“I’m confident you’ll find a way.” He smiled. “Are you still playing the piano?”
“Yeah. I am. You should hear the way Ellie sings. I’ve never heard a little girl sing as well as she does. She has a talent, Dad—a raw and pure talent.”
“I’d love to hear her sometime.”
“I’ll have you and Gabriela over again for dinner, and we can start over. By the way, did you find a penthouse yet?”
“We did over on Park Avenue. It was a little more than I wanted to spend, but Gabriela fell in love with it the second she stepped off the elevator. We close next week, and it’s ours.”
“I can’t wait to see it.” I wiped my mouth with a napkin and stood up. “I have another stop to make before I head to the office. Breakfast is on you.” I smirked.
He stood up and hugged me. “Thank you, son. It was good talking to you.”
“You too, Dad.”
I walked out of the hotel and down the street, where Eric was pulled up along the curb.
“The office?” he asked.
“No. I need you to look up the address to a bakery called Sweet Sensations.”
“Okay. Why do you want to go there?”
“I have some business to take care of.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Jack
I walked into the bakery and looked around. It was busy, and the associates behind the counter scurried to help everyone in line. I scanned the cases, and all the desserts looked delicious. I noted one woman behind the counter—an older woman with medium-length brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Was that her? Was that the woman Sierra saw?
“How can I help you?” She smiled, her blue eyes staring into mine. The same eyes Sierra had.
“I know this might sound crazy, but I must speak with you privately.”
“Excuse me?” Her brows furrowed.
“My name is Jack Atlas of Atlas Enterprises. Did you have a child you left in a church during midnight mass twenty-two years ago?”
The fright on her face told me she was Sierra’s mother.
“How—how do you know about that?”
“That’s why we need to speak privately,” I said.
“Come around here, and we’ll go into my office.”
I followed her to a small room, cramped with only a small desk and file cabinet.
“I’ll ask you again, Mr. Atlas. How do you know me and about that?”
“I can tell you’re frightened, and you don’t need to be. Your daughter, Sierra, is my assistant. She was here last week and saw you but doesn’t want to believe you could be her mother.”
“I knew it, but I thought I was crazy. She’s here in New York? My daughter?”
“Yes. As I said, she works for me, and I love her very much.”
“Does she know you’re here?”