The Heiress's Pregnancy Surprise (Heirs to an Empire 2)

He scanned the room and then began to search. Once, she saw him stop and his head turn, and then suddenly he made a dash for the back of the room, where a door started to open before there was a loud thump.

“Drop the scissors,” Charlotte heard him say, in a tone that sent shivers down her spine. She would never want to be on the receiving end of that sort of instruction. It was even different from the day she’d dashed to the deli for bagels, disobeying his orders.

She raced to where he was with whomever he’d caught...and stopped in absolute shock when she came face-to-face with Amelie, her wrists held firmly by Jacob.

Her assistant. Her confidante. The person she’d told about the earlier emails, had set up her itinerary, had been so sympathetic and...her friend.

Amelie had sabotaged today’s show.

Charlotte wasn’t sure if she was more angry or hurt. Oh, she was furious at the sabotage, but she was also decimated by the betrayal. The Pembertons didn’t let many people in, just by the nature of their money and fame. Trust was a rare commodity. To have hers violated in this way made her sick to her stomach.

“Why?” she asked, her voice raw around the massive lump in her throat. “Why would you do this?”

Jacob took the scissors from Amelie’s grip and threw them on the floor. The venom that gleamed in Amelie’s eyes was startling. “You really don’t know. You sit in your office and make decisions and you don’t give a damn how they affect people.”

Confusion was added to the maelstrom of emotions flooding Charlotte. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Marie!” At Charlotte’s still-confused look, Amelie spat, “Marie Tremblay!”

Now Charlotte understood. She nodded at Jacob, who released Amelie’s wrists and took a step back, still staying between her and the discarded scissors. “Who is Marie to you? She was stealing from the company, Amelie.”

“Who is she? Mon Dieu, you never paid any attention to my personal life at all. Never asked if I was dating, about my family... Marie is my girlfriend. She is a brilliant designer, but she never got the recognition she deserved. Always passed over. How else was she supposed to move up as a designer?” Amelie was nearly shouting. “You ruined her. No one will touch her now!”

Charlotte took a deep breath and pushed her feelings aside. “Marie stole designs from Aurora. She made her own decisions knowing full well there would be consequences if she were caught. Why send me the threatening emails, then? I had nothing to do with firing her.”

“Because I had to see you every damn day, your smug face and not a care in the world, while our world was turned totally upside down.”

Not a care? Charlotte fully acknowledged that her stressors were very much what people would call “first-world problems,” but she had her own goals, dreams, insecurities, failures.

“And last night’s email? Ugh, that’s why you were surprised I went to the party, right? You figured I’d be too upset?”

“You went off the itinerary and went on that stupid shopping trip.” She swore in French, making Charlotte’s eyes widen. “That dress you wore? Do you know who designed it? Marie! And you had the nerve to wear it.” Each word sounded dipped in poison.

That Amelie had held such hatred while pretending to be a loyal employee and friend felt unreal. Charlotte looked her in the eyes and said, “You’re a very good actress, and maybe that can be a second career for you. Because you’re obviously fired, Amelie.”

“You could press charges, Charlotte.” Jacob had remained quiet, but now spoke up. “She harassed and threatened you, and vandalized Aurora property.”

“That’s something I’ll talk to Legal about.” She met Jacob’s eyes briefly, then looked at Amelie again. “Get out of here, check out of your hotel room and get the first flight home. And don’t even try going to the office when you get back. We’ll pack and send you your things.”

“Charlotte...” That from Jacob.

“No, I mean it, Jacob. I want her out of my sight.”

Amelie moved to leave, went by Charlotte and muttered, “Bitch.”

When she was gone, Charlotte stood for a few moments, unsure what to do. “What do you need?” Jacob asked, after bending over to pick up the scissors Amelie had used to destroy months of work.

She couldn’t deal with feelings right now; there was no time. “Amelie’s security passes have to be revoked. I don’t want her anywhere near anything to do with Aurora.”

“I can look after that.”

“The show is canceled. There’s no way we can pull it off now.” It cut her to the quick to say it. This show was to be her big chance to show everyone that she had what it took. She was supposed to step out into her own, really cement her value to the family business. Instead the whole thing was a failure.

But there wasn’t time to let that get to her. “I’ll cancel the show. Then everything here has to be boxed up and...” Her fingers trailed over a nearby gown. “And sent back. I want it all sent back home.”

“All right. We’ll work together to get it done.” He smiled reassuringly and reached out to squeeze her arm. “By the way, you were fierce back there. Totally calm and self-possessed.”

“It didn’t feel like it.”