by London Casey
I laughed. “You think it’s that good?”
“I know how good it is,” he said. “Look what it did…”
Cole put his hand to my stomach and kissed me again.
I thought my knees were going to give out.
He walked to his car and I walked to mine.
It was like we were sneaking around having an affair or something.
In a sense, we kind of were.
He needed to be the single playboy to finish the deal with Mr. Pickle.
But here the story didn’t matter.
I controlled the story here.
Which was the one thing that kept me calm on the ride back to my mother’s house.
It felt so weird pulling up to her house in a car that I wasn’t driving.
The car stopped out front and I walked to the door.
This time when I opened the door, I smelled coffee and heard music.
“Mom?” I called out.
“Maya?” my mother’s voice yelled from the kitchen.
I saw her appear and I walked toward her.
I put my hands to my belly.
Tears filled my eyes.
I wasn’t sure why.
I reminded myself that I was the one in control here.
“I can’t stop looking at your stomach,” Mom said. “Can I touch it again?”
“Sure,” I said.
I smiled.
I cautiously watched her.
She was… thrilled.
Her hand moved over my stomach and her eyes glistened with fresh tears.
“I can’t believe this. I’m going to be a grandmother. What’s my name going to be? Grandma? Ma? Grand… something?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “You’re acting really calm.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? You’re an adult.”
“I’m not with anyone,” I said. “I’m not married. I’m not engaged.”
“You know who the father is though, right?” Mom asked.
“Yeah. We have things arranged.”
“Are you happy?”
That question struck me. “Uh… yeah. I guess. I think. I’m scared.”
“Scared of what?”
“Just everything,” I said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m writing a new book and then this happened. Things are…”
“Flipped upside down?”
“Yeah.”
Mom laughed. “A baby will do that, Maya.”
She smiled.
I leaned forward and hugged her.
“Thank you,” I said.
“For what?”
“Everything you did for me,” I said.
“Oh, Maya, stop. It’s my job. I’m your mother. I feel terrible for the way things were.”
“Why?” I asked.
I broke the hug.
“I just… I wanted more for you. I could never get a new pool. Things in the house started to fall apart and I couldn’t keep up with it. But I refused to give up. I won’t ever give up. To me, what the hell is a cabinet worth, right? I saw you look at it ten times. The hinge broke, Maya. I just have to get a new one. But at the end of a long day, I just want to sit down and relax.”
“I’m sorry. I just hate seeing things… broken.”
“Nothing is broken. It just has style.”
“Let’s fix the cabinet,” I said.
“What?”
I stood up. “Come on. Right now.”
“Maya…”
“I have a car outside. With a driver.”
“What?”
I smiled at Mom. “Did I not tell you the guy who got me pregnant is rich?”
“Be careful up there,” Mom growled. “I can do this myself.”
I bit my lip and squeezed the trigger on the power drill.
I screwed the last screw in carefully so I didn’t damage the cabinet wood and to make sure the hinge stayed in place so the door shut evenly.
“There,” I said.
I stepped down and shut the door.
“Looks great,” Mom said.
“I agree. Now… the fridge handle…”
“You have to order that online,” Mom said. “I don’t know how to do that.”
“Consider it done,” I said. “Should we go build a pool now?”
Mom laughed. “Did pregnancy give you some extra energy?”
“Maybe,” I said. “I feel like a superhero.”
“Well, you are right now, Maya. You’re carrying a baby inside your body. You’re growing him or her each day. And then one day you’re going to have that baby and life is just going to keep changing.”
“I know,” I said.
“No, you don’t know. That’s okay.” Mom smiled and looked at her phone. “Oh, damn. I have to get ready for work.”
“Call off,” I said. “I’ll cover whatever your wages would be.”
“No, Maya. I’m not a charity.”
“It’s family. I’m here. I wanted to see you.”
“We’ve been together all day.”
“You have to be tired. You didn’t get to sleep.”
“That’s okay,” Mom said. “I had fun today. Driving around like we’re some elite people. I could get used to that.”
“Mom…”
“Maya,” she snapped. She touched my stomach again. “I just want you to be happy. If you have things arranged with this man, then good for you. And if anything happens, you’re always welcome here. I will make sure this house is always here.”
Mom kissed my cheek. Then she kissed my belly.
That was how things went with her sometimes.
One second it could be fun and games. Then the next it would get really serious.
It was all she knew.
I didn’t feel like lingering around the house and watching her leave for a job she hated.
I took a picture of her fridge and the model number so I could order her a new handle.
Then I texted Connie and Jen.
Hang out?
They both responded.
Connie: YES PLEASE!!!!!
Jen: I’ll bring wine! (And soda for the knocked up one!)
That’s what I was…
The knocked up one.
We met at Connie’s, since her house was empty.
Jen still lived in the same apartment on the third floor above a pizza place and laundromat.
I asked her where the kids were.
“Ben is at his best friend’s, probably glued to video games. And Brooke is at her friend’s, studying.”
“Is she actually studying?” Jen asked.
“Brooke?” Connie asked. “Yeah, she really is.”
“I used to study too,” Jen said with a wink. “Maya studied with her boss.”
“Very funny,” I said.
“So what’s it going to be like with you two?” Connie asked. “Are you going to get together? Or just…”
“Well, you have to be fucking now, right?” Jen asked. “I mean, you get nine months of sex without worries. Please tell me you’re still fucking him.”
My cheeks warmed up.
Connie pointed. “She is. You wild thing.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said. “It’s complicated.”
“Of course it is,” Jen said. “He’s your boss.”
“I just… I don’t know what to do.”
“You are doing it,” Connie said.
“Okay, real talk time,” Jen said. “We grew up watching way too many television shows about these big families with money. That’s not real life. Staying in this town, leaving, it doesn’t really matter, Maya. You have to go with what you have right now. You know how things were with Ed and me. I was so dumb to hang around… and I still hang around. I keep thinking he’s going to change. I’m wrong. I know I’m wrong. I just want Eddie to have a shot. What I’m saying is that priorities change all the time. It’s nothing to be scared of. And I get it. We see famous people who just kind of go from high school to college to fame to fortune and we want
that. You know what? They’re lottery winners, Maya. We’re the reality.”
“You’re never going to end up alone,” Connie said.
“We’ve been so distant though.”
“But we’re together now,” Jen said. “That’s what good friends do. And are. We know how crazy life is.”
I smiled and nodded.
I sipped the coffee.
The cheap homemade coffee had nothing on the good stuff from work or from the hotel where I had woken up today in Cole’s arms.
I thought about everything that happened.
He went through all that trouble… for me. To get to me. To have me.
Maybe there was something romantic hidden in it, or maybe it was just for control and sex.
Right now, things were okay with Cole because of the game we were playing.
Arguing at work. Meeting up at the apartment to have sex.
Cuddling and laughing.
Pretending we were together when we weren’t.
I was still his biggest secret.
Around the office I was just the pregnant secretary.
Right now, we needed each other.
That didn’t mean it was going to last forever.
That’s why I wanted to believe Cole about me not falling into any traps.
But without him around, I was in a trap.
Pregnant. Alone. A single mother. Alone.
Jen put her hand to mine.
Connie put her hand to my other hand.
I felt like crying.
Then Jen said, “Are we doing a witch thing or something here? Like to summon some spirits?”
“You don’t believe in that,” Connie said.
“But I’ll believe it if we can summon two more rich guys. Even if they have mediocre dicks.”
“All you think about is dicks,” Connie said.
“Think about what makes you happy,” Jen said.
I nodded.
The thing with me… what made me happy was what also hurt me.
Cole.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Cole
I stood at Maya’s empty office a lot longer than I should have.
I was the kind of guy that kept his thoughts rational, focused, and I was always determined to make the right choice. Or at least the best-informed choice.
Maya had my head scrambled.
She was supposed to be my damn secretary.
I hired her without interviewing her.
It had been one of those I need someone now kind of things. I talked to her on the phone, told her what I needed her to do, and she said she could do it. Instead of asking her why she felt she was good for the job, I figured just give her a shot. She’d either sink or swim.
Instead of that, she ended up in my mind, fucking with my heart, then I ended up in her pants, and I got her pregnant.
I pulled the office door shut and went back to my office.
The building was quiet.
The city was dark.
My desk looked clean, but it was just an organized mess.
Mr. Pickle’s legal team was still tearing through everything they could find. Which was expected. I had a little bit of a naive streak in my heart, hoping that Mr. Pickle would have been wild enough to sign a deal without this back and forth bullshit.
The whole laughing and drinking part of the deal was done.
As of now, Mr. Pickle and I were basically enemies, waiting on lawyers to tell us to shake hands and become extremely rich.
It was so fucking close.
So fucking close.
What wasn’t close?
Maya.
I stood up from my desk and my phone started to ring.
It was my desk phone.
If Maya were here, she’d be taking the call for me.
I grabbed the phone.
“Hello?”
“Cole?”
“Cody?” I asked.
“Fuck. Brother. Where’s your secretary?”
“Why are you calling this late?”
“Just to see if you really work as much as you say you do.”
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Whoa. First off, can I tell you the name I was going to use?”
“Sure, Cody.”
“I was going to say I was Mr. Luvanal.”
“Wow,” I said. “Is that what you do all day?”
“You’re in a bad mood,” he said. “Did your big deal fall through or something?”
“No, Cody. I’m still working on it. I’m tired.”
“Go to sleep.”
“It doesn’t work that way.”
“When I’m tired, I sleep.”
“Good for you,” I said.
“Yeah, you’re really in a mood. I might be swinging through the city soon.”
“And what does that mean?”
“I’m kind of, uh, in between places right now, Cole.”
“You got kicked out of your apartment?”
“I never really had an apartment,” Cody said. “You know me, I just go from place to place. I’m a floater. A drifter. I’m like a butterfly…”
You’re like a cockroach, brother.
I took a deep breath. “Cody, let me help you. Let me send you somewhere.”
“Fuck, the rehab talk again?”
“No,” I said. “Like I told you before. A cabin in the woods. Hidden. West coast.”
“You don’t want me around,” Cody said. “You’re worried about this deal… but I could get in trouble anywhere… what’s going on, Cole? Do you have a girlfriend or something?”
“No,” I said. I swallowed hard. “You’re in trouble, aren’t you? You’re kind of whispering right now, Cody. You’re hiding. Who do you owe money to?”
“Can’t someone call his brother to say hello?”
“What do you want to talk about then, Cody?”
“How much money are you going to get from this deal? I mean, I know you’re living large now, but how much are we talking with the new cash?”
I laughed. “That’s none of your business.”
“See? You just want to hide from me. So why can’t I hide too?”
“Cody, are you in serious trouble? Are you hiding from the cops? Or someone else?”
“Look, Cole, I just wanted to say hello. That’s all. I’m working my way your way. Just giving you a heads up. Next time make your secretary pick up. I really thought Mr. Luvanal would have been a good one. I was going to say it in my really deep voice too. What a waste.”
The call went dead.
I slammed the phone down.
I needed a drink.
I needed someone to fuck.
Yet, I didn’t want anyone but Maya.
“How’s the baby mama drama?” Jackson asked.
I found us a quiet lounge type place that was dark and relaxed.
We were just a few business guys hanging out, having a drink, nothing else going on.
“It’s going,” I said.
“Damn, Cole,” Lincoln said. “I still can’t believe you knocked up your secretary.”
“Don’t say it like that,” I snapped. “She’s not just some fucking whore or something, okay?”
“So, it means more than just sex?” Liam asked. “Is Cole falling in love?”
“What? I didn’t say that.”
Liam slide his drink across the table. “Here, drink this one too. One way or another, we’re getting the truth out of you.”
“There is no truth,” I said.
“Don’t fight it,” Jackson said. “I tried with Callie for a long time. The second I started fucking her and realized the truth… it’s worth it.”
“Maya isn’t Callie,” I said. “She’s a pretend writer from some small shit town, okay? She can barely do the job I need her to do. If anything, I need to fire her, but I’m stuck because of the pregnancy. Okay?”
“Oh, I think she did the job you wanted her to do,” Lincoln said. He grinned. “She milked your cock clean
.”
“So good you didn’t pull out,” Liam added.
“I thought we were okay,” I said. “I thought… you know… we were protected.”
“She’s protected now,” Jackson said. “If you don’t love this woman, then you need to work something out. She can use the baby against you and just syphon cash hand over fist.”
“Shit, that’s true,” Liam said. “I know corporate law is my expertise, but I can make some calls for you.”
“Give the guy a chance here,” Lincoln said. “This is new for Cole. He’s actually feeling emotions for once in his life.”
“Fuck you, Lincoln,” I said.
“It’s the truth,” Lincoln said. “Look, it’s simple. You are as much of an asshole as Jackson. No offense, Jackson.”
“None taken,” Jackson said. “But for the record, I have a bigger dick than Cole does.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said.
Jackson started to stand up. “Dicks on the table, let’s go…”
“Sit down, Jackson,” I said.
“Just listen to me,” Lincoln said. “Jackson is the kind of asshole where he shows emotion to get what he wants. Then he shifts gears. Luckily for him, Callie keeps his attention on her. How does she do it? I don’t know. I don’t want to know.”
Jackson quickly started to ram his pointer finger through an O shape of his thumb and pointer finger of his other hand.
“Of course it’s all about that,” Liam said.
“Let me keep talking,” Lincoln said. “Jackson turns the emotion on and off. You don’t, Cole. You never have. There’s no questioning a thing with you. A woman goes home with you. She knows damn well what’s going to happen, including the next morning. But now… your emotions are fucked. You’re having a kid. That connects you to Maya for the rest of your life. That’s intense.”
“And what if I did fall for her?” I blurted out. “Would that be the worst thing ever? Huh?”
All three just stared at me.
They slowly looked at one another, waiting for someone to talk first.
“Let’s get another round of drinks,” Jackson said.
“To celebrate,” Liam said.
“Celebrate what?” I asked.
“You’re having a kid, Cole,” Lincoln said.
“And you’re in love with your secretary,” Jackson said.
I made a fist, dead set on knocking his ass out of his chair.