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When she reached his office, his assistant with the bun and short skirt was there.
“Ms. Mansfield, Dr. Delancey didn’t ask to see you.”
“I know, but it’s important.”
“He’s busy. If you’d like to tell me what the problem is, I’ll be happy to relay the information to him.”
“I’d like to speak with him in person.” Even though Paris expected such resistance, it still pissed her off.
“I’m sorry. You’ll have to make an appointment.”
Now was the time to pull out her ace in the hole. “Tell him his daughter would like to see him.”
Paris almost laughed at the woman’s shocked expression. “You’re his daughter?”
“I am.”Unfortunately.
The woman lifted her chin. “Just a moment.” She knocked on his door and entered.
Her father raised his voice, clearly not pleased. Whether he was upset at the interruption or at the information, Paris couldn't tell. The door opened, and there stood a man who appeared to be in complete control. He even had a smile on his face. Okay, that was not the reaction she was expecting.
“Come in.”
Despite the non-threatening tone, anger reverberated off him.
Before she lost her nerve, Paris needed answers. “I would like to know why you left my mother. She was devastated when you walked out on her, you know.”
He chuckled. “Way to jump into the discussion. Please, have a seat.”
If her legs hadn’t felt like rubber, she might have told him she preferred to stand. “Do you even remember Gloria Mansfield?” she asked.
“Of course, I do, though I was unaware we had a daughter together.”
“I’m thirty-one. You do the math.”
To his credit, he did seem to be trying to recall when he left her mom. Thirty-two years was a long time.
“Considering you look just like your mom, I can believe you are Gloria's daughter.”
Everyone told her that, but would he believe he was her father? “If you’re thinking my mother might have slept with someone after you left her, you’d be wrong. You bit her. You said she was your mate. The sad part was that she believed you. Why did you do that if you planned to just leave her?”
His lips pressed together. “You wouldn’t understand. It’s complicated.”
Could he say anything more clichéd? Though to be honest, she was surprised he gave in so easily. She thought he'd demand she take a DNA test. “Enlighten me.”
“If you want the truth, here it is. Your mother wanted someone to take care of her so she wouldn’t have to work for the rest of her life. At first, I was attracted to her. I promised her things so she’d help me. In the end, she didn’t come through, so I left.”
Paris didn’t want to ask whatthingshe'd asked her mother to do. Most likely they were illegal. Everything he said was probably colored by lies. “Do you even believe in mates?”
He huffed out a laugh. “No. That’s just a line guys give women to get them to—shall we say, perform.”
What a pig. Now that she had an audience, she had to go for the jugular. “Did you ask my mother to help you with your cocaine production?”
A tinge of red raced up his face. “What are you talking about?”
Both Rider and Grayson would be aware of her location. Hopefully, both were watching the feed at the moment. There was no way Delancey would kill her—at least not in his office.
“The discrepancies in the inventory led me to believe that something weird was going on here. Add in all of the overdoses in the area, together with the cocaine in the coffee beans from the same company that delivers our coffee, and I began to be suspicious.”
