Page 51 of Bitter Heat

“No, thank you. Just bed for me.”

Thea put her arm around her waist as if she were injured and walked her up the massive staircase to her bedroom.

“How long are you staying, miss?” Thea asked.

“I’m never leaving again,” she mumbled. She went into her en suite bathroom and washed her face before she kicked off her boots and shrugged off her coat. The covers were folded back, so she slid right in. “Leave it, Thea,” she mumbled as the housekeeper carried her boots and coat to the closet. “It’s late. You didn’t have to come here just for me.”

“Of course, I did. Do you know what you want for breakfast?”

“Coffee.”

“And?”

She eyed her balefully. “More coffee.”

Thea kissed her on the brow. “Will do. Welcome home.”

Chapter 8

Four Years Ago

It had been three years since she saw her father. She was so nervous that she hadn’t been able to eat for two days. She was surprised that out of all the real estate he owned, Maximus had taken up residence at Tuxedo Park. He had never been fond of the place, especially after her mother inhabited it.

Her shoes squeaked on the polished wood floor as she crossed the main hall and turned toward the library. One of the doors stood ajar. She stopped just shy of the entrance and tried to control her roiling stomach.

It had been a year since she left Roth. She wanted to move on, but he wouldn’t sign the divorce papers. She felt as if there was a noose around her neck. He demanded to see her, but she refused. She was desperate to break ties with him at any cost. Her father was the only man powerful enough to make that happen.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tapped lightly on the door.

“Come in.”

She kept her eyes downcast as she stepped into the doorway. She was half-convinced the guard at the gate had given her father the wrong name, and that was the only reason she had been granted access.

Maximus didn’t shout at the sight of her. There was only a buzzing silence, which was worse.

“Are you just going to stand there?”

She flinched. Just the sound of his voice made her feel ill. It took a few seconds for her legs to work. She stopped several feet from his desk and kept her eyes downcast. She was defeated, exhausted, humiliated, and desperate to get through this without hurling on his expensive rug.

“I filed for divorce,” she whispered.

She hunched her shoulders, waiting for the barrage of insults, but Maximus said nothing.

“H-he won’t sign,” she continued.

“What do you want from me?”

She swallowed hard. “I-I was hoping you could convince him to agree.”

“If you want something, look at me.”

She gathered what little courage she had and looked up. The change in his appearance was shocking. He’d had his first stroke shortly after he disowned her. When she tried to visit him at the hospital, she was turned away. Since then, she heard he had several more health issues that forced him to step down from Hennessy & Co, but nothing prepared her for his transformation. He had lost a significant amount of weight, his hair was a blinding white, and his face had age spots all over it. His hair was thinning, and the muscles in his face weren’t working right. He had aged a decade in less than three years. Nevertheless, his gaze was as piercing as ever.

“Now, Jasmine,” he said, “ask me.”

He might look old, but he still sounded like a drill sergeant.

“Can you help me with Roth?” she asked.

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