A Clandestine Corporate Affair(44)

Oh well, his loss. Maybe if she held her ground, and refused to let him manipulate her any longer, it would force him to take a good hard look at himself.

Although somehow she doubted it. She’d always just assumed he started acting this way after her mother passed away, but what if he’d always been so self-centered and stubborn? Ana was only six when her mom died. Maybe her memories of them as a happy family were nothing but childish fantasies.

“Finished!” Nathan said, holding up the assembled toy triumphantly.

“And it only took you an hour,” she teased.

He got up from the floor and sat beside her on the couch. “I have to admit, I have a new appreciation for all the toy assembly my father did over the years. Although I could have done without the shouting and cussing.”

“In our house the butler assembled the toys.”

He slipped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “Things will be different for Max.”

She leaned her head against his shoulder and smiled. “I know.”

For a long time they sat there together, listening to Christmas music, watching Max play. Eventually Ana had to get up and put the turkey in the oven, then she got all the side dishes prepared, and the potatoes peeled and ready to boil. When Max went down for his afternoon nap, Ana and Nathan crawled into bed and made love. Afterward, Nathan fell asleep, so Ana showered, dressed and checked the turkey’s progress. It still had another hour to cook, but it was already a deep golden brown and smelled delicious. So far so good.

She’d left her phone on the kitchen counter with the ringer off, and when she checked the display she saw that there was a missed call from her father at 3:05 p.m. Maybe he thought she’d been bluffing, and was probably calling to find out why she wasn’t there. She hoped he learned a lesson from this, but knowing him, he would only accuse her of being selfish.

Well, that didn’t matter anymore. She couldn’t make him see something that he didn’t want to see.

Ana straightened up the living room, stacking all of Max’s new toys back under the tree until she could decide on a permanent home for them. At four she heard Max begin to stir and was about to go in and get him when the doorbell rang. She wasn’t expecting anyone, and most people didn’t just stop by on Christmas Day.

She walked to the door and pulled it open, her jaw dropping in surprise when she saw who was standing on her porch. “Dad, what are you doing here?”

“Since you insist on being stubborn, I had no choice but to bring Max’s gifts to him.”

She was stubborn? Was he kidding? “Now isn’t a good time.”

“Who is it, Ana?” Nathan asked from behind her, holding Max, both still wearing their pajamas, hair mussed from sleep. Her father shouldered his way past her through the door. When he saw Nathan he blinked in surprise.

“Who the hell is this?” he asked, looking from Ana to Nathan, then his eyes narrowed, and she could tell the instant recognition set in. He turned to her, jaw tense, teeth gritted. “Why am I not the least bit surprised?”

“It isn’t what you think,” she said.

“Is this how you punish me? By consorting with the competition?”

That stung, but she tried not to let it show. Besides, hadn’t it started out that way?

He turned to Nathan. “If you’d kindly hand over my grandson, then you can get dressed and get the hell out of my daughter’s house.”

Nathan didn’t even flinch. He met her father’s eye, wrapped an arm protectively around Max and said, “There’s no way in hell I’m handing my son over to you.”



“Max is this man’s son?” Ana’s father growled, and Nathan had the feeling he’d just opened one big fat can of worms, but he hadn’t been able to keep his mouth shut. He’d be damned if he was going to let that arrogant bastard boss him around. Nathan’s role as Max’s father trumped the position of grandfather any day of the week.

“Yes, Nathan is Max’s father,” she said, with no apology, no regret.

“Ana what in God’s name were you thinking?”

“This is none of your business, Dad.”

“The hell it isn’t. Where was he when you were pregnant? For the first nine months of Maxwell’s life? Or have you been seeing him all this time? Lying to me.”

“Nathan didn’t even know about Max until a few weeks ago. But he’s here now.”