Page 68 of Boss's Baby Surprise

I had been through the Seattle airport plenty of times on my way to Hong Kong before, but I had never actually stopped in the city for a visit. I found a hotel and got settled in before I contacted James to see if he had any updates.

“I don’t, but I can give you a list of contacts I shared with Clarissa. Maybe you can track her down through one of those firms,” he suggested.

“That sounds like a good place to start,” I told him. I spent the next week acting like some kind of private investigator, calling architecture firms to find out if they had any new hires. And if they did, was Clarissa now working for them? When I realized no one would tell me if there was someone with her name working there, I began calling the reception desk and asking to speak with her, hoping the receptionist would simply put my call through.

I don’t know how many days it was before it worked. The call went to Clarissa’s voicemail. I didn’t realize how badly I missed her until I heard the recording of her sweet voice telling me she’d get right back to me.

I hung up the phone immediately and got a car to her office.

I didn’t know what to expect when I approached her. Would she be happy to see me or not?

“Clarissa,” I said quietly as I stood behind her.

She swiveled around in her chair and looked at me. Her expression switched from one of shock to anger to being absolutely neutral and blank. “What are you doing here?” she asked in sharp, clipped tones.

“I need to speak with you,” I said.

“Are you serious?” she snapped.

“Oh, my God, are you Kyle Love? Clarissa, what is Kyle Love doing in your cubicle?” A man about my age with dark hair asked.

I noticed Clarissa pasted a smile on for him, but she didn’t even have a glimmer of joy when she looked at me.

“Yes, Dominic, this is Kyle Love. I interned for him.”

Dominic seemed rather enthusiastic to meet me when he shook my hand. “It’s a real pleasure to meet you. I’m a big fan of your work. Sparkman Tower in Doha is a work of genius.”

“Thank you. I always like hearing that my work is appreciated.” The Sparkman Tower was the design that put my name on the map of renowned international architectural design.

“Are you staying in Seattle for any length of time?” he asked.

“I really don’t know,” I answered.

“Sure, sure, well if you are and you’re available, I’d love to buy you a drink and pick your brain sometime.”

“We’ll see how this trip goes. If not, maybe next time. Clarissa, do you have a moment to discuss this?” I asked, hoping she would pick up on the hint that we needed to talk.

She turned to Dominic. “Do you mind? Is there a conference room we could borrow or…?”

“Why don’t you take a coffee break and go get some of Seattle's finest? Have your little chat outside the office,” Dominic offered.

“Thanks.” She turned and picked up her coat and then pushed me to begin walking away. She did not say anything as we trailed through the cubicle farm where she worked and back down the elevators and outside.

“What are you doing here, Kyle?” she snapped.

“I came to find you and Leo,” I said.

“Why?” I could feel the resentment coming from her.

“Because we're a family.”

She started laughing. “So now we’re a family? How long did it take after you got the paternity test results to decide we’re a family?”

“Don’t be like that, Clarissa. The test results don’t matter,” I said.

She walked with a brisk pace through the spitting cold rain. She stopped, turned to face me, made some noise halfway between a grunt and a growl, and then began walking again. I followed but only managed to get a few steps in before she stopped and turned on me again.

“I don’t understand. You’ve had the test results for weeks and you’re only now coming to talk to me about wanting to be a family. I don’t think so. You should have believed me from the beginning.” She stormed off.

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