Banking the Billionaire (Bad Boy Billionaires Book 2)

by Max Monroe

  Kline’s smirk hooked my attention from the corner of my eye. “What?” I asked.

  His head shook slightly, and he smiled. “I’m just hoping Coach Bennett’s plan is a little more detailed.”

  Two minutes left in the fourth quarter, and we were up by seven. A fucking touchdown was practically nothing, the kind of lead that could change on a dime, but it was a lot goddamn better than being behind.

  I hadn’t left my spot in front of the windows, my feet having practically grown roots there, and that was the way I liked it. Involved, engaged, and in tune with every second of play.

  My friends didn’t have the same kind of avid concentration, but I’d done my best not to notice them as they flitted and squealed all over the room. Cassie had the most attentiveness of anyone, but only when her brother was on the field, and the way she screamed in my ear every time he did something noteworthy made me wish she didn’t.

  The fabric of my pants pockets bunched in my hands as I worked to not scrub my hands down my face. I knew there was a camera on me at any given time, and while it wasn’t actually the case at all, I’d made an outward name for myself as having nerves of steel. Commentators often made remarks about my ability to maintain so much composure.

  Hell, maybe it was a bad thing. Maybe it was something everyone mocked rather than revered, but it was what I knew. What made me comfortable.

  And, as my eyes scanned the sideline to see if I could catch a glimpse of the new team physician, I knew I needed as much fucking normalcy as possible.

  Fourth down and three yards to go, our defense lined up without their star defensive end, with the game on the line. My lungs ached with the huge inhale of air I took, and my jaw wasn’t feeling unused either. But if we stopped them from converting this fucking fourth down, the game was over. Rodeshiemer took the snap, shuffling his feet while his eyes scanned the field for an open receiver. He was one of the best fucking passers, with one of the highest completion rates in the entire league, and my balls nearly shriveled up just thinking about having him on the other side of the line in a situation like this. “Get him, get him, get him,” I chanted in my head. Fucking end this.

  His offensive line held strong, but all of his receivers were covered. I saw him glance to our weak side again, the gaping hole left by Mitchell only partially filled by his replacement, Harvesty, but Ontario Williams, our defensive tackle, finally broke his hold against Dan DeLuva and took his mammoth body barreling toward their quarterback.

  Fuck yes. End this.

  Pittsburgh was a formidable opponent for a reason and made for a nightmare of a first game of the season, but even they weren’t invincible. Williams brought Rodeshiemer down with a thud, and my hands finally shot into the air.

  Cassie cheered from the rear, and Kline clapped me on the shoulder before stepping away to claim back his wife. I smiled at the feeling of my first full breath.

  That is, until I realized that Winnie was still down there as pandemonium broke out. Like a word search, I scoured each group of people one by one.

  “Quinn Bailey played one fuck of a game,” Thatch said from somewhere beside me. I hadn’t even noticed him walk up.

  I glanced at him briefly, but I kept my focus on the field as a crowd covered it like a blanket. “Oh? Are you saying you actually saw the game?”

  His face was a weird mix of happiness and regret and apology all in one. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him look this way. “Sorry, dude. I know my attention was a little split today, but I swear, today of all days, I had a reason. I’ll be here right beside you the whole time next game.”

  I wanted to focus on what he was saying, ask him about what the fuck was going on with him, but I couldn’t. Not until I found her.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, and I knew I wasn’t doing a good job of hiding the fucking awful feeling in my chest.

  “Nothing,” I denied as I kept looking.

  “Are you looking for someone?” he asked. It took a whole lot of effort to keep from telling him I’d find who I was looking for a hell of a lot faster if he left me to it.

  “Look!” Georgia squealed from the other end of the glass. “There’s Winnie!”

  My eyes shot to her to see where she was looking. I followed the line of her finger and finally saw, in the center of the crowd with a security guard beside her, Winnie was jogging straight down the middle of the field for the tunnel.

  I closed my eyes and ran a hand through my hair. This is so not fucking good.

  Most of my employees were men, or in Georgia’s case, married to one of my best friends, so I didn’t really find myself in this situation often, but it wasn’t good. You cannot angry-fuck one of your employees.

  Long legs wrapped around me with her skirt up to her waist and her tits in my mouth, I pictured fucking her against the goalpost. Fuck, I told myself. I told you, you can’t fuck her.

  The sound of Cassie’s excited voice pulled me out of my daydream. “I’m so glad she’s going out with us tonight.”

  I couldn’t even stop myself from asking. “Who?”

  She looked at me like I was crazy. “Winnie.”

  Shit. My gaze jerked back to the field, but she’d already disappeared inside the tunnel.

  “Me too,” Georgia agreed. “Where do you think we should go?”

  They answered in unison. “Barcelona Bar!”

  Thatch jumped to attention beside me. Honest to God, I think he’d been sleeping on his feet.

  “Barcelona Bar?” His face was a mask of no-fucking-way.

  Cassie transformed into a woman possessed right before our eyes. “Yes, Barcelona Bar! I want some Harry Potter shots, goddammit!”

  “No,” Thatch denied outright, and my eyebrows jumped up in surprise. Georgia’s face said Danger Will Robinson too, but Kline, the only one who seemed to understand, stood smirking in the background.

  “No?” Cassie asked back in a voice that would scare anyone. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”

  “Cass—”

  “No, Thatcher. You’ve been cockblocking my good time for hours now, and I want to know what the fuck is going on.”

  He glanced around at all of us desperately, but no one tried to help.

  “Come on, baby,” he tried. “Let’s go have sex.”

  Her eyes flashed, and she started to move toward him before she caught herself. “Wait. Are you using pussy persuasion to distract me?”

  Thatch tried to look innocent, but he failed spectacularly.

  “Oh my God, you are!” she yelled. “You better tell me what’s going on here right fucking now, or I will destroy you.”

  “Cass,” he whispered. “Trust me, honey. Now really isn’t the time.”

  A knock sounded on the door of the suite, and Winnie peeked her head in. Her eyes came straight to me.

  “You think you can’t feel your dick now, but you definitely won’t be able to when I cut it off your body,” Cassie retorted.

  I winced at the visual, my eyes still locked with Winnie’s. It was like some weird magnet that would not let go.

  “Fine,” Thatch yelled. “You’re pregnant, okay? Are you happy now?”

  Huh? My head whipped to the side to look at the lovers’ spat. Apparently, that kind of news was strong enough to break the connection.

  “What?” Cassie shrieked.

  Thatch nodded.

  “No.” Cassie shook her head and laughed maniacally. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

  “Cassie,” Thatch tried softly.

  “I’m not pregnant, you lunatic. Why would you even say something like that? It’s literally the craziest thing that’s ever come out of your mouth.” Georgia tried to step in and put a hand of comfort to Cassie’s shoulder, but she tossed it off.

  “Cassie.”

  Cassie turned to look at her. “I’m not pregnant,” she repeated.

  “Cassie,” Thatch tried to get her attention again.

  “I’m ignoring yo
u, Thatcher. Stop telling our friends lies.” She flipped him off over her shoulder. “I swear, I’m not pregnant,” she said again, and I wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince us or herself.

  “Honey,” Thatch said and moved to stand beside her. He placed both hands on her shoulders and refused to let her shrug them off. “I’m not spouting off crazy bullshit right now. I honestly think you might be pregnant.”

  She shook her head, and her face morphed into utter disbelief. “Do you even realize how insane you sound? I’m on birth control. There’s no way I’m pregnant.”

  “I think you need to take a test, honey,” he said, voice soft. “When was your last period?”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she scoffed. “I’m not going to recount my ovulation cycle with you.”

  But even as the words flowed past her lips, her face showed that maybe she wasn’t so certain.

  Winnie’s unyielding voice sounded from the other side of the room.

  “Come on, Cass. Let’s go get a test.”

  She looked at Winnie for a long moment until she nodded without even an attempt to argue. Winnie had undeniable authority.

  I immediately pictured her bent over my desk, a red reminder of my handprint on her ass.

  Goddammit.

  “Fine,” Cassie relented and tossed her hands in the air. She turned toward Thatch and stabbed her finger into his chest. “Get ready to be proven wrong.”

  Thatch smirked, but the gentleness in his eyes showed he wasn’t even considering being wrong in this scenario. That was a look of a man who was certain. And he wasn’t the least bit upset but the possibility.

  No, he looked thrilled.

  “I’m not pregnant,” I said and opened the pregnancy test package. “I’m on birth control. There’s no fucking way I’m pregnant.”

  Right? I took the pill every day. I hadn’t been on any antibiotics. There had been zero hiccups with my cycle. Shit was normal. Well, besides the constant need to bone, but I lived with a giant who could fuck like a god. I’d like to find the woman who wouldn’t want to have constant sex in that scenario.

  I glanced at Georgia and Winnie. They were both leaning against the bathroom counter, watching me damn near tear the package in two. And neither had expressed they were on the same page as me. The Cassie Isn’t Pregnant page.

  I narrowed my eyes at Georgia when I noted the soft expression on her face and her frequent glances toward my belly. “No, Wheorgie,” I said and pointed the test at her. “Go ahead and get those thoughts right out of your head. I’m. Not. Pregnant.”

  Her expression grew softer, and she smiled.

  “Seriously. Stop looking at me like that.”

  “Just go take the test, Cass,” she finally said.

  I groaned and stepped into the bathroom stall. This was about the most ridiculous situation I had ever been involved in. Taking a goddamn pregnancy test inside Duane Reade while the guys waited outside in the parking lot. Go back ten years and put us in a high school bathroom and this could’ve been an episode of Teen Mom.

  Granted, it wasn’t his choice that Thatcher wasn’t with me.

  I had refused to let him join me while I peed on a stick. With the excited expression I had witnessed on his face, I had a feeling he would’ve been hovering over the toilet and holding the stick while I peed.

  I was in and out of the stall in less than two minutes. After I set the test down on a clean paper towel, I washed my hands while Winnie and Georgia looked down at it the entire time.

  “Seriously, you guys can stop staring at it. I already told you the answer. I’m not pregnant,” I said as I dried off my hands and tossed the used paper towel in the trash. I leaned against the bathroom counter, crossed my arms over my chest, and looked everywhere but at the test.

  That stupid test. I wasn’t pregnant.

  Seriously, how many times did I have to tell these idiots I wasn’t pregnant?

  Thatch couldn’t have been more wrong about this. I was sure of it.

  “Cass,” Georgia whispered, “You should probably look at this.”

  I glanced over at her and watched her eyes go wide.

  “No,” I refused. “I’m not looking at it. I already know the answer.”

  “Cassie,” Winnie chimed in, “Georgia’s right. You need to check the results yourself.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. Just tell me what it says… Go ahead,” I said, gesturing with my hand. “Just say Not Pregnant, and then we can all leave this bathroom and head to the bar.”

  Georgia shook her head. “I can’t. You need to be the one to see it.”

  “You guys are being ridiculous.” I groaned and strode to their side of the counter and snatched the pee stick off the towel. My eyes met the result window, and I laughed.

  One pink line straight down the middle. Not pregnant.

  I held the test up in the air. “See? Not pregnant. I told you guys.”

  Winnie’s eyes went wide while Georgia’s eyes filled with tears.

  I honestly felt a little bad about the whole thing. I hadn’t realized she wanted me to be pregnant that badly. “I’m sorry, Georgie,” I said. “I promise one day I’ll get pregnant and you’ll be the godmother just like we talked about.”

  God, my best friend was so fucking sweet I could hardly stand it.

  “Uh, Cassie,” Winnie said as she reached forward and wrapped her hand around my hand that was still holding the test. “You’re looking at the control window. You need to move your thumb to see the actual results.”

  I glanced down at the test and watched as her index finger slid my thumb away from the result screen. The test window doubled in size, and the pink lines had multiplied.

  One.

  Two.

  Wait. What?

  I counted them again.

  One.

  Two.

  What?

  I’m pregnant?!

  I stared down at that test for who knows how long.

  I was stunned.

  Speechless.

  I was motherfucking knocked up.

  “That giant bastard got me pregnant!” I shouted when verbal function returned, and I strode straight out of the bathroom, piss-stained test in hand. My feet smacked across the tile floor of Duane Reade, and within seconds, I was striding through the automatic doors toward the parking lot.

  Thatch leaned against the bumper of his Range Rover, arms crossed over his chest and face relaxed, while he chatted with Kline and Wes.

  I took four stomping steps out of the entrance of the store and then chucked the pregnancy test across the parking lot. It nailed Thatch square in his forehead.

  “Ow, what the fuck?” He glanced up to find me practically shooting laser beams from my eyes aimed in his and only his direction. “Cass? Honey?”

  I didn’t say a word. I just pointed down at the pregnancy test sitting on the pavement beside his feet.

  He titled his head to the side before bending down and picking it up.

  He held the test in the air. “Did you take it already?”

  “Oh, yeah,” I confirmed. “I took it all right.”

  I heard the automatic doors open behind me and knew that Winnie and Georgia had followed me out. Kline and Wes glanced at the girls, but Thatch’s eyes stared down at the test.

  I swear he didn’t move for a full minute.

  And then, his mouth morphed into the biggest smile I had ever seen.

  He looked at me, then he looked at my belly, then he looked at the test.

  “We’re pregnant?” he asked when his eyes met mine again.

  “No,” I snapped. “We’re not pregnant.” I pointed at myself. “I’m pregnant. I’m the one who’s going to get a big fat ass, and my boobs are going to be bigger than your giant fucking head. Goddammit, Thatcher. You knocked me up!”

  I didn’t think it was possible, but his smile got even bigger.

  I didn’t even pause, one step, two, I charged right at her until she had t
o look straight up to see me.

  “Thatch,” she whispered when she saw the look on my face. I knew it was all there, everything I was feeling—wonder, love, excitement, and a whole lot of this is the best moment of my life.

  The asphalt scraped at the denim over my knees as I dropped to them in front of her and put my forehead to her stomach.

  There was a life in there made up of half of her and half of me.

  Hands to her hips, I pushed the loose fabric of her shirt up until a couple inches of skin were exposed above the waist of her skirt.

  My lips had a mind of their own, and my eyes closed at the feel of her warm, thrumming skin beneath them. When her small hands sank into my hair, tears threatened at the corners of my eyes.

  “Thatcher,” she whispered again. I opened my eyes to look up at her, but my lips never left her skin.

  “We made a baby, Cassie.” Her throat bobbed, and she nodded.

  God, I am so in love with her.

  “Are you happy?” I asked, even though part of me was scared to know the answer.

  I hadn’t planned on getting her pregnant, and I certainly hadn’t been trying, but here, with my mouth a few inches away from our baby, I’d never wanted anything more.

  “It’s soon,” she said gently, but her eyes were soft. Love and happiness were the only two things that could ever make her look that soft.

  I shook my head. “Everything. You. Me. This tiny, surely out of its motherfucking mind combination of us. The timing. It’s all so right.”

  “We’re going to need a new set of rules,” she said with a smile.

  I laughed but shook my head. “I only have one.”

  “Just one? I’m knocked up, the two of us are going to have to figure out how to be parents, and you only have one fucking rule?”

  I pushed to my feet and put my lips to her ear. “Be worthy of my family.”

  Her head jerked back, and her watery eyes met mine.

  “And, baby, that’s one rule I’ll never fucking break.”

  The End

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