“That man. Don’t let him walk all over you. You’re family now, not one of the servants.”
“Don’t worry. By the way, I haven’t told this to anybody except Justin, but I’m pregnant.”
“Oh.” A short pause. “Is that…? Never mind. We should meet and talk about this. Can you get away? I’m in downtown at the moment, and I can be at the Starbucks across from your office in about ten minutes.”
“You don’t have to change your plans for me,” Vanessa said.
“Don’t be silly. It’s just some shopping.”
Ceinlys hung up, and Vanessa stared at her phone. Did she have enough time to talk to her dad? Maybe yes, maybe no. Biting her lip, she dialed his number and sighed with relief when it went to voice mail.
“Dad, I married Justin Sterling about seven weeks ago. I thought I should let you know before Barron calls. Love you, bye.”
She picked up her purse and got up, then hesitated. What the heck. She took her briefcase too. She had a feeling she wouldn’t be coming back to the office after talking with her mom. It looked like the partners really wanted her to take time off—anything to keep Barron Sterling happy.
There were stares as she left, but she kept her chin up. She would not be cowed by something like this.
Ceinlys had already ordered a drink by the time Vanessa had made it to Starbucks. She got an iced tea and joined her mother at a table in the corner.
Ceinlys was dressed in black slacks topped by a dark magenta silk blouse with a round neck. Stilettos encased her impeccably pedicured feet, and not a fleck of gray showed in her hair. Her makeup was perfect, her skin smooth and flawless. With diamonds at her ears and throat, she looked like the proverbial million bucks despite going through what had to be a stressful divorce. When people had the kind of assets Ceinlys and Salazar did, divorces rarely were clean and easy… even with a prenup.
Despite her cool disinterest, a few men were checking her out. Vanessa almost bared her teeth at them. Her mother wasn’t on display at a meat market.
“So. The baby,” Ceinlys said, getting straight to the point.
Vanessa sighed. “Almost eight weeks.”
“Is that why you decided to marry?”
“It was mostly his decision. He said something about it’s being the heir to the Sterling & Wilson fortune.”
“Well, yes, I suppose. But surely, marriage wasn’t necessary.”
Vanessa took a sip of her tea, which was too bitter. She pushed it aside. “I’m not sure. It’s complicated.”
“Do you love him?” Ceinlys peered at her.
Vanessa shrugged, then cleared throat. “I don’t know. We have…chemistry. We dated when I was in college and law school, then we—actually I—broke it off.”
“So how did the pregnancy come about?”
Vanessa sighed. “I went to Chicago when I heard about your divorce.”
“Ah.” A frown creased Ceinlys’s forehead briefly. “Do you still want to talk about my divorce?”
“Are you going to tell me to go see Samantha?”
A small smile appeared on her mother’s lips. “No. I suppose that wasn’t very nice of me. But at the time I didn’t want to discuss the matter with anyone who might question my decision.”
“Why not?”
“Because it was a very difficult one. And I didn’t think I would be able to do what I needed to if people tried to talk me out of it.”
“Do you still love him?” Vanessa asked.
Looking away, Ceinlys dragged in a lungful of air and exhaled softly. “In some ways.”
“Even though he was so bad to you?”