CHAPTER 19
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She had slept as soundly as if she had no problems or responsibilities.
Or worse, stop to think about what she had done.
Emma opened her eyes and found herself in her room alone. The sheets were a jumbled mess and some light glimmered through the cracks in the small window.
She brought her hands to her face, not sure whether to feel ashamed or devastated that Liam had left when she was sleeping.
She ran her hands over the side where until recently he had been lying.
She felt stupid because she would have loved to wake up in the arms of the man who made love to her so passionately the night before.
She wasn't even sure why they did it, since he came raging.
“He already knows Tanner is her son!” she jumped up like a spring at the memory.
What would she do now?
She couldn't run away because she knew Liam would come looking for her to take Tanner away from her if necessary, so she had to stay, but she wasn't sure either because Liam hadn't told her anything. She didn't even know if he wanted to take responsibility for Tanner.
Emma shook her head.
“He's embarrassed, that's why he ran away in the wee hours of the morning?”
The woman got up and began to pick up her clothes from the floor to throw them into the basket. She would take a nice shower to relax and think.
How was she supposed to look him in the eye?
They were working together and had a lot pending, as Liam had just taken over all the shares except for the ones Michael owned.
They expected his alert at any moment, but Emma didn't know if she should go. She brushed her lips, same lips that Liam kissed so passionately and sweetly.
What was he looking for by doing that?
What it did do was increase the confusion in her mind. She wanted him and the fact that he had done this completely threw her off.
As she showered she kept thinking, mainly about the advisability of showing up at the office. She decided that she would show up, if only to talk to him.
And indeed that anything could happen. Liam could have already ordered a ban on her entering the building. Millions of scenarios plagued her, but they all unfailingly led to the one truth that belonged to her: Tanner was his son and Emma loved him, but she didn't trust him and his legitimate intentions no matter how passionate a night they'd spent together.
She finished dressing in one of her tailored suits, combed her hair and stared at herself for a moment in the mirror.
Looking at herself she was sure that last night was a mistake, Liam would never choose her in his right mind. She wasn't beautiful and she didn't have one of those amazing bodies of the women who had passed through his life, as she saw in Google stock photos. To go any further, the prince of Manhattan had a gorgeous fiancée.
She turned her eyes and grabbed her purse, ready to go out to make breakfast.
But as soon as she stepped outside, she found the table set with plenty of freshly squeezed orange juice, pancakes with lots of gravy, bacon and eggs, and smelly American coffee.
Also cereal with milk for Tanner, who was already seated tasting his plate.
Lisa at the stove was frying the eggs.
From the look in their eyes and the silence that followed, it was clear that they knew something.
Tanner looked at her suspiciously while she came closer to give him her morning kiss.
“I hope you slept well, Mommy”
Emma was horrified to think about the scope of Tanner's sentence.
When she passed by Lisa, she smiled mischievously at him, since Tanner's back was turned to them.
“And how did you spend last night...?” she whispered, making Emma almost choke with the coffee she had taken.
The woman blushed.
“What...?”
“And you can't deny it, since both Tanner and I are not deaf”
“Did Tanner notice?” Emma put a hand to her mouth.
“You don't have to whisper, I can hear you,” the boy exclaimed, still savoring his breakfast. “Last night we took advantage of Liam's card and bought about two months' worth of groceries,” laughed the little boy.
“Son, I can assure you that it was not my intention to disrespect you...” Emma turned to her son, extremely embarrassed, but the boy remained calm.
“I like Liam and he's nothing like losers like Nicholas. He's my friend,” the boy said matter-of-factly, making Emma's jaw nearly drop. “Besides, he's not after your money that we know you don't have or worse grandpa's, since my friend Liam is a thousand times richer. If he stayed last night it's because he's after you, Mom”
Tanner had a common sense she didn't.
Even if Emma had wanted it to be so, she couldn't be sure of the latter.
Why would someone like Liam be after her?
Last night for him was a mistake and the affair with Tanner sure wouldn't be pleasant to resolve.
“Don't be afraid, Emma...if your own son has given you permission” it was Lisa who spoke to her from behind.
At that moment, the doorbell rang and Emma got up like a spring.
“I’ll get it!”
Could it be Liam?
She straightened her skirt and adjusted her hair while Lisa and Tanner made encouraging gestures.
“You can do it mom!”
“Go get everything, Emma you owe me a long girl talk later!”
Emma approached the door with Jesus in her mouth.
But when she opened it she found not Liam, but none other than Michael Foreman.
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You're going to solve that math book or you're going to lose your blanket.
You're not going to sleep until you finish that economics book.
Don't even think about coming home without getting an A-plus.
Echoes of his father's words echoed through his head. A childhood and adolescence under the baton of a stern and strict father were the constant in his life.
He was never going to be like that.
The confirmation of his paternity was as hard a blow to his ego as it was to his own feelings. From being an executive everyone labeled the prince of Manhattan who even sold his conscience for a planned engagement to the daughter of his biggest rival to beat him in business, now his world was upended by a truth he couldn't deny.
Not that he wanted to deny it.
Tanner was a miniature physical version of himself, except he had the sweet imprint of the mother.
He smiled faintly remembering him.
He had to see him again, tell him what he was to him...and also to his mother, with whom he had spent the best night of his life, and from whom he had to flee in the early hours of the morning, plagued by guilt and fear.
He had to think what to do and although he wanted to do it, he could not detest Emma for hiding the truth from him since he behaved like a lout and never proved to be someone trustworthy.
“But I'm not like that...” he said to himself, pounding the table.
He wasn't going to go to the office, he had to solve this headache before talking to Emma again, preferably where there wasn't a room nearby to avoid being tempted.
But last night was like the consummation of all the unconfessed desire of his youth when he was ashamed that the least graceful girl in Cheyenne was the one he liked.
He was dying to repeat, but they both had unresolved issues. And he wasn't stupid, he knew she viewed him with suspicion of him getting close to Tanner.
He wasn't going to force any situation, but he didn't want to and couldn't give up on him....
And neither could he give up on his mother...
Damn why was she thinking of something so twisted?
And it wasn't twisted at all.
Liam knew it was true, under that fa?ade he was bringing out that love he always had for Emma that took root under the seeds of the first love he always refused to admit. Now it was coming to the surface in full force, heightened with the admiration of all that she had fought to bring her son forward, earning the ignominy of her family.
He remembered a passage from the night before when he rested his head near her hip when he noticed a very fine whitish thread near her lower abdomen. It was dark, but he could see that it was a scar.
“What happened here...?” he asked.
She hesitated a bit to answer, but true to his insistence, he asked again.
“It's a scar from the C-section they had to perform for Tanner to be born....”
“How?” he settled on his elbow.
“I was alone and I had to sign the authorization when I was writhing in pain in bed, since neither my sister nor my father went to the hospital for me. It was a complicated delivery because the baby was enormous....”
Liam felt terrible.
Emma had had such a hard time, both emotionally and financially, working long hours every day to feed her child, unaware of the fatigue and the problems.
That woman was so worthy....
If only he had been a little less stupid with her, maybe she would have told him the truth.
He imagined the hardships and privations she had to go through.
He smiled with tears in his eyes as he reminisced about his son, a child with a privileged intelligence who was smarter than himself.
What paternal pride he felt, even though he had seen little of the little boy, but enough to create a bond.
At that moment the doorbell began to ring insistently.
Liam got up.
He hoped it was Emma, though he hadn't expected it since she didn't know his private address.
But he bumped into William Sanders at the door.
“Gods! I've been trying so hard to call you, but your cell phone is off,” William cried as he passed him.
Liam remembered turning it off until he sorted out the mess in his head.
“Sorry, I thought I'd take the day off....”
“Well apparently everyone in your office thinks so too! Because I went looking for you and not even your secretary showed up, it was just the cubicle guys....”
“The company can continue to function, even if I'm absent for a day...” Liam justified himself.
“Not at all! I had to tell you something very serious”
“What?”
“As you know, we are at a critical stage with the briefcase companies' coup we made to buy everyone's shares...and I put Michael Foreman under surveillance because I knew that the hecatomb would come when the man found out that besides him, the only remaining shareholder is you, and my assistant called me to warn me that there are strange movements in the office”
“I will deal with Michael and his daughter...but I have a personal matter to resolve”
“What personal matter?” William asked quizzically. “Whatever it is can wait, since the watchman told me that Michael went to Queens this morning -guess where? to your secretary's house! I can only think that he's going to blackmail her for information ...or I can even think that he's going to try to bring her into his army, that man is going all out!”
That news was deadly.
Michael never missed a stitch and while William was still talking about his fears about the business they had done, Liam had another more frightening one in mind.
That wretch was no idiot and Liam was horrified at what Michael could do.
“That's not why Michael Foreman went to Emma's house,” said Liam, interrupting William's tirade.
“What are you saying?”
“That bastard already knows I'm the father of Emma's child...and he went after her”
It was as if cold water was thrown in William's face, and he was completely taken aback by the information.
“Have you lost your mind? I knew you did a lot of stupid things, but you were always a smart guy... How could you be so irresponsible as to have a child with your secretary? Wait, none of this makes any sense! At what point was he born? Can you explain to me what the hell is going on? I don't understand anything”
“It doesn't make sense that you don't know...” Liam decided it was time to tell someone else about the secret he had just discovered. “Remember I asked you for an urgent genetic test...?”
And so Liam began to tell William everything he had discovered.
It was necessary to do so before running to Emma's apartment and seeing what the hell Michael Foreman intended to do to her.
But he was sure that Michael already knew that Tanner was his son and went to check it out with his own eyes.
He held nothing back from William, who was his friend before he was his lawyer.
The man stood stiffly listening to him, although true to his lawyerly nature he did not hesitate to recommend: “I am surprised with this story...I never imagined that you had gone through that. Anyway, it is my duty as your lawyer to advise you on the advisability of a genetic test”
William didn't dare say more than that, because to go into talking to Liam about feelings was going into swampy territory.
“Then you know I should go to her house and see what the hell Michael is up to”
“That man is not going to kill her or the kid, he's hopelessly ambitious...but I think we should stop by the office first and check that he hasn't done anything, because we don't know if he already knows about the shareholder leak and is initiating some coup inside with his HR minions, so it's imperative that you go and make a show of new power” referring to his newly acquired shares.
Liam hesitated for a moment.
He wanted to go back to Queens, but William was right that he should go and guard the flanks or he might lose all the work he did so far. As soon as he finished the inspection he would run to Emma.
The office thing wouldn't take him long, he would go inspect and tidy up.
He swore to himself that as soon as he could he would get rid of that damn HR department that was so functional to Michael Foreman.
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Michael walked in and swept his disgusted gaze over Emma's apartment.
“So this is where you live?”
“Mr. Foreman?” the woman blinked in confusion at seeing such an important gentleman in her apartment.
Lisa and Tanner were also surprised to see a man with the demeanor of an evil tycoon enter the apartment.
It took Michael no more than five seconds to make eye contact with the boy eating breakfast. He didn't even need to run another extra genetic test to confirm what his detective told him.
The brat was a miniature copy of Liam Van Dyke.
He'd been deploying a plan before he came and more so after that stupid Anna made a grave mistake that now remained for Liam to accuse her of.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Foreman,” asked Emma in a professional voice, rather uncomfortable with the presence of that gentleman.
“You once refused to accept what I offered you, Miss Darby... and it is clear that it was because you had an ace up your sleeve,” he replied, looking at the boy.
“I don't know what you're talking about...and whatever it is, you have no right to come here and complain about anything. If you have objections to my job performance, make the complaint to Mr. Van Dyke, my boss”
“Drop the mask of kindness...you know my daughter is engaged to Van Dyke and I will do my best to see that that engagement continues. Neither you nor a mistake of the past will come in the way,” he said, looking back to where Tanner stood.
Emma didn't have to be very smart to understand that Michael knew about Tanner.
Was it possible that Liam had told him?
She was horrified to think that was the case.
Just then her cell phone started ringing insistently and she didn't plan to pick it up, but Tanner who had it nearby told her it was Aunt Faith, who never called her.
Michael smiled sideways.
“I recommend you pick up, Miss Darby”
Emma was startled by Mr. Foreman's assurance and picked up the cell phone.
“Faith?”
Her face reddened as Faith started yelling at her, which Emma had no choice but to hang up.
Michael sat down in one of the lounge chairs.
“Did she get the news yet?”
Emma nervously put the machine down.
“What's it got to do with you...?”
"It's just a small token of my power," Michael smiled sideways. I had your father suspended without pay and placed him under investigation for misappropriation of public funds. I've also had his and your sister's assets and accounts frozen, just so he knows I'm an influential man and can call in a lot of favors, even in the small town he comes from".
Emma never got along with her father and even less with her sister, but she would never want his ruin. The worst of it is that when all this happened, Faith Darby was warned that her sister Emma owed a large debt in New York and that they were taking it out on her family. That the only way to cease them is for Emma to fulfill the debt or they would never stop the investigations against Emma's family.
That's why Faith called to yell at Emma, to complain to her.
Michael was quiet all this time carrying out that plan to dead-end Emma.
"What do you want in return? "Emma asked.
"I am glad you had sense. I just want you to leave New York with your son today, you can go to that small town or further away. I really don't want to see you cross paths with my future son-in-law again. Do it and I will make the call to unblock this complaint”
Emma listened, on the one hand, surprised that a private individual like Michael even had tentacles with public bodies to press for an investigation.
On the other hand, she could refuse and let the witch hunt swallow her father and Faith.
But Emma wasn't like that, she wasn't like them.
She glanced at her cell phone once.
Liam hadn't called or texted.
Maybe she'd always been right about him.
Michael stood up and held out an envelope to her.
"Since I know you're indecisive, I took the liberty of buying you and your son a plane ticket to anywhere in the country. You disappear and I'll do my part, but it has to be right now, take only one suitcase and the rest can be sent to you later by your friend," Michael looked at Lisa who, together with Tanner, was in pieces listening to this man's blackmail.
Trembling Emma took the envelope.
"Needless to remind you that you do not need to get close to Liam Van Dyke...and do not have any illusions about him, in the envelope next to the bill I leave you an interesting check for your expenses and by accepting it you also give up the position you had in my company, do you understand?"
Emma hid her sadness.
This meant that maybe Liam had told Michael and given him the task of sending them off. Which agreed since he hadn't called or written to her.
She worried and maybe he didn't care.
Either way, she was in a difficult maze to navigate. She couldn't let them wipe out her family, even if they didn't deserve her help, she was no cold blood to burden her conscience with them losing everything, because Michael Foreman meant business.
She looked at the envelope and her cell phone.
Maybe she should call Liam and tell him.
But what could she tell him that would change things?
He'd run off in the wee hours of the morning and now seemed to be shielding his father-in-law for the dirty work.
She pocketed the envelope.
“I give you my word that I will leave as soon as possible, but what guarantee do you give me that you will save my family from ruin?”
“I didn't become one of the most important executives in New York for nothing, so you know, now it's imperative that you disappear from New York and I don't care if you come back or not, the point is that I don't want to see you near my company or my son-in-law”
Michael was a born negotiator.
The truth was that he was extorting her, but he was doing it so politely and neatly that it didn't seem that way. Besides, he was offering her a quick way out of what she did.
“We have a deal,” Emma agreed, feeling as if she were making a pact with the devil.
A man as dangerous as he was scary.
Michael Foreman left the apartment with a smirk on his face.
He had been operating to cause some latent damage to the young woman and make her disappear with her bastard. Though inwardly he feared for the recent foolishness committed by his daughter Anna.
He did not approve of such methods, but it was impossible to reason with a woman as emotional as his stupid daughter. What was done apparently had no consequences because Liam made no complaint to her, but it struck him that he sent her back to Manhattan so soon.
Soshe had to find out what was the extent of that stupid man's thoughts.
As he got into his chauffeured car, his cell phone began to ring.
He was getting a call from the company, one of their spies from the Human Resources section.
He didn't like what they informed him at all.
Apparently Liam and his lawyer were initiating a management audit of that department, which they couldn't do without a majority of the Board of Directors.
“Let's hurry to the company,” he ordered his driver.
He had already put his bastard's mother in her place, so now it was time for him to do the same with Liam Van Dyke himself.
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Liam finished signing the audit orders knowing it was a bold move. He no longer needed any approval from any Board. He was the Board as he and Michael were the only shareholders and Liam was the majority partner.
His first big show of power would be this check on the department where Michael had the largest pool of spies and where the entire payroll was handled.
He was sure that some spy would have to have tipped Michael off at that hour.
“Liam, you can't leave until you finish full ownership. You are taking over as senior partner and making the stock purchases public,” William warned him.
“I have to know what that man said to Emma”
"You know Michael will try to challenge the purchase and you should stay," William advised him again. "You want to go, but for what? If he is your son, we will do whatever it takes to get him the support he is entitled to through legal channels. His mother hid him from you for a reason, so I suggest you think about what you're going to do”
Liam thought about it for a moment.
William was right and he had to finish his part of the plan, otherwise there was still a chance Michael would derail it.
“I'll stay to finish the plan and confront Michael,” he announced. “But then I'll go to settle this personal matter”
He noticed that his cell phone began to ring.
It was Emma.
"I'll call her back when this is over," he said to himself. He cut her off by putting the phone on silent mode.
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Emma put her cell phone down.
She made an attempt to call Liam, but he cut her off.
She wiped away a tear that threatened to leak from her eyes.
He was still an irresponsible lout and it was obvious that Tanner, let alone her was of any interest to him.
What help could he give her?
It was the last push she needed to make the decision and carry out the deal she made with Michael.
“Tanner, pack your small suitcase. We're going to see your grandfather and aunt”
“Are we really going to Cheyenne?”
“Are you really going to do what that crazy old man told you,” asked Lisa.
“At the moment the only thing I know is that I have to go see my father... and fix this”
Tanner ran to the bedroom to pack his suitcase, humming, thinking that the unexpected trip was a vacation.
When the two women were alone, Lisa approached her friend.
“When are you going to admit to me that Liam is Tanner's father?”
Emma opened her eyes in surprise. It was true that she was thinking of telling the truth to her dear Lisa, but apparently she had already drawn her own conclusions.
“How did you realize...?”
“It's obvious! Yesterday I saw them and they were identical and after that, it was enough for me to do the math and remember the details of that night”
Emma took her friend's hand.
“Don't get me wrong...last night I was planning to tell you the truth until we were interrupted”
“Yes, yes, and you slept with him again, didn't you?” laughed the young woman.
"Shhh, Tanner doesn't know anything...and the way things are going, I think he's going to stay that way, since you saw how he ran away this morning, and then that father-in-law of his shows up to threaten me, that I even think they might be in cahoots".
“That you can't know”
“But whatever it is, I've got to go to Cheyenne and fix my family's problem. That Michael Foreman is a very dangerous guy and I don't want to expose Tanner...” Emma said this last thing in a lower voice because she almost couldn't keep some tears from escaping.
Lisa hugged her.
"My friend, don't cry for miserable men who don't know what they want..." The young girl stroked her hair, "I'm going with you, so you'll have to buy me a ticket with the check that the scary old man gave you, because I won't let you go alone to see your sister's witch and your stingy father".
Emma squeezed herself tighter to Lisa.
“What about your job...?”
"The hell with it, I'll see what I get when I get back," Lisa let go. "And we don't have much time, so I'm going to pack my bag. You do the same."
Emma, smiling through her tears, wiped her face with her hands. She wiped her face with her hands.
And Lisa was right.
She had to get ready to leave as soon as possible to the airport to catch the flight to Cheyenne.
The ticket for Lisa would be purchased from the flight app.
She looked back at her cell phone, but no sign of Liam.
She sighed in resignation.
She never counted on him...and apparently never would.