The Signature
1548 Words
Two days.
That was how long I'd been waiting to meet Dr. Moore.
Two entire days.
And somehow, nobody had managed to give me a straight answer.
“He's busy.”
“He's at the research facility.”
“He'll be available soon.”
Soon.
I was beginning to hate that word.
I dropped the file onto my desk and leaned back in my chair.
Apparently, being the head of Blake Medical Group meant absolutely nothing when the people beneath me had already decided I didn't deserve the position.
I picked up my phone and checked the time.
I had another problem.
I needed a secretary.
Not tomorrow.
Not next week.
Now.
The company was supposed to have assigned one to me when I took over, but apparently that was another thing everyone had conveniently forgotten.
I opened my laptop and went through the applications I'd received after posting the position myself.
Most of them were impressive.
A few were clearly overqualified.
One applicant, however, caught my attention.
Mia Carter.
Five years of experience.
Executive administration.
Excellent references.
No obvious connection to my family.
I stared at her application for another few seconds.
That last part mattered more than everything else.
I clicked the contact option.
Hello, Miss Carter. I reviewed your application for the executive secretary position. Are you available for an interview today?
Her response came less than a minute later.
Yes, ma'am. What time?
I checked the clock.
“Three.”
I typed it.
Three o'clock. I'll send you the location.
I closed the laptop.
At least one thing was finally going according to plan.
My phone rang.
I glanced at the screen.
My aunt.
I almost ignored it.
Almost.
“Hello?”
“Sienna, where are you?”
“In my office.”
“Good. I need you to do something for me.”
I closed my eyes.
“What now?”
There was a slight pause.
“There's an important document waiting for you at the State Bureau.”
I frowned.
“What document?”
“It concerns the transfer of some of your mother's remaining corporate authority.”
I sat up.
“Why wasn't I told about this earlier?”
“It only came through this morning.”
“And I need to go personally?”
“Yes.”
I looked at the clock again.
“I have an appointment at three.”
“This is more important.”
I didn't like the sound of that.
“What happens if I don't go?”
“You'll delay the process.”
Of course.
Everything was always urgent when it came from my aunt.
“Fine.”
“Good. Make sure you sign everything they give you.”
I went silent.
“Everything?”
She laughed softly.
“Everything necessary, Sienna. Don't overthink it.”
The call ended.
I stared at my phone.
Something about the conversation bothered me.
But I didn't have time to investigate every strange feeling I had.
I grabbed my bag and the documents I'd been carrying.
I was already late.
---
Across the city, a man stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office.
Below him, the city moved without pause.
Cars crawled through traffic.
People rushed along the sidewalks.
He barely noticed any of it.
“Has the document been sent?”
His secretary stood behind him with a tablet in his hand.
“Yes, sir.”
“And the woman?”
“She’s on her way to the State Bureau.”
The man turned slightly.
“Elara?”
“Yes.”
He nodded once.
“Good.”
His grandfather had made the arrangement months ago.
A marriage.
A contract.
A condition attached to something he needed.
He had refused every attempt to involve him in relationships, and his grandfather had eventually decided that giving him a choice was a waste of time.
So there had been a name.
Elara Hayes.
A woman he'd never intended to love.
A marriage he'd never intended to take seriously.
But it was business.
And business was something he understood.
His secretary checked the tablet.
“Sir, the board meeting is starting.”
“Let's go.”
He walked past him without another word.
---
The State Bureau was worse than I expected.
People were everywhere.
Some were standing in line.
Others were arguing with officials.
Phones rang constantly.
Someone nearly bumped into me twice before I finally reached the reception desk.
“I'm here for a document.”
The woman behind the desk looked up.
“Name?”
“Sienna Blake.”
She typed something into her computer.
Then nodded.
“Please wait.”
I looked at my phone.
2:47 p.m.
My interview was in thirteen minutes.
Wonderful.
After what felt like forever, someone finally called my name.
I walked to the counter.
The clerk handed me a thick document.
“Review it carefully before signing.”
“I will.”
I flipped through the pages.
It was filled with legal terminology and references to corporate ownership, authority and contractual obligations.
Most of it was exactly what I'd expected.
My phone rang.
Mia Carter.
I answered immediately.
“Hello?”
“Miss Blake? I'm sorry, but I wanted to confirm....”
“I'm still coming.”
“I wasn't sure because...”
“I'll be there.”
I glanced at the document again.
The clerk was watching me.
“Ma'am?”
“I'm reading.”
“You can take your time.”
I scanned the final pages.
Nothing immediately stood out.
My aunt had said it concerned my mother's remaining corporate affairs.
That made sense.
I signed where the clerk indicated.
She stamped the document.
Then she reached for it.
“We need to make a copy.”
I frowned.
“A copy?”
“For the other party.”
I looked at her.
“Other party?”
She smiled politely.
“It's standard procedure.”
I was too distracted to argue.
“Fine.”
She disappeared with the document.
My phone buzzed again.
Mia.
I answered.
“I'm sorry. I'm running late.”
“That's okay.”
“No, it isn't. I'll be there.”
When the clerk returned, she handed me my copy.
“Congratulations, Mrs. Hart.”
I blinked.
“I'm sorry?”
The woman was already reaching for the next file.
“Congratulations.”
I stared at her for another second.
Then glanced down at the document.
Mrs. Hart?
My brows drew together.
Maybe she'd mistaken me for someone else.
I didn't have time to question it.
I shoved the papers into my bag.
“Thank you.”
Then I hurried outside.
I had a secretary waiting for me.
And I was already late.
---
At Harts Company, the board meeting had barely begun when the doors suddenly opened.
Every head turned.
Adrian Hart looked up from the papers in front of him.
His secretary stood there, breathing heavily.
“What happened?”
The man walked quickly toward him.
“Sir.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“What's wrong?”
The secretary lowered his voice.
“There's been a mistake with the marriage contract.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“What kind of mistake?”
The secretary handed him the tablet.
“The document was supposed to be signed by Miss Elara Hayes. But the person who signed it was someone else.”
Adrian glanced at the screen.
Then stopped.
His eyes moved over the name once.
Twice.
Sienna Blake.
The Blake heiress.
The woman everyone had been calling inexperienced since she'd returned to the city.
Adrian's gaze lingered on the name.
He knew enough about the Blake family to know their situation wasn't simple.
“Sienna Blake,” he murmured.
His secretary nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
“What do you know about her?”
The secretary hesitated.
“Not much, sir. Only that she's Elena Blake's daughter and the rightful heir to Blake Medical Group.”
Adrian looked at the screen again.
So this wasn't just some random mistake.
The woman who had somehow signed his marriage contract was the same woman currently sitting at the center of a complicated family situation.
Interesting.
“Sir,” the secretary said carefully, “the State Bureau has already stamped and processed the document.”
Adrian remained silent.
The secretary swallowed.
“Should I contact them and have the contract cancelled?”
Adrian slowly lifted his eyes from the screen.
“No.”
The secretary blinked.
“No, sir?”
“Leave it.”
“But, sir, they signed the wrong name. We can still....”
“I said leave it.”
The secretary hesitated.
“Should we at least inform Miss Blake that she signed the wrong document?”
Adrian looked back at Sienna's name.
A faint smile touched his lips.
“No.”
The secretary stared at him.
Adrian turned toward the window.
“Don't tell her anything.”
“Sir...”
“Let her believe she signed whatever she went there to sign.”
The secretary remained silent for a moment before finally nodding.
“Yes, sir.”
Adrian's eyes stayed fixed on the city beyond the glass.
He had expected to become Elara Hayes's husband.
Instead, he'd somehow acquired a woman named Sienna Blake.
And strangely enough, he wasn't interested in correcting the mistake.
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