“Hello, mother. Allow me to introduce you to Anne Johnson. Anne, meet my mother, Madeleine Wells,” he said, in a cold, distant tone, as if he was introducing me to an acquaintance he didn’t like that much.
Not what you would expect when someone introduces you to his mother. But, unfortunately, I could relate to that. Despite my constant struggle to get my mother’s approval, things between us were never easy and certainly never warm or affectionate.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Wells,” I said in a polite tone, but not even trying to get any closer to her for a proper greeting.
The woman was clearly not happy to see me there.
“It’s Ms. Wells. I’ve never been married,” the woman corrected me in a harsh tone.
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be. You couldn’t have known,” Wells interrupted me. “Are we on time for tea?” he asked, looking at his mother, apparently unaffected by the woman’s cold attitude.
“Yes… of course… but you didn’t warn me you were bringing guests…” she pointed out, in a sarcastic tone.
“Matty always has enough food to feed a small army. I’ll just ask her to bring us another cup,” Wells replied, sounding impatient as he walked out of the living room, leaving me alone with his mother.
I could have killed him for that, especially when she turned to look at me with a dark expression.
13
“So… Anne, is it? How long have you known my son?” she asked, not even pretending to be polite.
“About a week,” I replied, sticking to the truth. I had no idea why Wells had brought me here, but if he had a small game in his mind, he should have let me know.
“A week?” she sounded startled. “How did you meet?”
“At Wells Corporation.”
The woman was shocked. “You work for him?”
“What if she does? Do you have a problem with that, mother?” Wells asked as he returned to the living room, followed by an older woman, Matty, I supposed.
He was carrying a tray, and the woman was pushing a small cart filled with enough food to feed a small army.
“Have you lost your mind? I’ve introduced you to the most beautiful women in the damn country, and you choose to date one of your employees?” his mother ranted, ignoring me completely.
Finding her attitude quite insulting, I almost left the room to give them privacy to discuss their problems, but I thought better. This wasn’t my problem. I wasn’t dating Jayden, and though I could see he was using me to upset his mother, I shouldn’t care. It wasn’t any of my business.
Or so I tried to convince myself, as I took a seat on an armchair, while Matty poured me a cup of tea and offered me a choice from a splendid display of small sandwiches and pastries, while Wells and his mother continued arguing.
“Don’t mind them… they’re always arguing,” Matty whispered to me.
“I see… it must be tiring,” I assumed, as I picked a small sandwich.
“I’ve worked for Ms. Wells for over thirty-five years now… came to help her with the baby, so I guess I’m used to it,” she said with a teasing grin.
“How was he as a baby?” I asked, too curious to help myself.
“The most serious baby I’ve ever met. He barely cried, but didn’t smile much either,” she said, pulling a chair and taking a seat next to me. “It was as if he knew he would have to grow up really fast…” she added, in a somber tone, as she poured a cup of tea for herself.
“Why was that? If his mother could afford you, his basic needs must have been covered, right?” I asked, lowering my tone, too interest in what the woman had to say as to let the others overhear us and stop Matty from spilling the guts to me.
“She wanted to have an abortion. But her mother found out she was pregnant at the same time as she and threatened to cut her out of their will if she did,” Matty explained. “She never hid that terrible truth from Jayden, and when she lost her temper, she used to accuse him of ruining her life.”
Some people were simply not cut out to become parents, and Madeleine Wells was undoubtedly one of them.
“What about the father?” I asked.
