The CEO's Baby

by Cleo Jones

  “Don’t bother,” Nia spat. “You sabotaging my date is one thing, but you standing Noah up is another matter entirely…”

  Nia shook her head and gave Blake a disappointed look before making her way back to her car. He pleaded for her to stay and hear him out, but she wasn’t in the mood. Nor was she the following morning, when she entered the office to find him lingering beside her desk. Not wanting to do this dance with him, she walked past him en route to the break room, and she made a point of avoiding meeting his gaze as she topped off her thermos with coffee.

  This annoyed Blake beyond all belief. He spent the rest of the day being short tempered with all of his co-workers, and word quickly spread to leave him alone. To everyone but Amir, that is. He walked into the lobby shortly after lunch with his head held high, and he wasted no time in beginning to relay the details of his date to Robert right in front of Blake’s office.

  “So it went good, then?” Robert asked, obviously eager for the more elicit information. The awkward man had taken to living vicariously through Amir's pursuits ever since he’d started working at Kanadov.

  “Well, no…not as well as I’d hoped,” Amir started to explain. “Her kid was there. Apparently something went down with her sitter.”

  Blake snickered to himself.

  “Damn, that blows,” Robert empathized.

  “Tell me about it,” Amir said. “And her kid…man…he was so ADHD it wasn’t even funny. I was about ready to bend him over my knee and spank him myself!”

  “Hey!” Blake exclaimed, shooting up from his desk and pacing out into the lobby to face Amir.

  Amir frowned, glancing back and fourth between him and Robert. “What?” he questioned. “So I don’t like kids. Big deal.”

  “Well here’s an idea, genius—don’t date women who have them.”

  Amir snorted. “Whatever,” he said, shaking off Blake’s remark before turning his attention back to Robert. “Anyway…after she put the brat to bed…then it was really on.”

  Blake clenched his jaw and tightened his hands into fists, digging his nails into his flesh in an attempt at restraining himself from lunging out at the younger man. His father’s board almost certainly wouldn’t have liked that. They had their heads all the way up Amir’s ass, and for all his shortcomings, Blake had to admit that he was a savant when it came to crisis management.

  “Are you serious?” Robert questioned, letting out a low whistle. “She let you hit?”

  Amir sat down at his desk and shrugged, giving him a smug smile. “I don’t know if I’ll be seeing her again though,” he said. “At least not until she ships that psychotic brat of hers off to military school or something.”

  That was the final straw.

  Blake lunged forward and grabbed Amir up by the collar. “Listen jackass,” he hissed, keeping his voice low. “I suggest you watch your mouth…”

  Amir stared up at Blake like he was out of his mind before exchanging a confused look with Robert, who was staring on as though he’d just scored front row seats to the fight of the year. “Man, what’s your damage?” he finally questioned, struggling beneath his grasp.

  Blake laughed in his face. “My damage?” he spat. “You’re sitting here trash talking my son and his mother, that’s ‘my damage’!”

  Robert’s jaw dropped. “Wait…you’re Noah’s father?”

  Blake didn’t respond. Instead he loosened his hold on Amir’s neck, shoving him to the ground before storming out of the office. He’d lost his temper, an action that, if his past had taught him anything, was always met with negative consequences.

  He was sure this time wouldn’t be any different.

  Chapter fifteen

  Nia was dealt a blow she wasn’t prepared to deal with when she dropped Noah off at Deidra’s the following morning. Deidra was standing out on her front porch wringing her hands in the way she only ever did when she was nervous, and Nia could tell by the expression on her face that whatever she had to say wouldn’t be good. “What’s going on?” she questioned, glancing down at her watch. Shit. There was no way she wouldn’t be late for work if she didn’t leave soon. “Are you not going to be able to watch Noah today?”

  “No, I can watch him,” Deidra assured her, ruffling her nephews hair. “It’s just…one of my friend’s from back east is visiting. She’s going to be staying with me for the week.”

  Nia frowned, not entirely following. “And?”

  Deidra exhaled a deep breath. “Nia,” she said, stepping off the porch to approach her sister. “She’s here to help me get my affairs in order. I got a job on Howard’s alumni committee, and I…I’m moving out there.”

  Nia stumbled back as though she’d been slapped. “I don’t get it,” she said after awhile. “How could you keep something this major from me?”

  “It wasn’t intentional,” Deidra said, giving her a sad look. “It’s just…you’ve been going through a lot lately with the whole Blake thing. I didn’t want to make things any more stressful for you. I was going to tell you when Noah started school, but apparently they need me to start in time for orientation…”

  Nia was at a loss for words, but she also felt terrible that Deidra had gotten herself so worked up with worry on her account. “That’s great,” she finally managed, trying her best to sound more thrilled than she felt. “Really.”

  Deidra looked uncertain. “You’re not mad?”

  “Of course not,” Nia assured her, waving a hand in the air. “You deserve this. Don’t worry about Noah and I. We’ll be fine.”

  Deidra let out a breath of relief, pulling her sister into a tight hug. “I know you will,” she whispered.

  Nia swallowed down the lump in her throat and pulled back to give her sister a reassuring smile. Time wouldn’t allow for more conversation, so she said a quick goodbye to her and sped off to work. The very last thing she wanted to deal with when she finally walked through the door was Amir, but the universe must not have heard her plea, because he sauntered over to her desk as soon as she sat down.

  Nia rolled her eyes, groaning internally. She didn’t feel like being confrontational, but there wasn’t a chance in hell that she was going out with him again after what had transpired the previous night. It was obvious that he didn’t like Noah, and that was a firm deal breaker in her book. She gave him a hard look that said she wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries, and he quickly took off in the other direction.

  Andrea craned her neck to watch him go and whistled. “I swear…that man gets more delicious every time I see him,” she said to Nia, licking her lips. “You’re one lucky girl.”

  “Hardly,” Nia muttered.

  “Uh-oh,” Andrea said, perking up with obvious interest. “I’m guessing your date didn’t go well?”

  Nia shook her head. “It’s like I’ve been telling you all along…he’s just not right for me.”

  “Oh right, I forgot,” Andrea said, rolling her eyes. “The kid thing.”

  “The kid thing?” Nia set down her pen and gave her co-worker a sour look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means you don’t need to be some kind of romantic hermit just because you’re a mother. It’s not like every man you hop in bed with has to be a potential father figure for Noah. What are you, like 28? Trust me, it’s all down hill from there. You need to be out having fun while you’re still hot and young.”

  “Yeah, well, my idea of fun isn’t spending time with a man who looks at my son like he’s a vessel for the bubonic plague.”

  Andrea snorted, but the disheartened look on Nia’s face made her immediately pity the young woman. Week after week, she always asked Nia what she was doing over the weekend, and her answer was always the same. She was either spending time with Noah or feeling guilty for working overtime to support him. Not once did she ever talk about doing anything for herself.

  “Nia, why don’t you leave Noah with your sister for a few extra hours tonight,” Andrea suggested. “We can go dancing or someth
ing.”

  “Can’t,” Nia muttered without looking away from her computer. “I have Noah’s school orientation tonight.”

  “Can’t you blow it off?”

  Nia shook her head, giving her an irritated look. “That would be really shitty of me. Noah’s excited about it. It gives him a chance to catch up with friends he doesn’t get to see over the summer.”

  “Well how about a rain check then?” Andrea pressed.

  “Alright,” Nia said with a sigh, eager to end the conversation. “So long as you aren’t too hurt when I slay you with my moves.”

  Chapter sixteen

  “Do you have a minute?”

  Nia looked up from her salad and nodded, standing up to follow Blake out onto the cafeteria patio. He turned to face her when he was sure they were alone, taking in her worn out disposition before speaking. “I wanted to let you know that you were right. Who you date is your business and yours alone, and I’m sorry if I messed things up with you and Amir...”

  Nia loosened her hold on her arms and studied Blake’s face for a moment before responding. “Thanks,” she finally responded, keeping it simple so as not to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d been right about Amir. “That means a lot.”

  Blake nodded. He wanted so badly to ask her if all those things Amir had said were true, but he knew that would have contradicted what he’d just said about it not being any of his business.

  “Oh, by the way, I’m going to need to reschedule your visit with Noah tonight,” Nia spoke up, pulling Blake from his thoughts. “I have to take him to this thing at his school.”

  Blake frowned. “I thought he was out for the summer?”

  “He is. It’s just an orientation. He gets to meet with his teacher and the kids who are going to be in his class next year.”

  “Oh,” Blake said. “In that case…do you mind if I tag along?”

  Nia hesitated. “I don’t know…I mean…these things aren’t exactly fun. Not for parents anyway…”

  Blake smiled at the fact that she’d just referred to him as Noah’s parent. “Yeah, but isn’t participating in the occasional boring thing just another part of being a parent?”

  Nia was quiet while she considered his request. On the one hand, she couldn’t deny the fact that he had a point. On the other, everyone would know he was Noah’s father if he tagged along, and she wasn’t so sure how she felt about that yet.

  “Come on,” Blake pleaded, reading her mind. “I’d just be observing. You don’t have to introduce me to the PTA moms or anything.”

  “Alright,” Nia relented. “You can pick us up at 6.”

  Blake gave her an elated smile, and he showed up at her place right on schedule later that evening. The drive to Noah’s elementary school was a short one, and he ran to catch up with his friends as soon as he stepped out onto the cement. It wasn’t until they were called in for the one-on-one meeting with his teacher that he began to clam up.

  “Noah McNulty?”

  Blake looked up at the mention of his surname, coming face to face with a petite brunette woman. Up until that moment, he hadn’t realized that Nia had taken his last name for Noah. He’d always just assumed that she’d went with her maiden name.

  Noah stood up from the plastic chair he was sitting in and entered the classroom at his mother’s insistence, grabbing hold of Blake’s hand in the process. “Hi there!” his teacher greeted as soon as the door clicked shut, bending down so that she was eyelevel with him. “I’m Ms. Jennings. I’ll be your fourth grade teacher, but first we need to see how well you remember everything you learned last year. Does that sound okay?”

  Noah nodded.

  “Great!” Ms. Jennings said, standing back up and flattening a few wrinkles in her dress. “Would it be okay with you if we sat over at that table in the corner while your mom and dad stayed back here and watched?”

  Noah responded in the affirmative, not seeming to realize that she’d just referred to Blake as his father. Nia, however, wasn’t about to let that fly. “Um, it’s actually just me,” she corrected.

  Ms. Jennings cheeks reddened. “My apologies,” she stammered. “It’s just…he looks so much like him. I guess I just assumed.”

  “It’s really no big deal,” Nia explained once Noah was out of earshot. “I just thought you should know in case you were to ask him about his family. I didn’t want him to get confused.”

  Ms. Jennings nodded, glancing down at the paperwork from Noah’s file. “So just so we’re clear, his father isn’t in the picture then?”

  Nia hesitated, exchanging an uncomfortable look with Blake. “Um,” she managed. “No…not exactly…”

  Ms. Jennings frowned, glancing back and fourth between Nia and Blake. “Ah, I see,” she finally spoke up, appearing to have a light bulb moment. “Believe it or not…these kinds of situations are more common that you’d think.”

  “These kinds of situations?” Blake spoke up, obviously not following.

  Ms. Jennings nodded. “Many of my students come from non-traditional households. It’s perfectly normal. What matters more than anything is that they’re loved, and the two of you seem to have that covered.”

  Nia was just about to respond when Ms. Jennings walked away to join Noah at the table, and she inhaled a sharp breath when she turned her head to find Blake staring at her profile. “She’s right you know,” he whispered, his eyes never leaving hers. “I’ve never loved anything as much as I do him.”

  Chapter seventeen

  Nia noticed that Noah was fast asleep in the backseat and let out a low groan. He’d gotten too big to be carried a long time ago. “I’ll get him,” Blake volunteered when he noticed her distress, getting out of the car and walking around to the other side.

  Nia thanked him, feeling all the more grateful for his strong physique. She paced to her front door and unlocked it, holding it open so that he could rush Noah into his bed before he awoke. Once he was lying down, she wiggled off his shoes and socks and left him to sleep in the underwear he was already wearing.

  Nia fully expected Blake to be gone when she finally made her way back into the living room, but she wasn’t all that surprised to find him seated on her couch. “I can’t believe how great he did on that test,” he spoke up when she entered. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that impressed.”

  Nia smiled and sat down beside him in the darkness. “You were right about Amir,” she said after awhile. “He’s a complete jerk.”

  Blake gave her a sympathetic look. “If it’s any consolation…I didn’t want to be right.”

  Nia nodded. “I know.”

  A heavy air of silence settled over them, and it wasn’t until their fingers touched that it occurred to Nia just how close they were sitting. She chanced a glance at Blake despite the fact that her heart was on the verge of beating out of her chest, and she could tell by his expression that there was something lingering on the tip of his tongue. “What was it like?” he finally questioned.

  Nia furrowed her brows. “What?”

  “All of it,” Blake whispered. “Giving birth to Noah…raising him all by yourself…”

  “Oh…” Nia eyed her hands and swallowed hard. Blake had given her the perfect opportunity to vent about everything he’d put her through in his absence, but for whatever reason, she no longer felt such a burning need to. “It was amazing,” she said instead, keeping it simple. “I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.”

  Blake stared at her with glazed over eyes. “You’re amazing,” he told her. “The most amazing woman I’ve ever met, actually…”