I nod and he grabs a couple glasses. “Sparkling apple juice for you, wine for me,” he says with a grin. I clink my glass against his and take a sip before tilting my head to the side.
“How did you get Ronnie to agree to the new terms? What did you say to him? He gave me everything in the settlement, way more than half.”
Dean glances towards me and smiles sadly. When it came time to file the divorce papers for real, Dean called Ronnie’s lawyer. During the final meeting he took Ronnie aside and got a whole new set of papers drawn up. I don’t know what they said to each other, but I do know that Ronnie came back like a dog with a tail between his legs.
Dean takes another sip of wine and shrugs.
“I told him that my mother wouldn’t protect him anymore. She obviously told him to get lost. He believed me.”
“I still can’t believe he was working for her,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s like a bad dream. The whole thing. From the moment I found out he wasn’t being faithful to the final signature on those papers. Just a bad dream.”
“But now,” Dean says, running his fingers down my cheek and back towards my hair. “Now it’s like winning the lottery.”
I smile and tilt my head up towards him. He kisses me and I can taste the wine on his lips. I stare into his eyes and feel nothing but love and happiness overflowing in my heart. I run a hand over my stomach and look down at it before taking another sip of sparkling apple juice.
“I don’t know how I got so lucky,” I breathe. He kisses me softly until his phone rings to interrupt us. He looks down at the screen and makes a noise.
“Hey Pat, how did it go? Uh huh, great! That’s great! Ok. Yep, talk to you later.” He ends the call and looks at me, eyes shining.
“The kids loved the clown school. Apparently Margaret asked him if he could do it once a week. Pat was over the moon, he’s been wanting to have a partnership like this ever since I met him.”
I grin and wrap my arms around Dean.
“Thank you for making it work,” I say. “I couldn’t have convinced Margaret to give it a chance without your help. It’ll be such a good addition to the program.”
Dean shrugs. He looks at me curiously and then opens his mouth and then closing it again before speaking.
“I was thinking,” he says slowly. “Since my family gave me access to the trust fund again, I have all this money. We’ve really struck a chord with the kids. What if we expanded the organisation? We could try to get some federal funding and put some real money into the programs and get multiple locations in the city. We could get Pat and Margaret involved and make something real out of this. Have regular clown school classes in addition to all the programs you have already.”
My eyes widen and I stare at Dean. “You mean you’d stop the investment banking?”
Dean nods. “Go full-time clown,” he says with a grin. “There’s so much potential to do good things here. Those kids love you, they love Margaret, and they love the clown classes. There are thousands more kids that could benefit from it. We could do it, Sam. We could make something great out of this.”
I throw my arms around Dean and laugh as he swings me around. If my heart felt full before, it feels like it’s absolutely about to burst. I stare at his face and shake my head.
“You never stop surprising me,” I say in amazement.
Dean shrugs and turns towards the counter. When he turns back around he’s got a big red nose on. He jumps up and spreads his palms wide with a big smile on his face and I can’t help but laugh.
“Full-time clown,” he says with a laugh. “Get used to it.”
“Wouldn’t want it any other way,” I reply as I wrap my arms around him again. I give his big red nose a squeeze before pressing my lips to his and once again tasting the sweetness of his kiss.
The End
Thank you for reading!
You can see all my books on Amazon by following this link:
https://www.amazon.com/author/lilianmonroe
Sign up for my newsletter to get exclusive access to bonus chapters from all my books, freebies and never miss another release:
Click here to access your bonus content!
xox Lilian
www.lilianmonroe.com
Twitter: @Lily_Author
Facebook: @MonroeRomance
Instagram: lilianmonroe.author
Knocked Up Series: Book I
Knocked Up by the CEO
A Secret Baby Holiday Office Romance
Lilian Monroe
Description
Harper
I can’t have kids. I’ve been poked and prodded, tested, re-tested, and ultimately heartbroken when one doctor after another shook their head and said that ugly word: infertile. It’s just a fact of life. I can’t have kids.
That’s what I’ve always believed, at least, until one wild night at the office Christmas party changes everything.
Zach Lockwood is my boss, the company’s CEO, and New York’s most eligible bachelor. He’s also… my baby’s daddy??
How will he react when old and new secrets start to unravel right in front of our eyes? Will one night of fun make me lose everything I’ve ever cared about?
Zach
I don’t know what it is about her, but I’ve never been able to keep my eyes off her. Tonight she’s mine. I’m claiming those luscious curves and soft pink lips as my own, right here in my corner office.
I’m about to get a lot more than I bargained for, and I’m not sure I’m ready for it. All I know is that there’s a lot more to Harper Anderson than I ever could have imagined.
Knocked Up by the CEO is a secret baby holiday office romance with high heat level and as always, no cheating and a happily ever after!
Chapter 1 – Harper
“Coming through!” I call out, balancing a tray of cookies in one hand and a jug of eggnog in the other. I can smell the boozy scent of rum coming off the eggnog and I know it’ll be a big hit this year. My coworkers move out of the way as I crouch down towards the table and slide the tray off my hand onto the table in a smooth motion. The tablecloth is covered the cartoonish drawings of snowmen and snow flakes, with tinsel strewn under the trays of food. The whole office looks like the inside of a Christmas store. I place the jug of eggnog beside the cookies and stand up, putting my hands on my hips and turning around.
“That should be it,” I breathe, pulling the hem of my sweater down. It’s the ugliest and most amazing sweater I’ve ever seen, a wooly red monstrosity with flashing LED lights all over the front in the shape of a Christmas tree. Perfect for the office Christmas party.
“Well done, Harper! The place looks amazing,” Rosie says as she walks up beside me. She’s wearing her regular work clothes. In fact, no one except me is dressed up, but I don’t mind. Rosie smiles and raises the plastic wine glass towards me. I grab a glass of my own from the dozens lined up on the table and lift it up it towards Rosie.
“I can finally start enjoying myself now,” I grin back. We clink our glasses and I take my first sip of wine of the evening. “It’s always so much work putting this party together.”
“But it’s always worth it,” Rosie replies. “Think of all the gossip that comes out of it every year!”
She grins mischievously and takes another sip of wine, scanning the room over the rim of her glass. I laugh and nod. She’s right, it’s usually fodder for at least a couple months of water cooler chat. I’ve been in charge of the office Christmas party for the last three years, and they’ve gotten wilder as time has gone on. I’m sure this year will be the same.
“Nice sweatshirt!”
I try not to cringe as the screechy voice reaches my ears. The back of my neck prickles with that same uncomfortable feeling I get every time I hear his voice. I already know it’s Greg from accounting. I turn around slowly and there he is, grinning at me with his toothy, slimy smile. I nod, trying not to stare at the stains on his tie or
the greasy hair plastered to his forehead.
“Thanks,” I respond curtly.
“You like Christmas, hey?”
“No, not really, I just do this so I can drink at the office.”
He throws his head back and laughs before shuffling closer, his baggy pants and too-tight shirt sliding in beside me. I inch away as he gets closer. He smells like wet socks.
“Haven’t seen you around the accounts department lately,” he says to me. I try to avoid his stare and glance at Rosie. She’s got her nose buried in her glass of wine.
“I got promoted a year ago, Greg. I don’t work in accounts anymore.”
“Yeah, yeah, of course, but you know, I thought you’d still come around and say hello to me – to the team. I thought we meant something to you!”
He smiles at me and I resist the urge to shudder. I would rather come across as a cold-hearted snobby executive bitch than to willingly spend time with you, after all the torture you put me through! Greg glances at Rosie and his smile disappears immediately. He almost snarls at her and I grab her arm and point over to the other side of the room.
“Oh, look, it looks like those decorations need to be adjusted. Excuse me.”
“I’ll help!” Rosie says. The two of us speed away towards the huge tree I rented for the party.
“Is he still following you around? I thought you’d made a complaint.”
I sigh. “I did, he got a warning from HR and avoided me for a while but it looks like he’s plucked up the courage to talk to me again. Might be the booze.”
“Isn’t there anything you can do? He FOLLOWED you to your HOUSE! Multiple times!!!”
“Don’t remind me,” I say, glancing at her sideways. I push the thought away, not wanting to go back to those months last year when I was constantly looking over my shoulder. I didn’t even know it was Greg until weeks after the whole thing started. I spent weeks and weeks with that same prickly feeling at the back of my neck, feeling like I was being followed and thinking I was going insane.
The promotion to Commercial Director came with a healthy pay raise and the condition that my complaint about Greg would be satisfied when he got a warning. I never understood why the Human Resources department didn’t take me more seriously, but at the end of the day not many women make it to the Director-level at a top advertising firm at my age. I weighed my options and for the most part, it was worth it. I hardly have to see him anyways.
Rosie and I get to the Christmas tree and look at all 16 feet of it. The top of it grazes the ceiling.
“So what do you want us to adjust? I think Greg is still looking over here,” Rosie asks, looking at the massive tree. It was almost too big to fit in the door. I had to beg and plead to get approval for it, saying that it wasn’t a Christmas party without a tree. It’s impeccably decorated and I already know that nothing needs to be adjusted.
“Uh, let’s just lift this string of lights a bit. We can just move them around till he looks away.”
I point to the other side of the tree and Rosie nods. I turn to the lights and am about to grab them when she makes a noise between a gasp and a yelp and I look at her. Her eyes are staring behind me before she flicks them to my face. She lifts her eyebrows up and gives me a knowing nod.
It must be him. Immediately my heart starts beating faster and I hear the roar of every heartbeat pounding in my ears.
It’s our elusive, mysterious, unbelievably sexy CEO. Zachary Lockwood. I feel my cheeks burning as Rosie glances back at him. I turn my head slowly and see him near the entrance of the office, shaking hands with one of the employees. His suit is navy with little white pinstripes. His chocolate brown hair is slicked back perfectly, with a crisp part down the side. He’s tall and athletic, with a chiseled jaw and unbelievably deep brown eyes. Not that I’ve noticed, or anything.
I glance away quickly, trying to ignore the thumping of my heart. I’ve been admiring him from a distance ever since he took over and brought our firm back from the brink of bankruptcy. Rosie knows it, and constantly teases me whenever he makes an appearance at the office. Thankfully that doesn’t happen very often.
“He doesn’t have a hot blonde model with him this time, maybe this is your chance!” Rosie whispers loudly with a grin.
“Shut up,” I respond. “I’m sure he’s got a gaggle of girls waiting in the wings.”
Rosie nods and my heart sinks a little. I know it’s probably true. He’s one of the richest and sexiest men in New York, and definitely way, way out of my league. Plus, he’s my boss! Even if I had a chance with him, it would definitely be inappropriate to pursue it.
Suddenly I wish I wasn’t wearing a ridiculous light-up Christmas tree on my chest. I could be wearing anything else and it would be more flattering. Literally anything. A paper bag would look better than this thing.
It doesn’t matter, I tell myself. He’s my boss. Even if he is attractive, we work together and fantasising about him is inappropriate. I shake my head and try to ignore the nervous excitement at the pit of my stomach. I take another sip of wine and nod to Rosie and the string of lights. She grins but says nothing, and instead turns to the tree and follows my lead.
Chapter 2 – Zach
I’ve been trying not to stare at her ever since I walked in. Harper Anderson is my employee, after all. I can’t help it that there’s something about her that intrigues me. Maybe it’s the way she doesn’t seem to care who I am? Usually employees, especially women, are nervous and flustered when they see me. She’s all business, all the time. Nothing seems to phase her.
I glance over at her as she talks to another woman beside the massive fake Christmas tree that dominates the room. She marched into my office six weeks ago and insisted on ordering that huge tree, standing in front of me with a graph she’d prepared that showed Christmas cheer increasing exponentially with every extra foot of tree that we ordered. Her face had been so serious, and she’d presented her carefully prepared graphs and figures as if it was the quarterly review.
I had no choice, I had to say yes. Harper had me totally off-balance and I hadn’t even been able to laugh at the ridiculousness and thoroughness of her proposal. But as soon as I said yes I’d seen a twinkle in her eye and I knew there was something different about her. It’s not often that people surprise me like that.
She’s good at what she does, and that’s what matters. It doesn’t matter that my cock starts to twitch whenever I think about her, or that I can’t seem to get her out of my head for days every time I visit the office.
“… the Jackson file will be ready for your signature by Monday morning, and.. Zach? Are you listening?”
I’m pulled from my thoughts and turn towards my Editor in Chief and best friend. I put a hand on his shoulder and look him in the eye.
“Mitch. It’s the Christmas party. No more work talk.”
“Alright, alright,” he says, throwing his hands up. “You want a drink?” he asks, motioning towards the snack table.
I nod as I glance at the full spread of food and drink on the table. Harper’s done a good job this year, once again. There’s every imaginable snack and appetiser and drink that anyone could ever want. The woman knows how to throw a party.
Mitch starts walking towards the drinks. “You got any plans this weekend?”
“I was thinking of checking out that new club downtown tomorrow night, you in? There’s a potential client there with a VIP booth.”
Mitch grins. “VIP booth means girls girls girls. I’m in.”
I nod. He’s right, there will be women. There always are, at these things. It’s part of the job, really. Our brand is what sells advertisements – luxury, excess, riches, women, everything that’s good in the world. Everything that’s good in my life. I see people my age settling down and having kids and all I can think is why?! Why would you want that? Why would you want to be tied to one person for the rest of your life?
“What happened with that mo
del you were seeing? I thought you’d be here with her,” Mitch asks as we get to the table. There are dozens of tiny wine glasses lined up in front of us.
“Didn’t work out,” I reply. It never does. I never let it, women just want to use me for my money and status, so I use them right back.
“Tomorrow is a new night,” Mitch says as he hands me a glass of wine.
“Tonight is a new night,” I correct with a grin. He chuckles and nods before taking a sip. I drink with him but something is off. I don’t quite believe myself when I say these things tonight. Why would I care about models and actresses and all these beautiful women that only want me for what I can buy for them, or who I can introduce them to? Maybe the people settling down have found something I haven’t.
Probably not. I grab a glass of wine off the table.
“Merry Christmas,” I say to Mitch.
“Merry Christmas, buddy. To every night being a new night, and every girl being a new girl!”
I force a chuckle and touch my glass to his. I steal another glance over towards Harper. She’s laughing at something. I can see her cheeks flushing from over here. I can’t quite make out her freckles, but if I get a little bit closer I’m sure I could see them scattered over her cheeks and nose. She’s completely dwarfed standing next to that ridiculous tree. She’s wearing an atrocious red sweater with lights on it, pointing to the decorations with the woman next to her. I have no idea how, but somehow she makes it look sexy.
She’s smiling at her friend and the two of them laugh about something. Her sweater is flashing and I almost let myself grin as I look at her. Just as Mitch and I start walking away from the drinks she turns her head and our eyes meet from across the room.
It only lasts a second before she looks away but something stirs inside me. Those green eyes of hers are like beams of light that pierce right through me. I could see that twinkle in her eye from all the way over here and I can’t help but wonder what she’s laughing about.
I need to get closer to her tonight, to have an actual conversation with her. I’m not going to settle for the same business talk and cold mask that she puts on. I want to know the real Harper Anderson.
Knocked Up by the Billionaire's Son: A Secret Baby Romance Page 17