Page 47 of The Housekeeper's Billionaire Boss
“Thanks, Ms. Salinas.” Molly stood. Normally she would have brought Ellie with her, but it had been pouring for a week. Instead, Molly had left her with the babysitter.
The lawyer looked from Molly to another woman sitting in the lobby. A woman Molly hadn’t noticed before. “Emilia Sanger?”
“That’s me,” the woman said and stood.
Who was she, and why was Molly’s attorney asking her into the office at the same time as Molly? She obviously wasn’t hiding her confusion as she followed Emilia into Ms. Salinas’s office.
The woman turned as the door shut and stuck her hand out. “I’m the private detective Josiah West hired to find Brenda. My friend Malakai Raven recommended me.”
“The lead singer of Crush?”
Talk about a piece of work. The guy was known for throwing tantrums when he didn’t get his way. It wasn’t even a week ago that a news story popped up on Molly’s Twitter feed that he’d ticked off the entire population of France.
“That’s the one. The guy is a pest sometimes, but he’s got a good heart.” Emilia took a seat in one of the chairs opposite the attorney. “It’s getting past that throat-punchable exterior that’s a real beast.” She laughed.
“So, Josiah hired you…”
“Shortly after Christmas,” Emilia answered.
Shortly after…Christmas. The call she thought was business. Josiah was hiring a private detective? Oh, no. He’d been doing something for her, and she’d thrown it back in his face because she was…a coward.
Ms. Salina nodded. “Yeah, Josiah left me a message when he hired her. It was a good thing he did, too. Finding out your brother wasn’t the biological father pretty much closed the case. Which brings me to why we’re here.”
Right. Why Molly was there. Either the battle was over or it was just beginning. “Right.”
“Derek is not Ellie’s father. Brenda was telling the truth. The man who fathered her passed from a drug overdose.” Ms. Salinas nodded to Emilia. “Thanks to Emilia’s quick work, we have that verified as well.”
Molly let out the breath she’d been holding and wilted. No more fighting. And as great as the news was, Josiah should have been there to hear it. If it weren’t for Molly, hewouldhave been there.
She’d been stupid. Reagan was right. She’d been terrified of being hurt, and she’d used anything she could hold on to, to justify running away.
After this meeting, she’d find him. Hopefully, he’d let her apologize and smother him in kisses after she begged him to forgive her.
Ms. Salinas continued. “After presenting the information to your mother’s attorney, they have decided to drop the custody challenge.”
“Thank you so much,” Molly said and stood. “I probably should go find Josiah and tell him the good news.”
Ms. Salinas’s eyebrows furrowed. “Uh, he moved. I thought you’d know that.”
“Moved?”
She nodded. “Back to his hometown. I think maybe a week ago. He’d intended to be here today, but he left a message overnight that he wouldn’t be able to make it. He has a cold and didn’t want to pass it along to the baby.”
“Okay. Uh, thank you for letting me know.”
“Is everything okay?” Emilia asked.
Molly smiled. “Everything’s fine.” Well, it wasn’t, but she was sending a thousand prayers up that everythingwouldbe fine. She wasn’t sure how she was going to fix things, but she was desperate for Josiah.
Risks sometimes hurt, and she was willing to have her heart shattered into a million little pieces if there was even a tiny sliver of hope that he’d give her a second chance.
She’d hold his precious heart with the softest hands and guard it as fiercely as she knew how. It was time to call in that offer Reagan made.
Chapter 23
After a long day of emptying a moving truck filled with furniture, the last thing Josiah wanted to do was drive to the ranch. He’d tried hard to get out of it, but his dad had insisted he needed the kind of help only Josiah could give. Finally, he’d relented and promised he’d be there as quickly as he could.
Parking his pickup in front of the house, he cut the engine and stepped outside. He took the steps at a jog and froze as the door opened.
