Have My Baby: Baby and Pregnancy Romance Collection

by Jamie Knight

  “Got yours right here, boss,” he replied cheerfully. “You look tired. Late night?”

  “Yeah,” I responded, walking across the room to my desk. “Was up all night cruising the Internet, watching cat videos. Melting my brain.”

  “That doesn’t sound like you,” he laughed. “What happened to Miriam?”

  Miriam had been my latest conquest. She was a ballerina with an absolutely stunning body. But she was a prude in bed, very unskilled. A kind woman, though. I broke it off with her rather than attempt to introduce my kinkier side. She definitely needed someone more vanilla that me.

  “We called it off,” I explained as I plopped down in my chair. “She was wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think we’re right for each other.”

  Kelton knew me pretty well by this point, so he just giggled and started on his spiel for the day. “The first draft of the contracts for the Cam Tech merger are on the network,” he explained, with a nod to my laptop. “Examine them at your leisure, sir.”

  Since Davies and Son’s was merging with McKenzie Tech, I had been given a lot of smaller mergers to deal with. The tech giant was known for eating up the competition with a big appetite. Lots of people suggested the Kane McKenzie had a silver tongue and could talk anyone out of anything. I didn’t know. I had never really met the man in person, but he did provide me with plenty of work.

  “What do they look like?” I asked. After shaking the mouse for the computer, I brought up my email.

  My assistant shrugged. “Oh, you know. Two sides, each one greedier than the next,” Kelt laughed. “For some reason, Cam Tech wants to keep this tiny division that makes toothpaste.”

  “Toothpaste? Cam Tech Toothpaste?”

  “It’s actually a product called Minty-Minty. I think it’s out of Germany.”

  “Get the fuck out,” I exclaimed. “I used Minty-Minty on my trip to Berlin!”

  “Weird coinky of a dink,” Kelton acknowledged. “Was it any good?”

  I shrugged. “It was toothpaste.”

  He tilted his head to the side as he leaned on the corner of my desk. “You okay, slugger?”

  “I don’t know,” I confessed while I ran a hand through my hair. I found myself tapping my foot on the ground. It was something I did when I felt conflicted, not a good tell for a lawyer. “Seems like everything to me is about as exciting as Minty-Minty. Miriam included.”

  “Ouch.”

  “No slam against her. She was lovely, but—”

  “Ah, you’ll find someone else,” dismissed Kelton with a wave. “Two days from now, you’ll walk in here going on and on about some actress or model you’re dating. Then you’ll show me the pictures, and I will hate my life.”

  “You’re a good family man, Kelton,” I said. “You don’t want this life. These women are exhausting in more ways than one. You got a good woman.”

  “Ari’s great, I’m not complaining, but, well, it would be nice to see how the other half lives sometimes.”

  I laughed. “Trust me, I’m bored as shit.”

  “You just haven’t met the right girl,” he responded, tapping his pen on the desk.

  “I’m skeptical, Kelton,” I confessed. “I don’t think there is a right girl for me. Maybe some people are destined to be alone. Maybe I’m just one of those people. One day, the maid will walk in and find me slumped over in the tub. And that’s it. Game over. No kids, no legacy. Just a hedonistic run through life that anyone barely noticed.”

  There was an awkward silence.

  “Jesus, Jack,” he gasped. “You see a shrink?”

  “No.”

  “Maybe consider it. Either that or I’m going to need one listening to you!”

  It was all in good fun between Kelton and me, but the truth was, I was depressed. I was lonely and feeling more isolated by the day. Maybe I should just leave the firm and drive cross country. Do one of those things and find myself. Be a shame to throw away a good career. Maybe just a one-month sabbatical or something.

  I spent the better part of the day looking over the merger contracts. It all seemed pretty standard save for a few outrageous requests I suspected were included specifically just to be removed during negotiations. I made notes and ordered some lunch around Noon — Kobe steak filets on a homemade bun with fine mustard that had been stone ground just for this sandwich. The taste was exquisite, and it costs close to a hundred dollars, but I only ate half. I just wasn’t in the mood. I gave Kelton the rest of my truffle fries. I had bought him the same lunch.

  “Oh, my God,” he exclaimed. “How can you not finish this?”

  I looked across my desk at him and slid my burger over. “Meh. Here, take the rest of mine.”

  Finally, meeting time rolled around. My plan was to make my intros, chat up the other lawyers, and skate out before four. Maybe I could hit the gym, then go home and binge-watch something. As far as I was concerned, the contract negotiations for Cam Tech were pretty cut and dry.

  “Ah, and here’s Jack,” William said as I entered the conference room for the second time that day. “Jack Harris, this is the new team: Lionel Gruber, Mark Vesper, and Sandra Jones.”

  Nodding to each person, I gave the first two the kind of glassy-eyed stare I reserved for most of my clients — the I’m-paying-attention-but-not-too-much look. Then, when I looked at Sandra, my whole world changed.

  In that instant, her doe-like eyes spoke to me. She was a petite redhead, curvy, and top-heavy with a heaving bosom that was stuffed into a five-thousand-dollar business suit. Her look was finished off with perfectly manicured nails and wavy hairdo. The new lawyer was stunning with alabaster skin and bright brown eyes that said, “You’re the only person in the world that matters right now.”

  I felt that bolt of lightning or Cupid’s arrow.

  “Sandra,” I smiled. “That’s a pretty name.”

  Instantly, I could sense that I had already given the game away. Dan cleared his throat, and William immediately spoke up. “Sandra is actually a cousin of ours, Jack,” the oldest Davies brother informed me. “She’s not just a member of the firm, she’s family.”

  I got the message loud and clear. Sandra Jones was off-limits with a capital “O”. None of that mattered, of course. Does anything matter when you’re in love? Or lust? Or whatever this was.

  Whatever was happening, for the first time in a long while, I felt awake and alive. Sandra was something else. A red-headed bombshell with grace and poise. The best part about it, she was another lawyer too. I wouldn’t have to give her the spiel about my late nights. She already knew the score.

  The meeting unfolded with the usual dance. If this merger was going to happen, then we needed to spend days going over the assets. At someone point, Sandra mentioned that she had personally compiled a list, and I made my move.

  “Sandra and I should probably get together,” I offered. “I have some extra space in my office. I’ll have another desk brought in.”

  William and Dan looked at each other. It was a reasonable request. It would seem weird to turn me down.

  “Sure, Jack,” agreed Dan as he glared at me. “I’m sure that would work out fine. I know everyone involved will handle themselves in the most professional manner.”

  Again, it was another subtle warning from the Davies Brothers. Bang this chick, and you were out was about the size of it. Maybe it was her. Maybe it was the challenge of putting one over on my bosses, but I didn’t care. I hadn’t felt this good about anything in weeks.

  “That sounds good,” murmured Sandra with downcast eyes. “What sort of desk will you provide?”

  “Only the best,” I promised. “Something nice. Wood. I think you’ll enjoy it.”

  “Well, I’m not there to enjoy myself, but thanks,” she said innocently with a slight smile.

  I couldn’t help but think, “No, Sandra. I intend for you to enjoy yourself.”

  With the meeting over, I headed back to
my office. I was feeling energized. I needed a workout and some dinner.

  Kelton noticed the change in energy. “What’s up with you? First, you depress the crap out of me, and now you’re practically dancing in here,” he noted.

  “Order up a desk for another lawyer. Something nice. Antique. Wood,” I instructed. “Make sure it’s up here by morning, okay?”

  “Sharing an office? With who?”

  “You’ll meet her soon,” I promised.

  “Oh, no, Jack,” Kelton chastised. “The brothers don’t like when you —”

  “Sh-sh-sh, hush, Kelt. Hush,” I ordered. “The brothers aren’t going to know. Besides, this is the woman of my dreams.”

  “Really? You meet her for twenty minutes, and that’s it?”

  I put a hand on his shoulder. “That’s it, buddy. Now get me that desk.”

  Chapter Two - Sandra

  I had heard about Jack Harris and read about him on the socialite websites about Manhattan. If being a sexy, eligible bachelor was a stock, Jack would’ve been Apple. There was something about his presence. He was charismatic with a stylish suit and movie star good looks. One would be reminded of a young George Clooney or maybe a Brad Pitt with dark hair. He smelled great too. I couldn’t place the cologne, but it was musky, understated, and expensive.

  I mean, if you were putting together an ad for a lawyer TV show or just a fashion shoot for lawyers’ clothes, you could do a hell of a lot worse than Jack Harris in that meeting! Honestly, I had to keep myself from swooning since he was so hot. Professional, right? God! How embarrassing would that have been?!

  Manhattan Law Review had covered some of his cases. He had sued some of the biggest names in the Big Apple and lived to tell the tale. Once, he even won a lawsuit against the City after a Manhattan socialite got ticketed for not picking up her dog poop, of all things. Not only did Jack fix it so that she wouldn’t have to pay the fine, but the city also had to pay her for harassment and spending thousands retraining the cops to “better serve the community.”

  When Mr. Harris insisted we work together, I nearly died right there and then. That hottie and me working late nights? I mean, sure, I was an associate now, but I was still young. Quite frankly, I was surprised my cousins would let me go on my own. But hey, it wasn’t like we’d be working a hundred miles away, right? We’d be in the same building, or so I assumed.

  The next day, I went up to his office, and he had me outfitted with an excellent looking desk — all mahogany — a real antique. So lovely, I was almost afraid to touch it.

  “That’s stunning,” I said. “Real wood.”

  “Yeah, go ahead and touch it.”

  I rubbed my hand along the surface. Was Mr. Harris flirting with me?

  “Listen, the bosses want us to set up a secondary office in Cam Tech’s building, so we’ll be on hand if they have any requests,” he revealed.

  “Seriously? Have these people not heard of the Internet?”

  “You know how it is with clients,” he sighed. “They like to see you. Makes them feel like they’re getting their money’s worth. Come on. I have a car waiting. We’ll go look at some places in their building.”

  We hopped in a town car and went across town. The skyscraper where Cam Tech was located held dozens of other companies. The guard at the lobby sent us to the office where we got a tour of the facilities. Our tour guide was an older woman named Laurel. Although Jack made it clear we were renting something in the building either way, she put on the hard sell or rent, as the case may be.

  And with each office space Laurel showed us, Jack seemed to be flirting with me.

  “And as you can see,” Laurel said on the 22nd floor. “This office comes with hardwood floors and a shorter elevator ride.”

  “Hardwood floors seem nice,” commented Jack. “You like hardwood, Sandra?”

  “Uh, yeah, sure,” I answered, trying not to blush.

  Maybe he was just kidding, but I couldn’t shake the flirting vibe. Laurel took us to another office. It was the former home of a big entertainment company. They had a fountain in the lobby that was still working.

  “I like the fountain,” commented Jack. “I like things that gush. That kind of wetness is good, I think. How do you feel, Sandra? You feeling the wet?”

  “Yeah, I’m definitely on board with wetness,” I said, playing the game. “I could be down for a lot of wetness, in fact.”

  Laurel stole glances at both of us. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she was too anxious to close the deal, so she didn’t pry.

  Going to the 59th floor, we arrived in an unfinished office. There were poles all over the place that were going to be used to install clouded glass walls.

  “Right before Christmas, we had this startup company that was going to move in,” explained Laurel. “They were halfway through building the office when their funding collapsed, and they went out of business. Now they all work at home.”

  “Nice poles,” Jack said.

  “Pretty thick those poles,” I added.

  “Like a good pole, do you?” he bantered.

  “A good thick pole? Yeah,” I responded. “Has to be long, though.”

  “I’m sure the firm can provide what you need,” Jack assured. “I’ll see to it personally.”

  “I like the personal touch,” I answered, looking at him sideways. “The more personal, the better, I say.”

  “I will make a note of that,” he came back. “I’m glad we could get together on this.”

  “Well, if you need help, I’d be happy to get on the pole if need be.”

  Laurel glanced back and forth at both of us.

  “Okay, then,” she said, mildly suspicious. “Moving on.”

  In the elevator, on the ride up to the 80th floor, Laurel tried to make small talk.

  “Mr. Harris, I’ve heard many things about Davies and Sons,” she said. “Your firm has quite the reputation. I think I’ve seen you online too. You’re quite the courtroom superstar, I understand.”

  “Well, I just try and sway the judge,” he shrugged. “Anyone can do it, really. Ms. Jones here is very adept.”

  “Aw, not like you,” I said, being modest. “You settled that pharmaceutical case last year. No one expected that.”

  “Guess I’m full of surprises,” he smiled.

  “You’re full of something!” joked Laurel.

  Laurel’s joke was a bit awkward. Guess she was trying to join in with the bantering. Maybe she was unaware that it was flirting. Or perhaps I was unaware that it wasn’t.

  Ultimately, Jack was not very happy with our choices. Two offices seemed already full of some other company’s stuff, and the other was half-finished. We needed office space that was ready-to-go. Furnished, if possible.

  “Well, I do have two other clients that are moving out tomorrow and then the next day. You can see their offices if you like, but not today. You’ll have to wait until after the move,” she explained.

  “Will either one of them be leaving their furniture?” Jack inquired.

  “Both, in fact,” Laurel revealed. “Why don’t you come by around 10 am? Does that work for you?”

  “Ten would be perfect,” he answered. “Sandra, how about you? Would you like to come?”

  “I’d like to come very much,” I responded. “This office is so important. I hope I’ll be coming multiple times.”

  “Me too,” he responded knowingly, with a twinkle in his eye.

  The next day, Jack and I met for breakfast in his office. We went over some of the significant points of the merger contract. To him, it looked to be standard. Unfortunately, I knew some of the flack Cam Tech was likely to throw at us. It wasn’t going to be as smooth sailing as he thought.

  He remembered our appointment with Laurel, and we went to the Cam Tech building ASAP. The next office was in shambles. It had been rented by the New York City government in a stupid attempt to reign in police corruption. T
he government workers left the place strewn with trash, and they had literally just left.

  “I’ll get my people to clean up,” assured Laurel. “But you can have the furniture.”

  “No,” Jack dismissed. “Absolutely not. We can’t work in this dump. I’d rather have the poles.”

  “Well, with a little time,” began Laurel.

  “Not to pressure you, but we don’t have a lot of time,” Jack explained. “This merger is happening over the next few weeks. We’re only going to be here for a short time anyway.”

  “You’re renting month to month?” asked Laurel, shocked. “That’s quite expensive.”

  “Our clients don’t care,” Jack assured. “They have bottomless pockets, as the saying goes.”

  Jack’s commanding tone made me excited. I wanted to follow him to the ends of the Earth for the way he talked. He commanded a room with his presence. It was like he was daring all newcomers to challenge his position or get the hell out of his way.

  So sexy!

  The next day, we visited the office on the 69th floor. It had just been vacated by an insurance company. The décor seemed acceptable, and the furniture was intact. Most of the infrastructure for the computer network was left behind too. All we’d need to do was plug in our computers and set up the software.

  “This seems acceptable,” Jack noted.

  “Great!” beamed Laurel. “I’ll get our maintenance people in here to clean it up top to bottom, Mr. Harris.”

  Laurel stepped out of the room to make calls on her phone. Jack and I roamed the offices, peeking inside.

  “You like this corner office?” he offered. “It has a decent view.”

  “It should for being on the 69th floor,” I noted.

  “Yeah, 69 is good for that. Can’t go wrong with 69, right?”

  “I’d agree,” I nodded. “Where are you going to sit?”

  “This office here,” he said, moving over to the one next door. “Right behind you. I think it would be a good position to be right behind you.”

  “Yes,” I blushed. “Sounds like a perfect positioning. Exciting even.”

  Wow, he just really like to wind me up. I was giddy, like a teenager. I half expected Mr. Harris to start making out with me right then and there. But then, what would my cousins think? Surely, they would have something to say if Jack and I hooked up. Jeez, they could end up firing him.