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He had a claim to the baby—one that would secure his place in her life. He had the money and resources to fight Ella and win temporary custody. Up until now, the only thing that had stood in his way of using the brute force of legal muscle had been his brother—or, more accurately, his brother’s pride.
The Porsche swung easily into the next curve. Ahead, the group of cyclists had spread into a single file, and he nosed past.
In the previous ten days he’d grown to know and love Holly. He could not walk away. Yevgeny was all too conscious that tomorrow was D-Day, as he’d come to think of it. It would be his last chance to convince Ella that Holly belonged with him. Because the day after tomorrow, Ella would be legally able to sign a consent to allow Holly to be adopted by another couple. Once that was done, the decision would be final.
Sure, she’d said she was going to wait until after Christmas. But Yevgeny could not risk the danger that Ella might change her mind.
Then all would be lost.
Holly would be lost to him.
Forever.
Tomorrow was his best chance.
Tonight he would contact Dmitri far away in Africa to let his brother know of the decision he had made. Because he could not do what he had to do without letting his brother know. He’d left it too long already—because of his misguided confidence in his ability to convince Ella to come round to his point of view.
Time was fast running out....
Nine
The meeting dragged on.
Ella doodled on the legal pad in front of her and wondered what Yevgeny and Holly were doing in the park. Yevgeny had taken Holly alone, giving Deb a sizable block of time off for the first time in over a week. Now Ella was fretting. Had she done the right thing letting Yevgeny take the baby out alone? Of course she had. He was the baby’s uncle—he deserved some sort of relationship with Holly. The next worry popped up. Had Deb packed the bag? Would Yevgeny have remembered to take a bottle? To put sunscreen onto the baby’s fair skin? Her gaze slid to where her cell phone sat on the conference table beside her legal pad.
She could call him....
“What do you think, Ella?”
The question wrenched her out of her reverie. Ella set her pen down and forced herself to focus. This was important. But would it be important five years from now? Yevgeny’s lecture came back to her.
Ella gazed around the table. Two unsmiling executives dressed in pin-striped black suits stared at her. The older executive was the CFO, the younger was the corporation’s legal advisor.
Would the outcome of this meeting be important in five years? She considered the radical thought. Work—any work—had always been important. But this time? Ella wasn’t so sure. Originally she’d viewed this meeting as an opportunity to gain a toehold in bankruptcy law, and add another specialty to her expertise. But it didn’t fit with the rest of her family law practice. She was no longer sure she wanted to do the company’s work—she didn’t even like the CFO. She’d handled his sister’s divorce and received the referral. It had sounded like a great opportunity.
But she didn’t want to spend her days filing bankruptcy suits.
So what was she doing wasting precious time on this? Where had her ideals of building a quality practice doing work she loved gone? What was she doing representing corporate sharks? And for what? More money? More prestige? Longer hours?
Was it worth bargaining her soul for?
“Will you be able to do the work?”
“Sorry?” Ella struggled to grasp the implication of the CFO’s question. Was he doubting her legal ability? Both men were watching her across the polished expanse of the table. Her stomach knotted. She’d missed a crucial part of the dialogue. Now she was floundering. “I missed the last bit.”
“I heard you had a baby.” The CFO’s tone was patronizing. His gaze dropped to the legal pad in front of her, then lifted to meet hers. His expression said it all. She was losing her edge; her femininity was the problem.
Ella found herself flushing. She resisted the urge to cover the doodles, to deny every thought she read in his face. Then she caught herself.
Why should I feel ashamed?
She had been daydreaming...imaging Holly and Yevgeny out in the sunshine, then fretting about all the things—important things—Yevgeny might forget.
It had taken Holly less than twelve days to change her life.
For the first time in years she was focusing on what she wanted. Evaluating. Choosing.
What had happened to her dreams? When had her desire to only take on work she wanted to do become hijacked by visions of wealth and power? That had been the whole reason she’d left the large, city practice where she’d been a rising star. She’d wanted to be able to take cases that interested her—refuse those she didn’t wish to do. Not have her days...weeks...years dictated by billable hours.
