So they were back to last names.
He looked her over judiciously. “You’re a career woman whose main priority in life, I’m certain, is to climb the corporate ladder of success. It’s not easy for a single woman to raise a child alone.”
“And how would you know?” Kaya retorted, hands on hips.
“I employ a few of them, Miss Brehna. I overhear their complaints. Can you honestly tell me you’re ready to sacrifice all you’ve worked for to raise three children you don’t even know?”
Kaya knew it wouldn’t be easy, and that it may even jeopardize her job at Pearson’s Interior Decorating. Wayne had already pointed out the demands her new position as head designer would have on her time, not to mention her obligation to the clients she’d left hanging when she got the call from Steven.
And then there was Jack, her fiancé, whom she still hadn’t told she’d inherited three little orphans. Jack was adamant about not having children after they were married. She never thought she wanted children, either, until she met these three who had Eli Brehna’s blood flowing through their veins. Was she picking up a heavier load than she could hoist over her shoulders, much less carry?
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, do you?” Bryce was like a hound dog, sniffing out her fears. “You’re already neck-deep in financial problems or you wouldn’t have been thinking about selling my estate. You probably can’t even afford the funeral.”
The funeral. Kaya hadn’t even thought of that after Steven dropped the bombshell on her earlier. When she’d thought there was money to pay for the funeral, she’d picked out two elaborate coffins, and hadn’t bothered to give a second thought to the expense of keeping them in the funeral home. Well, she’d have to go a cheaper route now, and get Michael and Lauren buried as quickly as possible. Tomorrow.
“This is what we’re going to do, Miss Brehna.” Bryce glared down at her as if she were one of his insubordinate employees. “I’ll pay for Michael and Lauren’s funeral, then I’ll even pay for a first class ticket back to Florida for you. Better still, I’ll have my pilot fly you back in my jet. I’ll reimburse all expenses you’ve incurred so far. Just sign the kids over to me and you can leave Granite Falls as free and unencumbered as you came.” He pulled a checkbook from his back pocket, and opened it. “Name your price, Miss Brehna.”
Kaya seethed at his arrogance, his assumption that he could buy her. In all of her twenty-three years on this planet, she never had this strong a desire to slap someone across the face. Too bad it was beyond her immediate reach.
“Money isn’t everything, Mr. Fontaine. It can buy a lot of luxuries, I’d grant, but it cannot buy love. I love my nephew and nieces. In time, they’ll grow to love me. Love is a price you certainly cannot afford.”
His eyes narrowed to dark slits as he tossed the checkbook on the desk. “You obviously have no idea who you’re dealing with, Miss Brehna. I promise, I will—”
“Time out,” Steven finally interjected, coming to stand between them. “I realize emotions are running high right now. But you both need to stop before you say something you’ll regret. Let’s get Michael and Lauren buried, then you two can work out the details over the children.”
“Actually, there’s nothing to work out,” Kaya stated in the calmest voice she could muster under the circumstances. “Steven, I would like you to prepare the necessary papers to finalize my custody of the children so I can get out of this town as soon as possible.”