SECRET BABY (Book Two) (Billionaire Secret Baby 2)

by Layla Wilde

  “I don’t really know why you’re doing this, but thank you.”

  A snort flared past my nostrils. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “You don’t care about anything.” Her voice was soft again, like she was scared to speak. “Not me. Not the baby. Not even yourself. I bet you’re just doing this to get media attention. You like that sort of thing, right? You enjoy attention?”

  I folded my arms across my chest, and one of my eyebrows lifted. The other followed in short order. After clearing my throat, I handed her the paper and dismissed her questions. “Just get back to me with that budget, and I’ll match it.”

  “I don’t know. There are going to be doctor’s appointments and vitamins, and I’ll need to get a job and a nicer place to live. There are so many things. I can’t even think right now.”

  I stared at her for a few moments, and I felt myself sinking further and further into a state of indifference. She was driving me crazy. How was I supposed to process this in one go? I stalked over to one of my desks, pulled out a check, and wrote some random figures on it. “Here.” Turning to her, I handed her the check. “This should get you started. Now, could you stop heckling me? I hear enough of that at home.”

  She took the check, and I watched her face flush again as her eyes widened. “Five hundred thousand dollars? Damian, this is way too much!”

  My patience, by now, was thin, and I stepped toward her. “Just take it! Just take the money and get out of here!”

  She jerked back from me, and a hand moved to her throat. I saw the trembles starting again, but I didn’t care. This was exactly the kind of commitment I had avoided my entire life, but this was completely unavoidable. And if she kept pushing things on me, I was going to go insane.

  Her brow furrowed when all I did was glare at her, and she stepped back toward the door, clutching both the paper and the check to her chest. She looked hurt, had tears shining in her eyes, but she also looked angry. When I continued to stare at her, willing her to leave, she finally turned and rushed out of my beach house in tears.

  With a heavy sigh, I took a few steps back and fell into my designer leather chair. I reached up and gripped my hair until it hurt. I seethed on the inside, panicking to the point where my breaths came in short gasps. I’d never felt so trapped before, so unbalanced. So lost. I kept seeing that piece of paper in front of me, the words jumping at me as though they’d been alive.

  “Fuck,” I whispered.

  Stephanie

  I sat in Darla’s car and cried. My hands gripped the crumpled piece of paper with my medical results, as well as the check for five hundred thousand dollars. I felt like I was in some kind of alternate world where nothing made sense and everything was meant to hurt me. When Darla reached for my shoulder and squeezed it, I cried even harder, breathless and hiccuping.

  “He just threw his money at me and kicked me out.” The words were dragged out. My whole body trembled. “Just like the day after we had sex. He got what he wanted, then threw me away. I’m just a piece of meat to him, like all the others.”

  “I know, sweetie. I know. And I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you what he was like before, but I didn’t really know the extent of it until now. I just thought he was some millionaire jerk with a huge appreciation for the female form. But I had no idea he was so cold. And so indifferent. Are you sure you aren’t just letting your emotions get to you, Steph? Maybe it wasn’t as bad as you thought?”

  I swallowed the next series of sobs and shook my head. “No. First, he tried to blame me for being pregnant. Like I was supposed to have taken care of everything myself. And then, he just threw a bunch of money at me and told me to get out. Why would he do that?”

  “I have no idea, sweetie, but why don’t we go get that check cashed—if it’s even real—and head home. Okay?”

  “Okay.” The breath hitched continuously in my throat, and my hands shook. All I wanted to do was hide under a rock. Or maybe under the earth itself.

  The drive to the bank wasn’t far, and by the time we got there, I was significantly calmer. I wiped the tears from my face and slipped out, gripping the check as though it was some kind of lifeline. I supposed if it was real, it would be just that. Did this mean I was really going to do this? Was I really going to keep this baby?

  Darla came up beside me and squeezed my shoulder, walking inside with me. There was a bit of a queue, and I felt a lump rising in my throat again.

  “Darla,” I whispered. “What if this isn’t real?” I rattled the check. “What if he’s just messing with me because he wants to get rid of me? This is a lot of money.”

  “Sweetie, why would he go through all that trouble? The man loves attention, but I’ve never heard of anyone claiming he is cruel.”

  “I don’t know.” I swallowed and exhaled slowly. The line moved quickly, and I was next. I kept looking down at the check, reading the numbers over and over again in quiet disbelief. One of my hands pressed against my belly as I was called up to the front.

  “Hi.” I tried to keep the tremble out of my voice. “Can you put this into my savings account, please?” When I handed the teller the check, her eyebrows went up.

  “Certainly. Just give me a few minutes.”

  That wait was the longest I can ever remember. It felt like time had stopped and would never move forward again. Why was the teller taking so long? What was she doing? “Do you think there’s a problem?”

  Darla gave me a nervous smile and squeezed my hand. “I doubt it.”

  Just after she spoke, the teller returned to the front and printed off a receipt. “Please sign here, ma’am.” She passed me both the receipt and the pen. I took the pen and stared wide-eyed at my savings account balance: $501,098.00. I had always struggled with keeping a savings account because of student loans, but now, I wouldn’t have to struggle for a very, very long time.

  “Thank you.” My voice sounded very small in my ears, and I gave the teller the best smile I could manage before I let out a happy squeal and hugged Darla as tight as I could. She laughed and hugged me back just as tightly and kissed my cheek.

  “See? Everything is alright. You’re going to be just fine!”

  “Yes, I think so!” I bounced a little on the balls of my heels before giggling under my breath in disbelief. There were so many things I needed to figure out, the first of which was to find an obstetrician.

  As I sat in the waiting room of Dr. Clause’s office, my belly was full of butterflies. Darla sat next to me, and we both looked up at the clock. The appointment had been scheduled for 3:40 p.m. It was now 4:20.

  “Didn’t the receptionist say that Dr. Clause would be a little late?” I looked over to Darla and shrugged.

  “Half an hour is more than a ‘little’ late.” Darla hugged me, still watching the clock. “And didn’t Damian say he was coming?”

  “He said he might come.” I sighed. “Then he called me back a few minutes later and said he wouldn’t be coming. I didn’t tell you because… I don’t know, I was embarrassed. I mean, he’s the dad, right? He should be here for this.” I glanced down at my belly, placing a hand over it.

  “You didn’t tell me he called you a second time to cancel. What an asshole.” Darla frowned deeply, and her brown eyes narrowed. “Did he say why he couldn’t come?”

  I shrugged again. As I started to answer, Dr. Clause called my name. “Miss Sanders? I’ll see you now.”

  My heart leapt into my throat as I got up quickly, almost knocking my chair over. “Okay. Can my friend come with me?”

  When the obstetrician nodded, I smiled at Darla and walked into the office. It was small but roomy, and there were plenty of chairs to choose from. I sat in one next to the desk while she took a seat next to me. The doctor sat at her desk and gave us both a friendly smile. I tried to smile back, but on the inside, I was absolutely terrified and even more lost.

  “My name is Dr. Clause, but you can call me Deborah if you like. What can I help you with today?”


  I held my breath for a few seconds. “I’m pregnant. About a month, I think. And I don’t know what to do.” I couldn’t remember feeling as foolish as I did in that moment.

  “That’s what I’m here for. Is the father here, too?” She smiled.

  I thought fast. “No. He had an important work event to attend.”

  “Ah, I see. Well, hopefully I’ll get to meet him for the next appointment. What I’m going to do, Stephanie, is print you off a list of things that you can do and supplies you’ll need during the months of your pregnancy. I’ll also give you a card with my name and number so you can call me or email me at any time. It doesn’t matter if it’s noon or three in the morning. I’m here for you, okay?”

  “Okay. It’s just that I’ve never done this before. And like I said, I don’t know what to do.” The panic was rising again, and I repeated myself in the wake of it.

  “Hey.” The doctor touched my knee reassuringly. “There are a lot of options, and I’m going to help you. You’re not trapped. You’re safe. No one needs to panic here, okay? We’re just here in this room having a little chat, that’s all. Now take some deep breaths and ease them out slowly. Deep breath in.” She drew in a deep breath, and I followed her example. “And deep breath out.” As she breathed out, so did I. It didn’t help.

  “But what if—”

  “Steph, hey, Deborah’s right. You can’t panic right now. No. Panicking.” Darla gripped my shoulders and gently shook me. “Okay? No panicking. Don’t give that asshole the satisfaction.”

  I felt the tears welling up in my eyes before they cascaded, unhindered, down my cheeks. I clutched Darla as though I would be swept to my death and simply cried. I couldn’t remember crying so hard or so long in my life. The emotions had been building for so long, and now they flooded out of me, completely out of control. This kind of chaos almost felt good. It was almost a relief for me to acknowledge how I felt.

  More tears came when I thought about how this baby might grow up without a father, and I buried my face into my best friend’s shoulder. When I spoke, I could barely understand myself. “What if… What if he never…”

  Somehow—I don’t know how—Darla understood what I was trying to say. “Shhh. Hey, hey. Shush. Steph, no one could ever hate you or the baby. No one, not even him. I promise. He’s a womanizer and a jerk, but he’s not cruel. And if he doesn’t want anything to do with her, it’s his loss. Seriously.”

  One word hit me right in the gut, and I drew in a gasping breath. Lifting my head, I stared into Darla’s eyes. I felt a surge of hope. “You think it’s going to be a girl?”

  She nodded. “I think so.” When she smiled, it was the most vibrant I had ever seen. “What do you think, Deborah?”

  “I think we’ll know in about twenty weeks if you come in for an ultrasound. That is, if you want to know.”

  “Yes.” I didn’t have to think about my response. “Yes, I want to know. I have to know.” I bit my lower lip and glanced at Darla before looking back at the doctor. “Is that weird? That I want to know?”

  “No.” Deborah looked amused. “Most parents want to know. But here.” She handed me a long list of items and things to do leading up to the birth of the baby. As she started to walk me through things like blood tests, urine tests, and prenatal vitamins, I barely paid attention. All I could think about was the ultrasound in twenty weeks.

  Damian

  Four Months Later

  I hadn’t seen Stephanie Sanders in almost five months. Some of my friends—I called them 'friends' for lack of a better word—kept telling me to call her or to go see her again. Others advised me to stay away from her. Yes, she had been beautiful—she might have been gorgeous with some work—but she hadn’t been like the stunning creatures I normally took home with me. Months ago, I’d been looking for a change. Now, after finding out that she was pregnant, I regretted that decision.

  “And she’s not even that pretty. I mean, look at her.” Rocco, my clothing director, looked at some photographs that had been taken of Stephanie at the club.

  “You said that already,” I mumbled, growing tired of his attempt to become a broken record. “And that isn’t even the point. There’s no way I’m ready for a baby. I don’t even like kids. I like big breasts, tight vaginas, and willing ladies who want sex all night long, and then nothing after it’s over. Because commitment, man…” I shook my head. “No fucking way.”

  Rocco chuckled softly and gave me more of a serious look as he sat back in one of my chairs. We were at my place, chilling after a long photoshoot at the Cherry Pop Nightclub. Being there had caused some pretty serious memories to surface.

  “So, dude, seriously, what is it with you and commitment? I mean, I understand the love of having women swarm you all day and all night, but you really don’t fuck them again after the first time? Never?”

  I shrugged and shook my head as I sipped a glass of red wine. “Nope. Never. What’s the point? You take them home, have sex with them, and that’s all you really need to know about them. I doubt they have anything better to say about me by the end of the night.”

  “That’s cold, man.” He laughed and shook his head. “But I’m serious. Why?”

  “You’re saying ‘serious’ a lot today.” I gave him a dirty look. Lying to him would be easier, but Rocco had been by my side for the last six years. If I could trust anyone, it was him. “It’s my dad. Actually, no, it’s both my parents. My dad’s always sleeping around, cheating on Mom. And I know she knows what’s happening. She just doesn’t do anything about it. When I found out what was going on between them, I decided I wasn’t getting into a committed relationship like that. My mom’s never happy—I see it in her face all the time—and my dad couldn’t care less. He’s unhappy with Mom, and I doubt he’s even attracted to her anymore. Why would I want to put myself through the pain of attaching myself to one person for the rest of my life? Even one night is impossible for me sometimes.”

  “You know, man, you’re seriously screwed up in the head.” He made a ‘crazy’ gesture by his temple.

  I sneered. “Not as screwed up as that last fan mail package I got. Did you see it? A woman named Britany sent me carnations. With them, she sent me an engagement ring and a picture of herself wearing the copy. To top it off, she had a picture photo-shopped with the two of us getting married in front of some duck pond in Canada or somewhere.”

  Rocco burst into laughter, and his arms flailed. Beer slopped over the edge of the bottle and all over the floor. “Oh shit! Sorry, dude!” He grinned from ear to ear, but I knew he wasn’t sorry. To be honest, I didn’t really care.

  “It’s just beer.” I waved a hand at him. Before we could continue our conversation, my phone rang. “Hold on.” Standing, I looked at the caller ID number and froze. Stephanie Sanders. “Give me a second. I need to get this.” I stepped to the other end of the room and answered it. I had no idea why, but I was nervous. My hand clenched the phone too tightly as I held it. “Hello?”

  “Damian?”

  “Stephanie, hey. How much do you need?” It was going to become a force of habit to ask her this question. It was the only way I wanted to be involved with the pregnancy or with the child.

  “Nothing. Not this time.” I could hear her breathing, like she was nervous. “I really need you right now.”

  “What are you talking about? What’s going on?”

  “I’m having an ultrasound tomorrow, to see the baby… to find out what gender it is. And I really need you to be there.”

  “Stephanie, you know I can’t do that. We talked about this.” My heart clenched. How on earth did she manage to make me feel like such a horrible person?

  “I know, Damian, I know. But I don’t want to be there alone. Please, just come. You have all the appointment schedules, and you haven’t been to a single one. I really, really need this.”

  I raked fingers through my hair and eased out a quiet sigh. After glancing at the couch where Rocco sat, I huf
fed out a second sigh and pushed open the door to the balcony. The cool night air was refreshing, but it did nothing to settle my nerves. All I wanted to do in that moment was hang up on her. “I can’t. I’m really busy these next few days and—”

  “Goddammit, Damian!” My ears rang from her yelling. She had never done that before. Rocco glanced my way, meaning he’d heard it too. “You haven’t been to a single appointment. Not one! You seem to think all I want from you is money, but money isn’t support! Money helps, but it’s not what I need right now! And what I need right now is my baby’s father! Why the hell are you so selfish? What happened to you that you don’t care? Am I just another thing to you? Just another conquest you can mark off in your books and forget about? I bet you’ve slept with at least a hundred other women since the night we spent together, and I doubt you care about a single one of them! Well, let me tell you something, Damian! I’m a human being, just like you! I’m not a thing to be won, and I’m definitely not some object you can play with until you get bored! So come to the damn appointment! It’s not going to kill you!”

  Before I could respond, my eyes wider than usual, she hung up. At first, I just stood on the balcony, unsure what to do. Stephanie had always seemed like a quiet, shy sort of woman. How on earth was she capable of screaming at me? Sure, a lot of women yelled at me in much the same way, but this was different. Had I turned a sweet, shy woman into some kind of assertive monster?

  As I gripped the phone, almost willing it to ring again, I made my way back inside. Looking at Rocco, I shook my head with a snort. “Sorry, man. Just another crazy whore, you know?”

  He stared at me for a few seconds, then pointed at me. “Call her back.”

  Shell-shocked, I froze. “What?”

  “Call her back. I could hear her yelling all the way in here. Don’t be a douche and call her back.”

  “But why? I send her all the money she could ever need. She wants for nothing. All she wanted me to do was go to some ultrasound appointment to see the baby,”