Quarantined with the Billionaire

by Jade C. Jamison

  “That was when she got pregnant. How could I kick out the mother of my child? How could I leave her penniless? I couldn’t, but I could ask her to stop drinking. She wouldn’t, so I tried to get her to go to rehab. At this point, I’d been dreaming of a baby girl for months, growing more worried that Kate’s drinking was stopping my child from growing in her womb properly, and I’d contacted several lawyers to find out how much control I had over the situation. We’d had a particularly nasty argument, and I’d told her if she wouldn’t stop drinking, I was going to have her locked up in a rehab facility, whatever it took. She threw her empty rum bottle at me.” His eyes connected with mine then. “It broke against the fireplace in your bedroom—after hitting me square between the eyes. She ran out of the room and was peeling her car out of the driveway before I could even try to stop her.”

  Oh, shit. I knew where this was going.

  “She crashed her car into a concrete barrier after merging onto I-25. The authorities called me and I rushed to the hospital. She was in critical condition, heading right into surgery. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt that sick in my life, and I felt like it was my fault. If anything happened to the baby, that was on me.” I wanted to protest, to assure him that wouldn’t have been his fault, but there would be no convincing him. He’d lived with this for a while now and had long since assumed all the blame.

  He walked across the room to the dresser, and I got the feeling he hadn’t entered this room in years. That little baby had meant the world to him. Picking up what looked like a tiny pink brush, he held it between his finger and thumb and twirled it, emphasizing how miniscule it was. “This’ll tell you what a bastard I am. When the doctor came out to talk to me and said Kate’s condition was stable, I instead asked about the baby.”

  “Baby? The only person in this accident was your wife, sir.

  “No, I mean the baby she was carrying.

  “Carrying?

  “She was pregnant.”

  Maddox settled onto the ottoman, and I couldn’t just stand there staring down at him. I knelt beside him on the floor, gently touching his knee—but it was as if I wasn’t even there.

  “That news came as a shock to the doctor—which didn’t really surprise me at the time, because Kate was so damned thin. But he broke the news to me that she wasn’t pregnant. I grasped at straws. Maybe she’d miscarried. But no. She had never been pregnant. It had all been a lie. Had her brain been so alcohol-addled that she didn’t realize I’d figure it out eventually? Was she enjoying watching me blow money converting that room for no reason at all?”

  Maddox’s left hand was squeezed into a fist, his words tight as he forced them out of his mouth. “Kate actually recovered pretty quickly. She’d broken some bones and needed physical therapy, but she managed just fine. I waited to talk to her about it until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I’d wanted to wait until she came home, but I couldn’t trust her. And instead of apologizing, she blamed me. She didn’t even try to blame it on her addiction. Somehow, it was all my fault. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t easy to live with. I was married to the business I was growing, hardly ever home—and home even less once we started fighting. Part of me believed it was all my doing.

  “Until she went after me, guns blazing. Not only had she ripped a fictional child out of my arms, she wanted it all. And her lawyers drummed up the story that Kate had been the reason my business was so successful. Behind every successful man and all kinds of garbage and she went for the throat. I realized I’d have to fight dirty, too, so I hired the most ruthless attorney I could find. And this guy didn’t just stop at how she behaved at the end of our marriage. He dug into her past and absolutely destroyed her. At the end, she was broken.”

  Maddox was silent for a while, but I kept my hand on his knee, listening to his soft breathing. “I gave her millions in the end. I was going to give her a mere one million—enough to either settle somewhere comfortably while earning a living or to crash and burn. But after I saw the damage we’d done, I gave her way more than she deserved. Well, I guess you could argue that…but it was guilt money. I kept my business. I kept the house. But I’m afraid I took her soul in the bargain.”

  He wasn’t going to tell me more, so I didn’t want to dig. Knowing now what I knew of Maddox, I couldn’t believe he would intentionally try to ruin her. His lawyer? Possibly.

  And maybe, if I stood by his side, I could help him come to terms with his past.

  One thing was for certain—he had a lot of healing to do.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Maddox peeked out of his home office, looking in the study over to my makeshift desk—which now had a desktop computer.

  Oh…and as the third week of April rolled around, Peggy, Maddox’s real assistant, was working at home, almost fully recovered. By this point, Maddox had had a long conversation with Dominique and Jeffrey and discovered that I’d been right all along. She’d been afraid to lose me because of my knowledge. But Maddox gave me a promotion to a new position: head trainer.

  For now.

  He knew I wanted more eventually. But how could I say no to a promotion and raise, to new job duties and more responsibility? In the meantime, I was continuing to help him while communicating with Peggy through Skype to get her back up to speed.

  At the moment, though, I was doing something a little more…personal.

  “How’s the search coming, Bailey?”

  “Well, according to this,” I said, pointing to the computer screen, “the governor is allowing licenses to be obtained remotely.”

  “What would we need to do?”

  “Fill out the application and send payment.”

  “Sounds easy enough.”

  “But there’s still a little problem. We still can’t have more than ten people there. That restriction’s still in place.”

  “True.” Walking over to my chair, Maddox placed his hands on my shoulders, looking at the screen. “How many people are doing weddings using Skype nowadays?” This week, the governor of Colorado announced a lift on certain restrictions regarding the virus—but still urged prudence and caution and, without research, it was hard to know what specific activities would be okay in the upcoming weeks.

  And we had lots of plans.

  My cell phone rang, and I glanced at it. It was my mom, and Maddox saw it, too.

  “Go ahead. I know you’ve been wanting to check in with her.”

  Picking up the phone, I paused, making sure my voice sounded calm. “Hey, mom. How’s Tod?”

  “He feels better every day.”

  My stepfather had been in the hospital for quite some time in ICU, and my poor mother had been beside herself. While he was every bit a train wreck as my mother, he was good for her—and a far better support system than I.

  “Good. You guys are still being safe, though?”

  “Well…thanks to your boss, we’ve been able to have our groceries delivered, so we’re distancing a lot.”

  I turned slightly, glad to see that Maddox had gone back to his office. As much as I loved his attention and company, I didn’t want to gush about him while he was standing right there. “He’s a good man, mom. And, speaking of Maddox, there’s something I need to tell you…”

  * * *

  At lunch later that day, Simon brought us bowls of warm stew that smelled divine. “I don’t ordinarily serve food like this,” he said, placing the bowls in front of us, “but after being sick for so long, my philosophy is that life is too short to never break the rules.”

  “Hey, now, I never made a rule here that you couldn’t serve homestyle food.”

  “Ah, yes.” Simon grinned, walking toward the kitchen with what appeared to be a spring in his step. I hadn’t seen him since the weekend when Maddox and I got together. Simon had taken off two weeks to deal with the virus, and Maddox had told him to take a third just to be sure.

  I dipped my spoon in the hearty broth and blew on it before touching it to my lip. Still too hot. Maddox alre
ady had a mouthful and was nodding in approval.

  Simon returned with a plate full of crusty bread and another bowl of stew before taking a seat next to us. “This is the rule I’m breaking today, sir.”

  Maddox cocked a lovely brown eyebrow, the grin on his face contagious. “It’s your rule to break.”

  “As I said, life is too short. What will it hurt to have a meal once in a while with my employer and his assistant?”

  “About that, Simon. There’s something we need to let you know…”

  * * *

  The sun’s rays lapping at the deck were warm on my bare legs. I’d stretched out to enjoy the slightly warm air in between the clouds and sprinkles we’d been dealing with all day. “So what the heck did you need to talk to me about?” Elise asked. “And make it fast, sister. I’ve only got ten minutes before the rest of my shift.”

  Elise continued working at home, but she still had to clock in and out on her computer, logging her time. People were no longer in full-on panic mode. The stock market had done some rebounding, but it would probably take a long while before it got back to where it had been at the beginning of the year. Fortunately, our jobs weren’t as crazy feeling as they had been the month before.

  “Well…I’m going back to school.”

  “What the heck? The promotion Mr. Steel gave you wasn’t good enough?”

  “It’s not that, Elise. I’m going to be doing even more—but Maddox said I would do better if I got a degree in finance. Besides, he’s paying for it.”

  “He’s paying for it? Through the Employee Assistance Program?”

  “No, he’s paying for it.”

  “Wow.” I knew what she was thinking.

  “It’s not just a perk of sleeping with the boss.” No one else was outside with me, but I still felt the need to whisper. “Speaking of…how are you and Jack?”

  “Still amazing! I finally canceled my subscriptions to the dating sites I was on.”

  “All of them?”

  “Yep.”

  Holy crap. For Elise to not have a few irons in the fire… “Sounds pretty serious.”

  “It’s kind of getting there.”

  “Speaking of which…I need to tell you something.”

  “I knew it! You’re officially moving in with Mr. Steel, aren’t you?”

  “Actually…I already did that last weekend. I just finished unpacking last night.”

  “What. The. Hell?”

  “I know it seems fast…but he’s the one. I know it.”

  “Wow. I’m happy for you, Bailey.”

  “It’s what I wish for you. If Jack is the right guy for you, I hope you guys don’t drag your feet.”

  “I don’t care. I’m the happiest I’ve been in forever. Maybe my whole damn life.”

  “You deserve it.”

  “And so do you.”

  I took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to phrase the question I needed to ask—the one I’d wanted to chat about in the first place. “Feeling that way, I hope you’ll understand where I’m going with this question.”

  “Shit. What?”

  “Would you be my maid of honor?”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. Maddox proposed to me on Friday. And we picked out a ring last night.”

  “Are there even jewelers open?”

  “No, not now, but he has friends. He had pictures emailed to him and I got to choose. Tonight, someone is coming by with it and some selections of wedding bands that match the engagement ring.”

  “Holy shit! What’s the date?”

  “About that… Did you catch the governor’s announcement?”

  “No. Jack told me that it’s not going to look much different. Except for he might be able to get his tattoo done now.”

  “Tattoo? Ooh.” It reminded me of the one on Maddox’s back. And maybe, after I got my degree in finance, we could fill that empty pink room with a real baby. Things had been moving quickly enough, though. I didn’t need to get that far ahead of myself.

  “So what date, Bailey?”

  “We’re wanting to do it in May. We don’t have any idea when the restrictions are going to be completely lifted, but we already ordered the license and Maddox has a friend willing to officiate. We’re going to do it here in the backyard, and we just need a couple of witnesses. You, of course, would be my maid of honor and witness.”

  “So no huge dream wedding? What good is it marrying a billionaire if you can’t even have that?”

  “No one said I can’t. I can do that later. But I want to marry him now. The time is right. I don’t know how to explain it, Elise, but he’s the one, and I don’t want to wait.”

  “Who am I to argue? So what should I wear?”

  “This is the best part! Get on your laptop.” Elise completely thawed when I sent her to a website where she got to choose her outfit—with all expenses on Maddox.

  And, even with her plus-one, we wouldn’t be over capacity for our intimate gathering.

  Life was good.

  I was happy and safe.

  * * *

  Maddox left the bathroom in what was now our bedroom, wearing nothing but his underwear, before crawling in bed next to me. The weather had been pleasant the past couple of days, so no fire was burning, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have flames flickering inside my body.

  “So how much did you say I just earned?”

  “What?” I asked, looking up from The Girl on the Train. I’d finally started reading the book, prepared to report its contents to my fiancé upon completion.

  “How much do I earn every time I take a piss?”

  “Oh.” I started laughing. “How did you know about that?”

  “Ah.” Kissing my shoulder, he wrapped an arm around my waist as I closed the book. “You forgot that when you added me on Facebook, I’d get to see everything you ever posted.”

  “Stalker.” Something most people didn’t know was that my soon-to-be husband had a Facebook profile—but it wasn’t under his own name. On Facebook, he was known as E.S. Steel, and there was nothing identifiable. His profile picture was a picture of one of the rosebushes in his backyard in full bloom, and there was no information about where he lived, where he worked, or who his family was. And when he showed it to me, I was shocked at how many people had accepted his friendship request, not even knowing who he was. He’d done it mainly so he could evaluate potential new hires. Loose lips sink ships, he’d said, and if these people bare their souls to strangers, how can I trust them to keep my secrets?

  Of course, I’d forgotten that, by accepting his friend request as his fiancée, he’d be able to see my earlier derision for the well-to-do.

  It was something we were still working through. Fortunately, Maddox really was a good man, willing to contribute millions of dollars to the charities of my choosing. For now, though, he was donating to the state of Colorado for the fight against COVID-19.

  “Something like five-hundred or a thousand bucks, right?”

  “Who knew urinating could be so profitable?”

  Giggling, I placed the book on the nightstand before rolling on my side to look Maddox in his beautiful blue eyes. He’d let his facial hair grow out so that now he had a bit of a beard, and I stroked it with my fingers, loving how soft those hairs had finally become.

  “You know I’m going to have to shave it off once we start working back in the office.”

  “I know. That’s why I plan to enjoy it while you have it.”

  The smirk on his face sent chills throughout my body. “I plan to have you enjoy it tonight.” He kissed me firmly on the lips before pressing his forehead to mine. Putting the playfulness aside for a moment, he stroked my hair while peering deep into my eyes. “I hate to even ask…but did you finish that letter to your father?”

  Just thinking about that man threated to send the old sarcastic Bailey flying, complete with rude epithets and passive-aggressive nastiness. But having Maddox next to me drained all that old cr
ap out of my soul. And writing my father had been my idea. When Maddox had asked if I wanted my dad to give me away at our wedding, I’d not only said no way but I’d cursed a little.

  My past was something I needed to figure out how to let go, just as Maddox had encouraged.

  Writing the letter was part of that. “The first draft. It’s pretty raw and scathing.”

  “That’s why I offered to help you with your final draft.”

  I touched my nose to his. “Thank you. Maybe I’ll be done with it by tomorrow.” Or maybe I’d just write it again and then throw it in the trash. Whatever it took to let it go. My father had survived whatever illness he’d had the month before, but it didn’t change the fact that we hadn’t talked in a long time. He’d never reached out to me, so I didn’t see a reason to communicate with him—but, with Maddox by my side, maybe I could try to build a bridge of sorts.

  I had to let go of the nastiness first.

  And Maddox’s strength, protection, and love helped me do that day by day. “I promise to always take care of you, Bailey. You will always be safe with me, my sweet princess.”

  “I promise to take care of you, too, Maddox. To show you every day that you’re loved. To make sure we talk every day. I promise to share my soul with you and respect your needs.”

  His soft smile eased a little as he cupped my cheek in his warm hand. “Who the hell needs wedding vows?”

  “Indeed.” I kissed him with the love of a thousand ages, an unspoken promise of affection and passion that would never die.

  THE END

  Thank you so much for reading Bailey and Maddox’s story. I hope you enjoyed reading about them falling in love as much as I loved writing it!

  You might also like the age gap story about young Briana and Logan, My Boyfriend’s Dad.