She wasn’t going to tell him mostly because it seemed childish. She shouldn’t have been acting like this. She should have been happy that he was touching her at all. He’d made it clear in their first meeting that he was approaching this as business. That had been why she’d been so afraid and so hesitant. If he had seemed willing to make this work then she would have been more than eager to try and make something out of this.
Sheryl fell onto her bed and curled around her pillow. She didn’t come down for dinner that night. She stayed in her room and had it brought up to her. Sam tried to talk to her again, but she shut him down quickly explaining that she felt sick. His worry didn’t console her.
Night came and with it, her anxiety and sadness only got worse. It got to the point that she couldn’t take it. She needed to tell him how she felt. She decided to do this well after midnight for some reason. Sheryl crawled out of her bed and wandered down the hall, her light steps making the wood floor beneath her feet creaking as she walked down the hall to Sam’s room.
She pushed the door open slowly and peeked inside. Sam was asleep in the bed, one hand thrown over his eyes. He was shirtless and his muscular chest was exposed with the blankets tossed haphazardly over him. He was snoring softly and it made her smile for some reason.
Sheryl crept into the room and over to the bed. She slid in over the sheets and curled up next to him, sniffling a little. His snoring stopped and he groaned a little, turning to look at her squinting his eyes in the dark. He didn’t have glasses on and it struck her that she couldn’t remember ever seeing him without his thick rimmed glasses. She could see his gray eyes even better now.
“Sheryl?” he asked though his arm automatically curled around her.
She sniffled and the tears started again for the hundredth time that day. Damn these hormones. “I’m scared, Sam!” she wailed, burying her face in his chest.
He seemed a little shocked but pulled her close and rubbed her back. “You don’t have to be scared, Sheryl. We’re going to get the best doctors in the state,” he said gently.
“I’m not scared of that! I’m scared...I don’t want this to be a business arrangement! I don’t want to be a trophy wife! I want to be loved and I want our baby to be loved!” she choked out.
Sam looked down at her and stroked her cheek gently. “Oh, Sheryl...”
She looked up at him and he was smiling in the darkness. “I wouldn’t have suggested this if I didn’t think I couldn’t love you. I didn’t want you to feel backed into a corner. I wanted this to be your decision,” he whispered gently.
Sheryl sniffled and stared at him, “I...You...”
She didn’t get a chance to finish what she wanted to say. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss. The tears had stopped, but her cheeks were still wet and she could taste her tears in that kiss. The shock wore off and soon she was pressing herself against him, gripping his shoulders and kissing him desperately.
Even as the passion rose she felt the tender care in his kisses. He caressed her, brushed her hair out of her face. For the first time in her life, she felt treasured. She felt like someone thought she was the one. It wasn’t about a wild fling or love affair. There was a promise to make this real. There was a promise in those kisses and touches that told her she was going to be loved.
When his finger’s grazed her nectar soaked petals moans escaped her and her body felt like it was on fire. Every nerve screamed for Sam and his name fell from her lips over and over again like a prayer. The heat of their bodies filled the room and the smell of their lovemaking was intoxicating.
He somehow knew exactly where and how to touch her. Her legs curled around his waist and her fingers in his hair as their bodies moved together. He fit her like a glove and it was the most passionate, intimate experience she’d ever experienced. Every movement and every slight shift made her cry out in pleasure and made her head spin.
There was a fire deep in her belly that spread through her loins, making her pleasure blossom. It filled every inch of her body until her cheeks were flushed and her entire body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Gasps and pleading words escaped her lips as she rocked with him, cradling his head to her chest so he could suckle at her breasts.
Stars exploded behind her eyes and she swore she saw galaxies being born. She floated through the heavens and came fluttering down slowly, feeling him throbbing inside of her releasing himself with a long, low moan.
Sam collapsed on top of her, panting and moaning softly. Her eyes were wide and she just held him close as if she were afraid he might float away. She started to laugh and he did too. They didn’t need to ask why because they already knew. It was a laugh that spoke of relief and eagerness to start their lives together.
***
Little Liam had been home for about three days now and he was a perfect angel. The rest of her pregnancy had been a piece of cake. After her and Sam had decided that they wanted to be a couple things were perfect. They didn’t even stumble. It was like they were meant to be and that's what Sheryl wanted to believe. It was too perfect to not be fate.
Their baby was perfect. He had a mess of black hair on his head that was thicker than any she’d ever seen before. His eyes were the same stormy gray as his father's and his skin was the color of alabaster stone. He was beautiful and happy. She’d never met a baby as happy as Liam. He only cried when he was hungry and was far more likely to laugh and giggle.
Sam was the best father anyone could ask for. When Liam cried at night he’d roll over and pull the little thing out of his bassinet and place him on Sheryl’s chest so he could eat. She hardly even woke up half the time. She just woke up in the morning with a beautiful baby sleeping peacefully on her chest.
Sheryl was rocking in the beautiful hand-made rocking chair, Liam in her arms as she watched him sleep. He was such a beautiful baby. He slept peacefully as Sam walked in, knocking softly out of habit. It amused her that he always seemed to knock on the door.
She smiled up at him. “Hey,” she whispered not wanting to wake Liam.
Sam wandered in and looked down at the baby, smiling fondly. He sure does sleep a lot, doesn’t he?” he asked with a soft chuckle.
Sheryl nodded and stood, setting Liam down in the crib swaddling him tightly like they showed her at the hospital. She took Sam’s hand and led him out of the nursery glancing down at their matching wedding rings. They’d been married in a very quiet ceremony at the courthouse a few months before Liam was born. They were going to have a wedding, but they wanted to wait until Liam was a little older so that he could be part of the ceremony. It seemed fitting. The little angel had been what brought them together.
Once they were out of the room Sheryl wrapped her arms around Sam and leaned up to kiss him gently. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He blinked, wrapping his arms around her waist out of instinct. “Why are you thanking me?” he asked with a little smile.
“You gave me the greatest gift of my life. I never even would have imagined how fulfilled I would have been being a mom. I thought I was a career woman,” she said with a laugh.
He pinched her cheek playfully. “You can have a career and be a mom,” he pointed out.
She nodded and kissed him once more. “I know but...I think I just want to be a mom for now.”
It was true. The idea of leaving Liam in someone else’s care was horrifying to her. She wanted to be there for every little moment. Maybe she would consider going back to work when Liam started school. But right now, she couldn’t imagine anywhere else she would rather be.
Her life had turned out better than she could have imagined. She wasn’t happy at her job and she wasn’t even really happy with her life. Sheryl always felt that something was missing though she couldn’t put her finger on it. Now she knew exactly what it was. This.
She had been so determined to become something that she didn’t even want. She’d lost sight of family and the feeling of being close to someone. Now th
at she had both of those things she couldn’t imagine her life without them. Sam had been her light in the darkness and she hadn’t even realized it.
Sheryl watched him fondly and stole another kiss gripping his hand and starting to tug him towards the bedroom. “Come on. He’ll be asleep for a while and you don’t have any meetings to be at,” she said with a grin.
He laughed but followed her down the hall. It was true and rare. It seemed that business had picked up since Liam had been born. It was a blessing and a curse. However, he wasn’t going to think about business right now not when his beautiful wife was pulling him towards their bed and undoing her dress at the same time.
They fell into the bed together and paused when they caught each other's eyes. Both of them still had a hard time believing how perfect this all was. It seemed impossible that two people could be so utterly perfect for one another but...here they were.
They had found happiness in each other's arms and they knew that their life was going to be perfect as long as they had each other.
THE END
Snowed In With A Billionaire
Another participant had just dialed in. "Good afternoon. May I have your name and title?"
"Bill McConnell, CEO."
"Thank you, Mr. McConnell, you are now checked into the sub-conference. Is there anything you need?"
"I was about to ask you the same question. Do you have everything you need?"
"Yes, thank you sir, I believe I do." The IR guy and call leader, Donnie Kingman, had spent ten minutes giving her updates to her script and griping about how much he hated earnings calls. She didn't say that, though. Rather she replied, "I have all the updates Mr. Kingman, and nearly all the participants have checked in. I expect the rest will be dialing in any moment now."
"Good. Good. And your name is?"
"Amanda." She could hear the scratch of pen on paper.
"I like to know so we can use your name during the call, Amanda" he explained. "I think it makes us seem friendlier, more personal."
"I agree, sir."
"This is your first time with Forlanie, isn't it? Are you new?"
"Yes, sir. And this is my first earnings call," she said, neatly avoiding the wider aspect of his question. It was her first week working as a conference operator. This was, in fact, her first really big, important call. She'd done a couple of inter-office calls for various companies, but that was just signing people in and making sure the right people got heard at the right time. This call was different, and though she'd never have admitted it to a stranger, particularly one who was paying her salary, Amanda was a little nervous.
"Don't let anyone rattle you. Sometimes the callers can be aggressive. Just be firm with them. Donnie will give you your cues. He's very good about that even if he does come across like a cranky bear."
"Good to know. Thank you." She did appreciate the pep talk and the humor. Mr. McConnell had a nice, baritone voice, and it calmed her.
"Good, well done. I'll let you go about your business, now, and talk to you on the other side."
"Thank you, sir."
Once she'd put him on music hold, Amanda went down her checklist of things to do. She double-checked the script, signed a few more people into the conference, and went over the company roster of speakers. It lacked a minute to the start time, and one of the management speakers still hadn't checked in with her. At ten she made a quick announcement about checking in more participants, and paged Donnie Kingman, a tenor with a light Texas accent and a gruff manner.
"Are you not ready to start?" he asked. He sounded miffed.
"Mr. O'Dowd hasn't checked in yet, Mr. Kingman." she told him. O'Dowd was the Chief Operations Officer.
"Oh for Chrissake, he's forgotten to dial in again. I'll take care of it."
A minute later the COO dialed into the sub conference, and Kingman said, "Let's get rolling. Time is money."
Amanda took a deep breath. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Forlanie Resort Group's twenty-fifteen fourth quarter and year-end earnings conference call," she said into her microphone. "At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the opening remarks, management will be available for questions. As a reminder, this call is being recorded. And now I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Donald Kingman, Director of Investor Relations for Forlanie. Please go ahead, Mr. Kingman."
"Thank you, Amanda," Kingman said, and Amanda switched off her mic and sat back with a sigh. She'd done it perfectly and had sounded very professional. She was grateful to have done a little voice-over work in commercials in the past. It had taught her how to read through practically anything.
She listened to the opening remarks, following the outline she'd been given. After Kingman spoke, Mr. McConnell took the floor. He had a nice voice, too, kind of dark and a little rough as if he'd just been sipping brandy. She was sensitive to voices because she'd done so much voice work over the last few years. Bill McConnell could have done voice-overs if he wasn't CEO of some big company. If he was ever desperate for money he could record sexy audio books. Not that a guy as wealthy as Bill McConnell would ever have to scratch for a living.
The financial guy spoke after McConnell. He had an unfortunate voice thanks to a combination of a heavy New York accent, and a tendency to speak much too fast. He also sounded kind of spitty to Amanda, the sort of guy who sprayed when he talked. By comparison to McConnell, the poor guy sounded like someone's idiot cousin.
Someone else spoke after Mr. Spitty, and then turned the call over to McConnell for a few final remarks. When he finished, she would be starting the question and answer session, so she perked up a bit.
"And now we'd like to open up the call to your questions," McConnell said. "Over to you, Amanda."
"Thank you, sir," she said. She gave the instructions and introduced the first caller in the queue. While she was checking in another research analyst, she heard McConnell's voice sharpen, and her attention snapped back to what was being said.
"I think we've answered that same question several times, Duncan. If you haven't got anything else, we need to move along, and give someone else a chance to ask a question."
The analyst kept on talking, becoming increasingly hostile and demanding.
Kingman paged her and said, "Cut off Duncan Lansdale and don't let him back into the queue."
"Yes, sir." Amanda hit the disconnect button and grabbed her list. "And the next call is from the line of..." She read the name and affiliation, and connected the caller. Her heart was racing, but she'd done just what she'd been asked. She felt like she was part of the team now.
The call went on for another quarter of an hour, though without any further incidents, until there were no more callers in her queue. Lansdale had dialed in twice after being disconnected, but Amanda simply closed the line on him.
"I'm showing no further calls at this time," she announced. "I'd like to turn the call back to Mr. McConnell for closing remarks."
"Thank you Amanda. And I'd like to thank..." She was almost there. The call was nearly over, and she hadn't made any gaffes. McConnell finished, and Amanda slipped back into the conference with a serene closing.
"That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for attending, and have a wonderful day." She clicked the music back on, and sat back with a sigh. That was it. She'd done it. Her first real conference call and she'd come through like a trooper.
Someone was paging her. "Yes? Hello?"
"It's Bill McConnell again. Thanks for all your help."
"It was my pleasure, Mr. McConnell."
"You're a very good operator."
Amanda could feel her face grow hot. "I appreciate that, sir."
"You have a good voice, too, trained. Are you an actress?"
“Not really. I’ve done a couple of commercial voice-overs, but nothing more."
"Do you have ambitions in that direction?” he asked.
“No. I’m content to use my voice when I need to, but
the acting life isn’t really for me.”
There was an awkward pause. "Well, I wanted to say thank you, and well done."
"Thank, you sir. It was a pleasure."
He closed the connection. Amanda was surprised to find that it made her a little sad to hear him go. He had such a nice voice.
"Why are you staring at the strawberries?" Helen was looking over Amanda's shoulder. "Oh gosh, I can smell them from here. You should get some. I'm going to."
"I haven't been able to afford them for so long," Amanda said.
"All the more reason." Helen grabbed a box and inspected it. "They look nice, too. Nothing mushy on the bottom. That's the worst."
"Y'know," Amanda said as she chose a box of berries for herself. "I didn't really mind being poor, and I sure don't mind working. I think everyone needs to work. But I just hated working and being poor."
Helen smiled and nodded. She'd been there, too, but had moved on from waiting tables to a fairly well-paying job at an insurance company. They shared an apartment, and for months Amanda hadn't been able to do more than pay her share of the rent and utilities.
"Those days are over, sweetie. I have a good feeling about this operator gig."
SHEIKH'S SURPRISE BABY: A Sheikh Romance Page 11