Christmas Secret Baby (Holiday Romances #4) - Annie J. Rose

Chapter 1

Jax

The notification chimed on my phone, interrupting my distinctly out of tune and perfectly uncalled for shower rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” My assistant, Daniel, must have booked me a last-minute meeting.

“Alright, Daniel,” I said when I got out of the shower and went to check my phone. “Who do you have me meeting with today?”

I opened my calendar and was surprised by what I saw. The change wasn’t an addition to my schedule. It was a cancellation.

A towel wrapped around my waist, I called Daniel and headed into my bedroom to get dressed.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked when he answered. “Why did the meeting with McMillan this morning get canceled? They aren’t going with someone else, are they?”

“No,” Daniel said. “They didn’t cancel. I did.”

“What?” I asked, pinning the phone between my shoulder and ear as I pulled on my boxers and hopped to get my pants in place. “Why would you do that? This could be a huge deal.”

“It wasn’t my choice. Didn’t you hear?” he asked.

“Hear what?”

I hooked my belt and moved my phone back and forth from ear to ear as I got on my shirt.

“The investors and legal department need to meet with you,” Daniel said. “They told me to clear your morning schedule. You were planning on the meeting with McMillan running long and possibly leading into lunch, so I had to cancel.”

“The investors and legal?” I asked. “Why would they need to meet with me?”

“They didn’t tell me. Just that you are to be in the executive conference room first thing.”

“Well, that sounds like it’s going to be fun,” I muttered.

I got off the phone and finished getting dressed while my brain churned through all the potential reasons behind the meeting. Getting together with the investors before the holiday season didn’t seem that outlandish. In fact, we had our annual meeting already on the books for later in the month.

It was the urgency of the meeting combined with the presence of the company legal department that was making me uncomfortable.

I headed out as soon as I was ready rather than taking the time for breakfast. I was too anxious to get the meeting over with to eat.

I drove to my office, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel in agitation. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was about to get some news that would make me feel very un-festive for the time of year. Pulling into my designated parking spot, I blew out a breath and headed in the face the firing squad.

Decidedly unhappy eyes locked onto me when I walked into the room. My seat at the head of the table was still vacant, which I took as a good thing. If they had already decided to oust me for some reason, one of them would have ceremoniously taken that chair, and I would be relegated to the back half of the table.

“Good morning, Mr. Cooper,” Gregory Jenkins from the legal department said. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

He gestured for my chair. “Go ahead and sit down.”

“We just need to talk to you,” Anthony, one of the most prominent investors in my company, said.

I lowered myself into the chair, looking at the faces of each of the people sitting around the table with me, hoping one of them would give something away. They all remained blank and emotionless. I filed that away for the off chance I ever decided to have a poker tournament with these people.

“Alright, here I am,” I said. “Now, tell me what’s going on.”

“Does the name Jason Meyer sound familiar to you?” Mr. Jenkins asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Of course, it does. He worked here up until three weeks ago when I fired him.”

“And why did you fire him?”

I cocked my head to the side, narrowing my eyes at him slightly.

“I feel like I’m being interrogated for something,” I said.

“We’re just asking some questions trying to understand a situation that has arisen,” Jenkins said.

I nodded slowly. “I’m not sure why my discretion in firing one of my employees is being called into question. This isn’t normally a matter for legal.”

Jenkins sighed and set down the pen he had been using to take notes on a notepad in front of him. His fingers folded, and he looked directly at me.

“We’ve received a complaint from Mr. Meyer,” he said.

“A complaint?” I asked incredulously. “He seriously lodged a complaint against me because I fired him? That guy was a bad hire from the very beginning. He