Chapter 1
Xander
How could the worst day of my life also be so closely tied into the best day of my life? Sounds crazy, but it’s true. A little back story, my brother, Max, and his wife, Jenna, were the happiest couple I’ve ever met. They were high school sweethearts, went to the same college and got married a year later. They were married for three years when Max was injured while skiing and a few days later, he died as a result of a pulmonary embolism. That was eight months ago. A month after his death, Jenna found out she was pregnant. Everything with her pregnancy went smoothly, everything but her crippling depression, but that baby gave her the strength to push on. I had Jenna move in with me so that I could help her and make sure she was taking care of herself, but no care and protection could have prevented the hand of fate from crushing my world once again.
Jenna passed away during childbirth and due to the instruction in her will, a will I didn’t even know existed, I was appointed the legal guardian of her daughter, Mia Luisa. To make matters worse, my girlfriend of three years left because she couldn’t handle the responsibility and stress of helping raise someone else’s child. That was less than six weeks ago. I own a billion dollar tech company and yet all of the tragedies in my life are things that technology couldn’t prevent. It’s not a perfect situation, but we've been making it work. Mia goes with me to the office and I have an entire area set up for her there with a crib, a changing table and even a glide rocker.
As I prepare for yet another meeting with yet another company that I know we need to secure a contract with, I find myself struggling to stay awake, let alone focus on the task at hand. I hear the sound of the intercom kick on just before my secretary, Olivia’s, voice comes through.
“Mr. Dixon, your 2:30 is here. Should I send them in?” I run my hand down my face and slap my cheek to help force my eyes to stay open before pushing the button on my desk.
“Yes, Olivia. Thank you.” I look over at the crib and am thankful to see Mia is still sound asleep. I hear a soft knock on my door, knowing it’s Olivia since she’s the only one who seems to understand the fact that there’s a damn baby in the office. She pushes the door open a moment later and escorts in a woman…but why’s it a woman? I glance down at the notes and re-read the name of the person I’m supposed to meet with
“Emile Rossi?” I ask in a tone that clearly reveals my confused state, but she simply smiles and chuckles softly.
“It’s Emilie. Martha tends to rush when she types, well, rush for her. In a rush she's lucky to manage twenty words per minute, but we love the woman. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I quickly stand and walk around my desk to her, extending my hand and shaking hers gently.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” Mia decides that this moment is the perfect time to make her presence known as she starts squirming and fussing with her jerky leg movements as she prepares for one of her famous nuclear meltdowns.
“And who is this beautiful young lady?” She steps closer to the crib and stares softly at Mia with a beautiful smile on her face.
“That's Mia and she should have slept for another hour at least.” I rake my hand through my hair and quickly set out to make her a bottle.
“Aww, she just wants to see what daddy’s doing. May I?” She gestures to Mia who's now red in the face and doing the infamous silent cry that happens moments before her scream echoes through the halls, terrorizing all the employees on this floor. I give a quick nod, hoping to spare the rest of the office from suffering. She gently picks Mia up and cradles her against her then sits in the glider and begins rocking and humming a tune I don’t recognize, but Mia seems to dig it. Her soft blue eyes are staring at Emilie’s with sheer fascination and I must admit, I’m a little transfixed on her too.
Having a moment of clarity, I take in the sight with open eyes. She’s fairly short, maybe five four, has beautiful full figured curves, wavy waist length black hair and the most unique pale blue eyes. I walk over with the bottle and before I can offer to take over, she takes the bottle from my hand and begins feeding Mia as her attention snaps to me and she dives right into business as if dealing with a fussy infant during a business meeting is standard practice.
“Mr. Dixon, I was sent here to go over the proposal you sent into our office. There are a few things we wanted to address. The first being the money line for the project. You quoted the set up at the three hotels would cost us roughly $3.5 million. Mr. Anderson was a little intimidated by the price until I showed him the spread sheet you sent us that broke down the cost of the equipment and the installation. That was very smart of you, by the way. That being said, would it be possible to factor in the remaining five hotels? He will also need to get a quote for the new hotel that will be opening next summer, so I'll let him know to contact you no later than December to ensure that you have time to prepare.” I smile at the fact that she seems to know more about what she’s here for than I do.
“Will you be the one we're working with on these projects?” She looks down at Mia with a soft smile on her face. The way she's holding Mia, like she's the most precious thing in the world, it seems so strangely normal...like I haven't been doing this alone since the second she left the hospital.
“Unfortunately, no. This is actually my last assignment with Mr. Anderson. I actually work in his legal department, but since I was coming here to finalize my paperwork and sign the lease for my apartment, I told him I would handle the meeting while I was here.” I lean back against my desk and I feel my lips curl into a smile.
“You’re moving here? To Danville?” She nods her head and shifts her body to get more comfortable.
