The Baby Plan

by Tia Siren

  I grinned at him, but I knew better than to tell him about Paige. I wasn't sure how to tell him the whole reason I was with Paige was because I was trying to impregnate her with my future heir.

  Suddenly, the bizzareness of the whole situation struck me, and I could feel my grin falter. Chris immediately got to his feet. “Uh oh,” he said. “What's up? I've known you for long enough to know that expression means nothing good.”

  “It's fine,” I told him.

  Chris gave me a searching look. I glanced at my watch and swore, realizing that I was late for my meeting.

  “I already told them that you were feeling under the weather today and wouldn't be attending your meetings,” Chris said helpfully. He frowned. “I know you don't care all that much about all the business to do with the hotels, but you're not the kind of guy to just blow off meetings.” He paused. “Unless there was a girl in your bed this morning.”

  I groaned and sank into my desk chair, feeling like an idiot. “There was a girl in my bed this morning,” I admitted. “I forgot to reset my alarm last night so I could get here early enough for the conference call.” It had been with some of our international branches, so I had meant to be a part of it. Again, not that they couldn't function without me, but I knew that I needed to show my face on these calls at least every so often.

  “You went to the bar by yourself on a Wednesday night?” Chris asked, raising an eyebrow at me. “Or have you replaced me as your wingman?”

  “It's more complicated than that,” I told him. I paused, wondering how much I could tell him.

  Chris looked concerned. “Bro, you know you can tell me if there's something going on. We've been friends since we were in grade school.”

  “I know,” I sighed. I decided to just come out with it. “I'm paying a woman 2.5 million dollars to have a baby for me,” I told him.

  Chris's eyes widened fractionally. “Oh, is that all?” he asked teasingly. He frowned. “So it wasn't that you had a girl in your bed this morning, it's that you had an appointment to jack off into a cup?”

  I shook my head. “I didn't want to do it that way,” I told him. “I didn’t want the kid to come out of a more loveless marriage than the one my parents had.” I made a face, and Chris did as well; he knew what my parents were like, and his own were very similar.

  “All right, so you did have a girl in your bed this morning?”

  “Yeah,” I admitted.

  “Are you dating her?” Chris asked sharply. “I'm going to be offended if the answer is yes and you didn't think you could tell me.”

  “Of course I'm not dating her,” I said, rolling my eyes to emphasize my point. “She's come over to my place a couple times. We haven't even eaten dinner or gone on a proper date, we just fucked. The first time, she slipped out right afterwards, but last night, I guess she was too worn out, and she slept in my bed.” I paused. “She still wasn't up when I came to work this morning, and you know I'm not the type of guy to kick a woman out.”

  Chris looked floored. “Okay,” he finally said slowly. “So the two of you have had sex a couple times now, and she'll have conceived, right?”

  “Hopefully,” I said. “We don't know for sure yet. It takes a couple days for a pregnancy to show up positive on one of those tests, I think.”

  “Right,” Chris said. “But once she's conceived, then what? Are you guys going to get engaged or what?”

  I laughed. “Of course not!” I said. “Chris, have I ever said that I wanted to get married? You know I don't want that. This is just a means to an end. I was talking with my attorney, drawing up my will, and I realized that I need to have an heir, sooner rather than later. I'm only getting older, and it would be good to have someone who could take over my money and my business when I can’t do it anymore.”

  Chris continued to stare at me, and I started to fidget, feeling agitated.

  “We're not in a relationship,” I reiterated. “We signed a contract and everything. And she doesn't want this to be a relationship any more than I do. We've talked it all over, and she's okay with giving me the baby, once it's born. She'll have nothing more to do with it.”

  “Wow, man,” Chris said, sounding shocked. “Just, wow.” He grinned. “Guess we're going to need to get some good bro time in over the next nine months, huh? I'm losing my wingman!”

  I laughed. “Come on, I think I'll be able to afford a babysitter,” I reminded him. “Thirsty Thursdays are still going to be thirsty.”

  Chris laughed. “All right, whatever you say,” he said.

  “Was there a reason that you came in this morning anyway?” I asked, wanting to change the topic of conversation before I had too much time to think of all the things in my life that could potentially change if and when Paige got pregnant. It was too early to speculate or worry about all of that, though.

  “Other than to save your ass when you showed up late and didn't even realize you'd missed your first meeting?” Chris asked. He frowned. “I don't mean to sound like your dad, but make sure that whatever you're doing with this girl, you're not letting it take over your whole life. I'm sure I don't need to remind you that you've got a good thing going here.”

  “I know, I know,” I sighed. “It won't happen again.”

  “Anyway,” Chris said. “I just dropped by to invite you out for drinks tonight, but I guess that's not going to work, is it?”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Give me a week,” I told him. If Paige really was ovulating, a week should be plenty of time for me to get her pregnant.

  “A whole week?” Chris asked, sounding appalled. “You may not have replaced me with a new wingman, but I might have to replace you. Sounds like you've got a thing for this girl.”

  “It's not a thing,” I insisted. “I just want to make sure that I've got her pregnant. Then, it'll be about sitting back and waiting.”

  “Well, couldn't you make it to Thirsty Thursdays first and then bring her back to your place?”

  I frowned, thinking about it. “She's probably working tonight anyway,” I realized slowly.

  “What does she do?” Chris asked, looking confused. Then, his eyes widened. “Is it one of the bartending chicks?”

  I laughed at how transparent I was. But then again, I guessed that was what happened when you were best friends with the same person for nearly your whole life. “Yeah,” I admitted. “It's one of the bartenders.”

  “The hot blonde one?” Chris asked. “The manager?”

  “Nah,” I said, shaking my head. “That's Erica; she's Paige's best friend and roommate.”

  “Paige,” Chris said, his eyes narrowing. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. “She's the one with the eyes, isn't she? And the legs.”

  “She's the one with the eyes and the legs,” I said, making my tone teasing even though I knew exactly what he meant. I was glad for the desk between us as I felt my dick take an interest in the line of my thoughts, as I remembered the way she had bent over the previous night.

  I didn't know how I was still this turned on by her, when she wasn't even there and when we had already had sex multiple times in the past 48 hours. As I thought about it, I couldn't help considering what it would be like to lock both of us in my penthouse for a weekend of sex and exhausted napping. Now that had me interested.

  Chris whistled under his breath. “The two of you are sure going to make some beautiful babies,” he said.

  “That's the hope anyway,” I said. “Although it's just one baby. I just need an heir.”

  “Sure,” Chris said, looking like he didn't believe me. He paused. “So if she's going to be working tonight anyway, you could get some drinks with me, right? I need a wingman, and you need a distraction. You can always take her home at the end of the night if you can't find anyone you'd rather go home with.”

  I thought, privately, that there was no way I was going to find someone else that I would rather go home with. But I couldn't keep thinking like that. Pretty soon, this thing with Paige was going
to be over.

  I nodded at Chris. “You're right,” I agreed. “I probably do need a distraction. Let's head over around nine or ten.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Chris said, getting to his feet. “See you later, man.”

  “See you later.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Paige

  I stretched languidly as I woke up. The sunlight was warm where it spilled across my body and the sheets, and I curled around a plush pillow for a moment, not ready to get up yet. Slowly, I became aware of the fact that I wasn't in my own bed. That should have been obvious since there was no way that I could ever afford pillows and sheets as soft as these.

  I blinked myself few times, but it took me a moment to figure out where I was since I had never had a chance to take in what Michael's bedroom looked like. I smiled a little to myself as I finally put two and two together. Then, I glanced over at the clock on the wall and winced, realizing how late in the afternoon it was.

  I slipped out of bed and grabbed my clothes, getting dressed. I frowned, wondering where Michael was. Surely he wouldn't have just left me there in his apartment, would he?

  I grabbed my phone and fired off a text to him: Hey, sorry I overslept. Where are you?

  The message I received in response was terse, and I hoped that he was just headed into a meeting or something, not that he was angry that I had overslept: At work. Left you a note.

  I scanned the bedroom for the promised note and found it on the bedside table. Fortunately, it seemed like my worries were unfounded: he couldn't be too worried that I had slept over if he had invited me over again that night.

  I wasn't sure how I felt about that, to be honest. I had to keep reminding myself that what we were doing was simply what we had to do to get me pregnant and uphold the things that we'd promised in the contract. If I had to keep reminding myself of that, I knew it was probably time to take a step back and forget about this for a moment. Otherwise, I was going to need that cookie dough ice cream that Erica had promised.

  I winced just thinking about it. I might not believe in true love, but that didn't mean I didn't think love existed at all. I loved my parents dearly; which was part of why I went to those Sunday dinners every week. I just didn't expect to find it with Michael. Or rather, I didn't expect that he would find it with me.

  I had to wonder if maybe I was in over my head.

  My stomach growled noisily, and I grinned, making my way into the kitchen to cook myself some breakfast. I froze when I saw an older woman standing in the living room, and she froze as well, seeing me.

  “Hello, dear,” the woman said, smiling broadly at me. “You must be Paige. Michael said you might still be here when I arrived today.” She shook hands with me. “My name is Rosa; I'm his maid.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said faintly.

  “Let me cook you breakfast,” the woman said.

  “That's okay,” I said, shaking my head. “I need to get home and get ready for work anyway.” I was probably already going to be late, and I winced, suddenly looking down at my phone, realizing that the missed texts had probably come from Erica, who no doubt had been trying to get a hold of me when I hadn't been at the apartment that morning.

  “You can't go to work on an empty stomach,” Rosa cajoled. “Come on, I'll cook something quick. A breakfast wrap, maybe.”

  “All right,” I finally allowed. I was going to need to fire off a couple texts to Erica anyway. “Some coffee would be nice, too.”

  “Coming right up,” Rosa said, moving into the kitchen and setting to work.

  I hopped up on one of the bar stools and watched her.

  “So, will I be seeing more of you, Ms. Paige?” Rosa asked.

  I gave a short laugh, wondering what Michael had told her about our relationship. “You might be,” I said. “Michael and I aren't serious, though.”

  “That's a shame,” Rosa said, setting a mug of coffee in front of me. “I've been waiting a long time for Michael to find a woman who makes him smile. He's always such a recluse.”

  I frowned. “He doesn't seem like a recluse to me,” I told her. “He's out at The Shift, the bar that I work at, at least once or twice a week, I think.”

  “Hmm,” Rosa said, looking as though she was thinking. “Perhaps recluse isn't the word I want. But he holds his heart so close. You never know what he's thinking. He's so afraid to be let down that sometimes, I think he doesn't allow himself to feel anything at all.”

  “That must be difficult,” I said, trying not to feel pity for the man. But what Rosa was saying was only confirming what I had suspected during the first conversation I'd had with him: he must be lonely. It made me want to give him a big hug. It also made me want to agree to come over again that night.

  I couldn't go getting attached to him.

  I took a sip of coffee to hide my silence and then turned to my phone. Sure enough, I had three texts from Erica. The first one was lewd and made me blush; the second one was merely inquisitive, asking when I thought I'd be home. The third text, sent just about an hour ago, seemed worried, and I decided I had better give her a call, especially since unless I wanted to go to work in yesterday's clothes, I was going to be late.

  “I'm just going to call my roommate real fast,” I told Rosa, thankful for an excuse to end our uncomfortable conversation.

  Rosa continued to cook while I wandered away towards those immense windows with their impressive view. I stared out over the city as I listened to the phone ring.

  “Hey girl,” Erica said when she answered the phone. “You had me worried!”

  “Sorry,” I said. “If you can believe it, I just woke up.”

  “Oh wow,” Erica said. “I didn't realize sleeping over was part of the arrangement.”

  “It's not,” I said shortly, thinking back to what Michael had said in his note about me staying over again that night. He had to realize that I couldn't do that, right?

  “So you're still coming in to work, aren't you?” Erica asked. “It's Thirsty Thursday, and I don't know what we'd do without you.”

  “I'm still coming in, but I might be a little late. I'm still in yesterday's clothes, so I need to run back to the apartment. Michael said I could shower here, and if I'd thought about it, I would have worn something neutral that I could just throw one of his shirts over. But I didn't realize that I was going to be staying over, so I didn't think this would be an issue.”

  “Plus, that dress looked hot on you last night,” Erica said, a grin in her voice. “Don't worry about the clothes, though. Take a shower and come straight here; I've got you covered. When you didn't come home last night, I figured you'd be doing the walk of shame, and you've helped me out enough with that.”

  “You're a lifesaver,” I said. “I might still be a little late because I'm just about to eat some breakfast”—Rosa was plating eggs, toast, and bacon for me as we spoke—“but I'll definitely be there. Sorry. It won't happen again.”

  Erica laughed. “Girl, this is the first time you've ever been late,” she said. “I don't mind. Just don't make a habit of it, but I know you won't. See you soon.”

  “See you soon,” I echoed.

  I scarfed down the food that Rosa had prepared, hurried through a shower, and headed to the bar as quickly as I could. I was still about an hour late by the time I had changed clothes and fixed my makeup, but no one seemed to mind.

  That evening was busy enough that it kept my mind off Michael's note. At least, it did until Michael and Chris showed up. I watched them warily for a little while, but they were down at Katie's end of the bar, and I didn't have to deal with them.

  Chris was chatting up girls, just like usual, but Michael didn't seem the slightest bit interested in any of them. As Chris made his way across the bar with a girl on either arm, Michael suddenly got up and came around the bar, dropping onto a stool across from me, where I was wiping down glasses.

  “Hey,” he said, looking uncertain.

  I flashed him a quick
grin. “Hey,” I said back. “Sorry, I'm not ignoring you, it's just that Thirsty Thursdays are one of the busiest nights of the week, and I feel bad since I was already late coming in today.”

  Michael winced. “Sorry about that, I probably should have woken you up when I left, but you looked so peaceful.”

  I blushed. “Thanks for letting me sleep,” I told him. “Last night really took it out of me.”

  “You're welcome,” Michael said, smirking at me, and I had to grin in response.

  “How was your day?” I asked.

  “Well, believe it or not, I was late as well,” Michael said. “So Chris took it upon himself to cancel all of my meetings for the day, telling them all that I was feeling a bit under the weather. Kind of weird playing hooky in your office.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, I can imagine,” I said. “Did you get a lot done?”

  “Yeah, I did,” Michael said. “I did some research about a couple companies that I'm considering investing in, and I sent off some emails. Heard back from them and set up some meetings, so I think I'm on track to get those set up by the end of next month if they're worth investing in.”

  “Oh, cool,” I said. “What kind of companies do you invest in?”

  Michael shrugged, looking almost embarrassed. “A lot of science companies, but some cultural organizations as well,” he told me. “You know, the kinds of things that will make a difference in the world.”

  “You and your legacy,” I said, rolling my eyes, but I had to admit that I was kind of impressed by him. Not that I would say that out loud; I was sure that crossed some sort of boundary.

  “So, are you coming home with me tonight?” Michael asked. He looked eager. Had he been waiting all day to hear back from me?

  I blushed and ducked my head, focusing on the glass that was in my hands. “I don't think so,” I told him, risking a glance up at him. I wasn't sure, but I thought he looked disappointed. I frowned, wondering where that had come from. “Maybe some time this weekend.”

  Michael stared at me for a long moment, looking as though it was on the tip of his tongue to say something. He probably wanted to remind me that we weren't sure yet if I was pregnant. To stress again how impatient he was to have an heir. To point out that there was the contract between us, and that I couldn't be having second thoughts now.