A Clandestine Corporate Affair Read Online Free Page B
Author: Michelle Celmer
toy Portia was banging against the coffee table and changed course. Max was an independent kid, and unless he was wet, hungry or hurt, toys took precedence over Mom any day.
âYou looked really upset when you dropped him off. I was worried.â
âI ran into Maxâs dad today. He may or may not be back in the picture. He wanted to talk, and I felt it would be best if Max wasnât there.â She hadnât told Jenny the details of the situation with Nathan. In fact, up until the time Ana had Max, she and Jenny, a conservative and soft-spoken doctorâs wife, had barely said hello. Then one afternoon when Max was a few weeks old and suffering a pretty nasty case of colic, Jenny heard his screams through the open window and stopped by to offer her help. Like Ana, sheâd also made the choice to raise her baby without the help of a nanny or an au pair, and sheâd been a godsend. She taught Ana a few tricks sheâd learned with her own colicky baby, and they had been friends ever since. Still, Ana was selective about what she did and didnât tell her.
âHow do you feel about that?â Jenny asked her.
âConflicted. Iâd love for Max to know his father, but at the same time I feel as though Iâm setting him up to be let down. If heâs even half as bad as my fatherââ
âItâs only fair to give him a chance,â Jenny said firmly, glancing at her daughter, who was in a tug-of-war with Max over a stuffed bear. âA baby needs its father.â
Even though Portia barely ever saw hers. Brice Sorenson, a busy surgeon, was often out of the house before the baby woke, and home after she was tucked in bed. If they were lucky, they might see him for a few hours Sunday between hospital rounds and golf. Though Jenny hadnât come right out and said it, it sounded as though even when he was home, he wasnât really there. He was older than Jenny, and had grown children from a first marriage. He didnât change diapers or clean up messes, and heâd never once taken a midnight feeding. The scenario struck a familiar and troubling chord for Ana. One she refused to accept for Max.
âThe ball is in his court now,â Ana told Jenny. And if Nathan wanted any less than what was best for Max, she would cut him out of his sonâs life without batting an eyelash.
Three
T hough Nathan hated that Anaâs words made so much sense, after several days of considering his sonâs well-being, he knew she was right. Either he was in or he was out of Maxâs life. There was no doing it halfway. But he had to consider how claiming his son could impact his career. He was sure that if the truth came out he could kiss his chances at the CEO spot goodbye. The board would see it as a direct and flagrant conflict of interest. Since they learned that the explosion at the refinery was the result of someone tampering with the equipment, people had been quick to point the finger at Birch Energyâeven though as of yet they hadnât been able to prove any sort of connection.
But even more important, how would his being in the kidâs life influence Max? Nathan had no idea what it took to be a fatherâat least, not a good one. The only thing he knew for sure was that he didnât want to be anything like his own father: accepting nothing but perfection, verbally,and sometimes physically, lashing out if anyone dared fall short of his unrealistic expectations.
Nathan was too much like his old man, too filled with suppressed anger to ignore the possibility that he would be a terrible father. Yet he couldnât just forget that there was a child out there whom heâd brought into this world, who shared half of his genetic code. He had to at least try. And if he couldnât be there for Max, even though Ana said they didnât need his money, Nathan would see that Max was taken care of financially for the rest of his life.
He called Ana
âYou looked really upset when you dropped him off. I was worried.â
âI ran into Maxâs dad today. He may or may not be back in the picture. He wanted to talk, and I felt it would be best if Max wasnât there.â She hadnât told Jenny the details of the situation with Nathan. In fact, up until the time Ana had Max, she and Jenny, a conservative and soft-spoken doctorâs wife, had barely said hello. Then one afternoon when Max was a few weeks old and suffering a pretty nasty case of colic, Jenny heard his screams through the open window and stopped by to offer her help. Like Ana, sheâd also made the choice to raise her baby without the help of a nanny or an au pair, and sheâd been a godsend. She taught Ana a few tricks sheâd learned with her own colicky baby, and they had been friends ever since. Still, Ana was selective about what she did and didnât tell her.
âHow do you feel about that?â Jenny asked her.
âConflicted. Iâd love for Max to know his father, but at the same time I feel as though Iâm setting him up to be let down. If heâs even half as bad as my fatherââ
âItâs only fair to give him a chance,â Jenny said firmly, glancing at her daughter, who was in a tug-of-war with Max over a stuffed bear. âA baby needs its father.â
Even though Portia barely ever saw hers. Brice Sorenson, a busy surgeon, was often out of the house before the baby woke, and home after she was tucked in bed. If they were lucky, they might see him for a few hours Sunday between hospital rounds and golf. Though Jenny hadnât come right out and said it, it sounded as though even when he was home, he wasnât really there. He was older than Jenny, and had grown children from a first marriage. He didnât change diapers or clean up messes, and heâd never once taken a midnight feeding. The scenario struck a familiar and troubling chord for Ana. One she refused to accept for Max.
âThe ball is in his court now,â Ana told Jenny. And if Nathan wanted any less than what was best for Max, she would cut him out of his sonâs life without batting an eyelash.
Three
T hough Nathan hated that Anaâs words made so much sense, after several days of considering his sonâs well-being, he knew she was right. Either he was in or he was out of Maxâs life. There was no doing it halfway. But he had to consider how claiming his son could impact his career. He was sure that if the truth came out he could kiss his chances at the CEO spot goodbye. The board would see it as a direct and flagrant conflict of interest. Since they learned that the explosion at the refinery was the result of someone tampering with the equipment, people had been quick to point the finger at Birch Energyâeven though as of yet they hadnât been able to prove any sort of connection.
But even more important, how would his being in the kidâs life influence Max? Nathan had no idea what it took to be a fatherâat least, not a good one. The only thing he knew for sure was that he didnât want to be anything like his own father: accepting nothing but perfection, verbally,and sometimes physically, lashing out if anyone dared fall short of his unrealistic expectations.
Nathan was too much like his old man, too filled with suppressed anger to ignore the possibility that he would be a terrible father. Yet he couldnât just forget that there was a child out there whom heâd brought into this world, who shared half of his genetic code. He had to at least try. And if he couldnât be there for Max, even though Ana said they didnât need his money, Nathan would see that Max was taken care of financially for the rest of his life.
He called Ana
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