Filed to story: Finding the Secret Daddy for My Baby Novel >>
She watched as he trotted alongside Elliot’s towering frame, and she thought they looked like father and son. Elliot would occasionally pick him up, and there were moments when he would let Jared pull him around the museum. Jared would also tilt his head to one side curiously while he asked questions about the artifacts.
Elliot, on the other hand, played the role of the ever-patient father who elaborated on the history and the scientific evolution of the dinosaurs, and Jared was all ears.
“Miss Tillman, isn’t it wonderful how President Presgrave and Jared get along so well?” Rey asked as he came over to where Anastasia was standing.
She smiled and nodded. “It is! Jared really likes him.”
“I think President Presgrave would make an excellent father,” Rey added meaningfully.
The implication behind his words did not escape Anastasia, but she knew that she and Elliot could never work out, and Jared’s affections for him were only temporary.
When they left the dinosaur exhibit, they ventured into other exhibits that Jared liked. Eventually, they found themselves on the third floor of the museum. When Rey walked up to her, Anastasia said, “Could you help me look after Jared for a bit? I need to speak with President Presgrave alone.”
“Very well,” Rey said with a polite smile.
Anastasia then sauntered over to Elliot. “President Presgrave, there’s something I need to talk to you about. Rey can keep an eye on Jared for a while.”
Elliot glanced over at Rey and instructed coolly, “Don’t let him out of your sight.”
When all was settled, Anastasia led him over to the more quiet end of the gallery where there were hardly any visitors. As Elliot drew closer to her, she pursed her lips and thought about how she was going to phrase things. She didn’t want to owe him any more favors, but it seemed unavoidable right now.
“What is it?” he asked softly as he fixed his dark gaze on her.
“Here’s the thing—my dad wants to know if Bourgeois is still hiring. He wants my sister, Erica, to find work there,” Anastasia explained and looked up at Elliot. Even in the dim lighting, she could still see the chiseled planes and angles of his handsome features, and for a moment, she thought she could drown in those magnetic, obsidian eyes of his.
Elliot smiled as he eyed her teasingly. “Are you asking me for a favor?”
Anastasia shrugged nonchalantly and said, “I’m only doing this on behalf of my dad.”
“Well, seeing as he’s your dad, I don’t think it’d be right of me to refuse him the favor. Get your sister to come into work on Monday,” he declared readily.
She gaped at him in astonishment and realized that he was granting favors out of his gratitude again.
Just then, he tipped his head to the side and glanced at whatever was behind her, drawling, “You’ve got guts bringing me here, though.”
Upon hearing this, she turned around, and she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the amphibians and reptiles that were preserved in formalin. She shuddered and shrunk against Elliot like she wanted to put as much distance as she could between herself and the morbid exhibit.
Elliot seized the chance to wrap an arm around her. She gasped, but before she could react, she found herself in his embrace. She could smell the fresh and pleasant scent of him, and she pushed him away as she snapped, “Contain yourself, Elliot.”
“Hey, you were the one who pressed up against me first,” he pointed out with a grin. When he saw that there was nobody around this section of the exhibit, he dipped his head and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. Then, he broke into a mischievous smirk as he muttered, “Consider this a repayment for the favor just now.”
Blood rushed to Anastasia’s face as she shoved him aside, and she thanked the heavens that Jared and Rey weren’t nearby.
After that, she gave Francis a call to tell him that Erica could start work on Monday.
Over at the Tillman Residence, Erica had just gotten off the phone with Francis. Then, she flew down the staircase gleefully and found her mother. “Mom! Mom, I’m going to start working at Bourgeois on Monday! President Presgrave was the one who personally hired me!”
Naomi was elated to hear this. Does this mean Erica has a chance to get close to Elliot now?
“Dad told me that President Presgrave himself agreed to this. Do you think it’s because I made a really good impression last night?” Erica asked happily and somewhat delusionally.
Naomi thought the same thing. Erica had sat next to Elliot during the banquet last night, and there was no denying how gorgeous she had looked in her evening dress! “Erica,” she began. “Make sure to seize every opportunity there is while you’re at Bourgeois.”
“I’m sure that if I get a chance to run into President Presgrave often enough, I could make him fall for me,” Erica said confidently. She vowed to use every last trick in the book to see this plan through.
She couldn’t care less about making an honest living by working at Bourgeois; instead, she wanted to seduce Elliot so that she could one day marry rich and have a jet-setting lifestyle.
At that moment, Naomi clutched her daughter’s arm and said, “Erica, there’s something I have to tell you.”
Erica blinked. “What is it, Mom?”
“You see, Elliot actually owes our family a huge favor. I’ve never told you this, but Anastasia’s mother only died because she sacrificed herself to save Elliot. Without her, he would have died when he was a toddler!”
“What?” Erica’s eyes widened in surprise. She knew that Anastasia’s mother was a cop who had died while on duty, but she didn’t think that the reason for her death was a great sacrifice to save Elliot’s life.
“Given that the Presgraves owe Anastasia big time, you’ll have to watch your back at Bourgeois. It might only be child’s play for her to snag Young Master Elliot.”
A vicious look flashed in Erica’s eyes as she seethed, “I ought to tell President Presgrave about the time Anastasia got screwed over at Abyss Club. No man in their right mind would think of her so greatly after they hear about that.”
Naomi wasn’t the least bit worried that Erica would let her down, for she was certain that her daughter had picked up her skills and affinity for schemes. “You just have to remember that we’ll be in deep trouble if Anastasia ends up marrying into the Presgraves. Erica, once you get into the company, you have to do everything in your power to stop her from marrying Elliot, even if it means that you won’t be able to marry him yourself.”
Both mother and daughter were on the same page about this. However, neither of them knew that Erica only got the job at Bourgeois courtesy of Anastasia, seeing as Francis withheld this detail from them.
Meanwhile, following their excursion to the museum, Elliot dropped Anastasia and Jared home. He watched them walk into the apartment building and left to take care of his work.
Having had a lazy Sunday, Anastasia started to pour herself into competing for the position of associate director. She heard that Alice had already gone to the shop she had chosen to survey it last Friday night.
As things were, Alice seemed intent on beating Anastasia out for the promotion.
Anastasia dropped Jared off at kindergarten early that morning. As the little guy made his way through the doors, he turned around and blew her a kiss. Empowered by his sweet gesture, she vowed that she would get the promotion and become associate director so that she could finally have better pay.
It wasn’t until after she had arrived at the company and sat down in her office that she remembered Erica was coming into work today. At the thought of this, she dialed Grace’s extension and asked her to look into this.
Not long after, Grace came running into Anastasia’s office with the information. “Miss Anastasia, your sister has been arranged to work as a receptionist at the front desk.”
Well, seeing as she doesn’t have any corporate experience whatsoever, I guess manning the front desk suits her, Anastasia thought.
What a read.
Can’t wait to see how Erica fairs