“Sighted child?” Bran’s blood boiled, throbbing so loudly in his ears that his father’s voice sounded far away.
“Don’t worry, complete blindness is really rare.”
“Get. Out.” He ground the words on his molars.
“Think about it… the ultimate slap in my face, to take my money. Is it so bad to ask for a legitimate grandchild?”
Branson slammed his hands on his desk and stood up, aiming his angry face at his dad. “Get out!”
“I’m leaving.” Martin’s voice receded, but he paused to have the last word before shutting the door behind him. “Think about it.”
Bran collapsed into his chair, knowing he would obey his father’s last order, no matter how hard he tried not to.
CHAPTER 6
“Mom?” Ellie’s voice, scratchy from sleep, floated from her bedroom door, where she stood watching as Stephanie attempted to zip her overflowing suitcase. “Aren’t you going to kiss me goodbye?”
Stephanie sighed, abandoning her futile task. She sat on the couch and opened her arms, nodding at Ellie, who immediately ran to her mom. The impact pushed Stephanie backwards and she rolled, with Ellie in her grip, laughing at their game. “I kissed you goodbye last night.” She sat up, bringing Ellie with her, and kissed her daughter’s forehead. “It’s early. Why are you awake?”
“I needed one more kiss.” With big brown eyes, soft blond hair in curly disarray, and her lower lip protruding, Ellie’s angelic face would’ve softened the hardest of hearts. “I don’t want you to go, Mom. My tummy hurts.”
“Probably hurts because you ate too much dessert at dinner last night.” Steph kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be back tomorrow night. Laurie’s going to keep you so busy, you won’t even miss me. You get to tour the mansion.”
“The whole thing?”
“Yep.”
“I thought I couldn’t go past the kitchen. What about all those people who don’t like kids?”
“It’s only two people—Mr. Knight and Ms. Parker—but both of them will be gone, so Mr. Fordham promised to give you a private, guided tour. Wait until you see the library. You’re going to love it.”
Stephanie glanced at the time—a quarter ‘til five. She needed to hurry. “Laurie will give you your breathing treatments, and you have to do them without complaining.”
“Do I have to?” she whined. “Can’t I skip one since you’re going to be gone?”
“Nope, not even one. But if you’re good and don’t give Laurie a hard time, I’ll bring you a present from Las Vegas.”
“A Bridgette doll?”
Ellie had asked for the popular doll last Christmas, but Stephanie couldn’t spare that kind of money for something frivolous, especially with Ellie’s medical costs.
“Not a Bridgette doll, but something really cool. Something you can only get in Las Vegas.” Hopefully she’d be able to find something besides a pair of fuzzy pink dice. Maybe an autograph from an Elvis impersonator. Ellie loved to watch the old Elvis movies and sang his songs all the time. She rubbed Ellie’s head, ruffling her soft curls. “Now, go to bed. I’ll be back before you know it.”
As Ellie trudged back to her room, Steph attacked her bulging suitcase with vigor, sitting on it until she wrenched the zipper around the final bend. She was determined to pack every single item that had come in Thursday’s surprise delivery. Branson’s personal shopper arrived with a rack of clothes and shoes, all with designer labels. Her anxiety about blending in with his wealthy friends overcame her initial guilt about accepting the expensive clothes. In her excitement, she forgot to ask how he knew her sizes.
Relishing the feel of the flowing emerald green, silk blouse she’d paired with leggings and leather boots, she slipped on her new trench coat and hurried out, rolling her suitcase behind her. She navigated the maze of hallways to the rear entry room, where they were supposed to meet.
With only a solitary suitcase waiting beside the door, she breathed a sigh of relief. If Carina had beaten her here, she would’ve gained more ammunition for criticism, a pastime which seemed to provide her endless pleasure the past three days. Carina hadn’t even committed to making the trip to Vegas until she discovered Stephanie was going.
Outside, a driver stood next to a black Suburban, ready to transport them to the airfield. Steph debated whether to wait inside or out, but opted to park herself inside on the marble bench beside the suitcase, which undoubtedly belonged to Bran. No one else would’ve been awake early enough to have come and gone.
Nervous, she retrieved her laptop and started working her way through Bran’s latest business emails. More than twenty messages had arrived during the night, a common occurrence due to business connections across the Atlantic.
“Don’t you ever stop working?”
She startled at the voice by her shoulder. “Oh! You scared me, Mr. Anderson.”
“Better call me Finn, since you’re supposed to be my date for the weekend.” He winked then glanced behind him, like he’d forgotten their conversation might’ve been overheard.
“Don’t worry—she’s not here yet.” Steph stifled a yawn as she tucked her laptop away. “I honestly can’t believe Carina agreed to get up this early.”
Finn answered with a yawn of his own as he slumped onto the bench beside her. “I can’t believe I agreed.”
“I’m actually used to it. For the past two years, I’ve been waking up at five so I can get to work by six thirty. Honestly, I don’t mind, though. Most days, he lets me off at four, so I’m home by five and get more time with Ellie.
“Now that you live here, you’ll get to sleep in, right?”
“You know Bran better than that.” Steph rolled her eyes. “Since I don’t have to drive across town, he decided we could start work at 6:00 a.m.”
“Of course he did.” Finn shook his head. “How do you like the east wing? I bet the view of the rose garden almost makes up for the fact Carina’s nearby.”
“Carina banished us to the west wing. But we’re more than happy there. I don’t really want Ellie to come in contact with Carina, for a number of reasons.”
“I bet Branson was ticked when he heard about it.”
“I hope not. The west wing is still ten times better than where we lived before. I’m doing my best to be supportive, hoping I won’t lose my job when he gets married.”
