I mumbled, then whispered in Angel's ear, "How do I use a straw?"

He tensed, then had me lean back so he could whisper in my ear. I blushed when he told me how. Angel snickered, pecking my cheek while I dutifully placed my lips around the straw and gently sucked on it. My eyes widened when the tangy-sour sweetness filled my mouth.

"Ooh, this tastes like an orange!"

Angel laughed. "This is orange juice, sweetheart. Squeezed straight from the fruit."

"Oh," I giggled. "Well, it's yummy. Thank you, Angel."

He kissed my cheek. "You're welcome, sweetheart."

John looked pleased, so I grinned at him and sipped at the orange juice. I rested my head again on Angel's shoulder, happy to snooze again for awhile. I felt Angel take the cup and relaxed, because I was worried about dropping it.

A little while later, men and women started arriving. Angel greeted them all with a small smile and a handshake. He made small talk with them, but I could feel their eyes on me. I turned my head and smiled at each man and woman. A few blushed and or smiled back. Angel petted my head, but he seemed anxious. John had the server come back for drinks, but glanced worriedly at Angel, even while the greeting part of the meeting seemed to be going well so far.

"Are you okay, Angel?" I asked, kissing his neck.

"Yes, sweetheart. I'm just a bit nervous." he murmured, petting my head.

"Is it because of the person who's coming late?"

"Mhm," hummed Angel. "He's very important."

"Ooh, okay. Maybe you should put me down, then?"

"No," he grunted. "You're keeping me sane."

"Mm, okay." I giggled, hugging his neck. My tail whirled like a tornado. I'm really happy he doesn't want to put me down.

Angel muffled his laughter, calming my tail with a single touch. But he tensed when the door was opened. I stared at the tall man who felt much like my daddy. The same short full beard reminded me of Daddy, too. And the dark gold hair, emerald green eyes had me thinking of Daddy's honey-gold hair and dark green eyes when he switched to his human look. The man emanated a great amount of power just like my daddy, too. I will say that it felt even more strong than Daddy's powerful aura.

He caught me staring at him as Angel turned to greet him. He held my curious violet orbs with some confusion flickering on his face. He slowly raised his eyes to Angel's face, then straightened his tie and held out his hand.

"Angelique Michaels?" he asked, so Angel steeled his nerves and met the man's hand with a pleasant, welcoming smile.

"Yes, sir. Thank you for agreeing to attend this meeting."

"Yes, your company's design was quite intriguing." he responded, then met my eyes again. "May I inquire to who this little one is?"

Angel rubbed my back, so I sat up and held out my hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. My name is Anwyll DeLuca."

His eyes widened. "Are you that Anwyll?"

I frowned. "Pardon me?"

"Are you Alexandre's son?"

Angel tensed. "You know Alexandre?"

My jaw dropped as it suddenly hit me. "Are you my daddy's big brother?"

The man smirked. "Oh, so you know of me."

"Not really. I only found out yesterday that I have grandparents and an aunt and uncle." I chewed on my bottom lip, eyeing him.

His eyebrows rose. "Well, for your sake, I will tell you who I am."

"Okay!" I beamed as he grasped my hand.

"My name is Andros DeLuca, but I use Andros Lucaon as my name for business." he said with a smile. "It is a pleasure to meet the son that my little brother has crowed about for years."

I blushed, then hugged Angel's neck a bit tighter. "Thank you."

Angel kissed my cheek as Uncle Andros released my hand. I snuggled back into my unicorn's arms, and then once the server came in with two others to help with taking orders, the first part of the true meeting began.