The Manhattan Prince
Chapter 1
Emma Darby clutched her small bag in her arms.
She could barely contain the smile on her face. The beautiful girls at the front desk of the Stidwell Building were grinning at her.
It was clear to Emma that they had a look of disdain for her, but the young woman didn't care.
She had gotten a job!
As a secretary to a partner of the Harlock Investment Group in Manhattan, in the heart of Wall Street, no less.
Yes, she would have very difficult days because she had never worked in an investment firm before, but the lawyer who interviewed her was quick and sharp with her. She was the second one he called out of a line full of gorgeous, statuesque women whose looks fit the place best.
Emma was the only one in the group, very curvy and slightly overweight, with an appearance that stood in contrast to the other applicants. Still, the hiring manager called on her and seemed to be more interested in her experience, barely taking a look at her resume.
Without looking up from the paper in his hands, he asked, "How long have you been a secretary?"
"I was a legal secretary for ten years," was Emma's answer.
The elegant lawyer, who would have been the same age as Emma, took another look at the résumé and then dropped it on the large desk.
-"You'll start on Monday."
Emma's first thought was that it was a joke, but the serious look on the man's face suggested otherwise.
"Take your paperwork to Human Resources," was the last thing he said before answering a call on his cell phone.
Emma left the office immediately and had to dodge the curious glances of the other women who were still waiting for their turn, a turn that would already be in vain, since the position had just been filled.
She knew that someone would come to tell them that it was no longer necessary for them to wait, so Emma hurried to leave the area and try to find the Human Resources area, which would not be difficult since the place was marked.
This last procedure was quick and from happiness, Emma didn't even have a look at the faces of her companions. The only thing that was on her mind was the interesting salary she would have.
Remembering that made her so happy.
She decided that she wanted to enjoy her victory for a little while longer, so she didn't go out, but went back upstairs to the floor where she had read that the cafeteria was located.
It was a luxury she would not have allowed herself at another time. But she needed to be able to rejoice for a moment, alone.
It was the first triumph to fall on her back, after two months of hardship since arriving in New York.
She picked up the steaming cup of Americano and decided to enjoy it calmly. She saw his reflection in the huge decorative mirror of the place, which was still sparsely patronized because of the hours.
It was true that she was not the kind of slender girl who swarmed the building and that her simple clothes were not shocking two-piece suits nor did she wear platform heels, but she had a harmonious face, a little haggard but crowned with two huge brown orbs, bushy eyelashes and with a youthful air that took a couple of years off the twenty-nine years she had.
Her first thought was that with her first salary she would be able to find an apartment for her and her son Tanner and leave Lisa, who was taking them in a tiny apartment in Queens, free.
As she remembered her ten-year-old son, her triumphant countenance changed to one full of tenderness.
Tanner was preparing to start fifth grade in school, after a great effort to get his transfer papers in time. At first she feared that her son would not adjust to the city, having lived all his life in Cheyenne, a quiet, rustic town almost two days' drive from New York, but again, Tanner was surprising her with that sparkling intelligence and wit that made him able to adjust anywhere.
She never complained about the sudden change.
What would have been a simple family vacation to New Jersey from her native Cheyenne, in the company of her now ex-fiancé Nicholas and his insufferable daughter Rita, in a well-deserved taste of their future blended family, turned out to be a dismal failure.
The worst part was that Emma was still paying for that trip, in installments on her credit card because Nicholas insisted that he had other surprises for her, in exchange for her taking care of everyone's travel and lodging, including fulfilling the whims of Rita, that little girl of a similar age to Tanner, but in a wicked and fickle version.
After the big fight that resulted in Nicholas leaving her, Emma and Tanner were stranded in New Jersey, and in a strange coincidence she ran into Lisa Maldiva, an old high school classmate who insisted on saving her.
It was strange luck that Lisa happened to be there, being that she resided in Queens in New York, but that lucky coincidence saved her life.
How was it possible to run into a person she met in her hometown?
And also with so much desire to help her. But Lisa herself told her, she owed her one.
With no money or acquaintances, only a busted credit card, Lisa's appearance saved her from turning to her father, or worse her sister Faith, who lived in Cheyenne.
She couldn't even imagine how Faith would have mocked her.
"Were you fooled again, Emma...?
She had endured ten years of her father despising her for becoming a single mother and Faith, her older sister looking down on her with pity, the fruit of contempt.
Only the matter of her pregnancy came to accentuate the family fracture, as she was always underestimated, because Mrs. Darby died giving birth to Emma. That sad event was a stigma that always hung over Emma's head, as her father and Faith blamed her for that death.
She never received a penny of her mother's fortune, whom she never knew. That money went to her father exclusively. Of course, he always had it to share with Faith, who was the apple of his eye.
His father was a deputy city councilman and his sister worked in his office.
The last thing she would have wanted was to ask them for help.
She never received anything from them, ever since she left the family home and sought independence to escape the harsh judgment.
With no money, she had to work as much as she could without education. So she went to work as a secretary at a law firm in Cheyenne, on the recommendation of her high school chemistry teacher, who was the brother of the firm's managing partner.
Only then did they hire an inexperienced 18-year-old girl with a few months old baby of an unknown father. Thanks to the managing partner's baton, she was never judged or reprimanded. They were patient with her and Emma, determined to keep the job and repay the trust, eventually became the best legal secretary in the region in those ten years.
Unfortunately, less than six months ago, her mentor passed away and Emma found herself caught up in a power struggle between the partners who wanted to take over the firm.
In the midst of that turmoil, she met Nicholas Jackson, a Colorado surgeon who was passing through the firm. A widower and father of a daughter Rita, the man was an excellent prospect, unlike all the losers who swelled his list of love failures.
A medical professional with a permanent position at the Colorado Teaching Hospital, Emma finally dared to accept him, dreaming of giving Tanner a family and proving to her family that she could get a good husband.
They were engaged at once, only there Emma discovered a side of her fiancé that she preferred to ignore for the common good: he was terribly greedy and stingy.
Tanner didn't hold back his opinions either.
"Rita has lice and doesn't like to bathe, I think she may become Grandpa's favorite granddaughter"
"Honey, don't be mean to Rita"
-"I swear I'm not, Mom...but that girl is a handful"
Between her job situation hanging in the balance after the change of managing partner and the family's position, where Emma had to take care of all the expenses of her relationship with Nicholas, the young woman was determined to maintain harmony, hoping that Nicholas would propose to her.
Not that she was in love, but Nicholas was a good match in her eyes, who would not be teased by her sister or judged by her father. The best part was that Nicholas accepted her with Tanner and never asked her questions about her background.
And thank goodness, because the one thing she would never talk about was her son's ancestry. It was a non-negotiable condition.
Just remembering that secret and unique truth in her heart, she was even capable of trembling, but she had sworn to herself that she would never talk about it.
The ideal was to be able to concretize something more serious with Nicholas. The past was already the past. It wasn't worth digging into it, despite the fact that every time she saw Tanner, she noticed the same face as the mysterious progenitor. The same blue eyes and the same tenacity.
The woman shook her head at those memories.
Two months ago, the possibility of a short trip to New Jersey came up.
"Dear, now is the time for women to show their self-reliance and follow the new trends. It is only right that you pay the credit for the trip and I promise to pay you back for mine and Rita's share when we return to Cheyenne,” Nicholas had told her.
Promises.
Promises.
Emma pulled out her credit card.
She paid for the rental car, the plane tickets, the lodging in a four-star hotel because Nicholas claimed to be allergic to lesser stars. Not to mention the numerous expenses for candy and sweets for Rita, who did not hesitate to ask for anything she saw.
How could a little girl be so gluttonous?
Even Tanner didn't behave like that.
Remembering all this, a grim grimace came over Emma as she recalled that, in the middle of the vacations, the great displeasure between her and Nicholas over Rita occurred. And to top it all off, she was told on the phone that she was being fired from the firm.
She put the empty cup down on the table.
She no longer wanted to recall the circumstances that had caused her and her son to end up in New York, although deep down she was grateful that it was a perfect way to start over.
She had never dreamed she would work in the big city and for the first time, she felt free, because she was too far away from the watchful eyes of her father and Faith.
He pulled out a few coins and put it in the cafeteria's tip box.
It was better to go back to the apartment, because Lisa had night hours at the cleaning company where she worked. She would take the opportunity to cook Tanner's favorite dish and celebrate the news of her job.
She packed her bag and went out, hoping to catch the subway early that would take her to Queens.
She walked through the imposing entrance, ignoring the whispers of the receptionists who kept noticing her appearance.
She looked up and was still amazed by the skyscrapers of the big city. And she did it shamelessly, because she was not afraid to pass for the authentic country girl she was.
Then, like all the other passers-by, her attention was caught by the imposing silver Aston Martin parked in front of the building. One of the valet parking attendants rushed out to open the superb car and as if in a vision, a tall man in an impeccable tailored suit wearing dark glasses stepped out of the car, tossing the key to the boy.
Emma was about to turn back, but something stopped her from staring at the impressive executive-looking fellow. Something about his bearing was so frighteningly familiar.
Tall and shapely, with the suit practically to his body denoting excellent physical condition, as if he were a magazine model, he took off his glasses, of course ignoring all the onlookers and focusing his eyes on the building.
Emma took several steps back in shock and hit one of the pillars.
Those haunting blue eyes could only belong to one person.
Plus, she recognized that look in Tanner's eyes.
She began to tremble like a leaf when he paraded in front of everyone and disappeared inside the building, leaving a wave of sighs among the women and surprise among the men.
But Emma's astonishment was not the result of the same thing.
She had just seen a ghost.
The flesh-and-blood ghost of Liam Van Dyke.
The father of her son Tanner, one he never even imagined existed.