The Oilman s Baby Bargain

by Michelle Celmer

  Well, she would show him. She would marry his brother and she would make Lance love her. She would be the best wife, the best mother—everything Lance could ever want in a mate.

  Mitch would see how happy they were, see how perfect she could be, and he would regret letting her go for the rest of his life.

  Two

  September

  M itchell Brody had never been one to compromise, but when it came to Brody Oil and Gas, he would do just about anything to ensure its continued growth and success. Even if that meant marrying a spoiled, heartless, manipulative heiress who had a block of ice where her heart belonged.

  Bruce Cavanaugh glared at Mitch from behind his massive desk—the desk he boasted once belonged to JFK—in his Houston office, where he sat like a king addressing a lowly peasant. Everything in the room, from the rich furnishings to his many accolades framed and hung on the walls, was designed to intimidate. Mitch would happily tell the overbearing son of a bitch to go to hell, but unfortunately, he and Lance needed his senatorial support. Even more so since the fire at the refinery. If they planned to keep profits up, they needed to expand.

  “Your brother has humiliated my family,” he told Mitch.

  “I know he has, sir. Once more, I would like to express our deepest apologies.”

  “Rejecting my Lexi for a lowly secretary,” he scoffed, as if Kate’s profession somehow made her unworthy. Mitch wondered how the senator would feel if he knew that while she was supposed to be planning a wedding with Lance, his precious daughter Lexi had been seducing Mitch instead.

  “He was in love with Kate,” Mitch said, which seemed to carry little or no weight.

  The senator just glared and said, “I don’t think we have anything left to discuss, Mr. Brody.”

  Mitch had never had to grovel in his life, but there was a first time for everything. His brother had damn well better appreciate this. “I’d like you to consider a compromise, sir.”

  The senator narrowed his eyes. “What kind of compromise?”

  “We still need your support, Senator Cavanaugh, and I’m assuming you still want the best for your daughter.”

  “Your point is?”

  “The Brody name can provide that.”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  He had to force the words out. “A marriage between Alexis and me.”

  He looked wary, but also intrigued, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms over his chest. “Explain.”

  In other words, kiss the old man’s ass, make this worth his while. “I think this arrangement will be in everyone’s best interests, Senator. Married to me, Alexis will be set for life financially, and remain in the upper echelon of Texas society.”

  “And in return?” the senator asked.

  “With your senatorial support, my brother and I will expand Brody Oil and Gas and take it to heights our father never dreamed possible.”

  “I’m sure you can imagine how humiliated my Lexi was when your first arrangement fell through. If I do say yes, what assurances do I have that you won’t fall in love with your secretary and decide to marry her, instead?”

  It annoyed Mitch the way he referred to her as “my Lexi,” as though she were a possession, or a commodity. If he really cared about his daughter, would he expect her to settle for an arranged, loveless marriage? Wouldn’t he want her to be happy? Or maybe in his mind, wealth and security equaled happiness.

  Whatever the man’s motivation, it wasn’t Mitch’s problem. Besides, as far as he was concerned, Lexi was getting exactly what she deserved. He should have realized that the woman under the sweet and demure exterior was in reality a viper. Not unlike his mother, who made his father fall in love with her, gave birth to his sons and then abandoned them.

  Lexi had played with his emotions and used him. Now he was going to return the favor.

  “In the first place,” Mitch told him, “my secretary is sixty-eight and married with grandchildren. Second, I am not a frivolous man when it comes to my emotions. I’m prepared to do anything for the sake of my business. I also have a plan to counteract any humiliation my brother’s rejection caused. When all is said and done, Lance will be the one who comes out looking like a fool.”

  “How will you manage that?”

  “With all due respect, sir, I would prefer to discuss it with Lexi first, to be sure that she’s okay with it.”

  Senator Cavanaugh silently considered that for several moments, then he nodded. “I’m inclined to say yes, but under one condition. I won’t force Lexi to marry you. She must be agreeable to the match, or the deal is off.”

  Mitch winced. That could definitely be a problem. She obviously despised Mitch. He was going to have to get creative, make her an offer she couldn’t refuse. Perhaps a credit card with no limit and all the department store accounts she could dream of. He would give her everything her spoiled and greedy little heart desired. That is, if she had a heart.

  “Agreed,” Mitch said. He rose from his chair and offered the senator his hand. The man’s grip was firm and binding.

  “One more thing,” the senator said, as Mitch turned to leave. “If you hurt my daughter in any way, shape or form, I will crush you and your brother. Understand?”

  Mitch nodded, then turned and walked to the door, hoping he hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of his life.

  Lexi stood in her private bathroom at her father’s Houston estate feeling as though she might be sick. She’d been feeling that way every morning lately. Which was what had motivated her to finally take a home pregnancy test. That, and two missed periods. And sure enough, when the little wand was ripe, up popped that little pink plus sign.

  She groaned, and dropped her head in her hands. She had always been the perfect, dutiful daughter. The one time in her life she’d had the guts to say to hell with what her father wanted and have some fun, this was what happened.

  Didn’t that just figure?

  There was a soft rap on the door and her personal assistant, Tara—the one who had been kind enough to fetch the pregnancy test in the first place—poked her head in. “Well?”

  Unable to make herself say the words, Lexi held the results up so Tara could see for herself. “I am so completely screwed.”

  Tara crossed the room and wrapped Lexi up in a hug. “We’ll get through this,” she promised. “Everything will be okay.”

  Lexi rested her head on Tara’s shoulder and let herself be comforted for a minute. Tara was the closest thing she had to a best friend. Lexi’s father was particular about who Lexi was allowed to befriend. As far as he was concerned, no one was good enough for his little girl. As a result, people believed she was a snob.

  And what would they think if she had a baby out of wedlock? Her father would be absolutely mortified. He talked for years about how someday she would marry and give him grandsons to spoil, but this was not part of his carefully laid plan.

  “If my father finds out, he’ll kill me,” she said.

  Tara held her at arm’s length. “You have options.”

  Lexi knew exactly what she meant, and shook her head. “Termination isn’t an option.”

  “So, you’ll have it?”

  “If I do, my father will disown me.” Of that she had little doubt. Perception meant everything to him. He would probably accuse her of doing it on purpose, to sabotage his reputation. He would accuse her of not loving or respecting him after everything he had done for her. How many times had she been tempted to ask, what have you done for me? Other than shelter her, control her life and treat her more like political leverage than a daughter.

  But she would never have the courage to say the words. Despite everything, he was still her father. Without him, she had no one.

  “What do you want, Lexi?” Tara asked.

  That was part of the problem. She didn’t know what she wanted. If her father did disown her, cut her off financially, would it be fair to the child to raise it in poverty and shame? But the idea of a stranger rais
ing her own flesh and blood made her heart ache.

  This is Mitch’s child, too, she reminded herself. Shouldn’t he be part of the decision?

  As if reading her mind, Tara asked, “What about the father?”

  He may have been the biological father, but Mitch had made his feelings unequivocally clear. Their night together had been a mistake, and no one could ever know. “The father wants nothing to do with me.”

  “Curious,” Tara said, looking thoughtful. “Mitchell Brody always struck me as the responsible type.”

  Lexi’s mouth dropped open in surprise. She hadn’t told anyone about the night she’d spent with her former fiancé’s brother. It would have been too humiliating. How did Tara…?

  “I would have to be an imbecile not to have figured it out,” Tara told her. “For a week, you talked of nothing else. It was Mitch this and Mitch that. Mitch took me to the Smithsonian and Mitch took me to the most exclusive French restaurant in all of D.C. Mitch and I sat talking for hours. It was obvious you had feelings for him. A woman doesn’t hold on to her virginity for twenty-four years, then give it up to a stranger.”

  That week had been one of the best in her life. She had learned that there was more to Mitch than his serious, and sometimes intimidating exterior. He could be sweet and fun. She’d allowed him to seduce her, and look at the mess it had gotten her into.

  “On the other hand,” Tara said, “if he was really that responsible, he would have used protection.”

  “He did! That’s why I was so hesitant to believe I could be pregnant in the first place.”

  “Did you use a condom every time?”

  “Of course we—” She frowned.

  Tara mirrored her expression. “What?”

  Lexi shook her head. “No, that couldn’t be it.”

  “You had unprotected sex?”

  “Only for a minute. It was the middle of the night, and we woke up and he started to…” Her cheeks blushed a brilliant shade of pink. She’d never spoken about anything so personal to anyone in her life. Not even her physician. “But he put a condom on before he…you know…finished.”

  Tara looked pained. “Sperm can be released before ejaculation. And it only takes one. They teach this stuff in health class, Lex.”

  But she hadn’t had health class. She had been homeschooled by tutors, to spare her the improper influence of other children. And not a single one of those tutors, not even her science instructor, had ever said a word about sex education. Her father would have had a fit. Everything she knew about sex, she’d learned from the romance novels she used to sneak into the house. Lately, she had come to realize that those books offered a somewhat slanted view of what love and relationships truly entailed.

  “So, this is my fault,” she said. If she hadn’t been so naive, she would have known better.

  “It’s no one’s fault. Besides, it sounds like you two had one heck of a night together. Maybe, if there’s a chance—”

  Lexi shook her head. “There’s no chance. He wasn’t the man I thought he was.”

  “Well, he still has rights.”

  “I know,” she said, feeling more confused than she ever had in her life. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Maybe what you need is some time away to think this through. You’ve been telling me for months that you’d like to take a vacation. Didn’t you mention a trip to Cabo San Lucas?”

  The place where she had hoped to spend her honeymoon in marital bliss with Mitch? She couldn’t bear the thought of it.

  “Too hot,” she told Tara.

  “Okay, how about an Alaskan cruise?”

  She blanched. “As if I’m not nauseous enough.”

  “I didn’t think about that.” Tara gnawed her lower lip for a moment, then she brightened. “I know! What about that villa in the Greek Isles that Senator Richardson mentioned? That would be perfect.”

  Actually, that was an excellent idea. She wanted quiet and seclusion, and no one in Greece was likely to know, or even care, who her father happened to be. But there was still a problem. “What if my father won’t allow it?”

  “Tell him the humiliation of Lance’s rejection is just too much to bear, and you need some time alone.”

  It was the humiliation of Mitch’s rejection that was really killing her, but still, it wasn’t a bad idea.

  “Make him feel guilty for putting you in this position,” Tara said. “It is ultimately his fault that you’re going through all this.”

  Tara had a point. If her father hadn’t insisted she marry Lance, Lexi never would have met Mitch. So, in a roundabout way he was responsible, although she doubted he would agree. He would lay the blame solely on her. As always. No matter how hard she tried, she never seemed to do anything right. And though she had never been one to play the pity card, if the circumstance demanded it…

  She smiled at her friend, thankful she had someone so supportive to lean on at a time like this, even if she was getting paid handsomely to do so. “How soon can you make the reservation?”

  Three

  A s soon as he left the senator’s office, Mitch called his brother.

  Lance answered on the first ring. “What did he say?”

  “He agreed.”

  Lance released a breath.

  “You’re sure you’re ready to deal with the backlash?” Mitch asked. “This isn’t going to look great for you.”

  “After the way I humiliated her, I would say I probably deserve it. I’m just sorry that you have to go through this.”

  “Sorry for what? You were going to make the same sacrifice.”

  “But I didn’t. I went with my heart.”

  “I’m sure Lexi and I will eventually grow fond of one another,” he lied. It was probably more likely they would live completely separate lives. If they didn’t kill each other first.

  “I just feel guilty as hell making you do this. Now that I know what it feels like to be with someone I love and trust, I want the same for you. I want you to be happy.”

  “When our company is thriving and we’re leaving our competitors in the dust, I will be. Besides, you know I don’t believe in love. Life doesn’t work that way. Not for me, anyhow.” Nor did he want it to. It was tough to betray a man who refused to leave himself vulnerable. No woman would hurt him the way his mother had.

  His brother could see right through him. “Not all women abandon their families,” he said. “And when Mom did, I’m sure she had her reasons.”

  Of course she did. Their father was a bastard, emotionally, and at times physically, abusive. But if she loved Mitch and Lance, why leave them behind to suffer in her place? Why not take them with her?

  He had no doubt that Lexi was self-centered and spoiled enough to do the same. If she did agree to marry him, he would insist they remain childless. It would be cruel to bring a baby into a loveless shell of a marriage. Sometimes he wished his parents would have spared him the burden of ever being born.

  “There is a catch,” Mitch told him. “Alexis has to willingly accept my proposal.”

  Lance let out a low whistle. “Maybe it was my imagination, but there didn’t seem to be any love lost between the two of you when I broke the engagement.”

  Lance had no idea. “He also warned me that if I hurt her, he’ll crush us.”

  Lance chuckled. “The old goat doesn’t pull any punches, does he?”

  “You’re not concerned?”

  “Why should I be? I have total faith in you.”

  Mitch hoped that faith wasn’t misplaced. He’d already let his brother down once, betraying him by sleeping with his soon-to-be fiancée. Although it wasn’t as if Lance loved Lexi, or thought of the marriage as anything more than a business arrangement. Mitch, on the other hand, had honestly believed there had been a connection between Lexi and him. If he had known that Lance loved Kate the night that he slept with Lexi, he might have asked Lexi to marry him, instead. But she had only been using him.

  Ironic that he would b
e stuck marrying her regardless.

  “You can still back out,” Lance said.

  No, he couldn’t. This marriage was imperative. “I’ve already made my decision. I’m going to call her right now and set up a meeting.”

  “Suppose you ask, and she says no.”

  A very likely scenario. But every woman had a weakness. He would find hers and use it to his advantage. “I’ll just have to make her an offer she can’t refuse.”

  Though she hadn’t yet sought her father’s approval, Lexi laid out her clothes for the maid to pack. Her plane departed the day after tomorrow and nothing short of the apocalypse would stop her from being on it. The way she figured it, an emotional meltdown during supper and tearful pleading should bend him to her will.

  Her cell phone rang and she checked the display. It was a Houston number that she didn’t recognize. Curious, she answered.

  “Lexi, it’s Mitchell Brody.”

  Her heart plummeted to her toes at the sound of his voice. “Hello, Mr. Brody,” she said in her coolest tone.

  “I was wondering if we can arrange a meeting. This afternoon, if possible.”

  A meeting? What could they possibly have to say to each other?

  Fear slithered down her spine. He couldn’t know about the baby, could he? Only Tara knew, and she swore not to breathe a word to anyone.

  She was being paranoid. Of course he didn’t know. Anything he could possibly have to say to her at this point was irrelevant.

  “I’m afraid I don’t have time,” she told him. “I’m packing for a trip. Perhaps we could schedule a meeting in a few weeks, after I return.” Maybe by then she would know what she planned to do.

  “I’m afraid this can’t wait,” he said. “It’s urgent that I speak with you today. I can be there in twenty minutes.”

  Though he was the last man on earth that she wanted to see right now, her curiosity had been piqued. Maybe he wanted to beg her forgiveness, tell her that calling their night together a mistake had been a gross error in judgment.