This time she laughed.

"He 's worried about you. " Regan 's voice broke the silence in the kitchen.

Simone looked up to see her seated at the table, a sleeping Tyler rested in her arms. Simone picked up her plate and the glass and walked to the table.

"He is already sleeping? " She motioned toward Tyler.

"Well he 's been up since four. "

"I never heard him. " Simone sat down and kept her eyes on the precious boy.

"We have a routine. And I think today that routine has mama laying down for a nap with him later. " Regan brushed her hand gently over his head.

Simone watched the small gestures, and her heart ached in her chest. If she didn 't enlist Curtis 's help, and soon, she wouldn 't have moments like the one she was witnessing. No, she 'd have to put the baby into care right away so she could afford to feed them both.

The very thought made her sick and Regan noticed. "Zach says you 're not feeling well. "

"I am just nervous. "

Regan gave her a reassuring smile, and then she reached across the table and laid her hand gently atop Simone 's. "I 'm very proud of you. For whatever reason you came to live with us and decided to take your life into your own hands, I think that was a blessing. I know how hard it is to do that, but I also know the rewards. " She looked down at Tyler then back up at Simone. "You 're going to do great. "

Simone swallowed hard. Perhaps Regan knew more than she 1was letting on.

One thing was for sure, Simone Pierpont had never had to battle morning commute traffic. There were certainly reasons to have a driver.

She pulled up in front of the clinic ten minutes late. She parked her car, grabbed her paperwork, and hurried inside. Marsha was waiting for her in the lobby.

"I thought you 'd changed your mind, " she said sternly with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I was caught in traffic. I am sorry. I will make sure I make more time tomorrow. "

Marsha nodded and turned to go into the clinic. Simone followed.

One thing she could say for sure was that the scrubs she 'd gotten from Cynthia were certainly comfortable. For the first time in her life she didn 't feel confined. She 'd pulled her hair back into a ponytail and wore her smallest diamond earrings. Perhaps no one would notice such a small bit of glamour.

As they walked to Marsha 's office Simone caught sight of Cynthia. She waved and Cynthia gave her a nod, but was already hurrying past to take care of a patient.

A half our later Simone was in her own office, with another woman, learning the ins and outs of her data entry job. The work was simple. Input, input, input, but nerve wracking at the same time.

The other woman wasn 't much help when it came to answering questions, but she 'd do it each time with an enormous sigh, her hands then dropping heavily onto her desk, and a huge push off for the chair she sat in to roll toward Simone. She never once stood up and walked over to her. It was obvious Simone wasn 't making a new friend. But that didn 't matter. She had a job, and she was going to keep it -this was the life.

After three hours Simone realized her cheeks hurt from smiling. She was working. She was making her own living doing a job she 'd had to learn from someone who was even more stubborn than her own father.

She 'd had to ask questions, make mistakes, and fix them. It might not mean much to her father, but it did to Simone.

Simone took a long bubble bath the moment sh1e 'd gotten home. She 'd only had a few moments to speak to Cynthia during her entire day. She 'd worked her eight hours, eaten lunch from the vending machines, and drank stale, cold coffee. She 'd never have thought it would be the best day of her life.

But she was exhausted. As she lounged in her yoga pants and her wet hair piled high on her head, she put cream on her face and arms and smiled at herself in the mirror. Would her own mother even recognize her?

"Simone! Simone, where are you? " Zach 's voice bellowed through the hallway and it was filled with anger. "Simone! "

She jumped up and ran to the door. He was right on the other side ready to grab the handle as she pulled it open.

"Zachary, what is the matter? "

"What is going on? " His teeth were gritted and his cheeks bright red.

"I beg your pardon. " Her voice strained as he pushed past her.

"I 've been trying to call you all day long. Why don 't you answer your phone? "

She swallowed hard. "I do not have a phone. "

"And why is that? Not once in your life have you not had that phone within an inch of your hand. "

She crossed her arms over her chest. "What is your problem? "

"My problem? " Zach paced the room then ran his fingers through his hair. "I had a very heated discussion with your father today. That is my problem. "

He moved to the window as if he were going to open it, but then thought better about it knowing it was only going to let in the humidity and make the air in the room even thicker, for which she was thankful. Instead, he turned around and stared at her. "You 're cut off? You 've been cut off from Pierpont Oil? "

The air in her lungs and the pride that had swelled in her chest deflated. She shut the door and turned to him.

"My father has said I am no longer his daughter. "

Zach rubbed his forehead. "What the hell did you do? "

She stood there speechless, her mouth open. How could she possibly answer him?

Instead she pushed back her shoulders and jaunted out her chin. "How dare you talk to me like that. "

"Oh, you 're his princess. You know it. You 'd have had to do something pretty bad to get him to be that mad so that he 's actually cut you off. "

"He did not tell you? He did not want to share with you why he thinks I am so unfit to represent his name? "

"God, Simone. " He threw his hands in the air. "What did you do? "

She pursed her lips, and then let her arms fall. She sure as hell wasn 't going to let Zachary Benson bully her into giving up her secrets. They weren 't for him to hear -not yet.

"My father is just an obstinate ass. He thinks he can push people around with his money and his power. Well I for one am done with how he treats people. "

"But, Simone, he loves you. "

She shook her head. "He loves his money and his power. He has never loved me. " And having seen the inner dynamics of the Keller family she knew that statement was true. Never, in her entire life, had her father looked at her the way Zach looked at Tyler, or Carlos looked at his children.