Harper arrived in San Francisco just after three pm. He stopped at his office. The one he turned over to Michael. The one with his name out front for the world to see. His father’s set in large lettering in stone in the front of the building—SAMSA.
When the valet came out to park the truck, he glanced up in surprise at seeing Harper. “Mr. Samsa, good to see you back. We heard you had gotten married and living out in the wilderness.”
“Oh you’ve heard about my property?” Harper said with a raised eyebrow.
“Nevada is a great place. Some places remote. I hear they have beautiful lakes for fishing and boating. Yeah it’s all over the office and the girl I date, she said she got it from a good source and from the expression on your face it seems to be true.”
The attendant stepped in the truck waved and drove it around and up the ramp into the parking garage.
Harper stood looking around wondering who had passed that piece of information down where it would reach the parking attendants. He hadn’t replied to the office gossip he just smiled and didn’t say any more. As he stepped into the building, he could feel his father’s presence.
The building still bore his father’s designs and the furniture his father had ordered before his death. But Harper hadn’t taken his time to put his stamp on the building and the many more holdings left to him by his father. Of course he was a Samsa and there would be more Samsas to come and he would let them make changes to the company when it came time.
At first he thought about selling, but now there wouldn’t be a need. All this would belong to his sons. Or his daughters.
When he entered the elevator he felt the eyes on his back, but then he heard all kinds of noises he had never heard before or smells that incited his senses as never before.
It had been Emily’s smell that drew him to her. The natural fresh smell of a spring morning when the sun is out and frost is on the ground.
Like the heavy breathing coming from a large man in the back of the elevator or the smell of a woman’s perfume or the smell of a couple who had just had sex. He smelled the odor of passion as they passed in front of him and got off on the sixth floor looking less of a couple but the signs were clear if anyone could smell and see them the way Harper did.
His sharp eyes saw a strand of dark hair down her white blouse and a long strain of her blond hair attached to his black hair. He saw the flush of the man’s face and the blush in hers as they passed him with their secret smile.
The door opened on their floor and the woman glided out the elevator in one direction, and the man strode in the opposite direction carrying their secret with them. Then Harper heard someone say to the man with the secret, “Your wife called, Andy.”
Now Harper knew what most men didn’t, and it could be a curse or a blessing.
The door closed and continued up to the twenty first floor where Harper got off.
He passed the secretary who was surprised to see him because he never spent any time in the office since his father had died. He walked passed her fast. He strode through the hall and standing at his office door before the secretary said a word. She didn’t have time to welcome him back which he didn’t want anyway.
Harper opened the door to his office without knocking. And stopped at the door closing it behind him.
Sitting behind his desk was Michael with a look of scorn on his face. It was for whomever was sitting in the chair facing the desk and her back to Harper. Michael was shuffling papers and tapping wildly on the desk with his pen. When he saw Harper he looked up.
The woman in the chair turned around and smiled. “So you finally came. I told Michael I wanted to see you yesterday. Oh, if you’re looking at my hair, I changed the color.”
“Back to your natural color of course. Mousy brown,” Michael said with cold pleasure.
“Oh Michael, I didn’t know you noticed,” Elisabeth said in a big voice and a thin smile.
“Everyone knew you weren’t a real blond. That is everyone except Harper. I just didn’t have the heart to tell him. But he would have found out if you had let him...” Michael said.
“That’s enough Michael. And what do you want from me, Elisabeth?” Harper said his voice low but strong.
“Sit down first.” She patted on the leather chair across from where Michael sat and near here.” Harper surveyed the chair. He didn’t relish being that close to her but what could she do to him. He felt nothing for her. Not like he felt when the relationship was new and his interest was high. And he wanted to fuck her.
But now she couldn’t ignite a fire under him if she stripped naked and begged to suck his cock.
“I have papers I need you to sign,” Elisabeth said. Harper took the papers from her and read them and sat in the chair across from his desk.
“Under no circumstances are you to sign those papers,” Michael said peering across at Elisabeth as if he could strangle her.
Harper dropped the papers on the desk in front of Elisabeth, and she picked them up and placed them in front of Harper.
“I don’t plan on signing those papers because you know and I know that I’m not the father of your child. I’m having my own children and I’m not going to give away half my father’s company to you or anyone. It’s for my sons.”
“Don’t be so sure about that. You’re O positive and I’m O positive and the father of my child is O positive. I name you as the father. Now who do you think they will believe? If you continue with this, I will go to the newspapers and say how you broke our engagement when you discovered I was pregnant and you disowned your child. What do you think will happen then?”
“You can do whatever you like, but I’m not signing those papers. I came here as a courtesy, and now I’m going home, and get some rest, and I’m leaving tomorrow to be with my wife. ”
“What do you think that little nerd of a wife will think of you when I tell her about us? She might ask for a divorce.” Elisabeth’s mouth curled up in a sly grin and her eyes lit up.
“Emily would never divorce me so do your worse.” Elisabeth stood and threw the papers in Harper’s face.
“I warned you,” she said. And she strutted out of the office and slammed the door with a thunderous boom. It was so loud it felt as if she had loosened the hinges. Michael and Harper watched at her and shook their heads then blew out a hard breath through their teeth.
“She’s a piece of work isn’t she?” Michael said. “I could have someone get rid of her. I never liked her anyway.”
“If I didn’t know you I would take you serious. Now stop with the nonsense and keep her away from me and Emily.”
“I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side. She’s a mean one,” Michael said.
“I know, but you aren’t, and I am, and I don’t want this to go any further. She needs money and is desperate to get it. All I need to do is sign these papers after you make her and offer. Then I can get back to Emily. I will give Elisabeth only what’s necessary, but I will not state that I’m the father. If she’s pregnant at all.”
“You have to stay a few more days and submit to a DNA test. Then you can clear the matter up quickly.”
“How long will it take for the test to come back?”
“A week or two.”
“Well, you won’t need me then, will you?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I’m going to my father’s mansion to eat and get some sleep. If you need me for anything just call me and for heaven’s sake get Elisabeth off my back.”
“I know. I want it to go on record that I warned you about her.”
“Don’t start that again.”
“A woman like that can ruin your life forever. She doesn’t stop. She comes up with one outrageous scheme after another. I know I said don’t pay her off, but I think you made the right decision because she will never give you a moments rest.”
As Harper was leaving the Samsa building and Michael was making plans for Elisabeth, Emily had plans for Liam.