had been an ordinary day in Ogden, Utah. She’d gone to work, laughed with her friends, then taken her spot on the teller line at the Wasatch Bank in downtown Ogden. Familiar customers had streamed in and out of the bank until this man had approached her and, in a few words, turned her whole world upside down.
Now the older man removed his glasses, gave another sigh, then plucked a handkerchief from his suit pocket and unnecessarily cleaned the lenses. “As I’ve made clear to you, Ms. Ferguson, I represent your biological father’s estate.”
“My father,” she whispered, the very word feeling a little foreign. Terri had grown up knowing she was adopted. Her parents had always told her the truth, that she had been chosen by them because they fell in love with her the moment they saw her. They’d encouraged her to search for her birth parents once she was eighteen, but Terri hadn’t been curious. Why would she be? she’d reasoned. Where she’d come from didn’t really matter as much as where she was, right?
Besides, she hadn’t wanted to hurt her mother or father. Then her dad died, her mother moved to southern Utah to live with her sister, and Terri had been too busy with college and life to worry about a biological connection to people she didn’t know.
Now that connection had just jumped up to bite her on the butt.
“Yes, your father. Jacob Evans.” The lawyer slipped his glasses back into place. “He recently passed away and in accordance with his will, I’m here to inform you that you are his sole beneficiary.”
And that summed up the weird. Why would he have left her anything? They had no connection beyond biology. And if he’d known who she was, why hadn’t Jacob Evans ever reached out to her? Well, those were questions she would never get an answer to.
“Right. Okay. And I inherited a hotel?” She took a breath and held up one hand before he could speak again. “I’m really sorry. Normally, I’m not this slow on the uptake. Honestly. But this is...just so bizarre.”
For the first time since entering the bank and asking to speak to her privately, the lawyer gave her a small smile. “I do understand how unexpected this must seem to you.”
“‘Unexpected’ is a good word,” she agreed and reached for the water bottle in front of her. She took a sip and added, “Weird is better.”
“I suppose.” Another smile. “Ms. Ferguson, your father was a full partner in the Hayes Corporation.”
“Okay...” That meant exactly nothing to her.
He sighed. “The Hayes Corporation owns more than two thousand hotels, all over the world.”
“Two thousand?” She heard her own voice squeak and winced at the sound. But seriously? Two thousand hotels? That couldn’t be right, could it? Her stomach did a quick pitch and roll and Terri took a deep breath trying to calm it.
The smell of burning coffee from the pot on the counter flavored the air, and the bank’s furnace made a soft hum of background noise. Downstairs people were working, talking, laughing, living normal lives, and up here? Terri was trying to think. Tried to remember who she was, where she was. But her brain had apparently decided it had accepted enough information for one day and shut down.
Resting one hand on a sheaf of papers he had stacked on the table, Mr. Seaton looked at her steadily. At least the gleam of impatience was gone from his eyes. Maybe he was finally understanding what a shock all of this was to her.
“Once you sign these papers, it’s official,” he told her. “You’ll have your father’s share in a very successful company.”
She tipped her head to one side and quietly asked, “How successful?”
One corner of his mouth twitched slightly. “Very. You, Ms. Ferguson, are now an extremely wealthy woman.”
Wealthy. Rich. Also weird. But good. Because her cable bill had just gone up and she had just been forced to put new brakes on her car and with winter coming, she really wanted to get new insulation on her windows and—
She reached for the papers instinctively, then pulled her hand back. “I’d like my own lawyer to look these over before I sign.” Well, her late father’s lawyer, but that didn’t really matter, did it?
“Commendable,” he said with a brief nod. Standing, he closed his black leather briefcase with a snap. Looking down at her, he said, “Your new partner, Mr. Cooper Hayes, is at the company headquarters in Las Vegas. He’d like to see you there as soon as possible.”
“Cooper Hayes.” She should probably write that down.
“Yes. His contact information is included in the packet of papers.” He gave her a small smile. “Hayes Corporation is headquartered at the StarFire Hotel and Casino.”
StarFire. She’d heard of it, of course. Seen pictures in magazines and now that she thought of it, Terri had seen pictures of Cooper Hayes, too. Her mind drew up one of the images of him posing with some celebrity or other—naturally, he was tall and gorgeous with eyes so blue he had to be wearing colored contacts.
And now he was her partner. The idea of going to the StarFire, meeting Cooper Hayes on his home turf, was a little intimidating, but she didn’t see a way around it. After all, she was now half owner of the place. A shocked burst of laughter bubbled up in her chest, but she squashed it. Yesterday she wouldn’t have been able to afford to stay at the StarFire. Now she owned half of it.
Weird just kept getting weirder.
“Okay, thank you.” She glanced at the papers, but didn’t touch them.
“Ms. Ferguson,” the man said quietly, and waited until her gaze met his to continue. “I know this is all new and somewhat overwhelming—”
“Somewhat?” she laughed but the sound she made sounded a little hysterical so she stopped. Fast.
“But,” he continued calmly, “I believe once the surprise of the situation eases, you’ll do very well in your new life.”
“You think so?”
“I do.” He grabbed the doorknob and said, “I’ve left my card with the papers, as well. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me.”
“Thank you.”
He opened the door and Jan Belling almost fell into the room. She recovered quickly, stumbling to catch her balance, then flashing the lawyer a brilliant smile. “Hi, sorry.”
“No need,” he said, lips twitching. Giving Terri one last nod, he left.
Jan slipped into the room, closed the door and hurried over to take a seat opposite Terri. Her short, spiky black hair complemented bottle-green eyes, making her look like a pixie. “Well,” she said, “that was embarrassing.”
“I can’t believe you were listening at the door.”
“I can’t believe you’re surprised. Besides, I didn’t hear much. The door’s too thick. Stupid historical buildings with real wood doors.” Jan took a breath. “So what happened? Who was he and why did he want you?”
Terri laughed as the tension she’d been feeling for the past fifteen minutes dissipated. Jan was her best friend, and the one person who could help her make sense of all of this. “Speaking of a ‘can’t believe’ situation...”
“Try me.”
Terri shook her head at the strangeness of it all. “I want to tell you all of it, but I should get back to work.”
Jan shook her head. “No worries. The boss says you can take as long as you like. We’re not busy, anyway, so start talking.”
Turning her bottle of water back and forth between her hands, Terri did. As she told her friend everything, it all began to settle in her own mind. It was beyond strange. Crazy. Impossible, even. Okay, maybe her mind wasn’t