Just Marry Me Already (BWWM Romance Book 1)

by Ayo Campbell

  She hadn’t noticed last time just how meticulously planned security was. She had just glided right through.

  This time, she was stopped at the elevator.

  “I’m sorry, miss, but you haven’t been cleared to go up to that floor.”

  She was nonplussed.

  “Well, I need to meet Aldous Banks,” she told the young man in a suit who had seemed so unobtrusive a few moments ago.

  “Do you have an appointment that we might have missed?”

  He was perfectly courteous, but he was also obviously all business.

  “Ah, no, but he knows me. I’m sure if you could tell him that I’m here, he’d ask you to let me right up.”

  “Hold on a second, miss. What’s your name? We’ll check.”

  “Hallie Holt. We catered an event for him a few weeks ago.”

  “Just a moment, Miss Holt,” said the young man who seemed to have gotten bulkier in the course of their conversation, and moved away, speaking into his earpiece.

  Maybe she should’ve taken the elevator to another floor and sneaked her way onto Aldous’s floor. He should have stairs, too, right? That was building code, you had to have a fire escape, at the very least. So she should’ve done that, instead of trying to make her way directly.

  She had thought that she would only have trouble once she got to his floor. She hadn’t thought getting there would be a problem.

  She cursed her lack of observational skills. If she had been a jewel thief or a spy, she would’ve known all of this.

  Well, she was a caterer, and she hadn’t.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Holt, but we cannot let you go up. You haven’t been cleared.”

  Her jaw dropped.

  “Did Aldous tell you that?”

  “I’m afraid you’re not cleared,” he repeated.

  The penny dropped. Aldous Banks hadn’t said that. That snooty Mandy bitch had.

  “That admin of his told you to say that, didn’t she?”

  “I’m afraid I have to ask you to leave, Miss Holt,” said the young man.

  “Look, it’s really important. If you could just tell him that I’m here, he’ll give me a few minutes. I’m telling you, he will. Just tell him, not his admin.”

  “I’m afraid he’s in a meeting, Miss Holt. He’s got meetings for a couple of hours yet. Your chances of meeting him even if you got past the admin are negligible.”

  He looked sympathetic. Hallie wondered, mortified, how many women came by like her.

  Desperate, she tried again.

  “How many hours do his meetings go on?”

  He looked like he wanted to tell her something.

  “Please. I really need to see him. I really do.”

  Her eyes filled with those tears that were becoming far too predictable and easy.

  They worked, though, because he sighed.

  “He usually goes to the deli one block down at three. He has a break at three. And you did not hear this from me, all right? I don’t think you’re a security risk. And I remember you. I was on security detail at the party.”

  She didn’t know if she was relieved or ashamed.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, and left, humiliated.

  It shouldn’t be this hard to tell the man whose baby she was having that she was pregnant, she thought bitterly.

  She considered her options. She could go back to work and make her own decision. Or she could wait another hour and see if she could corner him in that deli.

  She really didn’t have much of a choice. She waited.

  She had to kill time somehow, so she got a magazine and bought a salad for herself. If she was eating for two, she should go about it the healthy way.

  She stabbed at wilted leaves and read silly articles for a few minutes. She got her tablet out and did some work for a while longer. By ten to three, she was so jittery that she could hardly deal with it. Finally, she just stopped pretending to work and waited.

  And she still almost missed him. Hallie looked away for a moment, and when she looked back up, she saw his retreating back.

  She knew it was him. She recognized the way he walked, the broad shoulders, the rangy limbs, the blonde hair.

  With a yelp, she grabbed her stuff and trotted along after him, trying to keep him in sight. But his long legs ate up the ground so fast that she was out of breath by the time he reached the deli. She saw him sit at a table for two and ran in. Out of breath, she dropped into the chair opposite him.

  He was startled.

  “Hallie?”

  Well, at least he remembered her name, thought Hallie.

  She had come up with plenty of ways to build up to the announcement. She would ask him how he was doing, and tell him what a surprise it was to see him there. She would be all suave and sophisticated and polished.

  What she actually did was, looking flustered and hassled, blurt it out.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Aldous put down his sandwich. His blue eyes widened in shock.

  She wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. This was beyond humiliating.

  But why should she be humiliated? She didn’t get pregnant by herself!

  She stiffened her spine and straightened her shoulders.

  “I’m pregnant, and in case you’re wondering, you are definitely the father. I’m late, I took three tests, and there’s no doubt about it. I’m pregnant. I don’t know what to do. I’m considering all options, but I figured, as the father, you’re entitled to at least have your opinion heard. It will still be my decision. But you probably deserve to at least know before… Before I make my choice.”

  “Pregnant.”

  Aldous Banks didn’t sound like Aldous Banks. He sounded like he’d been hit hard on the back of his head.

  “Yes, that’s what I said. Pregnant.”

  “How can you be pregnant?”

  “The usual procedure is when a man and a woman have sex without using a condom, especially when the woman is ovulating, the sperm meets egg, becomes an embryo, and the woman ends up pregnant and feeling like her life is over,” snapped Hallie.

  Was he an imbecile? How did he get to be a billionaire if he was so horrible at dealing with crises?

  “I know how pregnancy works,” he snapped.

  But he looked dazed.

  “Are you sure?”

  Hallie could’ve kicked him.

  “No, Aldous, I came to your office, got myself completely humiliated by your security and that new admin of yours, waited outside for you for an hour, followed you to this deli and came and told you I’m pregnant because I’m not sure at all.”

  She was so fed up with everything that she didn’t even care that she was being that sarcastic to one of the richest men in the country. She didn’t care. She didn’t give a fuck what he thought. She had had enough of all of it.

  “And that admin of yours? Ask her. I called in the morning, and she refused to even tell you that I needed to speak with you. I came to your office, and your security guy – really nice guy – called her again, asking if you could squeeze me in between meetings. She said no, again. What is her problem? Are you banging her? Is she jealous?”

  Hallie finally managed to get her tongue under control and stopped talking. She felt deflated after that sudden spurt of hot temper.

  “I’ll talk to Mandy about that. She’s supposed to screen my calls, but that’s not how it’s done.”

  “Well, good,” she said.

  “Hallie… I’m sorry. I just… Well, I didn’t expect this.”

  “Neither did I. I tried to remember if we’d used a condom and couldn’t, but I thought we probably did.”

  “I couldn’t quite remember, either,” he confessed.

  “Well, we obviously didn’t. Or if we did, we didn’t do it very well.”

  “How far along… No, silly question. I need to wrap my head around this.”

  “Good luck with that. I’ve been trying. Not working very well.”

  “
Have you… considered your options?”

  Hallie shrugged.

  “The most sensible option is to terminate it. I’m not ready for this. But… Well, but.”

  “Hallie… You came to me because you thought I deserved a say. I… Would you consider not terminating it? Consider going through with it?”

  Now what was going on, she wondered.

  Chapter 6

  Hallie just looked at Aldous. She was done talking for now. Now he could do all the talking. If he was asking her to do something like keeping the baby, he needed to explain.

  But he didn’t say a word. He just looked… panicked. He looked panicked.

  Well, that was appropriate. She was pretty panicked herself.

  “Why?” she asked, finally.

  “My mom would kill me!”

  Hallie goggled. That was absolutely the last thing she was expecting. The self-made alpha billionaire who was known for his business acumen and playboy lifestyle was scared of his mama?

  “Okay, I get how that’s not a complete explanation. My mom pretty much raised me single handedly. She…”

  Hallie saw the admiration and love just light up his face and felt herself soften. Anybody who loved his mama like that had something good in him.

  “She is incredible. She’s strong, and principled, and proud of me. She is also a very strict Baptist.”

  Ah, thought Hallie, there it was. His mama believed that abortion was murder. Hallie didn’t agree. Hallie wasn’t going to have a child just because his mama wanted her to have it, too.

  “I can’t have a baby just because your mama disapproves of abortions,” she pointed out reasonably.

  “I know. I’m asking you to consider it. We can work out an arrangement.”

  Hallie rose.

  “I’m not looking for money.”

  Aldous rose, too.

  “Look, can we talk about this somewhere a little more private? I don’t know how to handle this. But I want to do it right. Can we go sit on a bench in the park and talk about it?”

  Hallie wanted to say no. But that’s what she had come for, right?

  So she nodded and left, not looking over her shoulder to see if he was following her.

  He effortlessly fell into step beside her. She didn’t say a word until they were sitting on a bench. He was still holding his sandwich.

  It made her hungry.

  “Hallie, just hear me out, okay? I don’t know how I’m supposed to react to this. I accept that the decision is completely up to you, but I hope that you will decide to keep it. I know that pregnancy means you will need to miss work, especially when your work involves you going places and being so active. That missed experience might mean missed opportunities in the future, too. Plus there will be medical bills. That’s what I meant by arrangements. I don’t want you to make your decision because you might have to give up opportunities. I can make sure that you are comfortable, and I have contacts that will help you make up whatever you lost in that time. That’s all I mean by arrangements and compensation, though if you want more, then that’s also something we can talk about.”

  That took the wind out of Hallie’s sails a bit. That sounded really reasonable, actually. Part of the reason why she wasn’t ready was that she simply couldn’t afford it.

  “But Aldous… I don’t know if I’m ready to have a baby.”

  There was silence.

  Finally, he broke it.

  “You could always give it up for adoption. I have the resources to make sure we do a complete background check on any potential adoptive parents.”

  That was true. But she wasn’t sure.

  “Why do you think your mama will even find out about this?”

  Aldous grinned, and that charm that was second nature to him radiated off him.

  “Mama always knows. She seems to read my mind. And, well, I promised her, fifteen years ago, that I would never lie to her. I got into a lot of trouble because I lied to her. She had to pull triple shifts for months to help pay off my debts, even if I worked two jobs, too. She made me promise, after giving my ass a good hiding, that I would never lie to her again. A lie by omission is also a lie. I don’t play with technicalities with her. I owe her honesty, Hallie. It would break her heart if I had to tell her that her grandchild lost the chance to be.”

  “I can’t imagine she’d be too happy about giving up her grandchild, either, in that case.”

  Aldous’s smile was… tender and loving, realized Hallie. She had never seen him looking so soft and approachable.

  “She believes in helping people. She is very set in her ways, but she has a heart of gold. I know, she’s my mother, and I’d obviously say that, anyway, but she really does. She believes that children deserve a loving home with both parents, together. My dad died when she was pregnant with me and she always felt guilty, somehow, that I didn’t have a father. She would understand that it’s for the best if we give our child to parents who can be there, together.”

  Hallie considered that.

  “What if she tells you to marry me?”

  That made Aldous stop short.

  “No, she wouldn’t do that.”

  He sounded a bit like he was trying to convince himself.

  “Well, it’s not like I want to, either, hot shot,” said Hallie, with something resembling her usual spirit.

  “No, I mean… She believes that people should get married when they’re right for each other, too. She doesn’t approve of my, well, lifestyle, but she thinks I’m, well…”

  He actually looked embarrassed, thought Hallie. That made her grin. He was cute when he was embarrassed.

  “What does she think you are?”

  Hallie couldn’t help teasing him.

  “She thinks I’m sowing my wild oats and will settle down soon.”

  Hallie chuckled.

  “Well, I suppose she knows you pretty well.”

  “She does. She doesn’t approve of the women I date, but she’d expect me to do right by the woman who’s pregnant with my child. The baby growing in you, that’s ours, Hallie. I’ll be there for you if you choose to have it.”

  “I need to think about it,” said Hallie.

  “I know. I’m not trying to pressure you. I’ll get a car to take you back to your office. And here’s my number. This is my direct line, and this is my direct email. You can reach me on that any time you need to. I won’t let you be humiliated like that again,” he promised, and that made Hallie melt.

  She hadn’t said it. But he had seen, and he was angry about it. That mattered to her.

  She took his number, and fed it into her phone. She rang him.

  “That’s my number. The only one I have, I’m afraid,” said Hallie with a smile.

  Aldous smiled back at her and she felt her heart beat just a bit harder, just a bit faster. He was the father of her unborn child.

  She knew, somewhere in her mind and deep in her heart, that she had already decided to keep the baby. But she needed to think about it before she made it irrevocable and told Aldous that.

  “If you do choose to have the baby, I’ll make sure that everything is taken care of. Everything I can do, I will do.”

  Hallie believed him. But she still needed to think about it.

  It didn’t take her long to realize that she did want to keep the child, after all. Knowing that Aldous wanted that option, knowing that he would help her, made a huge difference.

  By evening, she was sure. She called him.

  “Aldous?”

  “Hallie.”

  “I’ve made up my mind.”

  “Okay…”

  “I’ll need your help with some stuff. Especially finding the right parents for our baby.”

  Hallie could almost hear the sigh of relief from the other side.

  “I’m glad. I’m really glad you made that choice, Hallie. I… We need to meet. I have a few files.”

  Hallie giggled.

  “Files? About what?”

  �
�Gynecologists, nutritionists, about a million other things that a pregnant woman apparently needs. I had an assistant put everything together.”

  Hallie felt as if she was being swept away by a tidal wave named Aldous Banks.

  “But…”

  “We need to make sure you get the best care possible, and you have all the information you need to make the best choices.”

  “But Aldous…”

  “You will have a chauffeur and a car at your disposal at all times, of course. The chauffeur will also be more than happy to take care of chores like grocery shopping for you.”

  “Aldous, I…”

  “He also has a list of staples that will be good for you. He will restock them periodically. He will be available with a five-minute notice at night, as well. I’ve got him an apartment close to yours.”

  Hallie gave up.

  “I’ve also started expense accounts and tabs for you in all places I could think of, especially places that, I’m told, pregnant women frequent. I’m not an expert, but Layla tells me that she’s covered everything you need.”

  “Layla’s back?”

  “No, but she recommended a cousin. I’ve hired her. Layla has taken a couple of weeks off because her sister’s having a baby. It’s apparently a big deal and she hasn’t had a vacation in three years. I couldn’t exactly say no.”

  Hallie liked this new human version of the billionaire.

  “Aldous, lots of women manage to get pregnant and stay pregnant without an army of helpers, you know.”

  “Yes, but none of them were having my baby.”

  That was true. And this would make life a whole lot easier for her.

  “I’m also starting a bank account for you. No, wait, hear me out. You’re at liberty to use it whenever you want. But you don’t have to use it. Just in case there’s a complication and you need to co-pay, or there’s something really unforeseen that needs money – look at it as a backup plan. I know you can take care of yourself. But from what Layla told me, most women worry about money when they’re pregnant, even if they’re comfortably well off. I know you can take care of yourself, but this is just a safety net. So that you don’t have to worry. Stress is bad for the baby. It’s there in case you need it. Just in case.”