The Billionaire's Baby (The Romero Brothers, Book 5) (18 page)

“Ah, I see.” Dion
did not sound impressed. “You sure you trust her around Aunt Mavis?”

“Hans, our driver,
is with her. You know he’s a good detective and bodyguard. I told him not to
leave them alone.”

“Good thinking.”

“So what did our
men come up with? You said you had some concerns over her aunt and some other
people in her life.” Jules dropped the files on his desk and looked pointedly
at his brother, pressing his hands together as he leaned back in his leather
executive chair. He was anxious to tie up some loose ends surrounding his wife
and now his baby. He wanted to be sure Amber was not in harm’s way given the
new developments in the accident case surrounding the deaths of her parents.
 

“Well, Miss Mavis
is one unique character, I’ll tell you that,” Dion said.

“Why do you say
that? What have they uncovered?” Jules knew in his heart that Mavis was a bit
off, the way she would glare at Amber when her back was turned and just her
aloof manner. At first he chalked it up to her personality but then he wondered
about her. She had pressed, almost bullied, Amber not to dig too far into the investigation
surrounding the demise of Amber’s parents, her own sister being Amber’s mother.
They were apparently not very close growing up and then when Amber became an
orphan, Mavis wasn’t too thrilled having to take over guardianship. Poor Amber
had to feel as if she was a burden, losing her family like that.

Jules was
fiercely protective of Amber. She meant the world to him. Just thinking about
how fragile she’d become since the accident, yet strong at the same time,
willing to put her neck out to save a friend, or hold her own ground. Always
trying to be independent and stay intact. She was the real deal.
Humble and sweet.
He’d teach a lesson to anyone who tried to
step into her life and mess it up any more than it already had been since the
tragedy that befell her in the past.

“Well,” Dion
continued. “You know your wife is seeing that therapist, right?”

“So?” Jules was
defensive but then mellowed.
This was his brother, Dion
,
he was talking with
. “What about it?”

“Well, we have
reason to believe that Mavis spoke to the therapist on several occasions regarding
Amber’s memory.”

“Her memory?”

“Yeah, her memory
of that night.”

“What are they
getting at?”

Dion heaved a
sigh as if wondering how to tell his brother whatever he had to say. “Man,
something’s just not adding up.”

“Amber told me about
her selective amnesia. There’s nothing that can bring her memory back of that
night, so why does it matter?”

“Oh, but there
might be.”

“You mean there
could be a trigger that could make her remember?”

Dion shrugged,
flipping through a magazine that he just swiped off the counter beside him.
“Anything is possible.”

“You think Mavis
might have had something to with the accident?” Jules was dubious.

“I know the cops
won’t rule anything out. It wasn’t as if Mavis and her sister were close and
loving. There must be some rivalry or something macabre going on. They’re still
working on things. I just thought I’d keep you posted. You know we need to keep
these things under wraps. Not too much phone discussion.”

“Yeah, I know.”
Jules knew all too well. The brothers always kept a close eye on the safety of
those around them and rarely spoke on the phone as to certain sensitive
information. And he knew something was bugging him but couldn’t quite pinpoint
it. The day Amber told him she thought she was being followed while going to
the therapist’s office raised his defenses even more and he started to have
security shadow her from a safe and discreet distance.

The Romeros might
be popular but they also had haters amongst their so-called rivals. They left
nothing to chance. Just having money and power made them anonymous enemies not
to mention the crazies that stalked people like him in his position and those
close to him. The investigative agency the Romeros used was highly discreet and
very few people knew about the boys inside at the detective firm outside of the
family circle. They liked to keep it that way.

Not that the
vigilance they took was without merit. In the past, the Romeros were victims of
corporate espionage and a kidnap attempt. Besides, Romero was a Spanish name
for protector. And Jules had no trouble living up to his surname, especially
where his wife and child were concerned. Then another thought bit into Jules. Did
this somehow have anything to do with Crystal’s biological father? He somehow
hoped it didn’t. It couldn’t. Amber said the father was out of the picture. He
decided he was going to respect her privacy until she was good and ready to
tell him the truth. The last thing he wanted, as tempted as he was, would be to
question her timing and go behind her back to dig up information on this dude.
Amber said she would tell him soon enough. He would leave it at that for now.

Jules rubbed his
stubble thinking about the explosive revelation his brother Carl discovered
about his own wife, Venus. Oh, God, did all women have secrets and skeletons in
their past?

There was a knock
on his office door. “Come in,” Jules called, obviously distracted.

“Good morning,
boss!” Brenda, his cheerful executive assistant, came in with some posters in
her hand. She was a petite Asian woman with lovely shoulder-length, dark hair
and a beautiful smile. She rarely frowned, no matter how hectic things got
around the office. Jules was grateful to have her on his team. He had it in
mind to promote her. She was excellent at handling many projects on her own and
was
well-educated
and fluent in several languages. Oh,
the wonders of overseeing human resources. No wonder Amber told him to slow
down and relax and take a break once in a while. He was always working
overtime—especially in his mind, thinking of his next strategies,
promoting, organizing, delegating. It never stopped. But oh, last night was
deeply relaxing. Jules thought of the intense, heated passion he’d experienced
with Amber, and that mellowed him a lot. He was ready for everything. He
couldn’t wait to be alone with Amber again, especially after last night when
she opened up to him emotionally.

Amber. From the
second he got into the office, his mind ran on her a dozen times in between
meetings and business correspondence. He could not get enough of his wife.

“What have you
got for me, Brenda?” Jules said, leaning back in his chair while Dion
acknowledged her before getting back to reading his magazine.

“Oh, some good
news, sir.”

“Good, I can never
get enough of that.”

“Well, you know
the Spring Magazine often nominates a few model families to be Family of the
Year; it’s sort of a monthly thing to inspire and encourage other families.”

“Yeah, I’m
familiar with Spring Magazine,” Jules responded cautiously. What was Brenda getting
at? She seemed to have a wicked grin on her face.

“Well, news got
around with your um…
labor
vows and how devoted you
two were in having your baby and well, determined to get married and well…”
Brenda hesitated, something she rarely did.

“Spill it, Brenda,”
Jules said quietly with a grin on his face and a puzzled expression.

“Well, they’ve
sort of nominated you, Amber and Crystal—after I submitted your name,”
she added looking sheepish. “I have a friend who works in their art department.
He told me the good news this morning. They’re getting ready to send you the
forms.”

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes.”

“No, Brenda. I’m
on the board of the Family Center.”

“And that’s okay.
It’s not like that magazine has anything to do with us. The point is, boss, your
wedding vows in the
labor
room thing was so hot when
it hit the local news that day.”

Jules frowned. But
that news story had been carefully edited to not include the identity of said
parents—meaning Jules and Amber. The reporter, who happened to be a
friend of his sister-in-law, Blue, a former reporter herself, had respected
their privacy.

“I’ll need to get
your answer,” Brenda added, “like, in an hour.”

“An hour? Why so
soon?”

“Well, they’re
running behind schedule. And…um…they told me that the couple they had slated
for this month had just…um…filed for divorce.”

“They did?” Jules
looked incredulous then sighed heavily. “Well, they might not be the only ones.
Amber might want to divorce me, too, if she thinks I’m pushing her into the
limelight.”

Brenda grinned
and shook her head. She seemed amused by her boss’s wry sense of
humor
.

“I’m not sure if
Amber will go for it,” Jules continued. “Besides, what would be involved?”

“Oh, nothing too
inconvenient. Just posing for a family portrait.” Brenda unrolled some sample posters,
with Dion’s assistance on the desk, and showed Jules.

“You see here.
Look at all
these
wonderful hall of fame like
portraits. We’ve had people at the center participate as well. Each one so
different and beautiful.”

“I see,” Jules
said, looking at the various family pictures. “Okay, I’ll talk with Amber about
it, and if she’s good with it, it’s a go.”

Brenda beamed.
“Awesome! I’ll talk to their PR department to get this set up. It will be just
in time for our own Annual Family Center BBQ.”

“That’s coming up
soon, isn’t it? Doesn’t leave us much time, does it?” Jules said. “Fine,” he
agreed. “Let me confirm with Amber.”

“Great. You won’t
be sorry.” Brenda gathered the material from his desk and whisked out of the office
as quickly as she came in.

“Well, seems like
you’ll be having your hands full, bro,” Dion commented with a grin.

“Yeah. Let me
call Amber. And keep me posted on those developments.”

“Sure thing.”

Jules immediately
called Amber after Dion left the office. Amber actually sounded pleased about
the Family of the Month nod to her little household.

Over the phone,
Amber told him it would be wonderful and that Crystal would have this to look
back on. She couldn’t wait to break the news to her aunt, who was sitting close
beside her at the café. Amber appeared to be in good spirits.
That made Jules feel
settled inside.

Well, as long as Amber
was good with the Family of the Month
recognition,
Jules
was good with it as well.

The following
day, Amber was seated opposite her therapist.

“You’re doing
very well, Amber,” Dr.
Danye
said, beaming. “Keep up
the great work.”

“Thanks, doc. But
I couldn’t have done it without your help.” Amber prepared to get up from her
seat. She was finished with her session.

“Well, you’ve
been doing all the work, Amber. I’m very proud of you.”

“The authorities wanted
to see if I could give them a little more information to coincide with some new
evidence. At least I’m remembering a little bit more now. It’s still hard for
me, but the police were talking about using a hypnotherapist. I told them I was
seeing you for my regular therapy, but I know that’s not your area of
expertise.”

“Well, just go
with your gut. You know how I feel about those sorts of things,” he said,
adjusting his glasses on his nose. He got up again, grabbing his walking cane.
“And don’t forget to bring your little one the next time you visit.”

“I will. Oh, and
before I forget,” Amber said, reaching into her Coach tote bag. “Here’s a copy
of a brochure my husband has been working on. I thought you might like to put
it in the reception area for some of your patients. We’re having a barbecue at
the family center. Of course, you don’t have to tell them it’s from one of your
patients.” Amber winked.

Dr.
Danye
grinned. “I’ll put this up.”

Dr.
Danye
often displayed
colorful
family-friendly brochures and other freebies in his waiting area for people to
peruse.

“Imagine that,”
she said almost at a whisper. “Years ago when you first treated me, I didn’t
have a family,” she continued, hot tears stinging her eyes. Her voice broke off
with choking emotion. She was feeling overwhelmed again.
But
not in a bad way.
She just couldn’t describe the miracle that captured
her life after such horrible tragedy and rejection. Her appreciation to the
universe was sincere and humbling. She never thought she would ever be “normal”
again. She’d been rejected as an illegitimate kid, then orphaned, scarred for
life emotionally and physically, feeling worthless, trying to compensate. And
now…it would seem that she’d been given a second chance.

 
“Well, you deserve happiness, Amber. You
really do.”