Alphalicious Billionaires Box Set

by Lindsey Hart

  “Thanks for your honesty. I haven’t had the best luck myself. I actually pretty much swore off guys. For like- ever. That’s why I wanted to have the baby on my own. I didn’t want to have any more shitty relationships. I was done with all that. I wanted a child and I didn’t want to have a man to make that happen. I- er- there are ways now around that and finally, the idea grew on me enough that it didn’t just become a consideration or a threat. I wanted to make it happen so I- I did.”

  Ross nodded. “That makes sense. I could see myself doing the same if I was a woman.”

  “Really?” Teela’s brow rose.

  “Okay- no. That was a stupid thing to say. I don’t know why I even said that. I mean, if I wanted a child at this point, I’d likely adopt. I feel the same way you do. About relationships. I have yet to meet someone who wasn’t just in it for something I could give them. Like I said.” He shifted nervously on the couch. God, why was he repeating himself? He sounded like a sorry-ass version of a broken record about what not to do while dating. Was anti-therapy a thing? Like, he could counsel singles against relationships instead of giving dating advice?

  “I get it,” Teela said graciously. “I- I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you earlier. At work- and uh- this morning. I don’t usually go off like that. I’m a pretty level person most of the time.”

  “I guess I bring out the best in you.”

  Teela winced. “I might have told my friend that you were the devil. I might also have called you a troll in my mind over and over instead of using your real name.”

  “How complimentary. I’m sure you’re not the first.”

  “But I’m carrying your child. After I found out about that I was- shocked. I don’t think you’re supposed to find out that kind of stuff. Please don’t ask me how I did and how I know. I won’t give up any names. I don’t want to cost anyone their job. They didn’t mean anything by it. I was just going off about how much I disliked you and- uh- it just kind of came up. I guess she thought it was better that I know instead of hating my child’s father forever. That would be a bit harsh. She really meant well. She told me to do exactly the opposite of what I did. She’d be appalled if she found out that I’d told you that I know. She’d strangle me if she knew we were sitting together here talking about it.’

  “Strangle? That’s harsh. You have violent friends.”

  Teela cracked a small smile. “Okay, she wouldn’t really strangle me. She’d probably honestly turn into a spluttering horrified mess because she’d think for sure she was going to lose her job. She was practically crying last night when I told her that I’d quit mine.”

  “That doesn’t have to be permanent. You can cash that cheque and still have your job back.”

  “Really?” The disbelief in Teela’s voice broke his heart.

  “Of course. I- I thought about this all day. I meant it when I said I don’t want to be a doormat and a bank account to someone, but then I thought that maybe there is a way I could provide for the baby. I could give you your job back and give you the ability to help yourself. I was the one who came and screwed everything up.”

  “Don’t you have someone already?”

  “I did bring in a lady, but she was just temping. She lives in Philly and doesn’t want to commute or relocate. I was hoping to hire someone local. It’s easier to give you your job back than it is to retrain someone. You know how the company works and how it runs. Plus there might be the whole pissed off staff thing. People don’t like the firings I had to do. They like it even less that you quit. I’ve had my fair share of stink eyes over the past few days.”

  “All deserved, no doubt.”

  “No doubt.” The easy banter was strange. Almost too easy. Ross could get used to it and that was a scary, scary thought. He couldn’t afford to get used to anything.

  “I- what more did you want? I mean- would you want to meet him or her? Be a part of his or her life? What exactly did you come here to talk about? I was so shocked, and I reacted without even thinking. I didn’t want you to be a bank account. I had this idea in my head that you’d actually want to know your child. You might have others out there, but this one, you’d know for sure. I didn’t feel right, when I knew, about keeping that information a secret. Although, maybe I should have.”

  “No-” Ross cut her off. “I’m sorry if I made you think that. This isn’t something I ever anticipated happening. I should have, based on the fact that I- uh- donated samples a couple of times, but I thought that information is kept secret. I know it is.”

  “Yeah… please. Please-”

  “I’m not going to do anything about it. Your friend and the clinic are safe. I was just being an asshole this morning. I’m sorry. It didn’t make it easy, I’m sure.”

  “It wasn’t exactly an easy conversation.” Teela nodded in understanding and again, Ross had that strange, shivery sensation where his heart banged a little harder. Like they could actually be friends. Get along. Parent together. “It probably bowled you right over.”

  “It did. I reacted badly. There wasn’t any call for it. I really am not a troll or the devil, though I probably haven’t given you cause to think otherwise. I’m just a normal person. I’ve worked hard to get where I am. I’m overly defensive about it. I can be a dick when challenged. I grew up here though. I’m a small-town kid at heart. I want to be taken seriously for who I am, not what I can do for people. Sometimes I wish that people could just see me, not the suit, not the company, not the money.” He was back on the broken record track. How romantic.

  Teela nodded again, but then her face changed. It went from serene to panicked. Her eyes widened and her face paled dangerously. Ross stood up and was about to ask her what on earth was wrong because it was clear something was horribly wrong, when she threw her plate to the side and ran out of the room like she’d just realized the house was on fire.

  Stunned, Ross trailed after her. Because he was a dipshit he finally figured out what was going on when Teela hurtled into the bathroom just down the hall.

  He’d never actually held someone’s hair back while they were throwing up, but he was about to get a crash course.

  It was crazy to think he’d woken up that morning and his biggest worry had been the store. Life had been relatively normal.

  How quickly his world was upended. Everything was different. He was holding back Teela’s hair and tracing small patterns over her back while she retched in the small bathroom. He’d never actually seen himself as a dad. The thought was just so abstract, something saved for the future and for maybe’s and for whenever his mom bugged him about giving her and his dad a grandchild. He was their best hope given that he was an only child.

  Twelve hours ago, life was normal.

  Now he was smack dab in the middle of a parenting/pregnancy crash course.

  Strangely enough, he didn’t hate the idea of being a dad. He didn’t hate the idea of having a child with Teela. Which meant he probably needed to have his head examined. ASAfreakingP.

  CHAPTER 9

  Teela

  If there was a list of ultimate mortification, the major items would be thoroughly checked off. Answer the door in a tiny, see-through nightgown. Check. Have a strange heart to heart with enemy numero uno. Check. Give in and admit The Troll wasn’t such a troll. Double check. Admit that said non-troll is actually ridiculously attractive. Hard check. Puke all over said attractive non-troll. Check, check, check, a million times, check.

  Okay, maybe she hadn’t puked on him or all over him but puking in front of Ross was pretty mortifying.

  And Teela had to hand it to him, Ross didn’t so much as bat an eye. Just turned on the tap and filled up the glass she kept by the sink and passed it to her along with a clean washcloth he found under the sink.

  Ross must have had a pretty good mom. At that moment, as she sipped water to erase the horrible taste from her mouth, she realized he’d be a good dad.

  He wasn’t the devil. He wasn’t a troll. He was actually pre
tty damn nice.

  Teela turned to face Ross, who was leaning up against the doorframe, giving her some space. “Er- sorry,” she mumbled. “I’ll just brush my teeth and then I’ll be out.”

  He didn’t move. Or blink. He might as well have been made from stone. Really good looking, super attractive, panty-melting stone. “This happens often?”

  “Uh- not that often. Every other day maybe. Sometimes not. I don’t know. It’s worse when I get nervous. Or anxious. I guess those butterflies start it and uh- the nausea, which is always kind of there, finishes it off.”

  One dark brow arched. “I didn’t mean to make you nervous.”

  “You didn’t. I- it’s okay. I feel worse at night. And in the morning. I’m better after I eat something when I get up but then it kind of starts up with the heartburn around eight and it just burns and burns and if I try and eat something, sometimes it fixes it, sometimes I end up- uh- here.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  That caught Teela off guard. She reached out and gripped the pedestal sink’s lip. “Why? You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

  “For all the upheaval these past few days. It can’t be good for- you or the baby.”

  Teela glanced in the mirror and when she realized she was a sweaty mess, with her hair clinging damply to her forehead, she nearly groaned. She quickly reached up and swiped the sticky strands back where they belonged.

  “You don’t have to be sorry. You didn’t know that buying one more store was going to be such a challenge.”

  Ross actually chuckled softly, and sweet potatoes, the sound was like angels singing. It was rich and deep and a little dark and did things to places that Teela wasn’t even quite sure she knew existed to have things done to them.

  “You’re right. I thought it was going to be a walk in the park, given that I used to live here. It’s kind of my hometown. I thought it would be like coming back after a really long time away. That people would welcome me with open arms kind of a deal.”

  “It sounds like they did, for the most part,” Teela admitted. “It was just me. And I didn’t know you grew up here, so you’ll have to excuse my bad manners. I could blame it on the pregnancy hormones, but that wouldn’t even be true. Everything I said and did have nothing to do with being pregnant.”

  Ross slowly nodded. His eyes grazed her body and her already flushed skin heated up another ten thousand degrees. She was glad that her robe hid the way her nipples suddenly went hard as rocks and the spot at the juncture of her thighs tingled. Even if it wasn’t like Ross could actually see that. The robe was too hot, and it was slightly damp after her puke/sweat fest but she was glad for the barrier it created between them.

  “I’ll head back to the living room then. If you’re okay, we can keep talking. If not, I can go…”

  “I- no. I’m okay. Once I get it out of the way, I feel a lot better.”

  Ross gave her another sympathetic look that she didn’t quite know how to decode and disappeared out of the doorway. His soft steps sounded down the hall.

  Teela turned on the tap and splashed cold water against her overheated skin. It felt good but she couldn’t quite reach the strange warmth that was seated far too close to the mushy part of herself that she’d never been able to fully turn off.

  In her previous relationships, she was always the one giving. Her exes were too selfish to realize that she even had needs half the time. If she went on vacation, it was to a spot of their choosing. If she went out for dinner, it was to a place they liked. If she moved in, she had to work around their space, which usually meant bringing or buying a dresser because they weren’t going to make room in the closet for her crap. She used to be an optimist, but the previous years had ground her down.

  Teela doubted there were nice guys out there that were still single. She seemed to have a bullshit magnet that attracted only the worst kind of men. Everyone had their breaking point and hers came two years ago. When she got tired of being stepped all over and used and ground down. She’d been single since then and with the big 30 rapidly approaching, she’d one night, after a few too many drinks with Amy, mentioned that she was perfectly fine with being single the rest of her life. Amy asked about kids and one thing led to another and she’d come up with the idea of single parenthood. Something Amy knew all about, given where she worked.

  And bam. The night the power went out and Amy came over bearing stolen sperm and syringes kind of just happened.

  Then Ross.

  Now, suddenly, despite everything, she wasn’t actually looking at raising her child alone. She wasn’t sure if that terrified her more or less. And the fact that it was Ross Day. Who might not actually be such a self-centered prick after all. He might actually be kind of nice underneath all those protective layers. Layers she was far too familiar with herself.

  After a thorough teeth-brushing that made her feel almost human again, Teela wandered back to the living room. Her condo was small, but Ross wasn’t where she expected him to be. She glanced around, wondering if he’d decided that leaving was the better option after all but a shrill whistle from the kitchen signaled that maybe he was still there. Or maybe her kettle needed an exorcism.

  She actually smiled at the absurd thought. It had been a long time since she’d laughed about anything silly or stupid and it felt good. Too good.

  Teela found Ross bent over two mugs. He poured steaming water into them. He turned when she shuffled in.

  “I heard mint was good for a sore stomach. That and ginger, but I couldn’t find anything in here.”

  “I hate ginger.” Teela glanced at the steaming mug where the little white tab draped over the edge, and the glorious smell drifting her way, declared that Ross had indeed found the mint tea bags. “Thanks though. I usually do drink a few cups of mint tea at night and it seems to help. I didn’t tonight. Maybe that’s why…”

  “You really wanted to do this by yourself?” Ross lifted a mug and walked over to the table. He pulled out a chair and dropped down in it, dwarfing the small, apartment-sized set, almost comically. “I- I mean, if that’s not a rude question.” He glanced at her sheepishly and seeing the soft look on his face nearly undid her.

  Teela turned and grabbed her mug to hide the blush that was creeping up her face. And the heat that was stealing back into her limbs and some not so innocent spots. Nothing like getting turned on right after a good old-fashioned puking. What the hell is wrong with me? Maybe she could blame her body’s reaction on the hormones. Her emotions and moods had been pretty wild. Maybe the whole random shivery, fluttery, smoking panties weren’t really her fault.

  “I’m turning thirty soon,” she said to the cupboards, without turning around. “I- I know what you mean about having a string of really bad luck that totally turns you off of trying to make it work with someone else. You just get past that and- well- I wanted kids. Always did. I…” She trailed off because it wasn’t like she could actually tell him about the whole sperm being stolen thing. Everything else was bad enough.

  “I think it’s more popular now. Even- uh- when people conceive the conventional way, there are far more blended families and single parents now. People don’t feel they have to waste their lives staying together when it’s not working out anymore.”

  “I guess so.” Teela grabbed her mug and joined Ross at the table. She didn’t exactly push her chair in close and she really didn’t meet his gaze. “Maybe I didn’t really think it through.” Finally, her eyes flickered up and when she found Ross studying her intently, that shivery feeling was back. Big time. She actually thought about checking her panties for smoke. Instead, she shifted, locking her legs together to keep the tingles from spreading further up.

  “I’m sure you did. You seem like you’d be a great mom.”

  She nearly snorted. “Based on what? The fact I threatened you and chewed you out- uh- twice at least…”

  Ross laughed softly. He picked up his tea and actually slurped a little when he drank since it was hot
, and the fact that he drank tea and made slurping noises at all, brought him down to being oddly human and that was far more attractive than it should have been.

  “No. You seem smart. You have your own place. A decent job.”

  “So, by a good mom, what you really mean is that I’d be a decent provider.”

  “I- no. I didn’t mean it that way. But yes. Obviously, you could do that. You’re independent. You’re not afraid to stand up for what you believe in. Most people can’t do that anymore or won’t bother with it. I’m not sure anyone really believes in anything at all. So- I might not know you well, and maybe I did see the darker side of you, but I saw a hell of a lot more too. If there was anyone in the world who had to get injected with my sperm, accidentally find out through leaked information and have the guts to approach me to tell me, I’m glad it was you.”

  Teela nearly choked on her sip of tea. She set her mug back down. “I- I guess- I guess we have a lot to talk about and uh- we have time. Seven months. I’m sure we’ll have it figured out by then.”

  Ross nodded. He drained his mug, even though the tea was still steaming hot, pushed back his chair, and stood. “You’re right. We do. But not tonight. I can see you’re tired. It’s beyond late. I shouldn’t have come. I- I just had to. I couldn’t sleep.”

  His gently spoken admission pushed out with a hint of shyness, twisted Teela’s stomach, and not in the vomit inducing kind of way. An unexpected rush of tenderness hit her square in the chest.

  “I couldn’t sleep either,” she admitted.

  “I’ll see you at work tomorrow. At nine. We have lots to get done, so make sure you’re on time.”

  “I have one condition.” Teela knew she was pushing her luck, but she had to do it. “That you give Dora her job back. She needs it more than I do. I can sell this condo and move and get a different job, but it’s different for Dora. She’s a great accountant. She might not know your system or your software, but it would be worth it to train her. She’s the most loyal employee. She would never let you down. She knows the company. She’s far more valuable than you could ever give her credit for. I can’t take my job back in good conscious knowing that she was fired.”