by Katie Dowe
She told them about the night of the fashion party and what they did in the maze.
Both girls stared at her in shock. “You had sex with him and you just met him?” Marge asked, her dark brown eyes huge.
“We saw each other and danced and suddenly we both felt it. It was like there was a different person taking over my body. It was the most amazing moment I ever felt.”
“It did not matter to you that he was a playboy?” Hillary demanded.
“To me, that first time was just sex and that was it. Wonderful amazing sex.”
“And he found you?” Marge asked, entirely fascinated.
Hailey nodded. “I told him I wanted nothing to do with him. There is the age difference and the fact that he was a billionaire playboy, but he kept coming back. I got engaged to Bill in desperation but it did not work.”
“Oh, my word!” Hillary fanned her suddenly flushed face. “And now you are pregnant and getting married in November. I cannot take this all in.”
“Neither can I!” Hailey said with a laugh.
“He loves you?” Hillary asked her.
“I think he really does. I feel wonderful around him. He is able to take me from the serious way I take myself and make me laugh. I can talk to him and he really listens. He is playful and I am not used to that. He tickles me until I am giggling senselessly. He is caring and thoughtful and makes sure I am okay. I am not used to that. I am used to taking care of things myself. He ordered a ton of groceries for me. Speaking of which, you guys are going to have to take some. “
“Oh girl, I am so happy for you!” Marge said, her eyes bright.
“I am jealous as hell!” Hillary said with a grin. “Happy but jealous.”
******
“Billionaire playboy David Snyder is about to become a husband and a father! Just two weeks ago it was in the papers that university lecturer Dr. Hailey Donaldson was engaged to businessman Bill Stephenson and now she is set to marry David Snyder and is expecting his child. Was Bill Stephenson thrown over for a much wealthier man? Not to mention the age difference between the two. The bride to be is ten years older than the groom to be. One has to wonder if something like this will last. But we wish them all the best!”
The chancellor folded the paper and settled back in his chair as Hailey came into his office. She had been back at the university for a week when the news hit. She had already told Dr. Whitlock briefly that she was pregnant and engaged to be married without the details.
“Have you seen the papers?” the man asked her mildly. He was the first African American man to ever hold the position and was doing a very good job of it and was highly respected.
“Unfortunately,” Hailey said dryly as she sat on one of the plush chairs. They were a little more than employer and employee, but the man had taught her in college.
“It makes you sound shallow and undermines your position as an excellent lecturer. I suggest you make a statement.”
“And say what?” she asked heatedly. “I don’t give a damn what they say about me.”
“Your students do and the rest of the faculty members-“
“They can go and screw themselves.”
He hid a smile behind his stern visage. “Dr. Donaldson, you know better than that.”
“I am here to impart knowledge, Michael, and sitting here discussing my personal life is taking away from that.”
“I know,” he said soothingly. “There are reporters camped outside and I suspect that they will not be leaving until they hear something from you or your fiancé.”
Hillary sighed. She had seen the way her students stared at her and knew they had questions as well.
“Okay, fine. Let me call David.”
*****
“Hey, baby, I was just thinking about you.”
“David, there are reporters on campus. Please get rid of them.”
“You are going to make a statement, darling.”
“Can’t you do it?” she pleaded.
“Not this time. Even if I said something, they are not going to stop until they hear from you.”
“I hate this!”
“I know, darling,” he said soothingly. “It will pass. They will go on to the next news soon.”
“Somehow I doubt that.”
But she made the statement.
“Dr. Donaldson, is this a love match?” a female reporter asked her.
She hesitated and then responded. “It is.”
“How do you explain the fact that you were only recently engaged to William Stephenson?”
She had prepared for the question ,but it still threw her. “I thought William and I would be a good match.”
“It does not bother you that you are so much older than David?” the woman persisted.
Hailey felt the irritation at that but managed to hide it. “Age does not matter between us.” Her lips curled softly. “When we are together, nothing matters at all.”
“That’s sweet, but don’t you worry about the fact that David Snyder has had many women in the past? Are you sure he has changed?”
Suddenly, Hailey realized the woman’s questions for what they were! Spiteful innuendoes which meant that she had been an object of David’s rejection! “It does not bother me in the least. That’s his past and I am his future which means that it stops with me and me alone. All the other women he has been with was a way of leading to me. I am all the woman he will ever need.” She stared at the blonde woman directly until she looked away. There were no more questions after that!
*******
“How many more will I have to deal with, David?” she asked him that night, her eyes flashing as she looked at him.
“I am sorry, baby,” he said softly. He had come to her apartment as soon as he knew she was home and knew that she had been spoiling for a fight. He had called her after the interview and she had told him coolly that she was busy. She paced the length of the living room.
“I stood there looking at this woman and felt like a fool. I am not in competition with some woman from your past and as I stood there it occurred to me that I am going to be dealing with them wherever I go. Dammit!”
He reached for her but she pushed him away and went into the kitchen. She had forgotten to take her nausea pills and her stomach was roiling. On top of that, a student had asked her how it felt to be marrying such a popular man and she had snapped at her. He followed her into the kitchen and watched as she plunked the kettle on the stove top and started the fire. She opened the cupboard and took out the packet of tea without asking him if he wanted anything. He was waiting for her to calm down.
“I cannot change who I was before, Hailey,” he said quietly as she poured hot water over the bag in her cup. “I can only promise you and my child that you will never have to guess if I am going to be there.” She eyed him and then put the kettle back onto the stove.
“We had better not,” she told him softly, calming down significantly. “I just hate the fact that you were with them.” She surprised him by saying.
He got up and came towards her. He moved the tea and turned the stool around. “No one has ever meant anything to me until I met you.”
“That sounds awful, but I like it.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. “And David?”
“Hmm?”
“Forget what I said about not doing anything if you look at another woman. I will cut your penis off if you are ever with anyone else.”
He let out a startled shout of laughter! “Noted,” he said as he kissed the top of her head.
Chapter 10
She actually liked both his sisters. Marissa was bubbly and effervescent and seemed very happy with her tall basketball husband. Marilyn was the opposite: shy and retiring. Hailey’s keen eyes noted that her clothes needed help, but she admired the woman’s sharp mind. Marissa was head of the PR department and Marilyn was the CFO, a position she had not just received because of her name but had actually been earned. It was the second Saturday in September and wa
s a private dinner party. The tall quiet man who sat next to her seemed to be in love with her. Hailey’s mother was also present and was getting along well with Martha.
The atmosphere around the large dinner table was gay and festive.
It was during dessert, a scrumptious flaky pastry with fruits inside dough and whipped cream on top that Marissa got to her feet. “We also have news,” she said, her dark blue eyes flashing. “We did not want to rain on your parade, David and Hailey, but we just confirmed this afternoon. I am pregnant!”
There was a stunned silence and then Martha cried out in joy and got to her feet. “I am the happiest mother in the world right now!” She walked around and hugged her daughter and the tall handsome man who had gotten to his feet. “Isn’t this a wonderful moment?” she asked of no one in particular.
“You had to get one over me, didn’t you?” David teased as he came around to hug his little sister.
“You know me ,darling,” she said as she hugged him back.
Hailey looked at the display of sibling affection and realized that was what she had missed in her life. It had been only she and her mother growing up and apart from her best friends she had more or less being a loner. She smiled as David came and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He had refused to sit at the head of the table just because he wanted to be close to her. “You okay?” he whispered. The table was abuzz with excited conversations as they all congratulated Marissa and her husband.
“Hmm,” she murmured. “Is it always this noisy at the dinner table?”
“Since lately.” He grinned at her. “Mother is in her element with all the great news and Marilyn looks happier than I have ever seen her.” His eyes drifted over the man seated next to his sister. Lee was in his late forties with sandy hair and light green eyes and had a strong look about him. He would have to be to become a part of this family.
“I like him,” Hailey murmured, guessing what he was thinking.
“Hmm.” He nuzzled her cheek. “How do you feel about living here?”
“I will let you know. Now behave yourself.”
*****
She refused to move into the manor with him while they were still engaged.
“This is ridiculous, Hailey!” he said in frustration one night he was there with her. He had brought home work with him and was in her little office while she graded papers. The press had more or less left them alone but not entirely. He had given her a beautiful diamond and emerald engagement ring which she did not wear to work. She had also met with some of the ‘wives’ and had chosen to have a wedding planner plan the wedding which was going to take place the last Saturday in November. She was not even thinking about it. She was pregnant and had a full workload and on top of that a very demanding fiancé! “My place is much bigger and this coming and going is driving me crazy!”
“I am not moving in until we say ‘I do’ so forget that,” she told him calmly as she looked up from the piece she was reading.
“Okay, fine. I know you run the show, but you could at least allow me this one thing.”
Hailey looked at him and laughed. “I run the show? I am pregnant at my age and most mornings I feel like crap. The nausea is gone, but I have to be going to the bathroom every few minutes. I get tired all the time and feel as if I am drained. Don’t sit there and talk to me about my running the show, David.”
“I am sorry,” he said wearily. “It’s just that it seems as if I have to be proving myself to you all the time.”
“You know why that is.”
“I spend almost every night here-”
“And you don’t have to.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked her coolly.
“We can spend time apart every now and then, David.”
He got to his feet at that and without a word he left the room. She sat there thinking that he would come back in and when he did not after a few minutes she went to look for him. He had gotten dressed and was pulling on his jacket. “Where are you going?”
“You obviously need some space so I am giving you that,” he told her coldly as he stuffed stuff into the bag he had brought with him.
“Really?” She arched her brows at him. “You are behaving childishly.”
“Yes, Hailey, I am acting like my goddamned age!” He zipped the bag up and slung it over his shoulder.
“Go and don’t come back until you have calmed down.”
“I won’t,” he told her coldly as he hurried out of the room. She leaned back against the doorframe and closed her eyes when she heard the door slam shut. Damn him! she thought angrily. Damn him! She went back into her office but could not get any work done because all she did was listen if he had changed his mind and come back!
*****
He knew had gone too far the moment it happened! He had stayed away from her for two days without calling her and was angry that she had not called him too. He ached for her! He spent the two nights in his room and physically ached for her. Whenever he slept with her, he would sleep with his arm placed on her still flat stomach. She was three months pregnant but was still not showing because of how slender she was. It only showed in her breasts. She had never told him she loved him and he always felt as if she still thought of him as one of her students. He was a fool for her and he could not help it. He had to take back some of the control. It was a dinner party that was being held at the manor. He had told her about it some time ago and his mother had called to remind her about it.
“What’s going on with you and David?” Martha had asked her.
“Maybe you should ask David.”
“I am asking you, Hailey.”
“He is being unreasonable.”
“I am afraid that I spoiled him, so it is entirely my fault.”
“He is a grown man, Martha, and soon to be a father and a husband.”
“I know, my dear.”
She drove her car to the manor and handed the keys to the valet. He had not come out to meet her or called and asked her how she was doing and she was simmering.
The door opened to admit her and she smiled at the maid who took her jacket. She wandered into the living room where the living room and did not see him there. Marilyn came over to her and gave her a warm hug followed by Marissa. Martha waved her over where she was talking to some associates of hers.
“How are you, my dear?” she asked as she linked hands with her soon to be daughter in law.
“Not bad.” She looked around the room. “Where is he?”
“Not down yet. Go on up.”
She nodded and made her way up the spiral stairs and along the long passageway to his suite. She stopped shortly as she saw the curvy blonde coming out of his room and him behind her. His blue eyes met hers and she saw the chagrin expression on his face. Without waiting to hear what he had to say, she turned and ran along the passage and down the stairs. She missed a step and found herself falling! His heart thundered in his chest as he heard her scream!
*****
The wait was interminable! David felt as if he was dying and burning up in hell! He would never forgive himself for this and he knew for sure she was never going to forgive him. Kylie had come up without his invitation. She was the daughter of one of their associates and they had been lovers for a brief time. She had tried to get him to kiss her, but he had told her firmly that his heart belonged to Hailey. The damned timing! he thought in anguish. Dr. Whittingham had flown in to consult with the other doctors as she was rushed to the hospital and they had been in the room for what seemed like hours.
“Darling, she is going to be okay. They both will be,” his mother said behind him quietly.
“How do you know that?” he asked her, his voice anguished as he turned to look at her. “I did this, Mother. She saw Kylie coming out of my suite and she ran away. It’s my fault.”
“Oh, darling!” She touched his arm briefly. She had heard the scream and had felt something move inside her and when they had rushed out to find out what
it was they had seen Hailey crumpled at the foot of the stirs, inert, and David rushing down. He had taken her into his arms and had wanted to take her in his vehicle to the hospital, but they had told him not to move her.
They all turned around as the doctors came in. “She is fine.”
“The baby?” David asked in a hushed tone.
“The baby will be okay,” Dr. Whittingham told them. “We have given her a sedative and she is sleeping now. She was very fortunate. The thickness of the carpet cushioned her and did not cause much damage.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Martha exclaimed. “How soon can we see her?”
“She is sleeping now and will probably be out the rest of the night.”
“I am staying,” David said grimly.
“Of course.”
“Let us know when she wakes up, darling,” his mother told him as they left.
*******
A fold out chair had been provided for him in her room, but he could not sleep. He sat there watching her. There was a small bandage over her forehead and otherwise from that she looked so peaceful. Her lashes made shadows against her defined cheekbones and her lips were slightly parted. He had stayed away from her because of a foolish argument and on top of that he almost lost her and his baby.
He clasped his hands together and looked at her. “I am sorry,” he told her softly. “I don’t know if you can hear me, my darling, but I am sorry and I probably proved you right with the way I behaved. Nothing happened between us, Hailey. I swear to you that nothing happened. I know it is going to take a while to forgive me, but please at least let me be there for you and my child. I could never stand to lose you.”
He rested back in the chair and closed his eyes wearily. It felt as if it had been twenty-four hours instead of just a few hours and he dreaded her waking up and telling him it was over. What would he do without her? How could he possibly manage without her in his life? He closed his eyes finally and drifted off into a restless sleep.
*****
Hailey woke up in the early hours of the morning feeling the unfamiliar stiffness in her joints. Her eyes flew open in the darkened room and she put her hands on her belly as she remembered the fall down the stairs. Everything came flooding back and her dark brown eyes blazed with anger. She turned and saw him slumped in the chair wearing the same clothes she had seen him in at the party and that bitch coming out of his room. She should have strangled both of them but that would have left her child without a father. She studied his face in sleep and realized that handsome did not begin to describe how he looked. He was beautiful, too much so, and women will always be looking at him. He had taken off the jacket and unbuttoned the light blue shirt revealing the snowy white undershirt he had on. She shivered as she remembered those powerful arms around her body and those lips on her nipples. Whenever he touched her, she lost control! She knew he was an expert lover; he had to be because he had been honing his skills for years. He was insatiable and they made love every single night, sometimes twice for the night. She must have emitted a sound because his eyes flew open and he stared at her. “Baby?” His voice was husky as he got to his feet and moved to her. “You are awake.”