“Yes, maybe I will from now on. I haven’t visited any of your hotels or resorts. We could finally plan a honeymoon,” she said, giving him a weak smile. Brandon wasn’t in the mood for smiling. He just wanted all this to go away.
“Did we make a wrong decision, Alice?” he asked her and a sudden fear entered her eyes. She jumped out of her chair and rushed towards him, throwing her heavy arms around his neck. Brandon had been quick to notice that in three weeks she had already started developing a beer belly. How much had she been drinking?
“Don’t say that, honey…we’re just going through a rough patch. When I start traveling with you, things will be better. We’ll get to know each other, you’ll see,” she said and pressed her lips to his cheek seductively.
The same woman, who four months ago, Brandon had believed was quirky and fun— now annoyed him. He tried to wriggle out of her grasp.
“Sit down, Alice,” he said and dejectedly, she walked back around the table and sat down.
“I need to discuss something with you. I should have brought this up before…before we even decided to get married, but I need to talk to you about it now,” Brandon said, and he could see Alice’s eyes widen.
“What is it?” she asked, in a frightened voice.
“I want children. To be completely honest with you, Alice, it’s why I was looking for a wife. I want to have an heir I can leave all my wealth and my business to. I believe I’ve reached that stage in my life when I want to build a legacy for myself. It’s probably a little late and I should have spoken to you about it sooner…” Brandon’s voice was weak but the smile forming on Alice’s face interrupted him. She leaned forward for his hand, over the table, pushing a danish off the plate with her elbow.
“You don’t have to say anything more, Bran. I understand and I want the same thing,” she said and he couldn’t help but sound surprised.
“Really? I didn’t think you would,” he said and his mind wandered to Jo again. Alice had demonstrated exactly the kind of mother she was capable of being, and he felt his heart harden a little. Was that the kind of mother he wanted for his own child?
“Yes, Bran. I want a baby. I know I’ve messed up everything with Jolie. I was a terrible mother to her. I want a second chance. I want to do it right this time,” she said and Brandon saw the sincerity in Alice’s eyes. She looked sad, she looked like a woman who was paying for her sins. She was begging him for forgiveness and who was he to deny her a second chance?
Brandon allowed his hand to wander towards Alice’s. When their hands touched, she smiled even more widely.
“I think this is exactly what we need, honey. This is exactly the new beginning we need. A fresh start,” she said and lifted Brandon’s hand to her lips.
He could barely hear her speaking, all he could think about was Jo and how he couldn’t stop dreaming about her every night. He wished he was holding her hand, and not her mother’s. It was wrong to think that way, it should have made him feel sick, but that wasn’t the case. Every time he thought about Jo, he felt like he was glad that he even met her.
“We’re going to be so happy together, Bran. I can’t wait to get started. We’re going to have such beautiful children together! I want a boy this time and then maybe a girl…no twins though…” Alice was speaking but Brandon couldn’t concentrate on a thing she was saying. His hand remained in hers and he continued staring at her, but he couldn’t help but think that this was all a huge mistake. But what choice did he have now?
Chapter 21
Jolie was pacing the floor of her office. She’d been debating for the past few days, deciding whether or not to tell Margaret yet; but she knew she had to. After the twelve pregnancy tests she took, and after her discreet visit to the doctor’s office…there was no denying it anymore, she’d been pregnant for several weeks.
This would change everything. Not only would she have to take leave from work, it would also completely change her lifestyle. Having a baby and raising it by herself, would mean that she wouldn’t be able to work the hours that she was working now. No more working late and no more working on the weekends; which could all have a devastating effect on her career. Didn’t Margaret give her a lecture on putting herself out there and making a life for herself outside of the office? Well, she’d done it now. She’d screwed up everything!
Jolie rubbed her hand over her face and shook her head. How was she going to be a mother? She was terrified of the idea. The only experience she had with motherhood, had been with her own mom and there was no way that she was going to raise her child like that.
And it wasn’t only motherhood that was the scary bit…it was Brandon too. Just when she thought that she had finally moved on with her life, that she would be able to forget him! Now, having his child would mean that she would never be able to move on. She would always have a part of him with her. What if the kid grew up to look like him? What if she wasn’t able to keep the secret hidden forever? What would people say? How would her mom react?
Jolie sat down on her chair with a thump, realizing that she had begun to sweat profusely. She hadn’t been able to concentrate on work since she found out. It was already affecting her life!
She was beginning to feel alone, like she wasn’t going to be able to do it. Telling Brandon was completely out of the question…she would have to live her whole life without letting him know. He could never know. The last thing she wanted was to screw up his life, especially since he had made it abundantly clear to her that he wanted to stay apart.
Jolie shook her head as she stared at her computer screen. Peggy’s new article stared back at her; something she hadn’t even spent a few minutes on yet. She had to come clean with Margaret. She needed to let her boss know that she wasn’t being able to operate. She would have to quit!
Jolie jerked herself out of the chair and with her head held high, she marched straight out of her office and knocked on Margaret’s door. It was now or never. There was no point in delaying matters. The baby was going nowhere.
“Who is it?” Margaret’s clipped voice came through.
“It’s me, Jo,” she called out.
“Ah, Jo! Come in, come in,” Margaret said, her tone changing immediately and Jolie turned the knob and opened the door. Her heart was thudding in her chest. This meeting was going to change the course of the rest of her life, and it was only the beginning.
When she stepped in, she stopped in her tracks, her knees nearly buckled.
Margaret was seated on her chair as usual, and across from her; was seated Brandon Calloway, and they had both turned to look at her.
“Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt,” Jolie fumbled with her words and Margaret arched a neat eyebrow at her.
“Don’t be silly, Jo. Mr. Calloway’s come to see you, and I was just about to send for you. So, it’s perfect timing,” Margaret said and Jolie could feel the back of her neck burning up.
Brandon was on his chair, sitting as casually as ever. It seemed like the more time passed, the sexier he got. His dark hair was fashionably brushed back, his beard was trimmed and shaped as neatly as ever. He was in a dark suit which accentuated the width of his strong shoulders. His brown shoes were brilliantly polished and matched his chocolate colored tie. Crystal cufflinks glittered at his wrists.
“He’s come to see me?” Jolie turned to Margaret with wide eyes, stopping herself in time from dropping her jaws.
“Yes, I understand that you two know each other?” Margaret said, looking a little confused now because of Jolie’s own confusion.
“Yes, of course, yes, we met earlier at the…yes, we know each other,” Jolie knew she was making an utter fool of herself.
Brandon took in a deep breath and stood up from his chair, quickly buttoning up his suit jacket as he did so.
“Thanks for the chat, Margaret. I’ll be sure to put in your name on the guest list for Friday,” Brandon had assumed a charming formal tone, which Jolie wasn’t accustomed to…but which he clearly used in mee
tings of this sort.
“Jo, shall we have a chat in your office?” he turned to her then with complete confidence, while Jolie felt like she was going to melt into a puddle in her shoes. His deep green eyes were focused on her without apology.
“Okay, sure,” she said and turned on her heels and led the way towards her office.
Down the corridor, she could hear her heels clicking against the marble floor. She was aware of Brandon’s presence directly behind her. Did he have any idea that he was the father of the child she was carrying? How could he?
Jolie pushed open her office door and Brandon stepped in behind her. Without a word, he had locked the door behind him and then turned to face her.
“Hello, Jo, you look as beautiful as ever,” he said, with a soft smile grazing his lips.
“What are you doing here, Brandon? Where is my mother?” she snapped, feeling overwhelmed by the torrent of emotions coursing through her body.
Chapter 22
A mention of Alice; was the last thing Brandon had expected to hear from Jo. His hand flew to his tie, which he fixed without any real need to. He didn’t know if she could tell that he was nervous.
Seeing Jo after a month had knocked the breath out of him. He wasn’t lying, she was just as beautiful as he remembered her, if not more. She was wearing fashionable looking black slacks and a floral blouse with matching black stilettos. Her hair was done up in a neat bun to suit her professional environment. Thin silver earrings dangled from her ears and her face was perfectly made up. She looked radiant.
“Alice is in Boston,” he managed to reply and he watched as Jo folded her arms over her breasts. Those breasts…why couldn’t he stop looking at her breasts? Was it because he knew how they tasted? How perfectly they fit in the palms of his hands?
“So what are you doing here?” she asked him and Brandon took in a deep breath.
“Are you going to offer me a seat?” he asked and Jo gulped, but managed to keep her head held high. Her lips were firm and her blue eyes were icy cold. She seemed mad at him, and he couldn’t blame her. For a month, they had completely cut off contact and now he had turned up here, throwing himself at her. Anything could have happened in these weeks. She could be seeing someone. Brandon could feel himself panicking.
“I want to know what you’re doing here, Brandon,” she said and he noticed how her lips were quivering. It was all a front, she was only pretending to be strong.
“I wanted to see you. I wanted to know how you were doing,” he said, and Jo licked her lips and looked away from him.
“I thought this was working perfectly well, Brandon. I was fine…you didn’t need to enquire about my well-being,” she said and he took a few steps towards her. When Jo stepped back, he stopped.
“I’m sorry. I know I’ve barged in on your life here, but I wanted to talk to you,” he said and she shook her head some more. Her nostrils were flared and he noticed how the tops of her cheeks were turning red.
“You don’t need to talk to me, Brandon. We don’t talk! That’s not something we should be doing. You’re married to my mother, or have you forgotten that already? Is that the man you are?” she was spitting her words out at him and this was the first time that Brandon was seeing her lose her temper like this.
He clenched his jaws and stuck his hands deep into the pockets of his pants. She was right. She was right about everything, but the last month had been painful for him. He couldn’t stop thinking about her.
“No, that is not the kind of man I want to be, Jo,” he began to say and she had interrupted him. Jo took a few determined steps towards him, glaring up at him so that she could meet his eye.
“Then what are you doing here? We decided to part ways. We decided to keep out of each other’s lives. This is not you keeping out of my life! You’ve come here to my work place. You sat and had a chat with my boss!” Jolie’s hands had come away from her breasts and now she was rubbing one hand over her face in exasperation. Brandon wanted to reach for her and pull her into his arms. He wanted her to stop feeling the way she was, even though he knew that he was the one at fault. He was the one who had caused her to feel this way to begin with.
“I know. I know all that and I’m sorry”
“You keep saying that. That you’re sorry. Well, sorry doesn’t cut it. That doesn’t help me one bit, does it?” she snapped and now Jo’s shoulders were heaving.
Brandon shook his head and pursed his lips together.
“No, you’re right. I shouldn’t make empty apologies. I shouldn’t have come here and disrupted your life. I should go,” he said and took a step back.
Jo was glaring at him now, her shoulders still heaving with anger. When he looked closely, he could see that her whole body was shaking.
“Yes, you should,” she said, in a quieter voice now.
“Okay, then I will,” he said but didn’t make a move. Their gazes were locked. He was searching her eyes and she was searching his. Brandon needed some sign, something from her that would tell him that nothing had changed between them. That it wasn’t too late already.
“I promise I’ll leave you alone now. This was a mistake,” he said and Jo just stared back at him. The fire in her eyes had dimmed, and now the blue looked calmer. She parted her lips to speak and Brandon felt like he was holding his breath.
“Yes, you should go, Brandon,” she said and he felt his stomach drop.
“Goodbye, Jo”
“Goodbye, Brandon,” she said and just when he was about to turn and place a hand on the doorknob, she threw herself at him.
He caught her in his arms and she pressed her lips to his. They were kissing wildly, her hands were framing his face and he was lifting her up by her waist. His tongue pushed into her mouth, desperate for a taste and she kept her mouth wide open, welcoming her in. Brandon felt like his mind was finally released, like he could finally think. His hands roamed her back, feeling the shape of her bra underneath her blouse. She was bunching up his shirt to pull him closer to herself.
This was exactly what he wanted. This was exactly what he had come for, but was this what she wanted too? Was she going to regret it again?
Chapter 23
Brandon held her tight and Jolie could feel herself losing control. His tongue was inside her mouth, his hands were all over her body and she couldn’t wait for him to touch her breasts.
“Jo…” he breathed her name when their lips parted and she shook her head, panting for breath.
“Just do it, Brandon, just take me,” she said, in a weak whimpering voice. She had already given up hope of resisting him. Seeing him again, hearing him speak…everything had made her weak. She didn’t care how she felt after he was gone. She didn’t care anymore that she was already carrying his child, she would deal with all those feelings afterwards. For now, all she cared about was how he was going to make her feel now.
She hadn’t realized how desperate she was for him.
Brandon was already taking his tie off. He started unbuttoning his shirt and when he flipped it open, she threw herself at him again. Her fingers tangled in the tuft of hair on his chest, she traced the lines of his tattoo and he grabbed her hand.
Jolie looked up at his face, his eyes were heavy and he lowered his lips to hers again. This kiss was shorter, but softer, and Jolie could feel her whole body tumbling. She was falling in love with him, maybe she was already in love with him. She moaned in his mouth as he kissed her.
Brandon’s hands found the tie that was holding her hair together. He undid it and her hair came tumbling down. He caught it in one hand and brought it to his nose to smell it.
“I’ve missed the smell of you,” he said, taking in a deep breath and pressing his eyes close. She had missed the smell of him too. A masculine woody scent that she was now surrounded by. Just the scent of him alone was capable of making her feel safe. She sunk herself further into his arms and his hands reached for her blouse.
He rolled it up and she stretched her arms
up to help him. Her breasts bounced a little when he flicked it off her and then her breasts were in his hands. He squeezed and caressed, urging them out of the tops of her bra.
Then slowly, with the help of his thumb and forefinger, he coaxed her left nipple out of her bra and then pulled it into his mouth. Jolie moaned, throwing her head back with pleasure as he sucked on her nipple.
She could feel the wetness growing between her legs, at an alarming rate. It was making her panties wet, her slacks wet too. She pushed herself further to him, stroking her core against his. He was hard and erect in his pants and she couldn’t wait to see that cock again.
Brandon sucked on one breast and then the other, while Jolie wedged her hand between them and cupped his cock.
Brandon smacked his lips away from her nipple at that, glaring deep into her eyes. His cock moved in her hand as she began stroking it and he held her tightly. She could see his jaw beginning to slack, his eyes becoming glazed over. His cock was throbbing, hot through his pants and growing by the second.
“You’re going to make me crazy,” he grumbled, in a low guttural growl and he gritted his teeth as he jerked her closer to him. She smiled, enjoying the power of her hands and he started undoing her slacks. They fell to the floor and he roughly found her pussy.
Jolie’s panties were already wet and he pushed them aside, so that his fingers could slide into her folds. She gasped, and began stroking his cock harder. Brandon flared his nostrils as he thrust his fingers in and out of her pussy, reaching her deep inside.
She moaned and bit down on her lip, feeling the tension rising in her belly. That thumb again! He used it to tease her clit and it throbbed and grew in his hand, ready for his cock.
“Brandon…please take me,” she pleaded him and he increased the speed of his thrusting. Two fingers, then three slid in and out of her and Jolie could feel her whole body quivering. He was pushing her to the edge, he was going to make her cum.
Unwrap Me Daddy_A Holiday Romance Page 46