The Billionaire's Heir I Never Knew Was Mine

Sienna smiled as if Zachary were right in front of her. ”Of course, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I?”

There was a brief silence before Zachary’s voice came through the phone again.

”I know, my love. I can tell you’re fine from your voice, but...” He paused for a moment before continuing. ”Trevor called your assistant, and she said you were in the meeting with Zoey in her office’s room. Alone. Is she giving you any trouble?”

Sienna blinked in surprise.

She hadn’t expected her husband to find out about the meeting so quickly. Her fingers tightened slightly around her cell phone, and despite everything that had happened, a faint smile curved her lips. No matter how busy he was, he always seemed to know when something involved her.

”Well...” she admitted honestly, ”to be fair, she did give me a little trouble.”

She let out a quiet laugh, hoping to ease his concern.

”But don’t worry. She hasn’t made me cry yet, so I’m still doing just fine.”

A deep sigh came from the other end of the call.

Although she couldn’t see him, Sienna could easily imagine the expression on Zachary’s face. He was probably rubbing his forehead while trying to keep his temper under control. Knowing him, he was already wondering whether he should call Zoey immediately.

”What did she say to you?” Zachary asked.

His voice remained low and steady, but she could hear the anger beneath it. He wasn’t angry with her. He was angry because someone had upset her.

Before Sienna could answer, the elevator chimed softly as it reached the eleventh floor.

The doors slid open, and she stepped out while keeping the phone against her ear. She walked down the quiet hallway toward her office, grateful that most of her colleagues were already out for lunch.

”Honey,” she whispered, lowering her voice just in case someone was nearby. After glancing around and seeing the floor was nearly empty, she continued, ”It was mostly a conversation about the company.”

”Really?”

The single word carried obvious doubt.

Sienna smiled helplessly. She knew her husband far too well. There was no way he would believe Zoey had invited her for nothing more than a business discussion.

She pushed open the door to her office, walked inside, and leaned comfortably against her chair before speaking again.

”Mm-hmm. But there’s something I need to talk to you about later. It’s about—”

She didn’t get the chance to finish.

”Sienna, you didn’t have lunch...?”

Sally’s voice came from the doorway. She looked genuinely concerned, completely unaware that Sienna was still on the phone.

Sienna quickly shook her head and pointed at her cell phone with an apologetic smile.

Sally’s eyes widened.

”Oops. Sorry,” she whispered before giving Sienna an embarrassed smile and quietly slipping back out of the office.

After the door closed again, Sienna laughed softly before returning her attention to the call.

”Honey, are you still there?”

Instead of answering her question directly, Zachary asked one of his own.

”So you haven’t had lunch yet?” His voice was filled with concern. ”It’s already past twelve.”

”I’ll order something,” Sienna replied casually.

”No need.” His answer came so quickly that she couldn’t help smiling. ”I’ll have someone deliver your lunch.”

Her smile softened.

She didn’t even bother to refuse because she knew it would be pointless. Because by now, Zachary had probably already called his assistant to arrange everything before she’d even had the chance to argue.

”Thank you, honey,” she said warmly. ”I’ll wait.”

”They should be there in a few minutes.”

”I understand,” she replied with a playful smile. ”I’m not hungry yet.”

There was a brief pause before Zachary spoke again.

”My wife, promise me you won’t overwork yourself...”

His concern was so genuine that it warmed her heart. It didn’t matter how busy he became or how many meetings filled his schedule. Somehow, he always found time to remind her to eat, rest, and take care of herself.

”I won’t,” she promised gently.

”Good.”

Another short silence followed before he spoke again in a more apologetic tone.

”I have to go. My meeting is about to start.”

”Okay.” Sienna smiled to herself before teasing him, ”Have a good meeting, Mr. Sterling. And try not to fire one of your executives today.”

A quiet chuckle escaped from the other end of the line.

”That depends on their performance.”

Sienna couldn’t hold back her laughter. Remembering their conversation in the past, she said, ”That’s exactly what I was afraid you’d say.”

”Well, they should’ve prepared better.”

Sienna laughed again, feeling the heaviness in her heart lighten little by little. After everything that had happened with Zoey, this lighthearted conversation was exactly what she needed. Zachary hadn’t tried to interrogate her or pressure her into explaining everything immediately. Instead, he had unknowingly cheered her up simply by being himself.

”All right,” she said with a smile. ”I won’t keep you any longer. Bye, honey... See you later.”

”Bye, my love.”

The call ended, and the office became quiet once more.

For several seconds, Sienna looked at the dark screen of her phone, the smile on her face slowly fading.

The warmth Zachary had given her lingered in her heart. Still, it couldn’t completely erase the conversation she’d had with Zoey. Her words returned one after another and played in her mind:

”You need to resign from the company.”

”My brother’s enemies will use you against him.”

”You are his weakness, Sienna!”

”I will give you a week to decide!”

Sienna let out a slow breath and gently placed her phone on the desk.

”I seriously need to discuss this with Zach,” she murmured to herself.

Pushing aside the thoughts crowding her mind, she reached for the stack of documents waiting on her desk. No matter what decision she eventually made, her responsibilities hadn’t changed. She still had work to finish, and she wanted everything to be in order.

If she truly decided to resign from the Imperial Hotel, she wanted to leave knowing she had completed every task she had been entrusted with.