by B. B. Hamel
“No, I’m the dad now, apparently. Let me do it.”
Everly raises an eyebrow while sniffing Alexa’s diaper. “You sure you want to change her, Daddy?”
I grin, a thrill running through me. “I might need a hand, but I want to learn.”
“Okay then. Follow me.” She leads me back through the apartment and into Alexa’s nursery.
Everly lays Alexa down on the changing pad and steps aside. “Okay, this is the easy part. Get the Onesie mostly off, unfasten the diaper, and lift her partway up by her ankles.”
I frown a little bit but I do as I’m told. Alexa is crying the whole time and not really interested in cooperating, but I manage to get her undressed and the diaper removed.
“Okay, this guy goes in there.” Everly grabs the dirty diaper and tosses it into the little waste remover. “And now we clean her off.”
I help Everly clean Alexa off. When we’re done, Everly grabs a new diaper and shows me how to put it back on Alexa. Then I dress her and we’re finished.
“See?” Everly asks me, grinning. “Easy peasy.”
“Easy and gross,” I say, laughing. I pick up Alexa and she seems like she’s already in a better mood.
“You’ll get used to it. Babies are pretty gross but they can’t help it.”
“They make up for it by being really cute.” I nuzzle against Alexa as a strong paternal feeling overwhelms me.
Everly watches with a smile on her face as I play with Alexa in my arms. I swoop her in the air and she giggles as I carry her back into the living room. Everly follows, but for the moment, I’m totally focused on my daughter.
I’ve never changed a diaper before in my life. Hell, I don’t think I’ve ever touched a diaper before. And Alexa is definitely the youngest baby I’ve ever held, which isn’t saying much, since I don’t think I’ve actually held a baby at all. I don’t know what I’d do without Everly’s help, but I’m beginning to realize that I want to learn.
This is my flesh and blood. I didn’t ask for any of this, but I can’t ever turn my back on my daughter. I don’t know where her mother is or what’s going to happen with that, but for right now, I don’t care. I have a little baby girl, and she’s really mine.
I manage to calm Alexa down until she’s finally content. I put her back in her little swing as Everly stands near the kitchen, a little smile on her face.
“You’re going to get the hang of it pretty fast,” she says.
“I don’t know,” I say. “I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a dad.”
“Nobody is at first. But you’re already learning.”
I shrug a little bit and walk over to her. “What about you?”
She raises an eyebrow. “What about me?”
“You’re going to have to be a mother. At least you’re going to have to pretend for a little while.”
She laughs softly. “I don’t mind taking care of her,” she says. “I mean, I’m not really her mom. I’m more like a babysitter.”
“A very expensive babysitter.” I grin at her.
She shrugs. “What can I say? I’m worth it.”
“You really are. Although maybe a million is slightly overpaying.”
“Don’t forget the promotion,” she adds, smirking at me. “I feel like you’re getting a deal.”
“Maybe I am,” I say softly, eyeing her intently. She smiles back at me but I think she knows what I’m thinking about. There’s a moment of tension between us as I stand close to her, my heart beating fast in my chest, but she turns away.
“Have you heard from Chester yet?” she asks, walking into the kitchen.
I follow and sit on a stool. I can hear the little electric swing slowly rocking Alexa just a few feet away. “Not yet,” I say. “It’s not uncommon, though. I might not hear from him for weeks, and then he’ll message me nonstop for days.”
She sighs a little bit and fills a mug with coffee. “I don’t understand why he doesn’t just sign.”
“Chester is a little… strange,” I say slowly. “He’s notorious about this sort of stuff. And he really doesn’t want to part with that land.”
“Which is what I don’t get. Isn’t it all vacant and rotting anyway?”
I nod. “He has some kind of emotional attachment to it, I think. Used to be a housing complex, back in the day. I think he knew people that lived there.”
“So why sell it at all, then?”
“I think he knows it’s time, and our project is worthy.”
She chews her lower lip a little bit, considering. “I’m just worried he’s jerking us around.”
“Believe me, I’ve had that same thought.”
“But you’re still going for it.”
“It’s perfect,” I say to her, slowly getting up. “You know all the reasons. Are you having second thoughts?”
“No,” she says firmly. “Not at all. I just… I just want this to work.”
“I do too,” I say. “Believe me.”
She looks at me for a second and I wish I could read her mind. “Why is this so important to you?” she asks finally. “I mean, I know it’s a really good project, but still.”
“That’s not easy to explain,” I say, laughing a little bit. “Besides, isn’t charity worthwhile for its own sake?”
“Yes,” she says. “Of course. I just don’t know why you’re killing yourself to make this happen when you could easily donate money to something else.”
I lean against the counter for a second, trying to decide how to answer. Finally, I speak slowly. “I have more money than I know what to do with,” I explain. “I could just give it to some charity and be done with it, but I won’t know how exactly my money is being used. I want something that I can control. I want to make sure everything I spend goes directly to the people that matter. I’m tired of rich people not doing enough to help everyone else around them, so I’m trying to change that.”
She watches and listens intently, and I can’t tell how she’s reacting to what I’m saying. I know it’s a little silly and idealistic, but it’s the truth. I believe in this project, and I’m hoping that other rich billionaires will see what I’m doing and follow suit. It isn’t going to be profitable, but it’s going to be good, and it’s going to help a lot of people.
Maybe I’m just tired of making money, and I want to start making real positive change in the world. This is my chance to do that.
“I get that,” she says finally. “You’re just making it so hard on yourself.”
“Nothing good should be easy,” I say, grinning at her. “I’m going to get back to work.”
“Okay,” she says, walking over to Alexa. “I’ll keep an eye on the baby.”
“Oh, and speaking of work. I’m going to hire a nanny, so you won’t have to stay home all day with Alexa.”
“Are you sure?” she asks me, a little surprised. “I assumed that was part of the deal.”
“I’m sure,” I say. “You’re my wife. If you want to stay here, you can. But if you want to work, the option is there.”
She hesitates before smiling. “Thanks, Logan.”
“Anything for my wife.” I grin before heading out of the room.
As I go back toward my office, I feel like things have changed in a way that I’ll never quite grasp. Before I got the call about Alexa, I was still the man I’d always been, although things were a bit more complicated. But now that I know she’s my daughter… well, I know I’ll always be different.
It’s not just me anymore. And I think I’m happy about that.
8
Everly
Maybe it was a mistake to come back to work.
I didn’t sign up for the life of a stay-at-home mom, and although I could easily take care of Alexa, I do want to continue with my career for now. Except as soon as I step foot back in the office, I realize that might be a mistake.
It’s the whispering that I notice at first. As soon as I walk into a room, the whispers suddenly stop, and everybody is smi
ling at me. I don’t really get it, because for the majority of my career I’ve just been an invisible marketing person. Nobody knew me outside of my immediate coworkers and department heads.
Now, suddenly, it feels like Logan’s entire company knows my name, and I don’t understand why.
At least, I don’t understand until I sit down at my computer and go online.
The article is dated from this morning. It’s on some business blog, and features a picture of me next to a picture of Logan with the headline, “Billionaire Marries Baby Mama Marketing Girl.” I can feel the blood drain from my face as I read through what’s basically an entire fictional account of my relationship with Logan.
In the article, it suggests that Logan and I have been together for some time, although my baby isn’t his. We got married over the weekend because he wants to take care of me and my child, which is basically the story we told the Winterfields. In fact, most of the details in the article are directly from the fake story we came up with about our relationship.
I close out of the article and stare at the blank screen. It takes me a second to identify my main emotion.
It’s embarrassment. I didn’t know the whole office was going to find out about this, and now I get why they’re all whispering behind my back. They all think I’m some pathetic and sad single mother that the boss married out of pity or something. That story works great with Chester and Muffie, but it makes me look like a crazy person.
I take a deep breath and let it out. I’m here to work, not to get involved in a bunch of office gossip. I can’t let myself get too upset about this, or else it’ll just look worse. I want to hunt Logan down and yell at him, since I suspect this is his doing, but I can’t. I won’t make a scene in the office. That’ll just add fuel to the fire, and I don’t want to make things worse for myself.
Still, I’m angry, and for the rest of the day I have to deal with the whispers and the comments behind my back. I know people are staring at me, and their smiles are all fake. People go out of their way to be nicer to me, which annoys the hell out of me, since before I married the boss they never paid any attention to me at all. Now suddenly I’m worth saying hello to in the hallways.
I hate it. I genuinely hate it. Every second drives me actually insane, and as the day slowly passes, I find that I can’t get anything done. I’m too busy obsessing over what’s happening in the office around me, too distracted to get any real work finished.
Eventually, toward the end of the day, I find myself in the bathroom just trying to get away from everyone for a few minutes. I sit down in a stall and look at my phone, even though I don’t even need to go or anything. I just want a moment of privacy.
When I get out, a woman I know from accounting is standing at the sink. She flashes me a nice big smile as I approach.
“Hey, Everly,” she says.
“Hi, Marsha.” I turn on the sink and wash my hands.
I can tell that she’s still looking at me, but I try to ignore her.
“Hey, uh, so congrats on your marriage.”
I give her a quick smile. “Thanks.”
“Must be hard, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, I mean, raising a child all by yourself.” She hesitates then leans toward me. “Listen, Everly, don’t let the office get to you. I think you’re so brave. And isn’t Logan incredible for helping you? We all just love him so much, and I’m really rooting for you.”
I stare at her open-mouthed. “What do you mean, ignore the office?”
“You know how they can be. Catty and bitchy. They’re just jealous of you.”
“What are people saying?” I stop closer to her.
She looks nervous all of a sudden. “Uh, nothing, nothing. Just, I’m rooting for you.” She steps around me and heads toward the door.
For a second, I want to stop her and force her to tell me what she’s talking about. But she escapes before I can do something stupid, which I’m thankful about.
As I head back to my desk, her words are ringing in my ears. I suspected that people were saying awful things about me, but getting confirmation is an entirely different thing. Suddenly I’m a laughingstock in the office, and people hate me for absolutely no reason.
I didn’t anticipate this at all. Maybe I’m an idiot, but I thought this would remain private. People wouldn’t even find out about it. Only Chester and his family had to know about this fake relationship.
But things don’t work like that, not when you’re married to one of the richest men in the world. He’s not a celebrity, exactly, but business blogs write about him regularly, and sometimes those blogs can be pretty gossipy. Clearly, this relationship is extremely gossip-worthy, and everyone wants to read about it.
I feel like an idiot. I am an idiot. I should have expected this. What do I think is going to happen once this is all over? Logan and I will get a divorce, and suddenly I’ll get promoted. People are going to talk about that and I’ll never be taken seriously. Hell, I’ll never be taken seriously again, even if he doesn’t promote me.
I’m ruined. I realize it with a start. I’m absolutely ruined. I can’t help myself. I storm out of the office and get into the elevators. I ride them up to the top floor, where I supposedly live and work with Logan, and head toward the office side of the floor. I don’t bother knocking as I walk right inside and go immediately into his office.
“He’s on the phone, you can’t go in there,” his secretary says, but I ignore her. I storm in through the door and glare hard at him.
Logan turns and looks at me, pretty surprised. “I’ll, uh, I’ll call you back,” he says into the phone.
His secretary comes up behind me. “I’m sorry, Logan, she just—“
“It’s okay,” Logan says. “Thanks.”
His secretary gives me a dirty look before retreating out of his office, shutting the door behind her.
“You told the press,” I say.
He crosses his arms. “Not exactly the press, but a blogger, yes.”
“How? Why?” I step toward him, so angry I can barely breathe.
“It was Richard’s idea, if that helps at all,” he says. “But I’m the one that sent the email.”
“I don’t care whose idea it was. Why would you do this to me?”
He raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t do anything to you, Everly. This is just part of the deal.”
“This deal is ruining me,” I say, getting right up in front of his desk. “I’m a laughingstock in the office. Everyone is whispering and talking behind my back. How am I ever going to be taken seriously now?”
“Everly,” he says, standing. “Hold on a second. Please, calm down.”
“No, I won’t calm down,” I snap at him. “You leaked this without asking me first, and now I have to deal with it. People think I’m some kind of charity case for you, Logan. They think I’m some dumb whore that you’re taking care of, and it’s so mortifying I can barely breathe.”
“Everly.” He comes around the desk and steps toward me. I want to hit him, yell at him, scream at him, but I can’t. His face is full of genuine concern as he comes toward me, his hands up in a soft gesture. “None of that was my intention.”
“I don’t know what you intended, Logan, but this is bad.”
“I hear you,” he says softly. “We’ll fix it.”
“How?” I ask him. “The damage is done already.”
“I don’t know,” he admits. He stops right in front of me and puts his hands down. “But the last thing I want is for this arrangement to negatively impact you. I know it’s going to be hard, but I don’t want that hardship to last after we’re finished.”
I take a deep breath and slowly let it out. “You should have asked me.”
“You’re right.” he admits. “I should have. You’re as much a part of this as I am now.”
“You can’t do something like that without my consent,” I say to him. “Any big public moves have to be run by me, or I’m out.�
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“Okay,” he agrees. “I promise, from now on, you’re a part of every conversation.”
I stare at him, and as much as I want to hate him, I just don’t. I keep seeing the man from a few days ago who was so excited to find out that Alexa is really his daughter. I keep seeing the handsome, muscular and intense man that nearly kissed me in Richard’s office. I want to hate him, but I don’t.
That doesn’t mean I’m not angry with him. He should have consulted me first, but at least he’s willing to admit that he was wrong about that.
“What am I going to do now?” I ask him finally.
“Keep working,” he says. “This thing, it’s new. But soon, people will move on.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Have you ever seen gossip last in the office for more than a few weeks?” He shakes his head and takes my hands in his. “I promise, Everly, this will pass. The best thing you can do is to just head back downstairs and do your job. Keep your head down and don’t react to anything.”
“Just sit and wait,” I say. I don’t know why but I don’t pull my hands away from his. Although I’m so angry with him, he’s still calming me down.
“I know, it sounds stupid and simplistic, but it’s the truth. Just go back to work and let it all blow over.”
I sigh and shake my head. “This really sucks, you know that.”
“I know. I’m a huge asshole.”
“Yeah. You are.”
He grins at me. “Want to punch me or something?”
“Yes,” I say. “But I think that would just look worse. Can you imagine the blog post?”
“Marketing Girl Punches Billionaire Daddy,” he says with a huge smirk.
“Oh gross,” I say, pulling my hands away. “I’m going back to work, but I’m still pissed with you.”
“Good. You’ll get through this. I promise.”
“Yeah, sure.” I turn away from him and leave his office.
I don’t bother looking at his secretary as I go back to the elevator. I stand there for a second, debating what I should do. I can head back downstairs, finish the day, and keep pushing forward like he says. Or I can just go back into his apartment and forget about working entirely. I know he’d support me, at least in the meantime. And when this is over, I can just skip the promotion and use the money to support myself until I find a new job. One million dollars is a lot of money and I’d be pretty comfortable.