“Maybe, but you know that the text message from that girl in New Orleans had to be fake. Pretty sure you would know by now if he had another baby with someone else. Well, maybe not if he didn’t want anything to do with that baby either.” She shrugs. “I don’t know. As much as I don’t like him for not wanting to be a part of Seraphina’s life, I think there might be more to the story here, and I think you owe it to your daughter to find out. It’s not a bad idea to let the attorney know, but I don’t think you should do anything until you talk to Liam.”
“I’m just not sure I can do it today. I have a lot to think about for work, and Liam Pitz will have to go on the back burner forthe rest of the day. I have more contracts to review. And I have to turn in all the numbers to the board by Friday. I really don’t have the time to deal with my private life right now, so for my sake, I’m hoping that I have a little bit of time before I have to deal with him one-on-one.” I drop my head back onto my chair.
“Okay, but I’m telling you, Alie, you need to do it as soon as possible. We need to know how to handle this as a family because, in some way or another, Liam Pitz is going to have to come to terms with the fact that he has a daughter and that his daughter is part ofourlegacy.” She reaches for my hand that’s resting on my desk.
“You’re right; I will, I promise.”
She clears her throat. “Can I play devil's advocate a little bit here, Alie?”
“I guess if you must. You don’t listen to me anyway.”
“What if he does have a change of heart and wants to be a part of her life? What are you gonna do about that?”
“If Liam wants to be in Seraphina’s life? That’s what I wanted when this all started. I want my daughter to have a father. That’s not an issue though. He didn’t want her the last year and a half, so he certainly won’t want her now.”
“He could. And what if he wants you too?”
“That’s …” My breath hitches at the thought. “Wouldn’t matter. He’s the most selfish man I’ve ever met.”
Presley tsks. “Because the way he was staring at you in that boardroom today … if I didn’t hate him so much, I would’ve been turned on just by the way he was looking at you. And as much as I hate to admit it, that man is even more gorgeous in person than he is on television or any photo I’ve seen. You are one lucky bitch to have seen that man naked.”
“Presley, honestly! Don’t talk about him like that. He’s one of our players and your niece's father.”
“Oh, come on. You can’t tell me that you didn’t see him and want to drop your drawers.”
I smile. “I mean, okay, I’ll admit he’s even better looking now than he was the last time I saw him, if that’s possible, but I cannot entertain the thought of being with him again. It would be a distraction for me personally, but even more so professionally. This is strictly a business relationship, even though he’s Seraphina’s father.”
“Okay, well, just a reminder: he does not have ano fraternizationguideline in his contract, so really, if he wanted to go after you and you consented, nobody could stop him.”
“Trust me. I am not going to fall for Liam’s charms, no matter how gorgeous he is.”
“You could fuck him and leave him. Tie him up, then walk away, leaving him in an incredibly embarrassing position for someone to see.”
“Presley!” I admonish and yet find myself laughing.
She may be a straight shooter, but she has one twisted mind.
“I mean, I suppose Dad could technically fire him if he wanted to, but then we’d have to pay out his contract, and it’d get ugly, and as much as he loves us, I don’t think he would do that, even for you.” She grimaces. “You know what I mean.”
“Dad doesn’t like ugly press, but he does love me, and he loves Seraphina more, so let’s just take all of this one day at a time and try to contain the problem the best we can.”
“The problem being Liam?”
“Yes, Presley.”
“Liam, the problem or the savior of the Titan dynasty? I wonder which one Liam Pitz will turn out to be.” She releases my hand and taps her chin.
“Get out of here. Go do medical things. Go take his blood pressure and sweat samples or whatever it is you do down there.”
She stands, laughing. “Okay, so you won’t be upset if I see him naked, right?”
“I’m serious, Presley. Get out of here.”
“I’m going, I’m going, but for real, you’re sure you’re not gonna be upset if I see him naked?”
“Presley.”
“Okay, fine. I’m going, but I’ll let you know if he looks as good as what you said the night after you had sex with him.” She giggles and waves.
