“Hello,” Brent said smiling to the beautiful blonde secretary. She smiled back to him with the same seductive smile she gave Bryce a few moments before.
“How can I help you, sir?” she asked.
“I’m Brent Barron from accounting, pharmaceuticals branch, my friend, Vicky Molino, has an appointment to interview Mr. Andrews for The Riding Horse magazine,” he said nonchalantly and flashed me a quick wink.
The secretary looked at him a little unsure if she should believe him. I had no idea why he was doing this for me. “Let me check Mr. Andrews’ schedule,” she replied clicking a few buttons on the keyboard. “He has ten minutes right now, that’s all I can offer and he may not want to be interviewed,” she whispered quietly, as if she’d agreed to an illegal act.
“Great, thanks.” Brent winked at her and she batted her incredibly long lashes at him. I didn’t think they were real; they were way too long to be real.
“Good luck, Vicky,” he grinned. “Maybe I’ll be seeing you around.” Then he turned around, briefcase in hand and walked to the elevator.
“Miss, right this way,” the secretary said, standing up from her chair. She must have been five foot ten. Her figure was perfect with large breasts that showed through the cleavage of her white dress, her waist a size zero. She could have passed for a Barbie doll on any given day.
I took off my coat feeling a little warm and draped it over my arm. Then I straightened my skirt a little with my one available hand. My heartbeat became erratic and I think I was close to fainting. I had a plan. I just can’t remember what it was at the moment. We walked into his office, the secretary said, “Vicky Molino, Sir.” And she walked out closing the door behind her. Bryce was standing close to his desk but took a few steps toward me. “We just met in the elevator.” He smiled but his brows furrowed together.
“Yes.” I forced a smile. Shit I’m sweating.
“Vicky, this is my business associate, Luc Lebaum. We were just discussing a few things. I love horses and Mr. Lebaum has had the opportunity to come visit me at my ranch, so I thought he would enjoy this.” It was all sinking in now. Brent had said I was here on behalf of a horse magazine, he must have known that Bryce liked horses, very clever. My cheeks flushed as I extended my hand to the other gentleman. When I leaned in to shake his hand, I did a double take, this couldn’t be happening. It was Luc from last night, only he was dressed in a suit and his hair was a little tousled. Holy shit, this was bad.
Luc extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Molino.” He grinned as his green eyes danced with humor. Fuck, he was enjoying this. Every muscle in my body tensed.
“Ms. Molino, have a seat,” Bryce pointed to one of the two chairs sitting in front of his desk. I smiled shyly and took a seat. Luc sat in the other seat. Fuck, he wasn’t leaving. How was I supposed to say anything with him in the room? This was awkward. The guy watched me fucking around with other people last night at the party. He knows what I look like naked. I’m meeting my father for the first time. How is all this coming together? Oh yeah, IT FUCKING ISN’T, I yelled in my head.
Bryce leaned against his desk and gave me an expectant look. Right, I was here to talk about horses with my long lost father.
“How many horses do you keep in your stable?” I asked, feeling stupid. I really didn’t know much about horses.
“I have twelve horses in total. A few Arabians, one Iberian, a couple sport horses,” he trailed off as his gaze narrowed on me. “I’m sorry Ms. Molino, do I know you from somewhere?” He shook his head for a moment as if he was shaking off an unwanted thought. Shit! I did look like a carbon copy of Mama. Was he remembering her by looking at me? I sometimes felt that way when I looked in the mirror and saw her green eyes staring back at me. It made me sad when it happened. It made me feel lonely. He slowly crossed his arms over his chest and slowly ran his fingers over his mouth. He looked uncomfortable. I still hadn’t pursued the line of questioning I had begun. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Luc eyed me suspiciously. Everything about this situation was not as I had planned, but life had taught me to roll with the kicks and punches. Well, not exactly, but I was trudging along doing the best I could. When I didn’t respond to Bryce’s question he said, “You remind me of someone,” but then he stopped himself, shook his head again as if it couldn’t be possible and began telling us about his beautiful Arabian. I felt Luc’s eyes boring into me. He was making me even more nervous. It was almost as if he knew I had a secret and he wanted in on it.
After a few long minutes I shot Luc a pointed glare, hoping he would take the hint and leave as Bryce continued on his rant about horses. Brent was right on with that one. Finally, Luc conceded and stood up. “Bryce I have to make a phone call, the Japanese are waiting,” he said. He buttoned up his suit jacket and extended a hand to me. I extended my hand back, feeling a familiar electricity shoot through my body from the touch of his hand. “Ms. Molino,” he tilted his head like a gentleman but the sly smile he gave me was not very gentlemanly. Damn him. This was not the time, and it felt awkward in front of my father. Shit! Could I even call him that?
Luc left the office and I knew this was my last chance to say something. “Mr. Andrews, you said I looked familiar, why do you think that?” I asked hesitantly, knowing that my question was odd and may send off warning signals where Bryce was concerned.
“Who are you really, Ms. Molino? I’m gathering you are not much interested in my horses,” he stated matter-of-factly. Shit! Busted!
“You knew my mother,” I stuttered then paused. It felt like the air in here was growing thicker by the second, and I felt the need to unbutton the last button on my white blouse.
“Oh, who is your mother?” he asked.
“Her name was Antonella Maroni,” I sighed as my eyes became wet at the mention of her name.
“Oh, I’m sorry, she has passed away?” he asked with sensitivity in his tone.
“Yes,” I replied, swiping a finger at my eye. It had been two years since she had died. The pain was supposed to have eased with time. Mentioning her name should have been easier. But it wasn’t and my wounds still felt open and raw.
Bryce remained silent a few seconds longer, looking at me intently. Like he was remembering something. He pushed off the desk and walked over to the window staring out at the skyline. He was deep in thought.
“So why are you here?” he asked, continuing to stare out to the horizon. I should have been expecting the question. I should have an answer prepared. But I don’t. My mind is blank, my reasons for coming escaping me at the moment. “Vicky,” he said, calling me by my first name and snapping me out of my daze.
“I’m sorry, I think this was a mistake,” I said, then rose from my chair and strutted toward the door. Bryce lunged forward and made it to the door before I had a chance to open it.
With sympathetic eyes, he said, “Sit.” Tilting his chin to the chair I had just vacated. I looked between him and the chair and took a long cleansing breath. He was probably right, running won’t help and I had come this far to meet him, I may as well learn what he was all about.
I took a seat. “Relax, Vicky, I’m sorry to hear about your mom, she was a beautiful person,” he said with a thick deep voice. Then he rubbed his temples with his forefingers.
“I’m your daughter,” I suddenly blurted out.
I don’t know how I was expecting him to respond, but I wasn’t prepared by his next words. “Look, I can see that you are a spitting image of Antonella. It took me a few minutes but I noticed the similarity, you are about the same age she was when I met her, but honestly it doesn’t mean that you’re my daughter. I’m sorry, but do you know how many times this has happened to me? I’ve been married three times. I have two kids with each wife, on top of it I have people like you finding their way into my office and telling me that I’ve fathered them.”