Natalie had no idea what she’d do if she lost the man she loved to another. Sure, a college boyfriend had cheated on her, Rocco, but she wasn’t left clingy or holding onto the past. She reached out and brushed the other woman’s shoulder. “Then I feel sorry for you.”
Natalie took the next exit and headed toward the beach. They drove over the bridge that led to the small island chains that had the best views of the city. Neither said a word as they passed the exit for Star Island, home of famous multi-million dollar movie stars, basketball players, famous singers and the Morgans.
Jennifer flipped in her seat and her brown hair settled perfectly behind her head. Only a movie star would be that seamless with the action. “I meant what I said about helping you get Galen for yourself so that you can stop wearing that unflattering wig.”
They turned onto a nice island for millionaires and Jennifer’s building. Natalie stopped the car in front and shook her head. “No thanks. While Galen is hot to look at in the office and creates a nice fantasy in my mind, I want to find a man who is attracted to me, without using tricks.”
Jennifer shrugged and unlocked her seatbelt. “I was like that once but then I lost, bad. I also learned that my looks get me pretty far. If you change your mind, let me know. My number is on my card.”
Natalie looked down. Jennifer wasn’t what she’d expected at all. She waved as the starlet climbed out. “It was nice to meet you, Ms. Gonzales.”
“Jennifer.”
She waited until Jennifer was inside the building and then checked to make sure traffic was clear before she pulled back out on the street and headed to work.
The silence in the car was palpable. So what if she had a slight crush on her attractive boss? He’d never notice her, ever. He thought she was at least twenty years older than she was. Once she parked in the employee lot, near the back, she stayed in her car, fixed her wig and makeup with the mirror and band to keep her hair from falling in her face, and then “waddled” into the office.
No one looked twice at her as she made her way to her desk, visible behind a glass wall and glass door Everyone walking the hall could see her but usually nobody bothered. As she waited for her computer to boot up, she slipped on her ugly shoes and threw on her oversized sweater. Now she was ready to get to work.
Across the hall, Galen’s office door opened and he headed toward her. Her heart thumped, but she jumped in her seat, hoping to seem busy. She turned her chair to face the computer and logged in.
Galen’s hands clutched the side of her desk. “There you are, Ms. Parker. We have a problem. Please come into my office.”
Her skin buzzed and her mind raced. This couldn’t be good. She kept her head down. Had Jennifer called Galen to tell him the truth? “I dropped Ms. Gonzales off at her home and came right to work, as requested.”
Galen said nothing as he strode back to his office. She picked up a pencil and paper and followed him. She swallowed and tried to tell her shaking hands that this was about work and not the clinic. He then sat on the edge of his desk instead of behind while she took the seat near the door. He hopped up and closed the door, before returning to his desk. He didn’t quite look at her as he asked, “Are you married or engaged, Ms. Parker?”
What? She fixed her glasses and sat straight. Had Galen discovered that she’d lied on her application about her age? He hadn’t noticed her all year and she did excellent work. Her evaluation said so. She hugged the paper to her chest and glanced up at him. “No, but as my boss you really don’t have the right to ask those questions.”
He smacked one hand to the other which was his habit in all negotiations. “Believe me,” he nodded. “I know. I like work to be professional, but it seems the clinic made a huge mistake.”
The clinic? This wasn’t about work? Had he seen her blonde hair under the wig? Her body buzzed with trepidation. “What mistake is that?”
Galen covered his strong chin and his eyes were wide as he finally looked right at her. She stared at him and couldn’t look away, especially when his cheeks held a faint blush. At the last second, he dropped his gaze and lowered his voice. “You were injected with my brother’s semen.”
The buzz in her veins turned to a jolt of electricity. Her mind scrambled as his words reverberated down her body. Her lips tightened. “No, I went for my yearly check-up.”
He shook his head, his expression pained. “The nurses mixed up the files with all the confusion this morning. My brother is already talking to his lawyers and his wife.”
A baby? The word caused her to jerk in her seat. She crumpled the pad of paper. “You’re joking. I’m not ready to be a mom.”
Galen stared at her hard and seemed like he wanted to bite his lip. But then his gaze changed and she felt awareness grow. He jumped off his desk and knelt in front of her. Alarm rushed inside her. “There is almost no chance considering your age, but… is your hair blonde?”
No, no, no. Her pulse almost skyrocketed to the moon in one shot. She glanced at the door and hopped up hoping to escape. “Oh goodness. Look, I’ll let you know when my period comes, but I should get back to work.”
Galen gently grabbed her wrist until she turned and looked at him again. “Ms. Parker, you’re not forty-six, are you?”
The lie was done. Her gamble over. She turned, then reached up and pulled her gray curly wig off showing her blonde ponytail. She took off her glasses and for the first time met his gaze without a disguise. “No, you’re right. I’m twenty-eight.”
His face went white as he stared at her harder than he ever had. Her own skin buzzed, but she stayed still. Then he reached behind him and picked up a box of tissues, handing them to her. “Let me see you without the makeup.”
Desire shouldn’t course through her veins at unveiling before him. This was nothing like her fantasy as she couldn’t stop her hands from trembling. She wiped off her lipstick that was purposefully smeared to hide her natural lip shape and wiped dark makeup from her eyes. She probably looked a disaster without her makeup remover, but once she was done and couldn’t see any more color on the white cloths she took a deep breath and lifted her chin. “This is the real me though I’d look better if I washed my face.”
He didn’t say anything.
If she stayed, she’d melt into the floor and dissipate. She pointed toward the office door. “So, I’m going back to my desk now.”
Without another word, she fled his office. Pretty women never lasted in this job and now her days were numbered. What Galen had just said about this morning and a horrible mix-up didn’t matter half as much as staying employed. How in the world was she going to pay for her mother’s cancer bills if she lost her job? This mattered more than any hypothetical baby.
The House of Morgan
Secret Crush
Secret Baby
Secret Bet
Secret Wish
Secret Dad
Secret Heir
Secret Tryst
Secret Date
Secret Romeo
Secret Match (coming Feb 2019)
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Unedited!
Pilar Soliz let her dark hair down and flap in the tropical wind that came with the strong rain. She stood under the canopy attached to the five star beach resort on Grand Bohemia, an island in the Caribbean where the rich and famous tend to gather.
Everything about this hotel was nothing like her life, but if her daughter was happy marrying into the House of Morgan, she was happy for her. For Christmas they wrapped the palm trees in lights around their trunks.
Pilar hugged her scarf closer around her shoulders and let the wind brush against her skin.
Soon it would be hot and tropical again, but Pilar cherished the wind. Sure her husband disappeared on her twenty years ago and was gone like the brush of a wind, but that was why Pilar enjoyed storms. Life had a habit of changing fast and she’d always found her way, no matter what obstacle was thrown in her way.
She heard her daughter’
s sigh from the huge bay windows that overlooked the beach. Maybe she hadn’t physically heard her about to be married daughter, but she felt it in her soul so she left the canopy and returned to the conference room that soon would be full of sunshine and let them celebrate this wedding on Christmas Eve. She walked over to her dark haired daughter who shared her brown eyes and face, though she was much younger. Pilar let the scarf go lower and asked, “Caro, the flowers should be on both sides of the aisle, no?”
Her daughter scratched the back of her head like she was confused and asked, “You don’t think both in the middle?”
The last thing Pilar wanted was to stress her daughter out. She’d never presume to tell any of the Morgans she served how to handle their business, and she’d not interfere with her daughter’s wedding either. She shrugged and said, “It’s your wedding mi’ja. I just thought it balanced you both surrounding you and your Luke with beauty near your back.”
Caro motioned with her two hands to have two of the hotel workers separate the wall flowered trellises and then nodded when she saw them in front of the two Christmas trees decorated in pink and blue, the wedding colors. “I see what you’re saying now.” She nodded at the workers who then left the flowered trellises and went to get the flowers for the aisle set up. Caro turned to her and said, “Okay mom.” Her daughter then frowned at whoever walked in the front door and pouted as she asked, “Who invited Jennifer here?”
Ahh. Jennifer Gonzales, her famous almost daughter who never quite left her family though she wasn’t technically her daughter. Pilar had been slipping Jennifer food since she was a child and her mother was too busy calling her daughter fat and keeping her on a diet. Pilar was offered twenty five invitations for her daughter’s wedding, but just used one as she said, “Jennifer has been like a daughter I never raised in many ways, Caro. You and Rafe make me proud, but I do wish Jennifer grew past the influence of her own mother.”
Jennifer walked to join them in the middle of tomorrow’s wedding ceremony as Caro blushed and said, “You’re kindness makes me feel like I’m being bad and gossiping near Christmas.”
“You’re not getting coal in your stockings mi’ja.” Clearly her daughter was stressed out. Pilar massaged her shoulder lightly and said, “Because you’re the opposite Caro. Don’t worry about anything.”
Jennifer took her hands out of her back jean pockets that were clearly designed for her hips as she said to them, “Thank you for inviting me, both of you.”
Caro turned, smiled at Jennifer and then said, “Thank my mother. She thinks of you like another daughter.”
Jennifer then threw her arms around her neck and hugged her tight. “Pilar, I needed to hear that. Part of me thought coming was a bad idea after what I did. But I wanted to see you.”
Jennifer caused the House of Morgan tons of drama over the years because of her obsession with Peter Morgan, the oldest. The latest stunt was trying to steal his sperm to impregnant herself and not let Peter and his wife have their own. Pilar patted her back and said, “Jennifer, you caused issues at the fertility clinic, but that’s over now.”
“No, no it’s not.” Jennifer said letting the hug end, but keeping her head down.
Oh no. Inviting Jennifer was now going to cause more problems. Pilar’s skin prickled as she asked, “What do you mean?”
Jennifer bit her bottom lip and had a blush on her cheek like she was ashamed. “I’m pregnant. When Peter discovers I’m having his child, he’s going to be furious.”
Caro’s face went white as she stood beside Pilar like she was a sentinel. “My mother thinks of Peter as another son, Jennifer.”
At least Caro hadn’t mentioned Peter is Luke’s, her fiancé’s, brother.
“No.” Pilar waved her hand and said, “I’m glad you trusted us Jennifer…” But as she turned around she saw a shadow that made her heart feel like she’d just been stabbed. She gently pushed her daughter toward the window and pointed, “Caro, do you see that man over there?”
Caro and Jennifer shared a look and then she asked, “Mother, are you interested in a man?”
“No.” Pilar thought she saw Samuel, her missing probably dead husband and father to Rafe and Caro. But she blinked and the man from the window disappeared. She massaged her temples and shook her head. “He’s gone now. I imagined the whole thing.”
Jennifer asked quietly, “Imagined what?”
THis never happened in years now. But she used to day dream her husband returned. She met her daughter’s concerned brown eyed gaze and said, “That I saw my Samuel and that he was alive and with a young woman your age.”
Her daughter brushed her hair behind her head, like she was comforting her mother the way Pilar had comforted her when she’d been a teenager as Caro said, “Impossible mom. My father probably died twenty years ago.”
Pilar patted her shoulder and offered them both a smile. “I know, mi’ja. Never mind.”
Jennifer rubbed the small of her back and tried to be kind as she said, “Pilar, if you want my help in dressing up to go out and find a new man, I’m more than happy to assist. You still have a great figure for a woman you’re age.”
Her age. Right. Fifty five didn’t feel old at all. She brushed her still dark hair behind her ears and shook her head so both of the young women saw. “Jennifer, that’s not why we’re here. We’re here to celebrate Caro and Luke’s wedding.”
Caro’s bright smile didn’t fade but she blinked like she didn’t want to be an excuse. Pilar and Caro had multiple conversations about moving on with her life too, but Pilar never had. She loved Samuel. He was taken from her years ago, but she wasn’t the type to just move on and forget.
Jennifer looked around the room. “Which looks like it’s going to be beautiful. Your style has definitely improved over the years Caro.”
Caro made a face like she’d argue. Pilar didn’t want to her that old song and dance so instead she took her daughter’s hand and Jennifer’s in the other. “Let’s go find your fiancé mi’ja.”
Caro nodded and they all walked toward the door that led to the library as Caro said, “Luke was organizing the cocktail party and getting something to eat in the restaurant.”
The moment they entered the lobby, Pilar’s entire body stilled and she gazed at the man near the elevator banks. He was with a young woman about five years younger than Caro. She couldn’t budge her feet as she watched the man hug the girl.
Jennifer stepped in front of her and Pilar blinked as Jennifer asked, “Pilar, you’re face is pale. Do you feel okay?”
Caro brushed the top of her back with a quick pat. “Momma, are you getting sick?”
Again Pilar massaged her temples and shook her head, which seemed to be the habit of the day. She took a deep breathe and tried to smile. “No. I am lightheaded. I swear I’ve seen a ghost twice now.”
Caro glanced around the lobby and asked, “Where momma? Where do you think you see my father?”
“By the elevators.” Pilar pointed right behind Jennifer who then scooted out of the way.
Caro said, “No one is there now.”
This daydreaming hadn’t happened in fifteen years now. The first five years after his disappearance along with Isabelle had left her emotionally drained, but she never once had the daydreams even after Isabelle was found alive until now. Pilar straightened her spine. This was bound to eventually happen so she shrugged and told her daughter as she led the women toward the restaurant. “I’m probably dreaming because I always dreamed he’d give you away during a ceremony.”
They swept passed the maitre’d and Caro seemed to know where her Luke would be as she said, “That’s sweet but I’ve long given up hope of ever seeing my father again.”
As they made it to one of the backrooms that now showed the sun was bright with no clouds at all over the beach through the huge windows in the private dining area, Pilar commented, “There is your Luke, mi’ja.”
Caro didn’t run ahead. Instead she stayed next to her a
s they entered the room half full of various Morgans, but luckily not Peter. “But I am glad you’ve accepted Luke as the love of my life momma. I waited a little for this wedding because I want you to be happy too.”
That wasn’t necessary. Her daughter needed to grab at happiness with both hands and hold tight because the sudden wave that might destroy everything might show up at any moment. Pilar hoped her words expressed half of what she wanted as she said, “You love Luke. No one should stand in the way of love.”
Caro hugged her as they made it to Luke. “That’s the momma I wanted on my side.”
Jennifer had told Caro and Pilar because she wanted the Morgans to know what she’d done. Pilar didn’t blink. She’d worked for the Morgans for forty years now as their maid and her daughter was marrying into the family. Her only son, Rafe, already had and he and his wife had her first grandchild. Pilar might not have her white apron on though she didn’t normally wear one as the head of the household staff, but she refused to be part of any scheme against her employees and pseudo extra family. “Yes, now Jennifer what is your plan? Are you here to tell Peter you’re pregnant to break up his marriage to the woman he loves?”
Luke’s eyes grew big like he was just told something major.
Jennifer’s face went red. “I used to be the woman he loves.”
“Jennifer, it’s hard when the ones we love leave us, but what you have done… Jennifer, there is no forgiveness for that.”
Pilar took both of Jennifer’s hands in hers and met her brown eyes. Jennifer was physically beautiful, but inside she had a heart that she buried so deep. Her outward appearance was a shell, but Pilar still saw the frightened girl underneath all her hardness. She held them close to her own heart as Jennifer said, “I wanted to have the child of the only man I’ve ever truly loved, even if he never returns to me. I make enough money these days with my second movie. If he tries to take my baby, I have the funds to fight him in court.”
[House of Morgan 01.0 - 03.0] Boxed Set Page 61
