Page 50 of The Billionaire's Baby Betrayal

PIPER

Piper decided not to go to her office right away after Andrés left. There was no way Rosamund would miss the joy on her face, and she didn’t feel she could answer any questions until she talked with Andrés about public knowledge of their relationship. She was confident the staff could handle things for another hour.

He loved her, and that was all she could think about, so she decided on doing something mindless such as packing for the trip. She smiled when she remembered Andrés reminding her to pack evening wear as they would celebrate after Señor Alberto won the race.

Piper was standing at her closet, pondering the best dress to take or whether to buy something new at one of the boutiques Rosamund had suggested, when she heard a knock at the door. She knew something wasn’t right the second she saw Emmett’s face.

“Emmett, hi. What’s wrong?” Piper felt awkward at the way he was looking at her.

“The blood test results are in, and Señor tested positive for PEDs,” he coldly replied. “Andrés has asked me to make sure you leave the ranch immediately.”

Piper was appalled at the veiled insinuation and glared at Emmett. “Am I being accused of tampering with the test or, worse yet, injecting the horse with banned substances?”

“I’m accusing you of nothing. I am following Andrés’ request to tell you that you are no longer employed at Estancia Luis Grande.”

She shook her head. “This is absurd. I demand to speak to Andrés. Get out of my way.” She started to walk around Emmett, but he blocked her path.

“Andrés has left the ranch and will not return until you are gone.” He spoke softly after seeing her anguished expression. “Piper, don’t fight this. Pack what you can, and any things left behind will be shipped to the address you leave for us. Gregorio will be waiting to take you to the heliport, and an open airline ticket going out of Montevideo has been provided.”

Piper refused to protest further or cry in front of Emmett. It wouldn’t serve any purpose as the only person she needed to speak to was Andrés, and he had deserted her.

She returned to her room, took another piece of luggage from the back of the closet, and started filling the two with toiletries and the clothes she could wear wherever she ended up. She rolled them out where Emmett waited.

“Take these to the car. I’ll email the address of where to send the rest of my things. I’ll be out after I get my laptop and other electronics from the desk.”

She stuffed what she could in her tote bag and placed the keys to the casita and the car on the island. Piper left the casita and didn’t look back. She saw that Gregorio was standing next to Emmett by the open back door of the car but couldn’t look at him and took her seat. Emmett was about to close the door when she reached for the handle to do the same.

“I’ll do it,” she said before she slammed the door.

Piper settled back into the seat and closed her eyes to keep the tears from streaming down her face. When she opened her eyes and spied the airline ticket confirmation, the reality of what was happening toppled her resolve, and she couldn’t stop the tears.

She wondered why Gregorio followed her to the helicopter. He explained that he had been told to stay with her until her flight was called for boarding, and she was outraged. Andrés didn’t trust her enough to leave the country?!

She talked to no one on the ride to Montevideo. Once in the air, Piper decided the only place for her would be Wyoming to reconcile with her parents and attempt to salvage her career. She knew that somehow Felix was behind the contaminated blood sample but couldn’t put her finger on how he had accomplished it. If she told Andrés what she suspected Felix had done, her true story would come out, and her professional reputation would be in ruins. And she doubted her love for Andrés would be returned because of her lies. And as for what poor sweet Luis would think… With a headache throbbing at her temples and her stomach rolling from the helicopter’s pitch and yaw, Piper’s tears flowed again.

Piper was too upset to call her parents from Montevideo to let them know she was flying home. She thought food, ibuprofen for her headache, and sleep on the plane would calm her enough to call them when she landed in Wyoming, and she intended to tell them she was reassessing her next move after leaving her job in Uruguay.

She was aggravated that Gregorio had been designated her chaperone but knew he was doing the job his boss had told him to do, and that he probably didn’t like it any better than she did. After getting her boarding pass and checking her bags, Piper asked him to join her in one of the airport restaurants for a bite to eat.

“Where is the plane flying you to, Piper?” he asked as they ate.

“To Casper, Wyoming. My parents own a horse ranch near there.”

“It will be good to be with your family again, no?”

“I haven’t visited for a long while, so we’ll see how it works out. If it works out like I hope it will, I will most likely help around the ranch until I make permanent plans.”

No mention was made of why she was leaving Uruguay.

Gregorio wished her well when it was time to go through the security screening, and she thanked him for always being kind to her. Andrés had at least paid for a first-class ticket, so once she found her window seat, Piper made herself comfortable with the provided blanket and pillow, swallowed the ibuprofen, and slept until the plane landed in Panama City. She had a one-hour layover and considered trying to reach Andrés but mulled it over until ten minutes before boarding time. She hit his speed dial number, but the call went directly to voicemail, and she disconnected. Piper told herself it was only temporary that he didn’t want to hear from her, and he would have to take her call at some point, if only to ask why she would do such a thing, and then she could explain.

“If only,” she whispered.

* * *

“Hey, Mom,” said Piper. She was standing in the baggage claim area, her phone to her ear.

“Caroline? Are you all right? Why are you calling?” asked Marianne Ford.

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