Page 86 of BillionHeir
“Baby, I am not going anywhere. You are stuck with me.”
Relief flashes through her eyes. “Okay, let’s do this.”
She opens the door with one hand and holds mine with her other, leading me into the hospital room. I can instantly recognize the woman in the bed as Chloe’s mother. Although Ihave never seen her before, the resemblance between them is uncanny. It doesn’t take much work to imagine what Chloe will look like when she is her age. “Mum, this is Maxwell Banks. Max, this is my mother, Kathleen Shepard.”
I step forward and offer my hand which she accepts.
“It is nice to meet the woman who did such an excellent job raising Chloe. I have heard so many nice things about you.”
“Lovely to meet you, Maxwell,” she says with a welcoming smile and cautious eyes.
“Max, please,” I say, giving Chloe a sharp look as I say it.
She smirks at me before giving her attention back to her mother.
“I hear you love my daughter,” she says as her eyes scrutinize my reaction.
I can feel my palms start to sweat. I have faced down countless business adversaries, but none of them have made me this nervous. I have finally found something, someone, that I can’t live without out, and I have never had more on the line.
“Yes, ma’am,” I answer, somehow deducing that manners are important to Kathleen.
She nods to herself. “Why?”
“Mom—” Chloe interjects.
“No,” I say, reaching out to grab Chloe’s hand once again. “I am happy to answer.” I turn my attention back to the woman whose approval is on the line. “I love your daughter because sheis kind and compassionate. She is an excellent nurse and takes her job very seriously. She is intelligent, thoughtful, witty and charming. But most of all, I love her because she makes me want to be a better man, to be someone who is worthy of her.”
Kathleen looks between the two of us for a few more seconds during which I am almost afraid to take a breath. Finally she nods again.
“If she loves you, then I love you. But if you hurt her again, my approval won’t be so easy to regain.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I respond, finally allowing my lungs to fill with air.
“Mum, honestly,” Chloe says, looking embarrassed.
I run my thumb over the back of her hand to ease her worries. I would jump through hoops to get her mother to like me. That was nothing compared to what I was imagining.
“Tell me about yourself, Maxwell,” Kathleen says, ignoring her daughter’s discomfort.
I consider what she would like to hear about me.
“Well, I became the CEO of my father’s company, Banks International, at twenty years old. I have worked for the last nineteen years to grow it into something that he would be proud of.”
“And is he?”
“I hope so, but unfortunately, I can’t ask him. I lost both of my parents in a plane crash.”
“I am very sorry to hear that. Losing a parent is difficult, but to lose both at the same time, I can only imagine how hard that was for you.”
Maternal sympathy radiates from Kathleen, and it nearly brings tears to my eyes. It has been so long since I have had support from my parents.
“It has been difficult,” I admit. “I have wanted to ask their advice many times over the years.”
Chloe tightens her hand around mine in a sign of support. I look down at her hand wrapped in mine and revel in the love I feel coming from her. I never thought I would be lucky enough to find someone who can make me feel better with nothing but the touch of her hand.
“There is something I would like to talk to the two of you about, if you don’t mind.”
Chloe’s brows scrunch together in confusion. “Okay.”
