by Angelo, Judy
Before he knew it, it was time for graduation and then on to university and his sightings of the young Parker became a faraway memory.
Until she jumped onto his radar screen almost fifteen years later – as CEO of Parker Broadcasting Corporation.
And that was when he realized that he’d totally underestimated the kid he’d seen so many years before. Now a grown woman – a tall, slender and beautiful one at that – she seemed to have hit the ground running, reorganizing her company and implementing a series of marketing strategies which, for the first time in Quest Media history, raised a real threat to the corporation's business. The girl – no, the woman – had him scrambling to respond to her attempts to court his cable TV subscribers and then she added a digital telephone division just like he had when he took over from his father. Damn!
And now, four years after her appointment as CEO, she wanted to meet with him? He could hardly wait to hear what his nemesis would have to say.
Three o’clock came around and, right on time, Mrs. Frawley called him to say she was bringing the visitor in. Seconds later there was a rap at the door and when his personal assistant opened it, an elegantly dressed woman entered the room. Mrs. Frawley closed the door quietly behind her.
For a moment the woman paused then she raised her chin and looked across the room at him. And there were those big brown eyes he’d seen back in high school. But now there were no glass lenses hiding their beauty. And this time there was no shyness there. No, this time those eyes were bold and full of confidence and they did not waver.
Sloane got up and crossed the room. “Ms. Parker.” He held out his hand. “Welcome to Quest Media.”
“Thank you, Mr. Quest,” she said in a low, almost husky voice and shook his hand. And hers was soft and warm, making her firm handshake all the more surprising. “Call me Melanie.”
“And you may call me Sloane,” he said, as he directed her to the chair across from his desk. As she stepped by him he caught a fleeting whiff of her perfume – cool, crisp and sophisticated, just like she was.
He walked back to his high-backed leather chair and sat down. “So, Ms. Parker…Melanie…how may I help you?”
Demurely, she folded her hands in her lap then tightened her lips. Then she gave a slight frown and bit her lip, a gesture that made her look nervous, which was strange from someone who’d seemed so bold just moments before.
Then she drew in a breath and raised her eyes to his. “I have a proposal to make to you,” she said, her voice slow and steady, “one which I hope you will consider. I want you to give me a baby.”
CHAPTER THREE
What the…
Sloane blinked then his brows fell. “Did you just say what I thought you said?” His voice came out hard and taut with disbelief.
“Yes,” she said, her voice stronger this time. “I would like to have a baby. By you.”
“Listen, lady,” Sloane said, his voice rough with irritation, “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing but I don’t have time for this. I thought you were here to discuss business, not throw down this bull. Are you crazy or something?”
She gave a tight smile. “Or something.” Then she gave a sigh. “Listen, I know this is a shocking proposal but I’m actually quite serious. Let me explain.” She slid forward in her seat. “I’m thirty-three years old and I don’t know if you know anything about the workings of the female body but I’m getting quite close to that age when the chances of having a child start to grow pretty slim.”
“And what the hell does that have to do with me?” The more she spoke, the more convinced Sloane was that the woman was off her rocker.
“Yes, I know that question would be top of your mind,” she said, her voice calm and agreeable, almost as if she were a teacher explaining something to a kid who wasn’t particularly bright. “Of the billions of men in the world you must be wondering why I would come to you with my problem.”
“Ya think?” Sloane gave her a sarcastic glare.
“Reasonable question,” she said with a nod, “and I have a reasonable answer.”
Sloane almost laughed. This, he had to hear.
“I’m a billionaire and so are you. We both have operations in the same city, so we’re in close proximity to each other.”
“Yeah, so?” Where the heck was she going with all this?
“I am looking to be impregnated by a man who is in the same income bracket as I am and who is close enough where his child can get to see him.” She sat back in her chair, looking satisfied with herself like she’d just given an explanation even a fool would understand.
Well, he must be the biggest fool on earth because he hadn’t heard a single word that made sense. “So you mean to tell me, in all of Montreal and its environs, I’m the only man you saw fit to approach with this cockamamie scheme?”
“Yes,” she said with a wide smile like he’d finally gotten it. “It’s important to me that the man be single, around my age, and a billionaire. Not because I want his money, of course, but because I don’t want someone who’ll later try to cash in on his good luck and blackmail me or something.”
“Or something,” Sloane said in a mocking tone, repeating the words she’d said earlier. “Now let me ask you something,” he said, keeping his voice as calm and even as he could, under the circumstances. “You’ve never heard of something called a sperm bank? This is the twenty-first century, you know. You don’t actually need a man.”
“Hell, no.” Melanie’s voice was surprisingly vehement and her eyes flashed as she glared at him. “I will not have a baby for some anonymous donor and leave my child fatherless. I want an actual man who my child can see and spend time with. I want my child to have roots, both on his mother’s and his father’s side.”
Sloane shook his head. “So you’re looking for a relationship? You want a man?”
Melanie rolled her eyes. “Where in all of that did you get that I want a man?” Her voice, so full of exasperation, made it clear that he was too darned slow. “I want someone who can give me a baby and be a father to his child. No strings attached. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“And you want me to do this because…”
Melanie heaved a dramatic sigh. “Were you listening to a word of what I said? I want you to do this because you’re a man, you’re right here in Montreal, you’re close to my age and you’re a billionaire.”
Sloane cocked an eyebrow. “Is that all?”
“No, there’s one more thing. You’re free and single and you look like you have no plans to settle down in the near or even distant future. Don’t you see?” Her voice rose in her excitement. “It’s the perfect solution for both of us. Neither one of us plans to get married any time soon but in the meanwhile we can at least make sure we have a child. ” Her face grew solemn. "Before it’s too late."
“And who says I have no plans to settle down?”
The question seemed to take her by surprise. “Well, you don’t, do you?” she stuttered. “Everybody knows you change women several times a year. You’re always in the papers with someone new on your arm. I just thought…” She shook her head and now she didn’t seem quite so confident. Instead, a look of doubt crossed her features. “You aren’t planning to get married, are you?”
“Not bloody likely,” he almost barked. It was true that he dated lots of women but marriage was not something he took likely. And he certainly wasn’t going to propose because a woman declared her undying love and swore she couldn’t live without him. He had to feel the same way too, right? “That’s beside the point. This is all too crazy, too…practical.”
“And that’s who I am,” she said earnestly. “A practical woman. I desperately want a child and I imagine you would one day want to be a father. Why not start now? This would be a straightforward arrangement. Love would have absolutely nothing to do with it.”
For a long while Sloane just stared at her, wondering where that brain of hers dug up this zany idea. But a practical one, a
t that. The lady had a point.
“So,” he said, his voice low and slow, “how do you propose we go about doing this? Where do we make love? My house or yours?” He’d asked the question half jokingly, just to humor her. He still didn’t know if he’d even go down that twisted road with her, tempting though it was to have her in his bed. He could imagine those long legs wrapped around his waist as he sank…
Her gasp put a sudden end to his musings. “I don’t plan to make love to you. All I want is your sperm. We can just go to the clinic and-”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Sloane put up a hand, cutting her off mid-sentence. “I’m not going to any clinic for them to put my stuff in a bottle. You want my child, you‘d better get to work. And I don’t mean in your office.”
That shut her up real fast. Mouth agape, she stared at Sloane then her face grew red. “I’m sorry. I thought…”
“What? Backing out?” Sloane chuckled. “Am I so repulsive that you wouldn’t go there…even to get the child you say you so desperately desire?”
“N…no, you’re not repulsive at all. You’re actually…very handsome.” She blushed a rosier pink as the words left her lips, reminding him of the shy kid he’d seen so many years before. “I just never thought…”
“You know what?” Sloane said, tenting his fingers as he watched her. “You go home and think about it. I might…just might…grant you your wish. But only if you grant me mine."
***
How crass. Melanie could not believe Sloane Quest actually said what he did. She’d better get to work? He’d made it sound like she was some kind of lady of the night. She shuddered at the thought.
But now that she was home and thinking about it, as he’d so rudely ordered her to do, try as she might she just could not come up with an alternative. When she pondered and pondered and still could not identify another suitable but less demanding donor, she thought of ditching the whole idea. But then where would that leave her? Miles away from her goal, and her thirty-fourth birthday fast approaching. That was not giving her much time to give birth before age thirty-five.
But Sloane Quest's ultimatum had not sat well with her and she wished she could tell him to just go to hell. But she couldn’t. Not when there was a chance, no matter how slim, that he would say yes.
She wished she had a close friend to talk to, someone she could run to for advice. It was a sad thing when, at age thirty-three, the person you talked with the most was your mom. Good grief. She needed a life.
But that was how she’d always been. Approachable and pleasant to everyone but never forming deep friendships. She’d always been a loner and she guessed that would never change.
And as had been the case all her life, Melanie would end up coming to a decision all on her own. And, as always, her decision would be a practical one. Because that was who she was.
Maybe she should consider his counter proposal. After all, Sloane Quest was a highly attractive man. Even if he didn’t have a cent to his name women would still be falling all over him. With his height and dark good looks, what warm-blooded woman would not find him attractive? She most certainly did – and had felt that way from the tender age of fourteen.
Yes, she’d fallen in love the day she walked into the school cafeteria and saw Sloane across the room, his steel-gray eyes trained on her. She’d immediately dropped her eyes, scared that he’d caught her staring, but then he’d turned back to the girl he was with and then they both got up and left. And, as usual, Melanie felt herself fade into the background, an insignificant little fly who hadn’t even sparked a mote of interest.
All that year she’d paid keen interest in Sloane’s activities around campus, even attending a couple of his games although she hated sports and would rather bury herself in the library. Had he even noticed she was there? Highly unlikely. And that was exactly how she’d wanted it…to watch and admire in private.
And even after he graduated she did not forget him. And through the rest of her high school years, on those rare occasions when she wished she had a boyfriend, he was the one who popped into her mind. Talk about puppy love…
And then she’d gone on to college and grad school and the years had flown by and she used other things to fill her void. She’d thrown herself one hundred percent into building her father’s company, filling her days with strategic planning meetings and taking the work home at nights. And on the weekends when she craved companionship there was always her mom, her sister and her cute little nephews.
There’d been a couple of relationships along the way but at the age of twenty-eight, after two heartbreaks, she’d sworn off men, at least for a while. She’d been busy with the business, anyway. The last thing she needed was the distraction of a man and the issues that usually came with having one in your life.
She’d been so busy being CEO that before she knew what was happening the years had flown by and she woke up one day to find herself thirty-three years old, husbandless and childless. The husband, she would have to do without – maybe that just wasn’t her destiny – but not having a child? That, she would not accept. Not without a darned good fight. And so, when she’d started thinking about who she could approach with her bold scheme, the first – and only – man that popped into her mind was Sloane Quest.
And so she’d made her audacious proposal. And then he’d gone and spoiled it with his insensitive demand.
Melanie sucked in her breath and stared at the phone. He’d not been as gentlemanly about it as she’d expected but at least he hadn’t said no. Now it was up to her to proceed or not.
She lifted her clasped hands to her lips as she thought about it some more. Finally, she expelled her breath and reached for the phone. It was probably the craziest move she'd made in her life but, she decided, she would do it.
CHAPTER FOUR
Sloane was just stepping out of the shower when he heard his cell phone ringing. Not bothering to dry off, he walked into the bedroom and grabbed the phone from the nightstand. It was Melanie Parker.
Immediately, he clicked the answer button. “Yes?”
“Hello…Sloane.” Her voice was tentative and soft. “I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time?”
The question made Sloane’s eyes involuntarily slide down his body, still slick and wet from his shower. Well, if you call being caught with your clothes off a good time… “No, you’re good,” he said. “Go ahead.”
“I…wondered if I could invite you to have dinner with me…so we can talk.”
So we can talk. Was she actually considering what he’d said? Sloane didn’t respond immediately, the possibilities racing through his mind. He, a father? He’d never really given it serious thought. Until now.
“Sloane, are you there?”
“Uh, yes.” He shook his head as her voice brought him back to the present. God, this woman had him thinking all kinds of insane thoughts.
“Dinner?” she pressed. “Would you like to go out with me?”
“Sure. When?”
“I was thinking this Saturday night, at Toque. Could we meet there at seven? That is…if you’re not busy?”
“Nope. As luck would have it, I’m free that night.” He threw that in there just to tease her. She was probably thinking of his reputation as a ladies' man for her to sound so nervous about asking him out. Might as well rub it in a little.
“Well, okay,” she said on a sigh. “I guess I’ll see you Saturday night then.”
“Sounds good,” he said, just before she said her goodbye and hung up.
And then, prickling from the water drying on his skin, he headed back to the bathroom where he scrubbed himself dry, his thoughts still on the woman who had just called.
Almost twenty years had gone by and just like that, Melanie Parker was back in his life. Well, not that she’d ever been a part of it, but it was so strange how life threw these curves every once in a while.
And he was actually considering having a child with her. And making love to her. And at the thoug
ht he began to grow hard.
Melanie Parker was no longer the skinny little kid he remembered. Now she was an elegant beauty who would turn on any normal man. Pity she didn’t seem to know that.
He smiled as he stepped into his boxer shorts. He was looking forward to his upcoming rendezvous with the lady in question.
***
Good grief. I look like a tart. Melanie grabbed a tissue and wiped the crimson stain from her lips. She hated this – dressing up, putting on make-up, dolling up to go meet a man. Once she stepped out of her business suit she was much more comfortable in sweatpants and a T-shirt. She was definitely not a ‘going-out’ person. As she stared at herself in the mirror she shook her head. Maybe that was why she hadn’t been able to keep a man.
Suddenly pensive, she got up and crossed the room and plucked her black and gold scarf from the back of the armchair. Tonight she wasn’t trying to keep or catch a man. She just wanted her baby. She knew some might judge her for being too matter-of-fact about the whole thing. Some might even call her selfish, saying she was putting her own desires before the best interest of the child. But she wanted to be a mom. Did that make her an evil person?
Tightening her lips she picked up her purse then turned to go.
When Melanie got to the restaurant Sloane was already there, looking striking in a dark suit and shirt open at the collar, his raven hair glistening under the light cast by the chandeliers in the lobby. He looked relaxed and cool, the total opposite of what she was feeling right then. Surreptitiously, she patted her palms against her hips. It definitely would not do to shake hands when her palms were damp with nervous perspiration. Come on. Get a grip. She stifled a sigh of frustration.
“Melanie.”
He’d seen her and was coming over. Slow down, heart. He’s not the bogeyman. She lifted her chin and pasted a smile on her lips.
“Very nice,” he said, looking her up and down, his eyes appreciative.
Melanie felt the blush rising up her neck and she almost dropped her eyes. Now why did he have to go and do that? She hated compliments. They were nice, of course, but also kind of embarrassing. It meant she was being noticed.