The Stubborn Suitor, Book Two (An Alpha Billionaire In Love BBW Romance)

by Wilder, Alexa

“First,” Michael replied, “it is my impression that your client was not awarded more custody at the time of the divorce because of his irresponsible and erratic behavior, as well as his dependence on alcohol.”

  “Although it is true that my client has struggled with substance abuse in the past,” Gil replied, “he has gone through treatment, which has been documented, and has been sober for almost two years.”

  Cami tried not to laugh, knowing it was not true at all. She’d seen Ken drunk with her own eyes within the last year. But she kept quiet, knowing that revealing that information wouldn’t help in the moment. It wasn’t like she had any proof.

  “Second,” Michael stated, ignoring Gil’s rebuttal, “as previously mentioned, the custody has already been awarded to my client, and there has been nothing to indicate that it is no longer in the child’s best interests to stay with her mother.”

  “My client feels like Ms. Hendricks’s long hours and irregular schedule are harmful to the child,” Gil retorted. “As it stands now, the child is often left with the childcare provider late into the night, and on weekends. Because of this, my client believes that the best interests of the child would be to live primarily with my client and his wife, as the child would be in an environment that’s both stable and constant.”

  Cami bit her lip. It was all she could do not to scream. The allegations were completely ridiculous, but she had expected that. Yes, since she was a nurse, her schedule featured long hours and, often, night and weekend shifts. But she took ten to twelve hour shifts in order to only work three of four shifts a week. And during that time, Madison was always with Cami’s mother, not some stranger.

  “Although my client’s schedule is somewhat erratic,” Michael replied, “she very rarely works more than forty hours a week. And during that time, Madison is with her grandmother, Cami’s mother. She is still with family.”

  “Be that as it may, but the child is still out of the home for long periods of time, often late into the night, which disrupts her sleep schedule and her regular routine. My client feels he can provide a more consistent day-to-day life for the child. As it is obvious at this point that no conclusion can be reached today, I suggest we move forward with the trial.”

  Cami felt like she’d been punched in the gut at those words. She had hoped that after their lawyers had talked things out, Ken would see how unfit he was to be a father, how much better Madison was in Cami’s care. It wasn’t like Ken wanted Madison as anything other than a trophy, a way to prove that he had a perfect little family.

  However, it was becoming apparent that he wasn’t going to stop pursuing this. Cami wasn’t sure if she had the finances to see things through, but there was no way she was giving up primary custody of her daughter. Instead, she turned to Michael and nodded, giving him permission to move ahead as well.

  3

  Cami

  Cami was able to hold back her emotions—though just barely—until she was safely in her car. Still in the parking lot, wedged between two cars that each probably cost twice as much as her entire net worth, Cami finally let out a sob. That sob was followed by another until she was heaving as the tears rained down her face.

  It wasn’t fair that, with Ken’s wealth, he could get whatever he wanted, whether or not he deserved it. He might gain primary custody of Madison simply because he had more resources and connections than she did. Cami didn’t have the money for a long, drawn-out court battle. And Ken’s family knew many of the judges in town—there was always a chance they would get appointed a judge that owed the Bellamy family a favor.

  For the first time, Cami really began to fear that she’d lose Madison. Madison, whom she had raised, not Ken. Ken could barely be depended upon four days a month. She’d been there for Madison through middle of the night feedings and diaper changes, through teething and potty training. Where was Ken when Madison had a fever? Or when she’d had a bad dream and needed to be consoled and rocked back to sleep?

  It wasn’t just the principle; it wasn’t even the fear of feeling like a failure as a mother—her whole life revolved around her daughter. Madison was Cami’s everything, and she just couldn’t lose her daughter.

  And it wasn’t only for selfish reasons that Cami feared a change in custody. She honestly didn’t believe that Madison was safe with Ken and Natalie. They might have the money to take care of a child, but they definitely didn’t have the maturity, commitment, or love—no matter what kind of display they were putting on this morning. Cami knew Ken and she knew that he wasn’t man enough to raise their daughter.

  “It’s not going to happen,” Cami said to her dashboard, willing herself to calm down. “It’s not going to happen! I won’t let it happen. No matter what, Ken isn’t going to win!”

  Cami took a few more deep breaths and focused on calming her mind. She thought about the mischievous smile, strawberry-blonde hair, and adorable freckles on her daughter’s face—the daughter she would be able to go pick up from her mother’s apartment as soon as she was calm enough to do so.

  She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, needing to look at the picture of Madison that she kept as her lock screen. It was strategically placed there to bring a smile to her face, and now it was a life-line. But, no sooner than she had the phone in her hand, it began to ring.

  “Speak of the devil,” she said, glaring down at Ken’s name. She debated whether or not to answer, but he might be calling to apologize. Perhaps he had realized that he wasn’t responsible enough to raise Madison himself.

  “Hello, Ken,” Cami said tentatively once she’d accepted the call.

  “Cami, hey,” Ken said warmly. His tone threw her off, especially considering the icy silence between the two of them during the meeting. “How are you doing?”

  “I’ve been better,” she said, though she was trying to school her voice into a confident tone.

  “Yeah,” he replied. “Sorry about that. Today sucked.”

  “Yes. Yes, it did,” she agreed. “What do you want, Ken?”

  “I just…I hate this…us sitting across the table, as if we’re strangers. We were married for years, for God’s sake.”

  Cami heaved a sigh of relief—the first real relief she’d felt in weeks. Ken was backing down. She had called his bluff, and now he was coming to his senses. This would all be over soon.

  “Yeah…” Cami replied after a moment, her voice warming up. “It was weird. So, what do you suggest?”

  She bit her lip, waiting for Ken to admit he was wrong—that he wasn’t ready for primary custody. She was even willing to offer another weekend a month, if he really thought he was up for it. She could afford to be generous now that she knew this nightmare was over.

  “Listen, Cami, we both know you don’t have the resources for a long, blown-out courtroom drama.”

  “Yeah,” Cami responded, willing him to get to the point—to get to the apology.

  “I would just hate to see you waste any of your time or money on this.”

  “Me, either.”

  “That’s why I really think we should all just be adults about this.”

  “I totally agree,” she said, a smile spreading across her face.

  “Good,” he said. “I’m glad to hear that. I’m happy you came to your senses.”

  “What?” Cami nearly dropped the phone in confusion. “What do you mean ‘come to my senses’?”

  “Cami, you’re not going to be able to afford this if it goes to court. You know I can win this.”

  “What are you saying?” Cami demanded, fear slowly creeping back into her chest.

  “I’m just suggesting that you be reasonable—that we handle this like adults. Madison is better off with me.”

  “Fuck, no!” Cami replied, utterly unable to be mature at the moment. “You’re the one being completely unreasonable. Madison would not be better off with you. You can barely deal with the custody as it is now.”

  “That’s not true. And, with Natalie being home, Madison
won’t have to be carted around at all hours of the night. Plus, we can afford in-house help if we need it.”

  “Madison doesn’t need a nanny,” Cami shouted into the phone. “She needs her family. And that does NOT include Natalie!”

  “Cami,” Ken said, sounding exasperated but not nearly as upset as Cami felt. “Be reasonable. Let’s be adults about this.”

  That was the last straw. She could not handle him telling her to be reasonable or mature one more time.

  “You’re right,” she growled through clenched teeth. “I do need to be more reasonable and adult-like about this. Which is why I shouldn’t be talking to you. You shouldn’t have called me at all. And it will not happen again. Next time you have something to say to me, have your lawyer contact mine.”

  With that, Cami hung up the phone. She let it drop into her lap as she took deep, calming breaths. The breathing exercises were not working, however, and soon turned to panic. She now felt worse than she had before the phone call—even more hopeless and desperate. If Ken thought he could simply call her and harass her into giving up custody of her daughter, he must really think she had no case.

  Her panic was interrupted by the ringing of her phone in her lap. Without a second thought she accepted the call and brought the phone to her ear.

  “Listen up, you bastard,” she snarled, “I am through with your shit. I do not want to hear from you again. If you have anything to say, do it through our lawyers. Do you understand me, Ken?”

  The line was silent for a moment. She assumed she’d thrown Ken off with her vehement statement. He wasn’t used to not getting his way.

  “Um…” came a very different voice than she was expecting. “Actually, this is Drew.”

  Cami grimaced, suddenly extremely embarrassed. Just when she thought her day couldn’t get any worse.

  “What do you want?” she snapped, unable to muster up a polite response.

  “Oh…um…I just—”

  “You just left this morning—extremely early, I might add, as I was up by 6:30 and your side of the bed was already cold. Couldn’t even leave a note either. That’s fine. I’m over it. I know I’m a lot to deal with—especially right now. I’m a single mother—not really an ideal casual fling.”

  “And what makes you think I want a casual fling?” Drew replied, humor in his voice.

  This made Cami even angrier. She’d had enough conversations with cocky men today.

  “Because, as I just stated, you fled my house, practically in the middle of the night, without even leaving a note. Do I really need to explain what that implies? Or can you pick up the context clues?”

  “It wasn’t the middle of the night,” he said, still sounding amused. “It was around five-thirty. And I’m sorry about the lack of a note. I was in a hurry. I hadn’t planned on staying the night at all—I had a business breakfast I had to get to at seven. I had to go home and shower and get ready.”

  Cami bit her lip, suddenly feeling a little bad for laying into Drew so harshly. Maybe he really didn’t flee this morning; maybe he really did have a reason for leaving so early. Still, it was classic Drew behavior—hot then cold, interested then indifferent, there then…gone. She was sick of riding on that particular roller coaster, no matter how hot the sex was.

  “Be that as it may,” Cami replied, “but I just don’t have time at the moment to play games. I’m not looking for anything casual and I get the impression that you’re not interested in anything serious. So I say we just call it a draw, remember the night we shared fondly, and go our separate ways.”

  The line was silent again for a few moments. Cami figured that the conversation was not going the way Drew intended. Good, she thought. At least she got the better of one man today.

  “And if I don’t want that?” he asked, causing Cami to pause in her gloating.

  “What do you want, Drew?” she asked exasperatedly.

  “I…I don’t know. But I like you and I want to see you again.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ve already explained why,” she said, growing more and more frustrated. “I don’t want anything casual, and you don’t know what you want. I can’t deal with that—not right now. I have too many other things going on. I don’t need this back-and-forth with you.”

  “One more chance. Please, Cami. Go out with me again tomorrow night. No sex, just dinner. After tomorrow night, if I’m still not what you want, I promise, I’ll leave you alone.”

  Cami thought about it long and hard. What she was telling him was true—she wasn’t just trying to bust his balls. Between raising her daughter, working full-time, and gearing up for this horrendous custody battle, she didn’t have time to play games. She didn’t have time to invest in anything that wasn’t going to go somewhere. And Drew admitted that he didn’t even know what he wanted. More likely than not, she’d end up with another broken heart, her life in even more chaos than it already was.

  But, on the other hand, she did need a way to let off a little steam. Life was excruciatingly intense at the moment, and if she didn’t have a little fun here and there, she was worried that her head might explode. Plus, their chemistry was undeniable and the sex was extremely hot. As long as she didn’t let herself get too involved or attached, it might be a good thing.

  “Fine,” she said after a moment, trying not to sound too excited at the prospect. It was good to keep him on his toes, after all.

  “Really? That’s a ‘yes’?” Drew was obviously not trying to dampen his excitement.

  “Yes,” she confirmed, allowing a small smile to stretch across her lips.

  “Awesome. Tomorrow night. Seven o’clock. I’ll pick you up.”

  “Don’t bother. I’ll have to drop Madison off anyway. Text me an address, and I’ll meet you there.”

  She didn’t mention that, if he did pick her up and drop her off, she’d be too tempted to ask him back into the house later. So instead she said goodbye and hung up before she could change her mind. She still felt like she was making a mistake, but she deserved some fun…especially after today.

  “Just don’t get attached,” she told herself as she started her car.

  4

  Cami

  Cami’s mom agreed to babysit on Saturday night, so that Cami could spend time with Drew, but Madison was not happy about that. Cami had been working all week, and Madison had already spent almost fifty hours with her grandmother. Cami could see how that could be upsetting—Saturday was usually their time. But Cami really needed this—especially after the previous day’s disastrous meeting.

  Madison clung to Cami and cried as they were leaving the house, begging not to be left at Grandma’s. It broke Cami’s heart, and she almost considered canceling her plans to spend more time with her daughter. But she’d already agreed to the date and she didn’t want to appear inconsistent, since it was a trait she already resented in Drew.

  I owe it to myself to see where this goes, she thought as she buckled her daughter into the car seat and attempted to soothe her with a kiss on the forehead. Besides, Cami had been under so much stress that she was worried she would unconsciously take it out on her daughter if she didn’t allow herself time to unwind and decompress. She needed a little fun—it would benefit both of them. She knew that she would be a much nicer mommy if she was not constantly stressed about the custody battle. She reminded herself of all this as she drove towards her mother’s house.

  Unfortunately, her mother wasn’t quite so understanding.

  “Everything okay?” her mom asked as Cami carried a sniveling Madison into the apartment.

  “It’s fine,” Cami replied after putting her daughter down in front of the TV, which was playing her favorite Disney movie in the background. “She’s fine…just a little tired. We were at the park for a long time today, and she didn’t get a long enough nap. She’ll be asleep within the next hour.”

  “Are you sure you really want to be drop
ping Madison off for even more time away from you right now?” her mother asked, hands on her hips.

  “You said you would do this for me,” Cami replied exasperatedly.

  “I did. I don’t mind. I just mean…with all of the custody issues and the accusations Ken is making, are you sure now is a good time to be going out with your friends?”

  Cami sucked in her breath and debated whether or not to tell her mother about the date. On one hand, it would make her mom ecstatic. On the other, she would never stop nagging Cami for more information. She decided to go the honest route.

  “I’m not going out with friends,” she finally admitted. “I have a date.”

  “In that outfit?” her mother asked after scrutinizing her for a moment.

  Cami took a deep breath, willing herself not to allow her mother’s words to bother her.

  “Yes, Mom, in this outfit,” she replied, looking herself over in the mirror.

  She wasn’t dressed poorly, she just hadn’t gotten all made up. She wore a pair of nice jeans and a blouse, with her hair back in a ponytail, and very little makeup on. She still looked pretty, she thought—just not like she was trying too hard.

  She’d had to deal with a fussy Madison all evening. Plus, she didn’t want to give Drew the wrong impression. She was definitely not going to sleep with him tonight. If he couldn’t deal with her in her natural state, the relationship didn’t need to go forward. Tonight was a test in so many ways.

  “I just think that there are better options. You know that dresses better flatter your figure, since you won’t lose weight. Those jeans just accentuate your hips and butt, you know.”

  “I love my hips and butt,” Cami replied angrily.

  She didn’t add that Drew had already seen her body completely naked and also seemed to love her curves. Instead, she turned and marched towards the door.

  “I won’t be back late,” she promised as she shut the door behind her, not giving her mother a chance to reply.