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16
JASE
Ipressed the ‘send’ button and sat back in my chair, letting out a long sigh. I’d been dealing with emails for the last two hours and was tired of looking at a computer screen. Pushing my chair back, I wandered over to the window and gazed out at Central Park spread out beneath me. Maybe a run would help clear my head, and it was finally warm enough to go for one without freezing into an ice cube while doing so.
“Jason!”
I turned my head at the whispered hush of my name to find Marian standing in my doorway, her expression unreadable. She beckoned to me, her eyes traveling toward Emilia’s office. Clearly, whatever she wanted to tell me was for my ears only.
Frowning, I went over to where she was standing. She led me outside to her desk, and since both office doors were now closed it ensured we would not be overheard. “What’s wrong?”
“We have a situation in the main reception area.” She looked worried, and that in turn made my gut clench.
“What sort of situation?”
“There’s a woman demanding to speak to Emilia.”
“Who is she?”
Marian hesitated before answering. “She’s claiming to be her mother.”
Tendrils of something I couldn’t define curled around my heart and squeezed it tightly. “Her mother?” I could hear the croakiness in my voice.
She picked up a tablet, which held a feed of the cameras in the main reception area downstairs. Our offices were three floors up, and nobody had access to this floor unless we authorized it. Handing it over to me, I viewed the screens.
A blonde woman was pacing up and down, waving her hands around wildly and gesturing at one of the girls behind the desk. I could see one of our security team to the side, ready to step in if need be.
“Do you know what Emilia’s mother looks like?”
I shook my head at Marian’s question. “I’ve seen a photo of her when Emilia was a baby. She was a brunette.” Didn’t mean she hadn’t changed her hair color, of course.
“Should we tell Emilia about her?”
“No. I’ll deal with this woman, see if she’s telling the truth, and will go from there. Thank you, Marian.”
I handed the tablet back and headed for the stairs. Once I reached the reception area, I stood in the doorway for a few moments, staring at the woman claiming to be my fiancée’s mother. She was moving too fast for me to be able to tell from her appearance if she looked like Emilia, but until she could prove it, I wasn’t going to believe anything.
I nodded at Hayden, the security guard standing near her, and he backed off. Moving into the room, I approached the woman cautiously. “Can I help you?”
The looks of relief on the faces of our receptionists were hard to miss. She’d obviously been giving them a hard time.
“I want to see my daughter!” the older woman shrieked. “Who the hell are you?”
I kept my tone calm but cool. “My name is Jason Bennett. I’m the co-owner of Shooting Stars Enterprises, and you are disturbing the office. Please follow me so we can talk privately.”
Hayden fell into step behind us as I led the woman into one of the meeting rooms that split off from the reception area. I avoided touching her, and waited until she was standing opposite me, Hayden in front of the closed door.
“I want to see Emilia.”
“She’s not available. Do you have some identification?”
The woman drew herself up to her full height and glared at me. “I don’t have to prove a goddamn thing to you. Who do you think you are?”
“I’ve already told you who I am. Emilia and I own the company. I’m also her fiancé, so if you think I’m going to let a stranger come in off the streets claiming to be her mother anywhere near her, without providing proof, you can think again.”
Her expression softened, just a little. “Fiancé? My little Em is getting married?”
It grated to hear this woman call Emilia by the nickname only I did. “It’s hardly a secret. Our engagement has been reported in the press.”
