“Do you feel that they’ll present another offer?”Ernesto asked.
Early on, Pritchard’s lawyers had presented a rather decent offer, but companies only did that when a lawsuit had the potential to cost them a lot more, especially when you factored in the attorney fees.Seriously, lawyers were the only people who ever won when someone decided to sue.
“If they do, then we’ll give it the same consideration as the first offer,” I assured him.
“How much longer until we can go?”Zia piped up.“I’m hungry.”
Wanting this meeting over just as badly as she did, I said, “It’s not a problem.I have most of what I need, and this meeting was just to touch base anyway.”
Ernesto looked relieved as he said, “Oh, good...great.I’ll...then you’ll call me if you hear anything more from their lawyers?”
I nodded as I stood, signaling the end of the meeting.“Of course.”
Once Ernesto and Zia stood from their seats, Ernesto reached out to shake my hand.“Thank you very much, Mr.Crawford.I really appreciate everything that you’re doing for me and my family.”
“You’re welcome,” I replied genuinely.
As soon as our handshake ended, Zia was reaching out to shake my hand as well, and that surprised the hell out of me.“It was nice meeting you, Mr.Crawford.”
Though we both knew that she was lying, I took her hand in mine anyway.“Likewise, Ms.DeLéon.”
Nothing more was said as father and daughter walked out of my office, and while I’d normally walk them to the door, the man in me wanted nothing more to do with Zia DeLéon.Not only did she appear to be more trouble than she was worth, but I was easily fifteen years older than she was, and that was a fetish that only brought drama.
Chapter 2
Zia~
I sat in my office, resenting every second of it.I was only here because my stepmother could give Lady Tremaine a run for her money, and for anyone who didn’t know who that was, that’s the name of Cinderella’s stepmother.
Certainly not the first or only, but my mother had died during childbirth, and though tragic and unfortunate, life had still gone on, and my father had met Julia only a few years later, and when I’d been around five-years-old, he had married her, and that had been the beginning of the end for me.
With no memories to compare to, I had mistaken Julia’s indifference for love, but once I’d gotten older, I’d seen it for what it’d really been.Of course, once she’d given my father two more children, the favoritism had been obvious to everyone but my father.Too busy working and providing a life for his family, he hadn’t paid attention to the little things that had been happening at home, and why would he?His job had been to support his family, and Julia’s job had been to take care of the children and the household.
At any rate, for years, I’d been clamoring for my father’s attention, but it’d all been for nothing.He had a son in Donatello, and he had another daughter in Louisa, and whenever I had complained about Julia’s favoritism or how my siblings had treated me, he’d always brush it off as normal family dynamics that everyone had to work through.
It also didn’t help that I’d taken after my mother’s side of the family.Where my father, Julia, and my siblings had inherited the same dark features that usually applied to Spaniards, I’d been born with blonde hair, blue eyes, and I’d been a constant reminder of my father’s first love, and I still was.In fact, I was the spitting image of my mother, Sabrina, and I could only imagine how much Julia hated that.
