Page 28 of Unwrapping Romance

“I know that, Jack. But for fuck’s sake, I had no idea you’d be taking chunks out at a time. There’s barely anything left.”

“Well, you won’t work for me much longer, and I need my money back. How would you expect me to collect it once you’re no longer employed at Atlas Enterprises? I’m not sure why you’re complaining. You still have a roof over your head.”

“Yeah. For the time being. Goodbye, Jack.” I ended the call. “Motherfucker,” I mumbled as I pushed the cart to the checkout.

I shoved the three bags into the cab and climbed inside, giving the driver Jack’s address. When he pulled up to the curb, I climbed out, grabbed the bags, and took them up the porch steps, setting them down while I unlocked the door. Stepping inside his home, his scent lingered throughout the space. I took the bags to the kitchen and began unpacking them. I may have picked up a couple of things for myself since I had his credit card.

I froze when I heard the doorbell ring. Walking over to the door, I slowly opened it and saw a woman and a little girl standing there.

“Can I help you?”

“Are you Jack’s housekeeper?” she asked.

“Uh, no. I’m his assistant. And you are?”

“Claire. And this is Jack’s daughter, Elianna.”

“Excuse me?” My brow arched.

“I’m sure he never told you he has a kid. May we come in?”

“Uh, sure.” My brows furrowed.

She stepped inside, holding the little girl’s hand and pulling a suitcase behind her.

“I went to Jack’s office, and someone told me he was across town for a meeting. I’ve been trying to call him for a week, and he can’t even be bothered to pick up his damn phone or call me back. I knew he had a housekeeper, so I came here from his office.”

“She’s on vacation,” I said.

“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be at the office?”

“I had to run a couple of errands for him.”

“Of course. God forbid he does anything himself.”

“I’m sorry.” I shook my head. “Why are you here?”

“I need to speak with Jack. Do you have any aspirin? I have a killer headache.”

“I’m sure he has some aspirin around here. I’ll be right back,” I said, walking out of the living room.

I couldn’t believe this. I couldn’t believe Jack had a kid and never mentioned it. In fact, I never saw any pictures of her on his desk. I opened all the cabinets in the kitchen, searching for some aspirin. When I had no luck, I opened the cabinet in the half bath and found a bottle sitting on the shelf. Grabbing it, I took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and returned to the living room, where I saw Elianna sitting on the couch by herself, holding asmall baby doll. My heart started racing as I looked around for Claire and called her name.

“She left,” Elianna spoke in a cute little voice.

“Left?”

I ran to the front door, opened it, and saw Claire climbing into the cab at the curb.

“Claire, wait!” I shouted, running up to the cab.

The cab quickly pulled away from the curb, and I stood there staring at it as it drove down the street.

“Shit!” I threw my hands up.

Walking back inside the house, I stared at the child as she sat on the couch, hugging her doll.

“Hi, Elianna. I’m Sierra.” I knelt in front of her. “How old are you?”

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