I grabbed the file and headed for Sebastian's office, navigating the halls on autopilot. Dropped the projections with Margaret, exchanged a few words, and turned to head back.
As I approached the conference room, I heard voices.
Zoe's, high and sweet. Xavier's, warm and patient.
And a third voice. Elegant. Commanding.
My heart stopped.
I rounded the corner and looked through the glass wall.
Xavier was still on the couch, Zoe now awake and sitting up beside him. And standing over them both, her expression sharp and curious, was Eleanor Dubois.
She turned as I appeared in the doorway. Her eyes met mine.
"Kim," she said pleasantly. "What a lovely surprise. I didn't know you had your daughter at the office."
My throat went dry. My mind went blank.
This was it. The moment everything fell apart.
10XAVIER
The spreadsheet was givingme a migraine.
I rubbed my temples and stared at the spreadsheet, the numbers blurring into hieroglyphics. Sebastian wanted these reviewed by the end of the day, and I was only halfway through. At this rate, I'd be here until midnight—and still wouldn't understand what any of it meant.
A flash of movement caught my eye.
Someone walked past the glass wall of my office. Silver hair. Elegant posture. A familiar silhouette that made my blood run cold.
No. It couldn't be.
But even as I thought it, I was already on my feet. Because Zoe was in the conference room. Zoe, who was supposed to stay out of the arrangement. Zoe, whose existence I'd been carefully keeping separate from my grandmother's scrutiny.
If that was my grandmother?—
I was out of my office and down the hall before I'd finished the thought, my heart hammering against my ribs. Please be wrong. Please let it be someone else. Please?—
I rounded the corner and stopped dead.
Through the glass wall of the conference room, I could see them. My grandmother, perched on the edge of the couch, her designer handbag beside her. And Zoe, sitting up now, the blanket pooled around her waist, chattering away with the complete lack of self-consciousness that only children possessed.
Too late. I was too late.
I pushed through the door, trying to arrange my face into something casual. Normal. Not panicked.
"Grandmother. What a surprise."
She looked up at me, one perfectly shaped eyebrow arching. "Xavier. I stopped by to discuss the charity gala next month, but I seem to have found something far more interesting." Her gaze returned to Zoe. "This delightful young lady was just telling me about her stuffed elephant."
"His name is Peanut," Zoe supplied helpfully. "He's an astronaut."
"How wonderful." My grandmother's smile was warm, but her eyes were sharp when they met mine again. "Whose child is this, Xavier?"
I opened my mouth. Closed it. My mind raced through possible explanations—an employee's kid, a friend's daughter, a random child who'd wandered in off the street—but I could see my grandmother watching me, cataloging every micro-expression, and I knew she'd see through any lie before I finished telling it.
"She's..." I swallowed. "She's Kim's daughter."
