Page 33 of CEO's Baby Scandal

She looked familiar because she looked so much like her sister. I could see it now, the way her nose turned up at the end, the shape of her face. Their hair was a different color, but as soon as she pointed it out, I saw the resemblance. I wanted to smile, to greet her warmly, but I got the feeling she wasn’t here to be social. Her jaw was set, her shoulders squared.

“I should say it’s nice to meet you, but I get the feeling you don’t think it is.” I cleared my throat and adjusted my tie. “What is it that I can do for you, Ms. Harper?”

She stared at me through narrowed eyes, and I watched her body tense. “Mr. Jacobs, I am here to let you know that if you don’t back off, leave my sister alone, my family will file a lawsuit against you and this firm. Gross abuse of power, sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and whatever else you’ve done. You cannot throw your weight around and pressure a naïve woman into doing your bidding.”

Her words came like a kick in the gut. I had to sit down. I was winded, unable to formulate words for the moment as I reeled in shock. Sexual harassment? I had asked Emily a number of times if she wanted me to stop. I’d invited her to dinner, built what I thought was trust and a relationship.

“Ms. Harper, I’m afraid you’re wrong. Emily and I are in l?—”

“Are you?” she snapped, interrupting. “Or have you just thrown your weight around and bullied her? You realize she’s not a city girl, right? That she doesn’t know the ways of the world the way a man twelve years older than her might.” Evelyn uncrossed her arms and grabbed her clutch in hand, thencrossed her arms again. She was fidgeting, which meant she was either very emotionally worked up or nervous. I banked on the former. “You have no right to twist her emotions and get in her head. Shame on you.”

I licked my lips. My tongue clung to the roof of my mouth. My palms were sweaty. I felt my chest constricting. “Did Emily ask you to do this? Did she send you?” I didn’t know if I’d believe Emily sent this woman even if she told me she had.

“Mr. Jacobs, you’ve been warned. You leave her alone, or the suit will be filed. And we will hire Peterson, Baker, and Tomlin.”

The names rolled off her tongue, and I clenched my jaw. I rose as she started for the door, wishing I had some retort or way of defending myself, but I had nothing. There were no words. My head spun. I couldn’t believe what I heard. Why would Emily do this? I hadn’t pressured her once. I watched Evelyn storm out without trying to stop her and sank into my chair again. When I dialed Emily’s number, it went straight to voicemail. There was no point in leaving a message. I needed to speak to her in person about this, not over the phone.

My body felt heavy and frozen in place. Those were very strong accusations Evelyn cast at me, and all false. There was no way a court would side with the bogus claims, but it would drag my name through the mud, be hung up in litigation for months, scare potential clients, or current clients, away. This was all too much. I sank my head into my hands and rested my elbows on my knees.

Until I heard a knock at the door, and it squeaked open.

I looked up and saw Michael standing there. His expression told me he knew something. I shook my head and let my jaw drop. He moved toward my desk, jacket in one hand, draped over his shoulder.

“Emily’s sister?” he said as he sat down.

“Yeah…” I mumbled.

“What did she say?”

So apparently, he didn’t hear anything, but Olivia had told him who Evelyn was. I debated internally whether to tell him or not but decided he had to know. If this threat was real, there was no point hiding it.

“I haven’t spoken to Emily about it yet.”

“Spill it, Dan.” Michael tossed his jacket into the chair next to himself and scowled at me.

“Ms. Harper threatened a lawsuit against me and the firm if I don’t back off from Emily.” I swallowed hard, the constriction in my throat nearly choking me. “I don't know if this is Emily’s doing or her family’s. She said her parents were pretty controlling.”

“Goddammit, Dan. I told you this would happen. You never listen to me. I literally told you this exact scenario would play out, and look at you now.” His lecture continued for the next forty-five minutes, during which I tried calling Emily another dozen times, all with the same result. The calls went straight to voicemail. Either her phone was dead or she'd blocked me.

23

EMILY

Itrudged through the airport terminal, following the crowd as they moved toward the main exit. The wheels on my small black suitcase clicked on the floor tiles. I was exhausted. The flight was short, but it was getting on in the evening and I hadn’t slept well this week. I wasn’t looking forward to the evening much because I knew Mom and Dad would want me to sit around talking. Mom would make dinner and Dad would want to show me his newest creation for work. My brain hurt just thinking about it.

They were waiting when I passed security, holding a giant sign Mom had made. It saidWelcome Homein giant glitter letters and had hearts and smiley faces all over it. It had only been a few months, but the warm welcome felt nice. I threw my arms around her and let the suitcase sit.

“I missed you,” I mumbled, already on the verge of tears. One thing I hated about being pregnant was that I was so damn emotional. Everything made me cry.

“Oh, baby, we missed you too.” Mom smoothed my hair and squeezed me.

“Hey, don’t hog all the hugs now, Nan.” Dad nudged his way in, and I hugged him too. He smelled like pipe tobacco, but hegave the best hugs. When he let me go, he said, “Alright, let’s get out of here. Traffic will be a nightmare, and I’m hungry.”

I nodded and reached for my suitcase, but Dad grabbed it and headed off. Mom hooked her arm around mine and smiled. “I made pot roast and lentils. Oh, and that marble cake with caramel icing you like so much. And I got your room ready. I mean, it’s exactly how you left it, but I put clean sheets on the bed and dusted a little. Gosh, I’m so glad you’re home.”

Mom went on about her new hobby of knitting for about twenty minutes, long after we were in the old rusty pickup truck headed down the highway. I couldn’t believe Dad still had this old hunk of junk. He bought it brand-new from the factory and told everyone as long as it was running, he’d keep it. Thirty years later, it was still moving, though it had seen better days. It was comforting, curled up in the back seat with no leg room, reminiscing about being a child and riding around in his truck.

Life had changed so quickly for me when I moved to Chicago, so coming home, where life was slower and not much changed, felt comforting. I closed my eyes and hugged my knees to my chest and dozed off as we bumped over potholes. When I heard the crunch of gravel and felt the truck stop, I knew we were home. I blinked my eyes open and yawned.