by Ruby Knoxx
“I’m sorry?” I asked, wondering what on earth he was doing in my office then.
“No,” he said, leaning back. “I’m more interested in an heir, someone to pass down my business to. There are plenty of women out there who are happy to be a kept wife, but I want to make sure I find someone who maybe already has a kid of their own.”
“Oh, Mr. Rogers,” I said slowly. “None of these women have children. There are plenty interested in having them, but they aren’t mothers.”
“Well, that’s why I extend this invitation again to you, Miss Wilson. If you were to be my bride, your daughter could have everything in the world her little heart desired.”
I was gob smacked. I couldn’t believe what this man was saying. My mouth opened and closed as I struggled to find something professional to say, something that wouldn’t make me lose my job but would let him know under no uncertain terms that my daughter was not up for purchase.
“You think on it,” he said, standing from his chair and fanning himself with the file. “I’ll still keep an eye on these women, see if there are any that I like the look of.”
With Mr. Rogers’ back turned to me, I couldn’t help but look over to Leon, like he would be able to help this situation. But he wasn’t looking back at me. Instead, his fists were balled, his jaw was tight, and he looked like he was exercising every restraint in his body not to deck the old man.
Chapter 9 – Leon
I wanted to tear Royce Rogers’ throat out for the way he was acting around Justine. My lion was pacing and pawing and growling within me, just itching for the chance to show that man exactly how disgracefully he was acting. I trailed behind him, no more than a step or two, trying not to tackle him there in the building.
For more than one reason, I restrained. I didn’t know that Justine Justice would want me to step in. I had no idea if it was my place to do so, especially after last night. And on top of that, Royce Rogers, no matter how much a slimy pig he was being, was still my client, my assignment. I was working as a representatives of the ops, and I needed to maintain that professionality, no matter how little I thought of the man.
And if I was being fair, the man didn’t know what my relationship with Justine was or if there had ever been one. How could he know that only the night before we had been tangled in the sheets together or that the girl he was offering to leave his fortune to was my daughter?
Reasoning helped my anger. A little. But it wasn’t until we were making our way down the red carpeted stairs to the main floor that I felt I had enough control over myself to speak. Even then, I didn’t want to.
It was Rogers who broke the silence between us.
“These days are sure something,” Rogers said, more in a state of awe than anything else. “You used to hear about war brides, which were women that soldiers would come back with after being at war overseas. But this whole mail order bride thing is entirely different. It’s wonderful what technology can do. A computer algorithm is trying to pick out my perfect mate. Imagine that.”
I didn’t say anything. My mate was upstairs, and I didn’t think any computer would be able to pick it out. I didn’t know if it was something that would work or not, if a computer could interfere like that, but I supposed stranger things had happened.
“I wonder who managed to come up with something like that,” Rogers went on. “I mean, who thought that they could know people well enough to make some kind of mathematical equation to bring people together. Do you think it’s possible, Leon? To find your mate this way?”
“No,” I answered flatly.
“I suppose not. Mates are a thing of destiny, aren’t they? They’re a kind of gift that is given to us by fate. Well, I don’t think fate likes me very much, since my mate hasn’t come my way yet.”
If that was an opening for a response from me to disagree with him in a reassuring way or tell him that his perfect match was out there, he was waiting on the wrong guy. After the time I had with my mate, I wasn’t the one to talk about love or the virtues of it. And after seeing this man flirt so shamelessly with Justine and ask her to be his bride instead of the women she was working with, there was not one part of me that had any sympathy for Royce Rogers.
“Would you ever use a service like this, Leon?”
I shook my head, though I knew he couldn’t see me, since I was behind him. “I don’t think I would, no,” I replied.
“No, I don’t suppose you would. I know you can’t because of the ops and all that. Yeah, I know about how things are run there. I got curious when I was looking into it. You know, a shifter mercenary group is an interesting thing, and as a shifter myself, I like to see how things are done.”
“Is that so,” I replied tonelessly.
My neck stiffened as he talked about us so casually as we made our way down the stairs. His voice was quieter, but I still didn’t like the idea of so openly discussing what we were.
“Anyway, I think it’s good they recruit people who are mateless. It obscures the senses. That’s why it’s taken me so long to decide I wanted to find mine,” he went on. “I have no doubt in my mind that if I got distracted with a woman, then I wouldn’t be as successful as I am today. I’d happily go on without one. But, wants must, and I need an heir.”
“If that’s the case, sir,” I said, “if you don’t mind me asking, why go through all this? Why not just adopt a child?”
“That would be the thing to do, wouldn’t it?” he said, looking back at me briefly. “But it’s all about imaging. A man like me can’t just adopt a child. I need to produce one. What would it say about me, that I couldn’t get myself a woman who would give me an heir? People would either say that I can’t pick a woman out or that I’m lacking quality swimmers, both of which act as a mark against me. No, I think that I need to find a wife.”
“What would orphan Annie say?” I muttered to myself.
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him why, if he had so much money, he didn’t just go for any of the gold diggers that threw herself at him. I knew the way of the world, and there were always women who wanted to be looked after. Instead, I kept myself quiet.
“Besides,” Rogers went on, “it’s hard enough to find a bridal agency that caters to shifters. Can you imagine trying to find a shifter adoption agency? It would be a nightmare, if they exist at all. And I can’t just hand things down to a human. I just can’t do it. I need a shifter child.”
“Justine isn’t a shifter,” I growled, unable to hold myself back. “You’re happy to take her on.”
Rogers laughed. “You like that one, don’t you?”
I dug my fingers into the palms of my hands, restraining myself from pushing the man down the stairs for referring to Justine as “that one,” like she was an animal at auction.
“She’s a pretty girl, to be sure,” he said. “And just because she’s human doesn’t mean her daughter is. She knows about the shifter world somehow, and I doubt it’s because she read about us in a book. She’s running this agency, so I would wager she has an—intimate understanding of them, if you know what I mean.”
“I still don’t understand, sir.” I had to force the formality from my mouth. This man deserved no polite titles. “You’re interested in the fact that Justine has a kid. Why, if you want to have your own?”
“Ah, well, there’s the difference,” Rogers said. He let out a series of coughs, so intense that he need to stop and hold the banister for support. He recovered, clearing his throat and straightening himself out again. “For me to adopt a child, that’s a statement about what I can produce. For me to marry a woman who has a child with another man, and for me to take that child under my wing? That’s a whole different statement. It’s a romance story. A man so in love with his bride that he accepts her offspring as his own. I then can have the answer ready that my bride doesn’t wish to have any more children, as well. Everyone’s a winner.”
I hated how much he had thought this out. I had turned my back on love, and I
knew I wasn’t the one to give any sort of romantic advice, but treating it like a game of chess felt wrong.
We reached the bottom of the stairs on the ground floor. Rogers waved the file at me. “I’ll keep in touch with you, Leon. Thanks for letting me tag along with you. A pleasure, always.”
I watched the man make his way out the revolving doors, wondering how much trouble I would get into if I hurt my assignment. I supposed a lot, given that my whole purpose there was to make sure he didn’t marry anyone who would harm him or the RRC Bank empire.
I was annoyed at myself. This was not how I acted as an ops man. I was selected because I was meticulous at worst. I followed the rules to the letter, and I was efficient. I got things done, I did them well and professionally. I was the one who kept the team in line, and I wasn’t about to be the one to fall out of line now that the team consisted of just me.
Still, with every moment I worked for Royce Rogers, I wanted more and more to tell the ops where they could shove their job.
It was only once I saw his town car pull away from the curb and drive away that I realized he left with the file that I was supposed to have, so I could go through and make sure none of them were a problem. I didn’t want to wait around for him to slim down the choices. If one of those women on the list was going to be his date, then I was going to make sure they were all good so I could finish the assignment and be done with Royce Rogers.
I turned and made my way back up the stairs so I could get another copy of the folder. I also wanted to make sure that Justine was alright and apologize for the night before. I knew she would likely be busy, but I wanted her to know that I was open for talk if she wanted it and that I was there if she needed me for anything. Or if Kat needed anything.
As I reached the fifth floor again and let myself into the lobby, I saw that her office door was slightly ajar. She was on the phone in her office, so I leaned against the empty secretary desk and waited, unable to stop myself from listening in on her conversation.
“Excuse me?” Justine asked. “What do you mean she didn’t make it to school?”
My ears perked up. That wasn’t a normal outraged tone. I had heard that tone, and I had heard her angry tone. This was different. This was a mother tone, a protective one. She was talking about our daughter.
I pushed the door open to see Justine standing, reaching for her purse, still holding the phone. She didn’t even say goodbye before she hung up the phone. Her lips were pressed together so hard they where white enough to be visible through her lipstick.
Justine’s eyes met mine, though I didn’t know if she even saw me. I was just someone in the way. Her jaw was set in determination, and as she rounded the desk, I thought she would bulldoze me over if I didn’t get out of the way.
“Justine,” I said.
She didn’t respond, just kept walking.
“Justine,” I repeated. “Tell me what’s going on.”
She looked at me then, actually saw me. Whatever strength was forcing her along faltered in the moment that she saw me. Her bottom lip trembled as she said weakly, “I have to go.”
Chapter 10 – Justine
I saw Leon in the doorway, but I didn’t register it was him. I could only see that there was someone there to see me, and I needed to get by them. The most polite thing I could say to him was that I had to go, when all I wanted to do was shove him to the side and run out of building to find my daughter.
When I did finally realize it was Leon, part of me felt relieved. I didn’t know why. After all, he didn’t want to have any part of Kat’s life. But his presence brought a certain comfort, which was enough for me to slow down, just a moment.
“I have to go,” I repeated, my hands wrapped around my purse strap so hard my knuckles began to ache.
“Hold on,” he said calmly, taking my shoulders in both his hands. “Just take a second and breathe.”
He pulled me close to him, his arms enveloping me into an embrace. I wanted to fight it, but it felt so calming and good to be held. I felt almost weak in his arms, despite my desperate need to get out and try and figure out just what the hell was going on. Panic was still coursing through me, making ever nerve inside of me feel twitchy. Tears flowed down my face as I struggled to take in air against my silent sobs.
“What’s happened?” he asked when I finally pulled back. There was no time for hugs or to calm down.
I wiped away the tears that were forming and cleared my throat. I couldn’t fall apart. Kat needed me, she needed her mother, and I would be no good if I was a mess.
“She’s not there,” I managed to say. “She’s supposed to be at school, and she never got there.”
“You didn’t take her?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I didn’t know how late I was going to be last night, and so I sent her with a friend, Nina, who was supposed to take her to school today. The school just called and asked if there was a reason that she was absent today.”
At the thought of Kat’s empty seat in the classroom, the unticked “present” box on the attendance sheet, my eyes filled again, and I was unable to stop the tears this time.
“She’s not there, Leon,” I said. “I don’t know where my daughter is. I have to go. I have to find her.”
He kept a hold of my shoulders, still trying to keep me in place as I struggled. I wanted to hit him, but I knew what he looked like under that shirt. He was practically made of brick. There was nothing I could throw at him that would do him any damage, nor would it get me free of his grasp.
“Let’s think about this,” he said. “Where could she be?”
“I don’t know!” I cried. “That’s why I have to find her.”
He paused for a moment, his mouth twisting and his eyebrows knotting together. I didn’t know what was going through his mind, but a moment later, he let go of my shoulders.
“We’ll go in my car,” Leon said. “I’ll drive you wherever you need to go.”
Yes, go, I thought. That was all I could think. Fear smothered my thoughts of anything other than where on earth Kat could be. I just had to go. Go. Go. Go. Go!
For the first time since before the accident, I got into someone else’s car without hesitation. There was no lingering nervousness that I usually experienced, especially when I didn’t know what kind of driver I was riding with. Since my accident, I had been terrified of all drivers. I didn’t trust people behind the wheel steering the car I was in or those outside of the car. But that fear didn’t even cross my mind as I slipped into the passenger seat and clicked my buckle. All my thoughts were with my daughter.
“Tell me where to go,” he said, starting the car and nosing his way out of the parking garage.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Um, maybe the daycare. Maybe Nina got confused and took her to the wrong place.” I told him the address as I fumbled for my phone in my purse.
“Got confused?” he asked.
“Kat alternates between daycare and kindergarten,” I explained as I found Nina’s number and called. It took a few, infuriatingly long rings before my friend picked up.
“Hey lady—how’d the date go? I want all the details. Tell me everything!” Nina said.
“Where’s Kat?” I asked, ignoring my friend’s questions.
“Kat? At the elementary school. You did say she was going to kindergarten today, right?”
I could hear the confusion in her voice. “They’ve called and said she didn’t show up. Did you walk her inside?”
“No,” she said. “I had to be to work earlier than school started so I let her loose on the playground with the other kids.”
“Damnit,” I said, closing my eyes and squeezing them shut. Hot tears burned as they squeezed through. “You definitely saw her go through the fence to the playground?”
“I thought I did,” she said, sounding hesitant. “Oh god, I don’t know. I mean, if I stopped watching, she was close enough to the gate. No one else was around on my side of the fence … Oh god, Just
ine.”
“I’m going to the elementary school now,” I said nudging Leon to change his course as I said it. “I’ll let you know when I know something.”
I hung up, not waiting for her response.
I leaned my head back on the head rest, covering my face with my hands. “You have to watch children,” I sobbed. “They’re like chaos in a body. You never know what they’re going to do next. She could have just decided she wanted to check something out before she got through that fence. How could she have not watched her?”
I felt a warm hand on my knee, spreading reassurance throughout my body.
“We’ll find her. You said it yourself, you have to watch kids all the time. Not everyone realizes that. It’s not her fault.”
“I know, I know,” I said, wanting to blame someone, anyone, though knowing that it wouldn’t help anything.
“There might be something else for you to consider,” he said slowly.
“Yes. Anything. What?” I removed my hands from my eyes and looked over at him as he kept his eyes on the road. I appreciated that he wasn’t dividing his attention between me and the road. At least, not visually.
“What do you know about shifter children?” he asked.
“Shifter children?” I clarified, wondering where that was coming from. “I don’t think I know anything specifically about them. Why?”
“You know that there’s every possibility that Kat is a shifter, right?” he said. “If I am her father—”
“You are,” I assured him.
“Since, then, she is my daughter, it’s likely that she’s a shifter.”
He was right. I had never even given that possibility a thought. How in all this time had it never occurred to me that I might make a shifter baby? Was it because I wasn’t a shifter? After all, they were rare, or at least, not as common as say, humans. I guess I always assumed it would take two shifters to make another shifter. But, just like you don’t need both parents to have blond hair to have a blond child, it was completely possible that a human parent and a shifter parent could make a shifter baby, wasn’t it?