"Mommy!" Emma Rae's tiny voice called out to Harriet as the little girl hopped out of the black Ferrari.
Harriet was standing on the lawn of her moderately sized one-storey bungalow, when the car pulled up. She was in a casual sweatshirt and shorts and her hair was in a messy bun.
She watched her daughter, Emma Rae, run across the lawn, her curly chestnut brown hair bouncing with each step. She had bright green eyes, and a scattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. He was wearing a rose patterned dress and a pair of flats.
Harriet dropped to her knees, arms outstretched, catching Emma Rae as she leaped into her embrace. She lifted her effortlessly, twirling her around before planting kisses all over her face, eliciting giggles from the little girl.
"My sweet baby," Harriet murmured between kisses. "I've missed you so much."
Harriet had had Emma Rae spend the summer holidays with Evangelica and the little girl was supposed to return the day before, but after the meeting with Keith Jordan, and the whole kiss followed by the article, Harriet felt she needed more time.
"Thank you, Theo," Harriet said warmly as Theo got out of the car.
Theo Dimas was a man in his early thirties. He was the man who had saved Harriet from the explosion five years ago, and he had been working for her since then. He was Evangelica's son. He was 6"2 with dark brown hair, jaded blue eyes and broad athletic shoulders. He was in a crisp white dress shirt and a pair of dark slacks.
"Anytime, Harriet," Theo finally replied.
Harriet shifted Emma Rae onto her hip and, with Theo by her side, made their way toward the house. The pathway was lined with blooming roses. The front door opened into a spacious foyer with high ceilings and elegant chandeliers. Tasteful artwork adorned the walls, with plush furniture. There was also a cozy fireplace at the end of the room.
Harriet finally set Emma Rae down, her arms lingering around her daughter for a moment longer. Then she called Tricia, her maid, and ordered her to take Emma Rae to her room.
As soon as they had both walked out of the room, Harriet exhaled and took a seat on the cushion.
"I'm so happy five years of planning is finally paying off. We now have Keith Jordan on our side." Theo said, leaning back in his seat.
"Yeah." Harriet replied dryly.
"So, Harriet…" Theo asked with contempt. "now that you've finally achieved your big reveal, don't you think it's a time to step up as the CEO of DiCott agency? Now is the time."
"Not yet, we don't have to rush things. We need to finish one before opening a new one." As Harriet said those words, her phone started buzzing.
As she grabbed it on the chair from her, Theo rose to his feet and made his wasy to the kitchen to see if he would find dips in Harriet's fridge as usual. Harriet had always thought his obsession with dips was going to be the end of him.
Harriet stared at her phone screen for a moment, wondering if she should pick up the call from the unknown number before she finally decided to.
"Hello?" Harriet's voice was small.
"Can somebody please tell Melissa Shaw to stop hitting me up? She's called so many times, my battery's draining." the voice came from the other end of the line.
Harriet recognized the voice as Keith Jordan's. Then she wondered for a moment where he could have gotten her number because she hadn't given it to him. But then again, he was Keith Jordan. He could get his hands on any information he wanted.
"Did you say Melissa has been trying to reach out to you?" Harriet asked, cocking her head.
She hadn't expected that Melissa would recognize her in the picture so well. Her heart raced. Does Damien know? What could he be thinking right now? Was he hurt? Harriet pushed down the rising feeling of sickness that crawled up her throat. She wasn't going to feel anything. Numb was good.
"Yes. But not to worry, I have nothing to say to her, so I haven't been answering. That being said, the contract is ready, Mrs Prescott." Keith said, jolting Harriet from her thoughts.
"So soon?" Harriet asked.
Keith scoffed. "Well, I don't like mixing business with pleasure. The sooner, the better."
"One might say you're eager to get married to me, Mr Jordan."
"Ha, ha. You're a funny woman now, aren't you, Mrs Prescott?"
"When's the contract going to get here?" Harriet asked further as she rose to her feet and glanced at the doorway to the kitchen.
Theo wasn't out of the kitchen yet, which meant he found the nacho cheese dip Harriet left in the fridge. Harriet exhaled sharply and, once again, Keith's voice jolted her.
"Right about now."
The doorbell dinged and Harriet flinched. Talk about timing. Still on the call, she walked to the door and opened it. A young man dressed in all black with a black helmet covering his face, handed a brown envelope to her before he drove off on his motorbike.
Harriet walked back inside, clutching the envelope in her hand. She put the phone on speaker then placed it on the couch next to her before she sat down. She went through the envelope's contents and read out a few words on the contract.
"Separate finances. Don't ask or tell about private lives." Harriet read through it. "Good. But don't I have a say in this?"
"Of course you do, Mrs Prescott. That's not the final contract. You can add your clause to it, and I'll have my lawyer review it." Keith replied.
"Sounds fancy." Harriet said as she continued to read through it. Then a clause caught her attention. "Your family has to meet me first before we get married?"
"Yes. We're getting married after all." Keith replied and Harriet could hear him chuckle at the other end of the line.
"Well, the marriage is based on a lie. I didn't think it would be this serious."
There was a long pause. "Marriage is serious to my family. Especially my grandmother. She's intense."
"Bunny Jordan. I know." Harriet replied almost immediately.
"You should know, since you've been stalking me for years, Mrs Prescott." Keith's voice carried a little bit of amusement and Harriet could sense it.
Harriet proceeded to ask Keith when she was going to meet his family and he told her that would be tomorrow night. Tomorrow night was convenient for Harriet. The sooner, the better.
"Is there anything I need to know about before we proceed with this arrangement?" Keith added.
Harriet dragged in a labored breath. She hadn't yet told Keith about Emma Rae. It wasn't something she could tell him over the phone, it had to be face to face. She was going to tell him about her tomorrow.
"I do have something to say. I'll tell you when we meet, Mr Jordan."
"Keith. Call me Keith. Now, have a great day." Keith said before the call finally ended.
As Harriet leaned back into the chair, Theo walked back into the living room with a bowl of nacho cheese dip and a bag of chips. Harriet threw him a knowing look, and he sneered before he said, "We both know I only come here because of your finger licking dips." Then took a seat from across Harriet.
"How did the talk with Keith Jordan go?" Theo finally asked, his mind obviously more occupied by the dip in front of him.
"He wants me to meet his family tomorrow night."
"You're progressing fast." Theo said with a mouthful of chips.
"I know." Harriet trailed off. "But I haven't told him about Emma Rae."
"And Emma Rae doesn't know either." said Theo.
"I'll tell them both tomorrow night."
"Whatever happens, Emma Rae Prescott comes first. She's getting a dad for the first time in her life, she should at least know about it." Theo said.
"Mommy?" a tiny voice came from the threshold of the living room. Harriet shifted her gaze and found Emma standing there with her eyebrows shot up. "Mommy, am I getting a daddy?"