by Hamel, B. B.
Buying His Baby
Baby Daddy University Book 2
BB Hamel
Contents
Special Offer!
1. Jenna
2. Brady
3. Jenna
4. Brady
5. Jenna
6. Brady
7. Jenna
8. Brady
9. Jenna
10. Brady
11. Jenna
12. Brady
13. Jenna
14. Brady
15. Jenna
16. Brady
17. Jenna
18. Brady
19. Jenna
Also by BB Hamel
About the Author
Copyright © 2019 by B. B. Hamel
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Sign up for my mailing list and find out about new releases, giveaways, and more. Plus, get a free book and other awesome bonus material! Click here!
1
Jenna
I finish pulling the sheet over my thin dorm mattress and look around at the generic wooden furniture.
And I smile.
Normally when people move into a dorm for the first time, their parents are around to hug them and kiss them and cry about how their baby is all grown up, blah blah blah. But of course, this isn’t the first time I’ve moved into a dorm.
This is the second time.
I sigh and sit down on my mattress. I look across at the other side of the room, eyes drifting over the Indie rock band posters with long-haired guys in flannel shirts, over the black comforter and the dark lacy underwear thrown haphazardly on the floor, over the messy desk and the lunch that looks like it’s been sitting there for a week, and I can’t help but smile even more.
God, I’m going to love having a roommate, even if I actually hate her.
See, here’s the thing.
This is my second year at Gradus University. My first year was spent in a different dorm, a special dorm for special girls with a special magical scholarship thing, and it was so horribly lonely that I begged my sponsor to let me move in here.
That’s not how it normally works, of course. I was supposed to be special. I was supposed to get whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it. And I was supposed to have him.
My sponsor. The man that’s paying for my education and providing me with, well, whatever I need. He was supposed to be a part of my life last year, just like all the other sponsored girls had their sponsor around all the time.
It’s a weird system, I know. It’s an open secret here at Gradus. We love to laugh and joke and call this place Baby Daddy University, since all the girls are competing to be sponsored by rich and powerful men. Once you’re sponsored, your life at Gradus is cake, at least until the day you get knocked up and married.
I thought my life was set. I came to Gradus hoping for a sponsor. Heck, my mom was practically praying every night that some man would pick me up and choose me. My family used to be wealthy a couple generations ago, and ever since then we’ve been clinging to the past, hoping to get back to our former glory.
My mom didn’t get sponsored. Her mom didn’t get sponsored either. But they both hoped I would be, and then that magical day came when I found out I was chosen.
Ugh, it was so great to be chosen.
I lean back on my mattress just as the door opens. A tall, thin girl with stringy black hair and a perpetual frown on her face practically slithers into the room. She pauses when she spots me.
“So, you’re the new Nora.”
I smile at her. “Hi. I’m Jenna.”
She sighs. “Look, Jenna. I got used to living alone, okay?”
“Sure.” I stand up and hold out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
The girl looks at me like she wants to vomit but sighs and shakes it. “My name’s Azrael.”
I arch an eyebrow. That’s not her real name. I mean, nobody names their kid after the angel of death or whatever.
“Okay, Azrael,” I say. “Nice to meet you.”
“Whatever.” Azrael slides past me and plops down on her bed. She pulls her laptop onto her chest, opens the lid, puts headphones on, and proceeds to ignore me so completely and so fully that I’m actually a little impressed.
I’m not insulted though. I lean back on my bed and stretch my legs with a little smile on my face.
It honestly feels good just to have another human in the room with me. Last year I lived in the exclusive dorms with only the ten other sponsored girls and their sponsors. I had this amazing apartment all to myself with catered meals, a private gym, a private swimming pool, all that stuff.
And I was so intensely alone.
My sponsor, well, he didn’t come around much. I met him once or twice early on, but he disappeared pretty soon afterward. I found out that he’s been in New Zealand shooting a new movie. He’s one of the youngest up and coming directors in Hollywood, and I guess some opportunity came up last minute that he couldn’t pass up.
So he left me alone to feel like shit for a year, and now I’m tired of it.
“Why are you here, anyway?”
I look up, surprised. Azrael’s looking at me with a frown, one earbud pulled from her ear.
“Sorry, what do you mean?”
“The dorms. Aren’t you, like, sponsored or whatever?”
I shrug a little. “Yeah. It’s not all that great.”
“I hear you get HBO.”
I giggle a little. “That’s what you’re most interested in?”
“Yeah. I love The Wire.”
Weird girl.
“Well, uh, I think we did. I don’t remember honestly.”
“So why are you here?”
“My sponsor is an asshole.”
She blinks. “So?”
I hesitate a second. “He was never around. I was just… alone over there. You know what I mean? I just want a normal experience now.”
She makes a little grunting sound and shakes her head. “Weirdo,” she mutters and slips her earbud back in.
Okay, getting called weird by the Queen of Darkness over there isn’t exactly a wonderful feeling, but whatever.
At least I’m not alone anymore.
* * *
I spend the rest of the day meeting the girls in my hall. I know a few of them already from class.
“I didn’t know you were moving into our dorm!” Iris says with a huge smile. “Oh, man. I wish you had been assigned to my room.”
“Really? I thought you had a roommate already.”
Iris shakes her head sadly. I know her from a composition class we took last year. She’s a chatty girl with an easy smile, blonde hair, wide blue eyes, and a stocky frame. She’s about as sweet as can be and I definitely would’ve preferred her over the Queen of Darkness, but oh, well.
“She transferred,” she says wistfully.
“Huh. Wasn’t she sponsored?”
“Yeah, but there was drama.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Drama?”
“You know. It’s Gradus.”
“Good point. All-girls school means pretty constant drama.”
“Don’t be sexist,” she says, giggling.
I grin at her. “Anyway, what do you know about my roommate?”
“Oh, Azrael?” She rolls her eyes. “She’s fine, honestly. Comes off a little harsh at first but you’ll be okay.”
“Good. I was a little worried she was going to
try and turn me into a chicken.”
Iris frowns a little bit and hesitates. “That might still happen.”
I laugh and lean up against the bare concrete wall. “This place is such a dorm.”
“Yeah, right? Because that’s what it is.”
I laugh again. “I know, I know, I just mean, the sponsored place was…”
“Fancy,” Iris says wistfully. “I know, I was there once.”
“Oh, yeah? Your roommate took you there?”
“Yep. I don’t get why you’d leave.”
I don’t feel like explaining how I’m lonely and pathetic, so I ignore her comment. “Hey, want to get something to eat?”
She shrugs. “Sure. Let’s go.”
I grin as we walk down the hall, delighted to finally use the dining hall here. I’ve been eating at the sponsored dorm for a year, and while the food is absolutely incredibly, I’m just happy to be sharing a meal with another human being.
We head past our RA’s door, a big girl named Olive with a sharp smile. I think this is her last year. Everyone says she’s nice though, or at least she’s not a total hardass like other RAs are.
We head down through the main lobby and out the front doors. I make it maybe ten steps before a person sitting on a bench to the side of the dorm stands up and walks toward us.
I slow and stop. Iris doesn’t seem to notice for a second, so engrossed in her story about some hot guy she met at a party off campus last night that she doesn’t realize I’m not right next to her.
I watch as he slowly approaches. A strange feeling runs down my spine, this tingling sensation that makes me want to turn and run away.
But anger flares up just as hot.
“Jenna?” Iris turns back, lets out a strange strangled cough, and then laughs. “Uh, are you okay?”
I can’t even look at her as he approaches. Tall, muscular, dark hair pushed back in this almost impossibly casual style. His shining green eyes stare into mine and I have the sudden urge to touch the stubble on his perfect cheek, just above his square jaw. He’s wearing a button-down shirt and jeans, a simple outfit, but he looks like a movie star.
Except I know he’s not an actor for a fact. He’s never in front of the camera.
No, Brady Long is always behind the camera, and normally somewhere far away from me.
“Jenna,” he says and stops a few feet away.
“Uhhhhhh,” Iris says.
I look at her. “Hey, mind giving us a second?”
“Uhhhh,” she says, and sighs. “Yeah. Sure.” She looks at Brady. “Nice to meet you.”
He gives her a smile as she turns and practically runs away.
“Nice girl,” he says, looking back at me.
“What the hell are you doing here, Brady?”
The anger in my voice surprises both of us. He blinks for a second, not sure how to react.
“The movie is done filming,” he says softly. “Except for some reshoots, but for now…”
“I thought you weren’t coming back.” I clench my hands into fists. “You could’ve called first.”
He looks away. “I know.”
“You didn’t bother talking to me for a whole year. You just left me in that dorm.”
“I know. That was…”
“Was what? A mistake? You’re sorry?” I step toward him. “Not good enough. I’ve thought about it, and the only thing I want to tell you is that I don’t want you to sponsor me anymore. Find someone else, okay?”
His eyes snap up to mine. “I wasn’t going to apologize,” he says softly.
I recoil like he slapped me. “Excuse me?”
“I wasn’t going to apologize.” He steps closer. “I should’ve been there more. You’re right. But I was in New Zealand filming a movie.”
“You shouldn’t have taken the job.”
“Maybe,” he says, his eyes hard now. “But in this business, we don’t always get to choose when we work on good projects. Another director dropped out and the studio reached out at the last minute. I couldn’t say no.”
“Yes, you could have.” I hate myself a little bit. I feel petty and childish. This man doesn’t know me at all, he doesn’t owe me anything. I can’t ask him to refuse a movie just because of this silly little matchmaking game we’re a part of.
But that’s how I feel. It’s absurd and selfish, I know. I just don’t think he should’ve gotten involved with me or anyone else at Gradus if he wasn’t serious.
I came here to meet someone. I came here to find a man, someone like him, except present and actually interested in me. I thought it was going to be him. I was so happy when he chose me.
And then…
“You shouldn’t have disappeared,” I say angrily before he can reply.
“Maybe you’re right. But the opportunity was too good. I couldn’t turn it down.”
I cross my arms and force myself to take a breath. Getting this angry at him isn’t going to change anything.
“Well, what do you want?”
“I want to see you,” he says softly.
“If you knew you were coming back, why did you let me move out of the sponsored dorms?”
He cocks his head. “I’m not going to force you to stay somewhere you don’t want to be.”
“Okay, good. Then stop being my sponsor and let me find someone else.”
He chuckles at that. “Oh, no, I don’t think so. I chose you for a reason.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“I’m interested in you, Jenna.” He steps toward me, eyes locked on mine, and I feel that chill again. Except this time, it’s not fear.
It’s excitement.
“I don’t get you.”
“That’s okay,” he says. “I wasn’t around last year because something came up that I couldn’t walk away from. But now that’s over and all the reasons I had for getting involved in this still stand. You’re the girl I chose, Jenna, and I’m not just going to let you go.”
I clench my jaw, fighting back the strange attraction I feel bubbling up to the surface. “You should.”
“Maybe I will eventually. But for now…” He gives me a cocky half smile. “Well, for now, I think you’re all mine.”
I glare at him, anger seething back through me. “I’m not anybody’s,” I say.
He laughs and shrugs. “Sure, okay.”
“Don’t bother coming around. I’m not interested. You should just let me go.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Whatever.” I turn away. “I’m going to go meet up with my friend.”
“I’ll see you later then, Jenna.”
I glance back at him. He’s giving me this look like he’s seeing straight through me. I get this strange shiver and have to tear my gaze away.
“Don’t bother,” I say again but I don’t feel the weight behind it this time. I hurry away from him, walking as fast as I can.
Hell, this is bad.
I didn’t plan on having this happen. I figured he’d still be away, or if he did come back, he’d drop me and find someone a little more interesting. Instead, he’s doubling down.
Problem is, he’s right. If he wants to sponsor me, I can’t do anything about it. I have to let him sponsor me for as long as he wants to. I get a lot out of the situation, but in the end, he has most of the power.
It’s frustrating, but that’s what I got myself into. One stupid gamble to find a man that can turn my family’s luck around.
And maybe, just maybe, a gamble to find love. I know, it’s stupid and naïve. My family doesn’t care if I fall in love, so long as I get a rich man to take care of us.
Brady probably isn’t that man. He’s not from a wealthy, prominent family. He’s just a famous, talented, young director with a lot of money. I should force him to let me go just based on that alone.
And yet there’s a part of me that doesn’t want him to cut me loose. A part of me that wants to find out more about the man that gave me that look and said…. I’m h
is.
It’s tempting. It’s stupid, but it’s tempting. It might just feel good.
Or it might be the biggest mistake I’ll ever make in my life.
2
Brady
Damn, that girl hates me.
I mean, seriously. I’ve had people throw me dirty looks before. Actors that were doing a shit job, lighting guys that couldn’t get it together, hell, even annoying over-involved producers.
But I’ve never seen someone look at me with such naked loathing before.
And I’ve never really deserved it until now.
I know I fucked up. I know leaving her alone for an entire year was a mistake of epic proportions, one I don’t plan on ever making again. That sponsored dorm is really nice, more like a five-star hotel than a college dorm, but even still. She was secluded away from her classmates and I can only imagine how boring that must’ve felt.
I mean, it’s not like she was trapped there. But still.
I fucked up. I just can’t admit it to her. It’s stupid, it’s insane, but I can’t let myself look weak.
Not in front of her, anyway.
I never meant for this to happen. But I got invited to this crazy matchmaking insanity, I thought it was stupid and disgusting. But the more I let myself get sucked into it, the more I started to believe.
Here’s the thing. I want to settle down. I want a wife, kids, all that shit. I want to have a family while I make my movies. I want some stability in my otherwise entirely unstable existence.
And Jenna, well, she’s attractive. Fucking sexy, actually. She’s smart and from one of those old-money families, but apparently her family hasn’t been filthy rich for a while. So she’s not just some spoiled rich girl brat.