by Lisa Lace
“Emily. She’s such a sweetie.”
“Yes, she is.”
He sensed trouble in her voice. She didn’t want to talk about reality, but he needed to know. He needed to help her. There was enough animosity and problems in her life. “There’s something wrong. Tell me what it is.” He pulled away from her and rolled her on her back. He searched her face for answers. “Mia. Is Emily okay?”
“Yes. She’s staying with my parents.”
“You’re worried about her.”
“I’m worried about a lot of things these days.”
He stroked her forehead. “Talk to me. Let me in.”
“I need to pick her up at the airport this afternoon. I should probably get myself together and go.”
“I’ll come with you if you don’t mind my company. I can have my plane ready in an hour. Take you wherever you need to go.”
She climbed off the bed and turned to him, a sad look stole her expression. She nodded. “LaGuardia. Her plane lands around three.” She turned away, disappearing into the bathroom.
The plane ride back was quiet. She needed to work things out in her mind before letting him in. He knew that, but her silence was driving him crazy. He couldn’t stand to see her hurting. He felt like he had been the reason for more than enough of her pain. He didn’t pry though. She’d come to him when she was ready. She fell asleep for a couple of hours, making his time stretch out even longer. When he heard the pilot’s voice over the speaker system, he was elated that the longest plane ride in his life was finally coming to an end.
“We will be starting our descent toward LaGuardia Airport and should be arriving just after two p.m. It is currently 54 degrees Fahrenheit and quite windy. I hope you enjoyed your flight, Mr. Donovan.”
Mia opened her sleepy eyes and looked around. “What time is it? How long was I asleep?” She looked out the window for the answer.
“A couple of hours. It’s about one-thirty. We should be landing in about half an hour.” He hesitated before asking the question. “Would you like for me to come with you to pick Emily up?” She didn’t look at him. She didn’t answer him. “I know you have your rules about not allowing men into her life, but she is the reason you went to the charity ball with me. Technically, we have already met, and I have to believe she likes me.”
“It isn’t about liking you. It’s about getting too attached if you aren’t going to be around.”
“Do you plan on putting me on the next plane out of here? If it’s up to me, you’re going to be stuck with me for a long time.”
Mia’s eyes twinkled, a smile threatening her lips. “Edward. I don’t even know what my future holds. I can’t make plans with you in it.”
“Why are you playing so hard to get?” He stood up and walked to her seat, kneeling before her and taking her hands. “You just flew 1,600 miles for me. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care if I’m behind you in the unemployment line. I’ll follow you anywhere. I’m in love with you.” He cupped her face and pulled her toward him, his lips tender against hers.
“Okay. You can come with me.”
“Whew. Good.” He climbed up off his knees and walked back to his seat. “I thought I was going to have to make love to you again.”
Mia’s mouth dropped open. “I’ll remember that.”
He burst out laughing. “Darlin’, you know I would do anything for you.”
“I do now.” Her smile beamed, and her eyes danced once again.
The airport was crowded, but once they got to the proper gate, it wasn’t long before Emily came into view. She carried a small suitcase in one hand and a backpack over her shoulder, a teddy bear dangling from her other hand. As soon as she made eye contact with Mia, she picked up her pace and ran the rest of the way until she was in her mother’s arms.
Edward just hoped he had a fighting chance to hold a piece of her heart as well. He stood back until they reunited properly. “Hello, Emily.” He stepped forward, his hand stretched out toward her. “It’s so nice to see you again.”
She smiled wide when she saw him, putting her little hand in his. “Hello, Edward.” Her tiny voice sounded so proper, and it made him chuckle. “Mommy, you really like him.”
“I think I do. Yes. Is that okay?”
“That’s more than okay. I like him too.”
Edward knelt before her. “How about some frozen yogurt?”
“Frozen yogurt? Can we, Mommy?”
“Of course. It sounds perfect.”
“I know the best spot.”
He led them out of the airport to a waiting town car, and they were whisked away to indulge in the best frozen yogurt New York City could offer. They walked to a nearby park and watched as Emily ran and played. Walking along the path around the playground, Mia fed her arm into his. “Thank you for this. It’s so nice to see her happy. I love when she smiles.”
“It’s infectious, that’s for sure.” He nudged her with his side. “You okay?”
“I will be. A lot has happened this past couple of weeks.”
“I’m a good listener.”
“I’m sorry I’ve been so distant, and I’m sorry I blamed you.” She lowered her head and bit her lip.
“Mia. Don’t do this. You’re beating yourself up over something you can’t control. You are trying to protect your family, your business. I get it. I would’ve done the same. And you are right, nothing looked good for me when presented with the documents. I wouldn’t have believed myself either.”
“There’s more.”
“Involving my brother, I’m sure.”
“He threatened me.”
Edward felt his anger grab hold of him. “What did he say?”
“He told me that if I didn’t work with him and give him control of my company,” she took a big breath, “he was going to take everything, including Emily.”
“Well, he might have some leverage on your company, but he has nothing on your daughter.” When he saw Mia look away from him and turn toward where Emily was playing, something bit at him. “Mia?”
“He has more pull than you think.”
He pulled her to him but didn’t dare ask what that might be.
“He’s Emily’s father.”
Edward felt a hole in the middle of his soul. It grew bigger and bigger as the seconds ticked by. His mouth went dry, and his hands felt clammy.
“Please, say something.” She had terror in her eyes, but he couldn’t force one syllable from his mouth. “It was a long time ago. I tried to tell you a few times, but I was afraid. I didn’t even think he knew, but he does. And he’s using it against me.”
“Are you sure it’s him?”
She nodded. “I was young, stupid, thought he might have cared about me. He did everything right until he got what he wanted. Then, he never contacted me again. I felt used. I knew I never wanted to feel that way again. After Emily was born, I made it a priority to make my life strong and successful. I wanted to be the best mother I could, regardless of what had happened.” Mia looked at Edward. “Say something, please?”
“How long has he known?” Edward’s words were rigid, unfeeling.
“Not long. A year, maybe?”
“But you’ve known from the beginning.”
“He was the only one I was with at the time.”
“And that is why you invested in Donovan Tech. It makes sense.”
“I didn’t plan on that. I love my company. When Emily was little, she used to watch me get ready in the morning. She loved it when I let her wear my make-up. As she got older, I saw how important it was to her as a child. The bond between mom and daughter. I wanted to create that for others. I thought about what make-up meant to girls and women of all ages. That’s how MWSA Cosmetics was created. I wanted to start a company that catered to all people, not just women. After I finally finished my business degree, I knew I had to make it count. I did my research, built my company with Steven’s help, and began a college fund for Emily, retirement fund for me, yo
u know.
“When MWSA was having trouble, I needed to invest in something safe. If worst came to worst, Emily would at least have her father to support her. Well, until I realized he’s a bigger monster now than when I first met him. I’d decided against telling him or getting him involved in her life. I guess I left enough of a paper trail that linked him to Emily.”
“How coincidental that I fell in love with the same woman.”
Mia bowed her head, not knowing what to say to that.
“Mia, I’m not blaming you. I’m just trying to make sense of it all. It’s a lot to take in.”
“I know.”
He took her hand and kissed her palm. “You would trust him with your daughter?”
“Not now. But at the time, I wanted to ensure her financial wellbeing if anything were to happen to me. My family still struggles today. Plus, they aren’t going to be around forever.”
“How did you intend to execute such a plan?”
“I have everything in a will. If anything were to happen to me, Steven would take care of her, and Jack would be financially obligated to pay her way through college, in case her college fund wasn’t enough. I doubt he would fight for custody. He doesn’t seem the type to be bothered.”
“He’s threatening now.”
“Only to get to me. He’s using her as a playing card against me.”
“Did anyone in my family know about Emily?”
“No, not that I know of.”
“He must have gotten hold of the will. Maybe that is how he found out.”
“That’s impossible. I have it locked away. No one knows where it is, except for my attorney and me.”
“How did he find out, then?”
“Honestly? I have no idea.”
“I have a plan.”
Mia
On their way back to Mia’s apartment, she called and arranged for Emily’s babysitter to meet her there as soon as she could. “I should only be gone for a couple of hours, okay, sweetie?” She knelt before Emily and took her hands. “Tomorrow, why don’t I take off early, and you and I can go do something together?”
“Yes!” Emily’s face beamed with excitement. “Can I stay home from school?”
Edward chuckled. “You can’t blame the child for trying.”
“No, Emily. You still have to go to school, but I’ll pick you up, and we’ll spend the rest of the day together, just you and I.”
“Sounds perfect, Mommy.” She jumped into her arms and squeezed her neck, swelling Mia’s heart and giving her more incentive to go after Jack.
Mia stood up, grabbing her purse and turning toward the sitter. “Make sure she’s in bed around eight if I’m not back by then? You can order a pizza for dinner. Here’s twenty for that.” She handed the girl some cash. “Keep what’s left, and I’ll pay you for your time when I get back.”
“Sounds great. Ready, Emily? What would you like on your pizza?” The sitter took Emily’s hand and led her into the dining room to look at the pizza delivery flyer as Mia and Edward walked out the door.
“What’s your plan?”
He opened the back door of his car for her and followed her into the backseat. She felt a warmth between her legs when she sat in the same place as when they’d made love in the parking lot after their very first intense meeting.
“If I can get the documents that Jack got me to sign, I can destroy them before anything’s done with them.”
She took a breath, trying to clear her head from the distraction as the car pulled away from the curb. “That was last week. I’m sure he’s filed them by now.”
“Jack might have always had the upper hand when we were growing up. I knew I could never beat him. But he couldn’t stop me from learning from him. I know Jack almost better than he knows himself. He’s a smart man. He knows what he wants, and he goes off the cliff to get it. One thing I’ve learned is that he has faults. One of them is procrastination.”
“And we are relying on this?”
“Do you have a better idea?”
“You have a point.”
“He’s never been on time for anything. He puts off things until the last minute, and even pays for extensions on projects he could have completed on time.”
“Why don’t we call the police? Tell them what happened? He drugged you and forced you to sign documents you didn’t know you were signing.”
“It’ll be my word against his. By the time it goes through trial, even if we did win, he could have already caused irreversible damage.”
“I could talk to him. I could try to convince him that I changed my mind, and it would be in my best interests to work with him, or for him. I could get him to talk.”
“No way. I don’t want you to put yourself in danger.”
“If I can convince him, I might be able to get close enough and find out if he made the paperwork legal. If we do this together, he won’t have a chance to hurt me. We can make this work if we do it right.”
Edward leaned forward and grabbed Mia’s arms, pulling her toward him. He looked directly into her eyes. “Stay away from Jack. Do you understand me? You don’t know what he’s capable of. We will figure this out another way. I just need to get the original documents first.”
“Okay. I’m sorry.”
He pulled his phone and made a call to find out where Jack was. When he hung up, he seemed deep in thought. “He is golfing today. He should be gone most of the day.” Edward had his driver take him back to his house and gave him the rest of the day off. He led Mia to the garage, where they drove themselves to Jack’s house. “It’s safer if fewer people know what we are doing.”
“You don’t even trust your own driver?”
“People aren’t loyal to their employers. They’re loyal to money. Don’t ever forget that.”
“So, Jack might have bribed him to keep an eye on you.”
“Exactly. He would have the upper hand.” They climbed into a beautiful crimson 1956 Corvette convertible and took off toward Jack’s house.
When the car stopped behind the house, Edward and Mia climbed out. She looked up at the massive house, smiling at its old-fashioned beauty. “How will we get inside?”
Edward pulled a key from his pocket. “Always be prepared against your enemy. When he is family, it’s a little easier to do.”
“And you continue to impress me.” She followed him to the back door, and within seconds, they were inside. “No alarm system?”
“It malfunctioned a few months back. He never got around to getting it fixed.”
“Procrastination.” They said in unison.
After several minutes of rifling through his office, they found nothing pertaining to what they were looking for. They checked the entire house, upstairs and downstairs and came up with nothing. “It seems like he would keep such precious documents in a safe or something.” Mia looked around the room they ended up in. “There’s no safe anywhere in here.”
“He never kept one here. But, there is one in his office at Donovan Tech.”
“He wouldn’t hide them there. That’s too risky.”
“Precisely why he would.” He sat at Jack’s desk and turned on his computer. “He knows I wouldn’t think to look there.”
“Even if they were there, how will you get into his safe? You can’t tell me you have that too.”
“Not yet.” He opened Jack’s main document file and searched until he clicked on one labeled passwords.
“Seriously?”
“I told you. He’s not that smart or meticulous.”
“I can’t believe my entire future, our entire future, is riding on your awful brother’s problem with procrastination and detail.”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” He pounded away at the keys on the keyboard. “He may be conniving, but he isn’t always the smartest about the little stuff.”
“What are you doing?”
“Causing a disturbance in DT’s network.” His fingers flew across the keys. Mia wa
tched him work, impressed with the way his plan was unfolding. He closed it down and stood up, grabbing Mia’s hand. “Come on.” They ran out of his office and out the back door.
“I don’t understand what causing a problem in your network will do to help us.”
“I know, but trust me.” He walked to the back of the car and opened the small trunk. He pulled out two dark blue uniforms. He held one up to show the label sewn onto the front.
“Comp Tech Repair? We’re going in disguised as repair technicians? I don’t understand. Why don’t you just walk in?”
“It won’t be that easy. He’ll have a security team.”
“You own the company. Tell them they can go home early.”
“I wish it were that easy. Besides, the fewer people who know why I’m there and what I’m doing, the better.”
“Like your driver.”
“Yep.”
“Where’d you get this stuff?” She pulled a short blonde wig from a duffle bag.
“Would you believe it if I told you a Halloween store?” He seized it away from her and wiggled it on her head. He leaned back and smiled. “Maybe we can use this later.” He grabbed her and pulled her close, kissing her playfully and grabbing her butt.
She laughed and pulled the wig off her head, smacking him with it.
By the time they pulled into the parking garage at DT, they were dressed and ready to go, Edward sporting a shaggy goatee and Mia with her hair tucked in under her blonde wig. He grabbed a brown canvas bag full of tools from the back and led her in through the front doors.
Once they cleared security and convinced them the system was messed up, they weren’t long in getting to Jack’s office and getting his safe open.
“This is going so smoothly.” Mia felt an excitement building. She was almost free from Jack and his hold on her. “I can’t believe it was this easy, and sort of fun.” She picked at Edward’s uniform while he slouched over the safe. “We could do it right here on Jack’s desk. Wouldn’t that be the ultimate revenge?”
Edward opened the safe and pulled some documents out. “I don’t believe we’ll be celebrating any time soon.” He studied the documents but didn’t look happy.