Page 49 of My Forbidden Boss

It works. She relaxes and I enjoy the animation on her face as she tells me about a funny situation they got themselves into, and then I press. “You said she lives in the Moss Creek housing project?”

“Oh, I…yes…she does.” Adeline goes quiet, sinking into her thoughts, and I know I’ve hit something close to her heart.

“I take it she has no choice,” I say.

“She…looks after her mother,” Adeline says, picking up her napkin and twisting it.

“She has no family to help her?” I press.

“There’s no one. Only the two of them,” she says.

“That must be hard,” I say and wait for her response. The pause grows, but I stay silent. I need this information from her.

“Her mother was hit by a…a bus. Her legs were crushed and the…the medical fees were too much. They couldn’t afford the proper treatment and Mom’s…her mother’s…legs didn’t heal the way they were supposed to. She couldn’t work. It was up to…Maddy…to work to buy food and the pain meds. She’s always in pain,” Adeline says. Her voice has sunk to a whisper. Her face has paled and her knuckles have gone white as she clutches the napkin tightly.

I didn’t expect that.

This Maddy couldn’t be older than Adeline. So much responsibility on young shoulders. I think of Steph. If this was her reality? I recoil. “I’m sorry, Adeline. I had no idea your friend is going through so much. If Blue Sky wins the tender, I promise I’ll care for her. Make sure both she and her mother are placed somewhere safe, but… do they still live in the apartments?”

Adeline’s gaze flicks to me. A shadow passes behind her eyes. Her lips part and she sucks in a quick breath. “I…she…thank you but, she…they managed to find another apartment. They’ve already moved out.”

Adeline is nervous. She’s not telling me everything. Protecting her friend maybe? With Adeline’s reluctance to accept anything from me, that may be the case. “I mean it, Adeline. I’ll help your friend.”

A furrow appears between her brows. She stares at me with that aged, worn appearance she sometimes gets, as though she’s trying to work out a puzzle. “You would do that, wouldn’t you?” Her voice is so soft. Barely there, but I hear it all the same.

“I would do that for you,” I say.

Time stills into an indefinable moment. I sense victory as she reaches some sort of decision, but then her gaze drops. Her shoulders slump and she sinks into herself. A hollow pit opens in my stomach as I watch her fade from me.

“David, I have to tell you…”

A paper lands on the table between us and covers our empty dishes. Samantha stands over us, eyes narrowed on Adeline. “Working hard I see.”

I cringe at her sharp tone, but keep my expression neutral.

“Where I work is none of your business, Samantha,” I say. I let anger seep into my words. I was on to something with Adeline. She’d finally let down her defenses enough to tell me something I sensed was important and now the moment is lost.

“I beg to differ. You’re a hard man to catch,” she says.

She folds her arms across her chest. She’s wearing a skintight dress and I see a definite bump protruding.

I frown at her. How I ever saw anything in this woman, I’ll never know. In truth, she was company for a few weeks when I was lonely. I should have gone to a few more games with Tristan instead of giving into her pressing me to go out. “I’ve had a busy week at work.”

“So I see. Luckily, I know how to get you,” she says, a sleek brow rising.

The hollowness in my stomach churns when I catch the expression on Adeline’s face. Her eyes are trained on whatever Samantha threw on the table. I follow her line of sight and everything turns to white noise when I read what’s printed.

Paternity: David Chandler 98% positive.

Fuck. No. It can’t be, but it is. I pick up the paper, reading the details. The results are based on our blood work. The result is official. Undeniable.

The sounds of the restaurant snap into high definition clarity. Background conversation. Someone laughs. Cutlery scrapes on stoneware. Glasses clink. Adeline’s breath stutters in her lungs.

Samantha’s voice breaks through the bubble of horror that suffocates me. “Don’t do to our little one what you did to Steph. I want more for our child than to be brought up in single parent households. For the sake of our child I want us to be a family, David. I want us to be together.”

Chapter 18

Adeline

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