by Emelia Blair
Groaning, I tuck Sophie back into her carrier and wonder how I’m going to get out of this one.
Sure enough, a few hours later, Lana shows up with Kendall in tow, the latter grinning, sadistically and Lana looking more than a little disgruntled.
“Is this because I refused to share my yogurt with you last week?” She demands.
I laugh, helplessly, trying to deny it.
Kendall just examines her manicured nails, smirking. “She doesn’t trust you. So sad.”
Lana glares at her. “You’re turning more and more into Caleb. He’s not a good influence on you, you know.”
Kendall sighs happily. “I know.”
I chuckle.
Lana scowls at me. “What are you laughing at?”
My smile immediately gives way to a severe expression. I try to maintain it and shrug. “It was funny…” I trail off when she looks about ready to hit me with something and I attempt to do damage control, “You two can babysit her together. Have a girl’s night or something.”
Lana looks interested in the idea.
Kendall tickles my daughter enticing some giggles out of her. “Sounds good to me.” Then she glances at me. “You sure you’ll be okay with leaving her, I know you haven’t left her side even once.”
I consider her words and then sigh, remembering what Lucas said about me needing some time to myself. “Yeah, I’ll check in every hour.”
Lana grins then. “We won’t mind keeping her overnight, you know, if you get lucky or something.”
“No!” The word is forcibly torn from my throat and I realize the slip.
Both my friends are staring at me, their eyes wide.
My cheeks flush with shame. “Sorry, I didn’t – I didn’t mean to shout.”
“It was just a joke,” Kendall says, gently, and then she exchanges a worried look with Lana, before lowering her voice and adding, “You know you don’t have to sleep with him?”
I nod, not knowing where the sudden fear had come from. “Yeah, I know. Lucas said he wouldn’t touch me without my permission.”
Is that why saying yes to this date hadn’t been so hard? Am I scared of a man touching me?
This is a worrisome thought and suddenly, I’m not very sure about this whole thing. Maybe I should just bake him a pie instead?
As if my thoughts were being transmitted to him, Lucas’s voice chimes in, “Afternoon, ladies.” He’s walking towards us, his coat slung over his arm, while the sleeves of his dress shirt have been rolled up to his elbow, his tie loosened.
My breath catches at how sexy he looks and I wonder if he knows how he could make any girl’s heart stop right now.
By the satisfied glint in his eye, he seems to be aware of the effect he’s having on me.
I stubbornly stand my ground while refusing to look away.
His eyes remain on me and he’s wearing a smug grin on his face.
“Did someone rob you?” Lana asks, bluntly.
He looks surprised. “No.”
“Then fix your clothes,” she orders.
Lucas grins at her. “It’s a lunch break. Also known as the freedom hour.”
“You just made that up.” Kendall peers at him, suspiciously.
He clutches his chest, almost dramatically. “Moi?”
I chuckle at his theatrics.
He glances in my direction looking pleased. Then he reaches into his pocket and brings out a yellow flower. It’s a daisy. He offers it to me. “I picked it up on the way here.”
Now I blush fiercely and I’m accepting the flower before I can realize what I’m doing.
No one has ever given me a flower before and I know this one will find its way pressed into one of my books. It’s such a simple gesture and yet, I feel the warmth in my chest. I glance up at him, almost shyly. “Thank you.”
Kendall stares at him. “Are you puffing out your chest?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with you?” Lana chimes in.
Lucas frowns at them. “You two are bullies. I’m telling I’m your husband.” Ignoring them, he turns to me. “Have you had lunch yet? I was thinking about taking you and Sophie out for lunch.”
I’m a little taken aback by the request because he’s usually never been this vocal about such a thing. Its almost as if he’s…
My train of thought is lost when Lana interrupts, “Actually, she’s going to lunch with us.”
I shake my head. “I can’t do that either. I have to lose all this baby weight and that means watching what I put into my body for meals. I brought a salad with me.”
Lucas blinks. “What baby weight? You look downright gorgeous.”
I’m starting to think that if he goes on like this then my face will permanently be red around him.
Lana and Kendall vehemently agree.
I sigh internally, their kindness making me feel all fuzzy inside but I can’t hide from reality. “I can’t fit into the dresses I wore before I got pregnant,” I say, mournfully. “So, stop it, all of you.”
Lucas is leaning against my desk and is checking me out, very obviously, and he drawls while smirking, “I can’t see a single thing wrong with you.”
That’s when Lana smiles, almost fondly. “Elise could be wearing a potato sack and have bed head and you’d still think she’s the hottest woman in the room.”
Lucas simply folds his arms against his chest, looking defiant. “So, what? It’s true!”
What is going on here? I feel completely bewildered as I stare between the two of them. Since when has Lucas begun to flirt with me shamelessly and why is Lana acting as if this isn’t a surprise to her?
Sophie chooses that moment to decide that she’s been ignored for far too long and she starts kicking her feet in the pram, making noises that are a cry for attention.
Lucas immediately abandons us all in favor of her, and leaning into the pram, he offers his finger for her to hold on to. She immediately covers it in drool, as he says, “Who’s Uncle Lucas’ favorite girl? You are. Yes, you are.”
I watch Lucas abandon all his dignity to coo at my baby and I wonder at the ‘Uncle Lucas’ part. Then feeling a pair of eyes on me, I turn my head without thinking and see a familiar pair of eyes watching the whole scene with disgust and unrestrained anger, and I immediately stiffen.
I make eye contact with the man and he gives me a cold look which is filled with acidic hate before he directs it towards the carrier where my daughter is being entertained by Lucas. And it is at that moment when I realize that contract or no contract, I should never leave Sophie alone while I’m here because if given the opportunity, her father would harm her.
I narrow my eyes at Darren Hall, the man who sired my daughter.
5
Lucas
I don’t know what grabs my attention.
The way Sophie grows still and quiet, reacting to her mother’s emotions or the fact that Elise is snarling, an expression I’ve never seen on her face.
Even Lana and Kendall notice it and I hear the hesitation in their voices as one of them asks, “Elise?”
I don’t say anything, instead choosing to look in the direction she’s looking in, only to see the elevator doors close behind someone. I catch a flash of a male shoulder and something feels off about this whole thing.
When I turn back to Elise, her expression is blank and she’s quietly fussing with Sophie’s dress, the child unnaturally subdued.
“Elise, who was that?”
And for the first time since I’ve known her, she sounds sharp as she answers, “No one important. Leave it alone, please.”
I don’t let her tone bother me and neither do I plan to leave it alone.
I have a fair number of suspicions about what this man meant to Elise and I felt a wave of slow anger simmering inside of me. However, my smile is pleasant and my next words are a blatant lie, “If you say so.”
She almost looks relieved.
Oh, my dear, Elise, I think, affectionately. You’re dealing wit
h a very dangerous man, darling. As if I’ll let something like this go so easily.
And it’s true.
Caleb is and Oliver may be lethal in the boardroom, they have some level of conscience. I have none of that. Behind my smiles and playful veneer lurks a cold unfeeling monster that doesn’t care as he ruthlessly rips a man’s life apart. There’s a reason why I’m so good at my job.
I’ve given Elise enough time to get to know me.
Now, it’s time to take what’s mine and eliminate the threats.
So, I smile at the woman and the child as I’m dazzled by the fierce protectiveness in the eyes of the woman I love when she looks at her daughter.
So much strength inside of her that calls to me.
I’ve been so good over this past year. And it’s gotten me nowhere with her.
Time to show her the real me and see if she can handle it.
“You want me to do what?” Roger gapes at me.
I continue to study the case file in my hand. “You heard me.” I look up at him from where I’m sitting.
“Why can’t I just order it?” He frowns. “The bakery is a half hour drive from here.”
I rub the bridge of my nose. If he wasn’t so good at his job, I would fire Roger. The man argues too damn much. “It’s just Tuesdays and Thursdays and I’m extending your lunch break, so I don’t see what you’re bitching about.”
“And what about the rest of the days?” He asks suspiciously.
I blink innocently. “Why, of course, I’ll go myself.”
When he gives me a disbelieving look, I scowl, “I have weekly meetings on those two days which is why I’m entrusting the task to you. And also.” I sit up, my expression cold. “Anything you hear, I want you to report it to me.”
Roger studies my face before giving me a quick nod.
He’s about to leave for the bakery when I call his name, making him look over his shoulder, and I say, annoyed at the embarrassment in me, “Uh, I lost my phone again.”
My assistant makes a nasty comment under his breath.
I pretend not to have heard it.
Two hours later when I casually pass by the front desk which is missing the pretty little receptionist and her baby, I notice the half eaten strawberry cheesecake muffin, and I grin in satisfaction.
Hook.
It’s one thing getting Elise to agree to go on a date with me.
It’s an entirely different matter to decide the date of the date.
This week is filled with meetings and it’s Friday when I drag myself through the lobby only to perk up on seeing Elise sitting there.
She looks surprised to see me.
I pause to wonder if I’ve imagined the flash of irritation in her eyes. The sight of it delights me, however, and it does make me think whether I’ll turn into a masochist just for this woman.
“Elise.” I make my way over to her.
She frowns at me, demanding, “Are you trying to fatten me up for the slaughter?”
Glimpsing the empty pastry box that I conveniently drop on her desk every morning before she shows up to work, I can’t hide my growing grin. “How was the peach cake?” I laugh.
She glowers at me. “It was absolutely delicious and you know it!”
Her bewildered anger is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen and I try not to look too pleased.
Then her annoyance fades to concern. “Are you all right? You don’t look well.
I glance at Sophie sleeping in her little pram and say, idly, “It’s been a long week. I haven’t had time to unwind.” Even as I’m speaking, the idea brews in my mind as I meet Elise’s light brown eyes. “How would you like to go on our date tonight?”
When she flushes and tries to stammer out an excuse, I immediately say, “It’s been such a tiring week and I think this would really help me relax.”
She falters at this statement.
I hide my smirk, making sure my face looks just as earnest as my tone.
“W-Well, I have to prepare Sophie’s things and then I have to ask Kendall and—”
“It’s settled then.” I beam, as if she had been offering solutions instead of excuses. “Sounds like a good plan to me.” I start walking away, throwing casually over my shoulder at the gaping woman behind me, “I’ll pick you up at eight.”
As I move to the elevator, two women also enter it with me and I sense hostility from them when their eyes move towards Elise and then dart towards me.
My own eyes narrow as I study them from behind, recalling what Oliver had told me about one of the employees picking a fight with Elise. Is it one of them?
I get off at the top floor and make my way to Kendall’s office.
With her hazel eyes blazing, Kendall is in the midst of an argument with Jace Hunter, her stepbrother. “I know you ate it,” Kendall accuses.
It is clear to me that whatever she thinks he’s eaten, he has, considering the guilty look on his face which he tries to bury under indignation, not aware of the smudge of sauce on his mouth.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says, sulkily, turning his head to the side, as if not meeting her gaze will help him hold on to his lie.
Kendall is weighing the stapler in her hand, as if she’s seconds away from taking aim. “Tracy gave the leftover lasagna for me, you – you little pig!”
“Hey!” Jace looks offended and for someone who’s going to get married to one of the richest men in the country, Kendall shrugs off her dignity and lifts the bridge of her nose, taunting, “Oink, oink!”
Looking at them, you’d never think they’ve just found each other recently, their relationship seeming to be so solid as Jace growls under his breath and then says, nastily, “It didn’t even taste that good.”
It’s Kendall’s turn to look outraged as if he’s said something sacrilegious and she splutters, “You wait until I tell Tracy what you said!”
Horror grows on Jace’s face. “You wouldn’t!”
Kendall just scoffs, aware that she now has the upper hand and knowing how much Jace worships Tracy, it now looks entirely possible that the boy might burst into tears.
This has me stepping into the room. “Kendall, I need a favor.”
They glance up at me and Jace stills. “Mr. Black.”
Ruefully, I wonder when he will come to relax around me. It seems he doesn’t quite trust me or maybe he suspects what I’m hiding under my pleasant veneer.
I smile at him and feel amused when he stiffens in response. Then, I turn to his sister, who’s giving me an expectant look. My lips purse as I get to the heart of the matter, not bothered by Jace’s presence, “Is Elise having problems with anybody here in the office?”
Kendall frowns. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t interact with anyone aside from the Heads.” Her tone is dry. “Caleb keeps me pretty busy. Why, did Elise say something?”
There’s a concern in her voice and it makes me feel warm knowing that my woman has friends watching out for her. However, I also feel frustrated. I was counting on Kendall to know something.
That’s when Jace speaks up, “I’ve been hearing things.”
My gaze comes to rest on his carefully blank face and I hide the tension in my form and ask, easily, “Yeah? Like what?”
Jace hesitates as if he doesn’t know how to phrase it and I wonder how upset his sister would be if I were to punch him to make him hurry up.
Finally, he speaks up, his words slow and carefully chosen, “Elise doesn’t have a fan base in the female staff.”
I relax my body deliberately and my tone is casual, “How come?”
Jace is a perceptive man because the lighter my tone gets, the more his shoulders stiffen up, almost as if he’s scenting the danger in the air. However, he’s also a smart man with a backbone of steel. He’s had to have one in order to deal with all the shit he’s been through since he joined this company from before Caleb took over this place and turned it around. “I don’t know specific details if that�
�s what you’re after. I stay away from women. They’re a pain in the ass to deal with.” He ignores the scowl Kendall sends his way and continues, “But I’ve heard bits and pieces here and there. Something about this guy that she dated.” I can see the uncomfortable look in his eyes as he says, “There’s been a lot of resentment about her bringing her baby to work. Some talk about her trying to use the child to get to the child’s father.”
“The man works here.” My words are a statement, a confirmation to what I had already suspected. This time, I let some of the menace seep into my voice, “Who is he?”
Kendall shoots me a sharp look.
I see wariness shift into her eyes but I pay it no mind, my eyes pinning Jace to the spot.
“As I said, I don’t pay too much attention to what the women are babbling about. I don’t think he’s in a high level position because most of the women seem to know him personally or they’re on good terms with him and if a senior employee got too friendly with the women, it wouldn’t be a very well kept secret. It’s probably someone in a lesser position who’s more approachable. Either way, they feel that Elise getting pregnant was a way to trap him. And, then there’s you.”
My smile grows predatory and I’m no longer even trying to keep up my friendly persona. “Yes? What about me?”
Kendall is watching me in a way that I know Caleb’s going to be hearing about this later.
“Well…” Jace doesn’t lower his gaze, a directness remains in his clear hazel eyes that I admire. “There are some people saying that she’s also set her eyes on you, that she’s using her baby to get your sympathy and plans to foist the kid off on you.”
“Does she now?” I ask, my amused tone ringing false even to my ears.
That’s when Kendall narrows her eyes and studies me. “You know that’s not true, right? Elise wouldn’t—”
“I know,” I say quietly, meeting her gaze.
Elise doesn’t have a manipulative bone in her body.
I straighten up and bury Jace under an assessing look, before drawling, “For someone who’s doesn’t pay much attention to gossip, you sure are up to date with it.”
