The Billionaire’s Prodigal Wife (Mackenna and Alessandro) novel Chapter 28

Six weeks later, Mackenna was sitting in her old office going through the motions of doing her job and very much aware she was neglecting one file on her desk. Dulce's billing had yet to be rectified but she was avoiding it. She'd been avoiding it for almost three and a half weeks.

She had flown back to Phoenix almost as soon as the doctor had cleared her to fly. Her employer hadn't yet filled her position and the office had been a mess from temporary replacements who couldn't do the job to her standards. The hospital was thrilled to have her back and had even given her a raise as they'd learned how valuable she was to them in the short time she was gone.

She had given her grandparents a quiet send off and during the entire process, she continued to remind herself of the doctor's words to her. They had been found holding hands. They had been married for over sixty years and as horrible as their death was, Mackenna felt peace in knowing one had not needed to live without the other.

Alessandro had arranged for security to be present at the ceremony to ensure paparazzi didn't disrupt Mackenna. When he'd reached out to offer this, Savannah had overseen all the details. She had not spoken a single word to him since she had left him in Phoenix seven weeks before. Even when he arrived to pay his respects to her grandparents, accompanied by his mother, she had excused herself. The funeral director had allowed her to sit undisturbed in his office until Savannah confirmed Alessandro and his family were gone.

She had spent another week going through her grandparent's home, sorting through their belongings. She had gone over their will with their legal advisor and arranged for the items she wanted to keep being shipped to her later. She had them moved to a storage container, supervising the process herself. Everything else the lawyer would arrange to sell on her behalf, including their apartment. She had no need to keep her grandparents' home, no matter how sad it made her to be done with it.

Once she'd arrived in Phoenix, the first two weeks comprised of the paparazzi chasing her and screaming questions at her to try and get a reaction or sound bite.

Chapter eventually gotten bored with her coming and going to and from work once they realized how dull she truly was.

She hadn't heard from Alessandro at all since the funeral. Camille had told her he had paid the entirety of her bills and Mackenna had simply shrugged and thanked her for letting her know. She knew the woman was concerned for her and while Mackenna was grateful for the woman's friendship and guidance over the last several months, she needed to move on with her life.

With a deep sigh she picked up Dulce's medical billing file and opened it.

Instantly she noted discrepancies in the entered codes. She lifted her phone and faced her computer. "Portman, are you out of your mind? What are with the codes you put on the billing for Dulce?"

"Mac, I missed your voice hounding me. Can I just say the woman they hired when you were gone had the most obnoxious of voices and yours is so much better?

"Portman, not in the mood," she snapped back, "l had corrected the original billing for Dulce but there are additional bills after her discharge. Can you please elaborate on these?"

"l did multiple telephone consults with her physician in Italy."

"But you billed as an in-person rate?"

"l used the wrong codes, sorry Mac." His tone was apologetic. "Do you want me to come adjust the paperwork?"

"No, I'll do it here. Thank heavens it hasn't been sent out yet for processing." She closed her eyes as the sound of a knock on her door interrupted the conversation. "Someone's at my door."

"Mac, before you go," he spoke softly, "l just wanted to say I'm glad you're back and if you need a friend, just a friend, I'm not pushing you for anything more but if you need a friend, I'm here for you."

She wiped a tear off her cheek. "Thanks Derrick. I appreciate your kindness. I'm grateful for your friendship." She hung up the phone and looked up to see who it was

+5

She uttered an expletive causing dark eyebrows to lurch high above amber eyes with surprise. She didn't even hesitate and picked up her phone. "Security, there is a man in my office I need removed. Now." She didn't even wait for the response from the security team and cradled the handset. "Get out."

"We need to talk," Alessandro sat down in the chair as if oblivious to her directive.

She ignored him and took a deep breath and focused on the file in front of her and started plugging in the correct codes for the billing. The file was nearly an inch thick considering the length of time the woman had been admitted to the ortho ward. "Mackenna," he started but stopped when her phone rang, and she instantly picked it up cutting him off.

"Mac Keebler," she spoke into the receiver, ignoring the hiss of irritation from the man sitting opposite her. "Hey Doctor Ferguson. Yes, I do have the file for your pediatric ortho consult, it was next on my list." She listened to what he said and then nodded. "No problem, Doc, I got you covered. Thanks for letting me know." She pulled the file and made the notes the pediatric orthopedic surgeon had asked her to change and the slipped it back under Dulce's file.

"Your name is not Keebler."

"It is most assuredly Keebler," she retorted not looking back up at him, hating even after all she had been through, her body still reacted to his nearness. There was a fine line between love and hate and he was tiptoeing all over it.

"You have lost too much weight," he commented suddenly.

"Not sure if you were aware, but a maniac hired an investigator to track me, and the man he hired ended up chasing me and my grandparents causing us to crash and killing them and my unborn child. Losing a few pounds is the least of my worries," acid dripped from her tongue as she took perverse pleasure in lashing out. Staring at her computer screen she missed the combined horror and sadness at her cold words.

A knock on her door had her calling out to enter and security stepped in.

"Sir, will you come with us please?"