The Tycoon's Baby Revelation (The Abbot Sisters Book 1)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  She squirmed against him.

  “I think they are on the floor in my office. I’ll just run back and…!”

  “They are in my pocket and I’m sorry, my dear, but they are torn and wouldn’t do you much good.” He lowered his head, nibbling along her neck. “I was a bit too vehement in my efforts before.” He lifted his mouth from her neck and she tried hard not to whimper at the loss of that touch. But his nose lightly brushed against the shell of her ear as he whispered, “I’ll replace them, but not tonight.”

  With that, he led her out of the office and into the parking lot, leading her over to his Mercedes sedan. “We’re going to your place and I’m not letting you out of bed until morning.”

  Sloane grinned up at him as she pulled her legs inside before he closed the door. As she watched him walk around to the driver’s side, she smiled, thinking that life was pretty darn good right now!

  Chapter 16

  How had her life gone so off track?

  Sloane stared at the calendar and rechecked the date. Surely she wasn’t…! Impossible!

  Flipping back to the previous month, sure enough, the notation on the sixteenth of the previous month was right there. She flipped to the previous month, hoping that it wasn’t on the expected date. But yep. There was the notation on the eighteenth. Twenty-eight days prior.

  Sloane was about as regular with her periods as was humanly possible. From about the age of sixteen until now, her periods had always been twenty-eight days apart. Like clockwork. So that could only mean ….!

  Swallowing, she flipped back to the month before. Then the month before that. Twenty-eight days. Going back to the current month, she went through every day, looking for the notation, praying that she’d put it somewhere. Or that maybe this month, she’d simply forgotten to type in the notation.

  Nothing. She reviewed the meetings during the month, trying to remember if she’d had her period during the previous two weeks. But nope. There wasn’t anything that might remind her that she’d had her period.

  She was two weeks late! Not two days, which she could dismiss, even though she was so regular, it was irritating. Two whole weeks.

  Rubbing her forehead, she stared blankly at the calendar, hating herself because she knew better! She’d preached safe sex and dual contraception to Rayne and Pepper so many times over the years, they groaned whenever she brought up the subject.

  And yet, she hadn’t followed her own rule. Oh, she’d gone to the doctor’s office and she had a prescription for birth control! Yep, she’d done the right thing. But she’d gone after she and Josh had become sexually active. According to the calendar, it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. She’d most likely gotten pregnant that first night with him.

  He was a powerful man. And the women in her family had freakish levels of fertility! She knew this. She’d preached this fact! She’d lived with the consequences of that issue all her life, not having a father around. So, why was she now surprised that using a condom, using just one method of birth control, hadn’t been sufficient?

  Sloane glanced at the closed door between her office and Josh’s. Should she tell him?

  Sloane’s arms wrapped around her stomach and her thoughts flashed back to the nights she’d heard her mother crying. Those nights always preceded the announcement that she was pregnant and Sloane was going to have a sibling. It also warned Sloane that the man her mother had been dating would no longer be coming around.

  And it meant that the finances would be painfully tight. Her mother had been a hair stylist and, although she was very good with a pair of scissors, she had to work almost every day in order to get paid. Having a baby meant that her mother had to take time off, which meant no tips, no payment from her regular clients, and a lot of stress while her mother recovered from giving birth.

  Sloane had adored both of her sisters from the moment her mother had come home from the hospital. Rayne had been a pale little lump with big, blue eyes and a red tuft of hair on the top of her head, although Sloane had been very young at that point. Pepper had been an adorable baby, exuberant from the first moment she’d come home. Sloane had been old enough to help diaper Pepper, feed her, and hold her at night…well, hold the tiny bundle when her mother placed Pepper carefully in Sloane’s arms.

  And now, she suspected that she was pregnant. In the same situation as her mother! Rubbing her forehead, she wondered what she was going to do.

  “Money,” she whispered and looked over her shoulder to make sure that no one was about to come into her office. When she was assured that she was still alone, she clicked on the keys, logging into her bank account. She saw the balance there and sighed with relief. Right after that, she logged into her retirement and investment accounts, both of which Josh had convinced her to open once she understood how good he was at making money grow. Both of her accounts were very healthy, thanks to Josh’s brilliance.

  “Checking your balances?” his deep voice teased.

  Sloane swung around, startled that he had snuck up on her. “Oh, um…! Yes. I just…I log in every once in a while just to see the progress.”

  “I log in more often. Your account, along with your sisters’ accounts, are a top priority for me.”

  Sloane’s mouth fell open, but why should she be surprised? Josh had always been a very generous employer, but she hadn’t been aware that he took a personal interest in her investment accounts. “You do?”

  “Of course,” he replied, straightening and tossing some papers onto her desk. “Can you make sure that these are taken care of?”

  She blinked, realizing that this was another example of how Josh didn’t want anyone to know what a good guy he was. Despite her fear that she was pregnant, Sloane couldn’t hide her smile. He tried so hard to be such a grump, but she’d learned that his grumpy attitude was a defense mechanism. His way of hiding what a wonderful man he actually was. He didn’t like anyone knowing about the good things he’d done. Nor did he like people thanking him for his generosity.

  “Yes, of course,” she replied and took the papers, her eyes skimming over the words but not absorbing the information.

  Surely, she wasn’t, Sloane told herself. She couldn’t be! Sloane was the responsible sister. She was the oldest, the role model! She couldn’t be pregnant!

  Josh left for his next meeting as another thought occurred to her. She swiveled around, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she pulled up the company’s maternity leave policy. She’d never had reason to explore this issue, but with relief, she discovered that Josh’s company was very generous, allowing each employee a full three months of paid leave. Most American companies didn’t pay the employee while they were out on maternity leave, although almost all companies were required to bring the woman back after she gave birth.

  But could she stay employed here? Would Josh let her stay on? She doubted it. He’d probably ask her to leave. Being pregnant with his child, he’d be too embarrassed to keep her as his assistant.

  “I’m a cliché,” she whispered miserably.

  “What’s that?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as he stepped back into her office.

  “Nothing!” she replied, straightening her shoulders. Her first priority would be to confirm the pregnancy. A test, she thought as he eyed her curiously. She’d have to stop by a drugstore after work and get a test.

  But Josh came home with her or he drove her to his place every night! They’d been together every night for the past month!

  Josh walked back into Sloane’s office, taking in the tension in her shoulders and caught her rubbing her forehead. Something was wrong. He’d sensed it earlier, but now he was sure.

  “What’s going on?’ he demanded, itching to fix anything that was causing her stress.

  Even as he watched, he saw her shoulders tighten further. But she forced her lips into a smile. “Nothing!”

  She was lying and he wondered why. Sloane was one of the most honest people he’d ever met. Others could lie and he’d
expect it, anticipate it even. But Sloane? She was brutally honest.

  So, what was wrong? Why was she lying now?

  “Sloane, we need to talk,” he began. Her eyes turned frantic. Shaking her head, she leapt to her feet, keeping her eyes on her desk. “I need to go do…something,” she told him. “I’m sorry, but would you mind if we…?”

  “You need time alone?” he offered, even though he hated the idea. They’d been together every damn night since that first time. And at no point had she even hinted at the need for time alone! No, this was different. She was upset and it infuriated him that she was turning away from him when she was upset. Didn’t she know that he would help her? That she could rely on him for more than just sex?

  She shook her head, then nodded reluctantly. “I’m sorry, I have a personal errand to run. I’ll…” she looked around nervously. “I’ll make up the time, but I have to…I need to go do…something.” And then she was gone!

  Damn it! Josh couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so angry! And hurt? Hell, he didn’t like to think of himself as being someone who could be hurt, but…yeah, he was hurt that she’d turned away from him when she was upset.

  Furthermore, she’d been perfectly fine this morning. He’d made sure that she’d been more than fine this morning before they’d separated to get ready for work. He was absolutely positive that she’d climaxed in his arms this morning. Twice!

  Yes, she’d left his place with a smile this morning, heading back to her cottage to shower and change clothes.

  That was another thing, he thought. There was absolutely no reason why she needed to go back to her place every morning. She should just move into his place! He’d teased her about it several times over the past several weeks, wanting her to be with him more than for just the nights.

  Whatever had upset her today only proved that he wanted her with him. Damn it, she’d proven over and over again that she could handle life on her own. She was strong and capable, able to handle everything life and work tossed at her. So, there was no reason for her to keep trying to prove herself.

  And damn it, he wanted to take care of her! Josh wanted to shower her with luxuries and pamper her. He wanted to take her shopping and dress her in designer clothes. Then take her back to his place and strip off all of her clothes and make love to her until she was gasping for breath.

  Unfortunately, every time he’d brought up the idea of her just bringing a bag with extra clothes to his place, she’d resisted. Sloane kept saying that bringing clothes would mean something that “they weren’t doing”, whatever the hell that meant.

  What weren’t they doing? She came over to his place after work every damn day! He’d cook dinner, they’d eat, then clean up dinner together. After dinner, they’d sit and talk, finish work issues, or just sit and read together. And they’d make love together every damn night! She slept in his arms, damn it! She curled up against him! His shoulder was her pillow and she slept contentedly…until she shifted against him during the night or in the morning. At which point, he’d make love to her all over again.

  Damn, was he hurting her? Was she not interested in sex that often? But he wasn’t always the one that initiated their sexual encounters. Yeah, at first, he’d been the one that initiated. Lately though, she’d become bolder and he loved it!

  Running a hand through his hair, he wondered if someone had said or done something. Was the work too much for her? Had someone asked her to do something that she hadn’t…?

  No. From the very first day she’d come on board with Josh, she’d been a powerhouse, accomplishing every task he’d thrown at her! Sloane never shied away from a challenge. Hell, she thrived on challenges! He remembered a few days over the years when she’d gotten everything done and she’d wandered into his office, asking if he needed help with anything.

  He’d silently laughed at her, thinking she was beautiful. And sexy. And…amazing! Yeah, he’d been in love with her almost from that first day.

  So, what the hell was wrong today? And why hadn’t she come to him with whatever it was?

  Glancing over at the papers and files on her desk, he moved closer. Her desk was a mess! That amplified his concern. Sloane was obsessively organized. She never allowed anything to be out of place and she never, ever, left her office without storing all documents away in the filing cabinet and ensuring that all information was securely locked down. There was too much danger in leaving someone’s financial information out for her to slack off.

  Damn it, even her computer was unlocked!

  He moved over and sat down in her chair, shifting the mouse so that he could lock things down before heading out to find her. But something caught his eye. Why was she looking up events from previous months? Carefully, he clicked on each meeting notation, but every one of them were his meeting dates and times. He’d been in these meetings, and he didn’t remember any issue with….

  Josh clicked on another meeting, one he didn’t recognize. Everything else on the calendar was familiar but this one…

  He looked back at the previous month and, sure enough, the same exact meeting was there, but not on the same day. He clicked on the various meetings around that one, recognizing all of them, but not that one. Again, he flipped to the previous month and…sure enough, that exact same meeting was there.

  Leaning back in his chair, his eyes narrowed on the meeting notation. “TOM in town.” Tom? Who the hell was Tom? He flipped through the company’s client list and came up with several clients named Tom or Thomas, but as far as he knew, these clients hadn’t ever come for a visit. Most of their clients were advised over the phone or via computer. Because his business was far flung, it wasn’t possible for his team of investors to meet with each of their clients face to face on a regular basis.

  So, who the hell was Tom?

  A burning acidic anger streaked through his stomach at the thought of this Tom person touching Sloane! Clicking through, he realized that he came to town every damn month! Who was he? And why did he only visit Sloane once a month?

  Wait.

  Once a month.

  The term echoed through his thoughts.

  Josh clicked again. Tom hadn’t visited recently. Not since the first night that he’d been with Sloane.

  That made him feel better briefly, but that phrase kept swirling through his mind.

  Once a month.

  When it came to him, Josh leapt to his feet, then he almost fell to the floor. She had someone…or something…visit once a month? He slumped back down in Sloane’s chair, his mind reeling. But not this month!

  Once a month. No! Pregnant? Was Sloane pregnant?

  But…he always used protection! And Sloane had mentioned something about getting on birth control. His stomach tightened. But one thought glowed. A baby!

  Damn, Sloane would look so beautiful pregnant! And she’d be the most amazing mother!

  A baby! Could she be pregnant? They’d both been so careful, but condoms weren’t one hundred percent effective. And some of their nights together had been pretty…impatient. In fact, most of their times together, at least the first time each night, was a bit frantic. Okay, maybe a more than “a bit” frantic.

  Josh rubbed the back of his neck. If she was pregnant, was she feeling okay? Was she sick? He knew that most women suffered from morning sickness during pregnancy and he didn’t like the idea of her being sick. Not even if it was natural and normal. Just the thought of her dealing with morning sickness made him feel nauseous and uncomfortable.

  A baby!

  Was she scared? He remembered her telling him about her father. Wait, how had she referred to the man? “A sperm donor”, because he’d gotten Sloane’s mother pregnant, then vanished, never to be heard of again.

  How could he have done that? He’d just created a life! Josh wanted to hunt the man down and do him bodily harm. Kids needed fathers and, if Sloane were pregnant, then he damn well was going to be there for their child! Every day, he’d be there! And he’d be there
for Sloane as well. She’d never have to worry about money. Never! Okay, so he knew that she was pretty well set financially already. He’d invested her money in the best stocks and funds and ensured that she and her sisters would never have to worry about money. But he wanted more for his child. He wanted more for Sloane! He wanted…!

  Josh thought back to his initial hope, that she’d let him pamper her.

  His child was going to be spoiled, he thought with a tiny smile. But not too spoiled! No, he couldn’t let their children become spoiled brats. They were a bane to society. His children, their kids, would be responsible! Not spoiled.

  Josh closed his eyes, trying to figure out how to give his children every advantage and yet, not raise spoiled children. It was a mystery that he wasn’t fully prepared to figure out just yet.

  “I need to find out if she’s actually pregnant,” he muttered out loud.

  Standing up, he headed for his office, intending to grab his car keys and go find Sloane, demand to know if she was pregnant. Then he froze. “Security,” he grumbled, turning around and moving back to the desk. He locked down her computer, and gathered the files from her desk, bringing them back to his office where he locked them away in his desk. With everything secure, he grabbed his keys.

  “Time to get some answers,” he muttered.

  Chapter 17

  Sloane stared at the box, reading the directions for the tenth time. “Seriously? I pee on a stick and…and that’s it?” She sighed, pacing the small confines of the den. She’d gone to the drug store right after leaving the office.

  With a groan, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “Just take the test,” she said out loud.

  And still she paced, clenching the box as if letting it go might cause it to bite her.

  Turning, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Thinking it was Wilma and she could ask her friend for advice, she hurried to the door, pulling it open. Wilma sometimes stopped by when Sloane came home from work, often dropping off dinner or a dessert. Over the years, Wilma had sort of become a mother-like figure for Sloane and her sisters, she had never invaded their privacy and yet, she was always there to offer a hug or sage advice.