Page 75 of Seduction
Jake Sparrow/Asher Christmas
“Ash, is that you?” Gina called as soon as I set foot into the penthouse. By the hollow echo surrounding her voice, I could tell she was in the kitchen.
I found Gina sitting at the island, eating a grilled cheese sandwich. The smell of hot butter browning bread and melting cheese was a sign she had made it herself. She had also made herself at home in a pair of silk pajamas, the blousy kind. That was different. Gina had always liked showing off her skin and curves.
I’d seen that look in her eyes a million times before. She was begging for my sympathy. “Really, I’m so sorry, Ash. I’ve had time to think about what I did, and I don’t know what came over me. When I saw that woman, I just…” She closed her eyes and massaged her temples.
I positioned myself on the other side of the island. “What are you doing here, Gina?”
She opened her eyes and set her hands in her lap. “A friend told me she saw you at a party last night. I thought if you were in town, then I might find you at the mansion or here. I tried here first, and that was when I ran into her.” She scowled. “She’s a doctor?”
My face felt tight, and I had a headache. “Now what?”
“What do you mean?”
“You found me. Now what?”
She sat her sandwich back on the plate. “I’m not telling your family where you are, if that’s what you’re worried about. You know I wouldn’t do that to you. But haven’t you heard?”
“Haven’t I heard what?”
She studied me then sighed. “So much is happening in your world, Ash. And I’m telling you it’s about to come crashing down. First…” She shoved an opened envelope at me. “I found this in my room, where your girlfriend was sleeping.”
My neck jutted forward as I read who the letter was addressed to. “That belongs to Penina?”
She dropped it onto the counter. “Read it.”
I pressed my finger on it. “You opened her mail?”
She snatched the envelope from under the tip of my finger. “You have to put yourself in my shoes, Ash. I walk intomyplace, and there’s mail on the dresser for someone I don’t know. What was I supposed to do?” she asked, throwing her hands up in a helpless manner.
“You suspected I was here, and if that was the case, then Penina was associated with me. That’s why you should’ve checked with me before you infringed on her privacy.”
“I knew you weren’t going to read it, so I did. She’s been coded, Ash.”
I frowned. “What do you mean, ‘she’s been coded’?”
“Spence has made a deal with all the commercial DNA test centers in existence. If a person comes up as being an illegitimate child of Arthur Valentine or your father, they’re coded.”
My frown deepened as I processed what she was insinuating. Then I had to see what the hell she meant. I went against my better judgment and took the envelope from her then pulled out the paper.
“Look at the bottom,” she said.
It had the name and number for the indemnity fund, headed by the Jada and Spencer Christmas Foundation. It asked her to call the phone number below to unlock her DNA results and to speak with an agent to schedule an appointment with a local counselor regarding parentage. She was entitled to a healthy restitution for abuses against a primary relative of Randolph Wesley Christmas, Arthur G. Valentine, or both.
I grabbed a handful of my shirt over my heart and whispered, “What the fuck.”
Gina sat watching me with concern, but she appeared to be a hundred miles away. I had to read the note at the bottom of the page again.
“Either she’s your sister, or she’s Valentine’s daughter. Julia’s sister,” she added, whispering.
Fuck, Julia.She and I hadn’t been involved since my father was alive. She was Valentine’s daughter. Our relationship was not healthy and was merely transactional on her part. She was scared as hell of Jasper, but most people were. My oldest brother’s reputation preceded him. Most saw him as a hard, bitter man who was unable to love, the sort of asshole who would rip his foes’ heads off and feed the rest of their bodies to the vultures. Of course, his treachery was overexaggerated. Sure, his enemies had better watch out. But those whom Jasper loved, he loved unconditionally and dutifully. He hadn’t loved Julia and guaranteed her he never would. If they had married, it would’ve been for business only. But just like nearly every woman who crossed my brother’s path, she wanted him to want her for real.
Julia’s ego was the size of the fucking galaxy. She’d seduced me because she thought it would make Jasper jealous. I would admit now what I couldn’t then, that I returned her affections because I wanted a small taste of what Jasper had. But either he hadn’t known about me and Julia, or he hadn’t given a damn.
Jasper hadn’t gotten jealous over a woman until the day Holly Henderson showed up for the annual Christmas with Christmases gathering seven years ago. I thought he would ask Holly Henderson to leave the estate once he learned who she was and why she was there. But he didn’t. It was no surprise he married her. Julia was stupid, thinking she could manipulate Jasper into wanting her for real. But I was the bigger fool for getting entangled with her.
However, that wasn’t why my blood felt as if it had turned into stone.
