The Billionaire's Christmas Baby(32)

They had dropped Emily off at Mrs. Ford’s, who was ecstatic to hear that Jackson was going to adopt his niece. Hannah had asked Jackson to wait for her in the car while she dealt with work. The last thing she wanted was him witnessing what was sure to be a major reprimanding from Jean. First Hannah needed to get the situation under control and then she could invite Jackson in to get started on the paperwork.

“Welcome back,” Hannah whispered under her breath as she stepped inside. Old metal desks, the kind that must have still been ugly when they were new in the sixties, the stale smell of old office building combined with burned coffee reminded Hannah that she really hadn’t been away all that long. The small blinking Christmas tree in the front window, sadder than Charlie Brown’s, hummed along with the rest of the electrical equipment that hadn’t been updated.

Hannah made eye contact with Allison, who was on the phone. Her friend’s eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of her pretty face as Hannah walked in. Allison pretended to slice her neck with her finger as Hannah approached, clearly warning her that Jean was royally ticked.

“Hannah. Nice of you to show up.” Jean’s thin face was pinched and her narrow eyes even beadier than usual as she marched towards Hannah. Nothing like a little office drama to lighten up the mood at the social services department. Hannah thought she looked more and more like the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz, except dressed for the twenty-first century, kind of.

“Hi, Jean,” Hannah called out in her most chipper voice, smiling. Hannah refused to let her nerves take over. This was a victory, no matter what. No one was going to ruin this for her.

Jean came to an abrupt halt in front of her, steaming coffee in hand. The mug boasted the caption World’s Best Boss in faded letters, and Hannah and Allison always joked that Jean had probably bought the cup for herself.

“Hannah, there’s a box on your desk filled with all of your belongings. Take it, get out.”

Hannah ignored her. “I found Emily’s uncle. He’s here. He’s going to adopt her.” Hannah felt her stomach begin to churn when Jean didn’t react to her news. Jean stared at her like a dead fish.

“I don’t care. You crossed the line. Pack your things. You no longer work for social services.”

She’d known this would be a possibility, but she had thought that if she were able to find Jackson and have him agree to the adoption, Jean would see it as a victory. She had braced herself for probation or a reprimanding, but not firing. Hannah took a steadying breath. She tried to ignore Allison, who made stabbing gestures with her plastic bagel knife towards Jean. “You don’t understand, Jean, he will be her legal guardian.”

“I already have a placement for Emily lined up. You had no right running off to track down this man. This is the third time you’ve been in direct violation of office policy and you received a warning each time—”

“I had every right to track him down. Louise wanted him to be Emily’s guardian. He is next of kin. You knew full well that I was going to do everything to find him. This isn’t about me. It’s about doing what’s right. How are you going to deny next of kin adoption rights?”

“Let’s make sure you’re clear on where we stand,” Jean said, setting her coffee cup down on an Allison’s desk. “You have broken so many rules here I can’t even remember. Even though you seem to a have a bunch of people willing to cover up your dirty work for you, I’m on to you. This is the final straw. You almost got yourself raped, you got beaten, and now you kidnap a baby. You’re too much trouble. I have to file way too much paperwork on your behalf. You are done here.”

Hannah felt her body shake with rage. Damn Jean and her black and white rules. She had always been able to separate the emotional aspect of her job. She never made any decision based on instinct, but then again, Jean hadn’t stepped foot outside the office in years. Hannah took a deep breath as Jean handed her a file. A thick one. Hers.

Hannah ignored it.

“Jean, we are talking about a family member. You know that’s different, you know that he would receive priority. He wouldn’t have to jump through any hoops to adopt her,” she said, trying to sound calm and logical, even though she was very tempted to pour that cup of coffee all over Jean’s wiry body and see if she melted.

“There are steps and procedures that need to be followed.” She shoved the file in her direction again. Hannah shoved it back.

“That you have the power to speed up and make happen. This isn’t a favor. Louise was my case and she left me with her wish that Emily’s uncle adopt her!”

Jean started a cackle that ended with a bad fit of smoker’s cough. “She was probably high as a kite when she wrote that note, Hannah.”

“Don’t go there, Jean.”

“Maybe if you had kept a closer eye on her—”

“Back off, lady.”

Hannah almost jumped at the sound of Jackson’s voice. She had no idea when he’d walked in. She turned around slowly, vaguely aware that everyone else in the office was watching. She also didn’t miss Allison’s surprised smile. Jackson’s face had that hard look that she had seen before, but his eyes were colder than anything she’d witnessed from him. His back was straight and his eyes glittered with unmistakable anger. It felt strange to know that it was on her behalf. The most shocking thing, though, was that she wasn’t annoyed that he spoke up to defend her, that he’d ignored her request and walked in here. She almost didn’t even care that he heard what Jean had said. Was this what it was like to have someone guard your back?