Page 12 of His Long-Lost Baby

This is James Garris, the sperm donor who knocked up Quinn’s birth mom and then bailed when she got pregnant. He didn’t want to be a father, and he made that very clear.

I’m shaking with anger. Taking a deep breath, I try to calm down.

At least my anger is better than my pain.

James’s phone buzzes again, and he checks it.

I can’t help it. I want to give this guy a hard time, want to remind him how rude it is to ignore someone. It doesn’t matter that I’m just another employee at his company. I’m a human being too.

“Nice weather today,” I comment.

He arches a brow. It’s raining cats and dogs outside.

James doesn’t say anything, though, just goes back to scrolling through his phone. I grit my teeth and stare at the elevator doors.

Why did I have to run into him on my first day? Of all the days…

The elevator shudders and comes to an abrupt stop. James looks up from his phone, his expression unreadable.

“What the hell?” I murmur, clutching my purse.

James hits the emergency button but nothing happens. “Looks like we’re stuck,” he says flatly.

“Yep,” I snap.

Silence falls between us, broken only by the occasional beep from James’s phone. I try to ignore him, but it’s impossible. He’s right there, inches away from me, and I can feel his heat like a physical thing.

I take another deep breath, trying to calm down. This isn’t the time to lose my shit.

But then, the doors finally ding open, and I step out quickly, not wanting to spend a second longer in his presence than I have to.

As I make my way to the supply closet, I try to shake off the encounter. I have a job to do, after all. I need to focus on that.

But as I walk through the halls, I feel his eyes burning into my back.

Does he know who I am? What I’m here for? Is the hunted actually one step ahead of me?

I shake away the doubt. That’s impossible. No way could he know who I am.

And not that it matters. Once I have the information I need, I’ll be out of this company in a minute. James Garris will forget all about me, just like he forgot all about his daughter.

CHAPTER5

BILLIE

“Okay. So how’s it going?” Monica curls up on my couch and blows on her tea.

It’s nine p.m. and Quinn has just gone to sleep. Time to talk about all the juicy stuff.

Except what I have to report isn’t very juicy.

I drop my head against the cushions and groan. I’ve been working for James all week and except for our interaction on my first day, I haven’t spoken to him once.

And I still don’t know how I’ll get his health information. Which is a serious problem.

“Bad,” I say. “I thought that once I had my foot in the door, I’d figure out what to do next.”

Monica frowns. “You need to figure out a way to get that information, girl. What about his assistant? Maybe you could try and get close to her.”