Page 54 of His Long-Lost Baby

“Thanks for listening.”

“It’s what I’m here for.” She pauses. “Listen, I’m about to go into a meeting, but let me know how it goes with him.”

“I will. Bye.”

I hang up, feeling slightly better. Standing up, I face myself in the mirror.

“You can do this,” I say, smoothing my blouse.

I’ll come clean about why I applied to the GarrisTech job. I’ll find out how James feels about Quinn now.

And then, whatever the outcome is, I’ll accept it.

I just might not like it.

CHAPTER18

JAMES

The elevator doors slide open and I step inside, catch sight of my reflection, and stop.

I barely recognize the guy staring back at me. He’s grinning from ear to ear, looking like he’s on cloud nine.

I don’t know when I’ve ever been this happy.

It’s like something clicked into place the moment mine and Billie’s lips met for the first time.

She doesn’t care about the tech billionaire James Garris. That guy she made it abundantly clear she dislikes.

But then I took off that persona and showed her the man underneath. The former orphan who’s had to fight for everything he has.

And that’s when something changed between us.

She likes who I am. She just wants to be withme.

And I want her.

More than anything in the world, I want her.

I don’t want to think about anything but her for the rest of my life.

My heart sings her name.

I can’t wait to see her again.

I chuckle and shake my head as the elevator descends to the main floor. My phone pings with a text and I eagerly pull it out, hoping that it’s Billie.

But it’s Rose, a woman I’ve gone out with a couple times.

I hesitate for a moment, wondering if I should even read it, but curiosity gets the better of me.

Hey James, I’m back in town. I was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner sometime this week?

I stare at the message, feeling a sense of disgust bubble up inside me. I don’t want to think about anyone else but Billie. I don’t want to be with anyone else but Billie.

I type out a quick response,Sorry, Rose, I’m not interested in seeing anyone right now.

Almost immediately, little dots appear. Rose is typing back.