Once Upon a Daddy: A Romance Anthology

by Kelli Callahan

  I took a chance and applied for the job that Madeleine found—and landed it before my interview was over. It was originally supposed to be a job where I just wrote press releases for a new sports agency, but it quickly turned into more than that. My new boss was great with people and was driven to get his agency off the ground, but his organizational skills were definitely lacking. I usually stopped by every morning before class, got things sorted for the day, and prayed he would make it until I was done with school. He was already asking what it would take for me to just take classes at night so that he could have me there full-time, and the salary was tempting. It kept me busy enough not to notice that Walker was putting in late hours himself because I knew he’d always come home to me when the day was over.

  A few days later

  “So, where are we going for the weekend?” I looked over at Walker. “You can’t keep me in suspense forever.”

  “You’ll probably have a good guess in a few minutes.” He gave me a quick wink and chuckled under his breath.

  “Wait, this is the way to the airstrip. Are we flying somewhere?” I raised my eyebrows inquisitively.

  “You could say that.” He nodded. “A slow flight…”

  “The hot air balloon.” I moved closer to him and grinned. “Are you taking me to the vineyard again?”

  “It’s one of our stops.” He squeezed my hand. “Not the only one though.”

  The first trip to the vineyard was one of our most cherished memories. That was the night lust and desire turned into passion and romance. Our second trip proved to be more special than the first—because Walker proposed to me in the spot where we had our picnic. Somewhere between the tears of happiness and words clogged in my throat, I managed to accept his proposal and put on the ring. We spent the night there underneath the stars, tangled up in an embrace that allowed me to keep sneaking glances at my engagement ring before I finally drifted off to sleep. The next day, we went further north, and he landed the balloon at another airstrip. We had to hike from there—to a cabin that was about two miles away. It was quiet and secluded—so much so that our cell phones didn’t even work.

  “My boss is going to be so pissed if he tries to call.” I held up my phone and stared at the screen.

  “Mine too.” He took the phone from my hand and put it on the counter. “But we might as well enjoy it while we can.”

  While it was a simple cabin in that it didn’t have much, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that Walker was willing to turn off the rest of the world so we could be alone. That meant more to me than the engagement ring on my finger. We were going to need nights like that if our relationship—and eventually our marriage—was going to work. Walker was committed to it. He amazed me every single day. The time we spent apart was painful, but it was necessary for the two of us to understand how much we needed each other. It didn’t have to be absolutely perfect—I just needed a man that was willing to fight for our relationship—and I finally had him.

  “So, now that I’m going to be your wife, I get to tease you anytime that I want.” I reached down and rubbed Walker’s cock through his pants.

  “You better be careful.” He put his hand on my wrist and growled. “There’s nobody to hear you scream out here.”

  “Are you threatening to spank me or just make me come?” I tilted my head and grinned.

  “Maybe a little bit of both…” He let go of my wrist and squeezed my ass.

  “One usually leads to the other regardless…” I exhaled sharply and leaned against him.

  Not that I ever have any complaints about it…

  Six months later

  Walker was able to convince Manuel Rosario to let us get married in his vineyard. It was the perfect spot—and there was plenty of wine on hand for the guests at the reception. My mother got to meet the entire cast of Dangerous Thorns, and she was pretty sure that someone was going to ruin our wedding with a surprise confession or shocking revelation with all of those soap opera stars in attendance—especially when she realized that Walker had a twin brother. Thankfully, it was a beautiful uninterrupted ceremony with no unexpected surprises. We said our vows, exchanged a kiss, and then we were able to spend the rest of the day and most of the evening surrounded by the people that meant the most to us. There was one guest in attendance that didn’t get to sign the registry—but anyone who knew to look for it could have probably seen the baby bump that was just starting to show.

  The End

  Interview With A Daddy

  One

  Faith

  “Where is my other shoe? Oh my god, where is my other shoe?” I ran to the door of my bedroom, looked around in a panic, and then made a dash for the living room.

  “Faith, calm down. It probably got kicked into the abyss under your bed.” My roommate, Jennifer, tried to be the voice of reason in the middle of my hurricane.

  “You’re right! I got up last night to get a glass of water!” I ran back towards the bedroom and hit my knees so hard I winced. “Yes! Here it is!”

  “The interview is tomorrow. You don’t have to run around the apartment like a chicken with your head cut off.” Jennifer met me at my bedroom door. “Seriously, you’re getting all worked up for nothing right now.”

  “I know.” I sighed. “I just want to make sure everything is perfect before I go to bed tonight. I don’t want to freak out tomorrow. I’m going to be nervous enough without missing shoes and stains on my skirt—oh my god, I forgot to check on my skirt!”

  “I already took care of it.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “Go sit down. I’m going to pick up a bottle of wine from the store on the corner. I think you need to have a drink tonight.”

  “Okay.” I exhaled sharply and walked to the couch so that I could sit down. “I’ll try to settle down some before you get back.”

  My panic-induced dash around the apartment was brought on by an email from Hawkins Capital, the firm that I applied to right after college—for a job that I didn’t expect to even get an interview for. To make matters worse, the interview wasn’t just with some random hiring manager at the company like the jobs I applied for. My interview was with Alexio Hawkins—the owner and CEO of the billion dollar company.

  If he was taking time out of his obviously busy schedule to interview me personally, then everything had to be perfect. It was the chance of a lifetime—an interview that could very well determine my entire future. That was worth a panic-induced dash—that was worth the knot in my stomach—that was worth everything.

  “I’ll be right back.” Jennifer walked into the living room with flip-flops on her feet and a purse hanging from her shoulder.

  “Thank you for being the calm in my hurricane.” I looked up at her and smiled.

  “Always.” She chuckled under her breath and headed for the door.

  Jennifer was my college roommate, and after graduation, we decided to renew the lease on the apartment we shared for another year so we could save on expenses while we tried to find careers that matched the degrees we got from the University of Southern California. Jennifer’s mother was a real estate developer in San Diego and convinced one of her clients that owned property all over the state of California to lease us an apartment for a quarter of what we would have normally paid for one that close to the heart of Los Angeles. Jennifer didn’t really need a roommate anymore. She had a job waiting on her before she walked across the stage to shake the Dean’s hand—another favor that her mother was able to arrange with one phone call.

  I wasn’t that lucky. I came from a good family, but there were no silver spoons in my house—nor did we know anyone that would pass out favors like candy. I worked my tail off in high school to get good grades while holding down a part-time job. I wasn’t the top of my class, despite putting in more work than the kids who seemed to be able to ace a test without opening a textbook. The work paid off—somewhat. I was able to get a partial scholarship to USC, and my parents helped with my tuition. I actually considered li
ving in my car to save money before I met Jennifer at orientation, and she told me that she was looking for a roommate.

  Then she became the eye of the storm that seemed to follow me everywhere.

  Jennifer always knew how to calm me down, and she was the voice of reason when my crazy train went off the rails. Maybe it was just easy to be calm when your future didn’t rest on one interview. I needed that job, even if it was just an entry-level position. The lease was going to run out eventually, and if I didn’t land a decent job, I wouldn’t be able to afford a place to live that was close enough to commute to the city. I had concerns that were bigger than my own future—my parents had been struggling financially for years. I wanted to be able to help them, but I hadn’t been able to do that while I was in school.

  “I’m back!” Jennifer interrupted my thoughts and waved a bottle of wine as soon as she walked through the door. “I got the good stuff!”

  “I hope you didn’t spend too much money on that.” I raised an eyebrow. “I would have been fine with something that came in a box.”

  “That’s nonsense.” She shook her head back and forth. “You should never cheat yourself when you’re picking out a bottle of wine.”

  Easy for you to say…

  Jennifer popped the cork on the bottle of wine and poured two glasses. Wine was a luxury that I couldn’t afford, so I usually only got to drink it when Jennifer brought a bottle home. She preferred a good red, and I was rarely disappointed with anything she offered me. I knew what she spent a lot when I saw the label—it was one of Manuel Rosario’s brands. He was a movie star that owned a vineyard north of Los Angeles. Jennifer took me there once for a wine tasting, and my jaw fell open when I saw how much it would cost to take a bottle home. There was no reason to waste the wine in my glass though, and I knew it would help to curb some of the anxiety that had turned my stomach into a tight knot, so I took a sip.

  “Do you feel better now?” Jennifer tilted her head slightly.

  “Everything is ready. I’ll go over my notes before bed and get up early so I can review them again tomorrow.” I nodded. “Who knows what Alexio Hawkins will ask me…”

  “You just need to be yourself.” She lifted the wine glass to her lips and took a sip. “If you show him how awesome you are, you’ll have the job before he even finishes his list of questions.”

  “I wish it was that simple.” I sighed and took another sip of my wine.

  Jennifer often seemed oblivious to her good fortune. She had a happy-go-lucky attitude and a natural inclination to believe everything was going to work out for the best. I was jealous of that sometimes because I stressed myself out every opportunity that I got. It felt like I lived with a permanent weight on my shoulders that threatened to crush me if I gave it a chance. A job at Hawkins Capital would take some of the pressure off. It wouldn’t fix everything overnight, but it would be a damn good start.

  “Bottoms up.” Jennifer grinned. “We need to put a dent in this bottle tonight.”

  “I should probably just stop with one glass.” I stared at the red wine and swirled it. “I don’t want to wake up with a headache tomorrow.”

  “You’ll be fine.” She picked up the bottle and topped me off. “You’re going to lay in bed all night stressing about the interview if you don’t have something to help you sleep.”

  “I guess that’s true…” I sighed and nodded.

  I drank enough to get a good buzz going, and then I retired to my room so that I could review my notes about Hawkins Capital. I already knew a lot about the company. I did a case study on one of their biggest clients for one of my classes. Alexio Hawkins was a legend in the investment industry. When he was ready to add a company to his portfolio, he conquered them like some kind of modern day business warlord. He invested enough money to get a majority share and then put his guys in charge. Some people called him a tyrant, but their complaints were silenced once the companies he invested in started turning a profit.

  Hopefully, he’s a fan of flattery because I’ve admired his investment strategy from afar since I wrote that paper.

  The wine made me sleepy once the buzz wore off, so I only got to review my notes a couple of times before the bed started calling my name. The stress was a lot milder than it had been earlier in the day, so the wine did its job. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to completely erase all of the thoughts tumbling around in my head. Despite being tired and in desperate need of sleep, I stared at the ceiling with my eyes wide open for nearly an hour once I crawled into bed. I checked my alarm three times—once to make sure it was actually set—once to make sure that I selected AM instead of PM—and one final time to make sure it had batteries in case the power went out. I decided to set a second alarm on my cell phone, just in case buzzing from my clock didn’t wake me up.

  Okay—time to get some sleep.

  The next morning

  I woke up in a panic when my alarm went off. I shut it off and immediately climbed out of bed. My interview was at ten, and I allowed myself to sleep until seven. Jennifer had already left for work, so I walked to the bathroom as soon as I came to my senses. I had to run back to my bedroom before I finished brushing my teeth because the alarm on my cell phone went off. Once I was finished with my shower, I went back to my bedroom and got dressed. After that, it was time for coffee—lots and lots of coffee. I didn’t really need it because I was already wide awake, but I wanted to be as alert as possible. I looked at the clock after I finished my second cup and realized that I still had two hours before I had to be at Hawkins Capital.

  I’ll go over my notes—that’ll keep my mind occupied until it’s time to leave.

  I had a third cup of coffee while I reviewed my notes, and then I freshened up my lipstick before I made a dash for the door. I was making good time, and I would make it to Hawkins Capital with time to spare, even if the traffic in Los Angeles was worse than usual. The worst case scenarios danced in my head as I drove across town, but I made it to Hawkins Capital without having an accident or getting stuck in traffic behind one. In fact, I made it in record time. I gathered my things and took a deep breath before I stepped out of my car. My thoughts shifted from worst case scenarios about the drive to worse case scenarios about the interview, but I did my best to keep my composure as I walked into the building.

  “Hi! I’m here for an interview!” I put as much cheer in my voice as possible when I walked up to the receptionist in the lobby.

  “Over there.” She pointed to a row of seats. “We’ll call you when it’s time.”

  “Do you—need my name?” I tilted my head slightly.

  “No, we have it.” She looked at me like I was an idiot.

  Right—I’m scheduled for an interview today. She obviously has my name.

  My stomach twisted into an even tighter knot as I sat in the lobby. I did my best to keep myself occupied by reviewing my notes, playing on my cell phone, and flipping through the magazines that were laying on the table. After sitting there for nearly an hour, the receptionist called my name, and I gathered my fleeting sanity so that I could bring what was left of it with me. She took me to an elevator, and once we were inside, she punched in a series of numbers that allowed her to access the button for the top floor of Hawkins Capital. The elevator didn’t ascend—it zoomed. I had to grab the railing because I wasn’t expecting it to move that fast. The receptionist smirked and laughed under her breath. The elevator doors opened once we got to the top floor, and my eyes nearly bulged out of my head.

  The top floor was—a brilliant display of luxury and wealth. There was a Rembrandt on the wall by the elevators, a Van Gogh casually hanging in the conference room near the row of offices, and an enormous Picasso in front of the chair she told me to sit in until Alexio Hawkins was ready to interview me. The scenery was enough to briefly distract me from my nervousness, but it quickly returned after I had been sitting there for a few minutes. Everyone seemed to be very busy. A couple of people glanced in my direction when they p
ower-walked past me, but none of them said anything. I started to feel like a bump on a log before one of the secretaries finally walked over to where I was sitting.

  “You’re here for the interview with Mr. Hawkins?” She tilted her head slightly.

  “Yes ma’am.” I looked up at her and nodded.

  “Okay, he has a meeting that came together at the last minute, but if you don’t mind waiting; he should be able to interview you as soon as he’s done.” She had a warm smile and seemed to be a lot nicer than the receptionist downstairs.

  “I don’t mind waiting.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’m sure Mr. Hawkins is very busy, so I totally understand.”

  The secretary returned to her desk, and I noticed that several people were beginning to congregate in the conference room. I assumed that was where the meeting was going to take place. The door to one of the corner offices opened, and it seemed like everyone just froze in place. The secretaries stopped typing, the people in the conference room quit talking mid-conversation, and even the printer across from me went silent—I was sure that was just a coincidence, but it still seemed kind of eerie. The only thing I could hear was my own heartbeat for a moment, and then Alexio Hawkins walked out of his office.

  I knew Alexio Hawkins was attractive. I had seen his picture on the company website when I did my case study on Hawkins Capital. That photograph might have captured his image, but it was a pale comparison to the real thing. Seeing him in real life actually took my breath away—I didn’t even remember how to breathe. He was tall, tanned, and so hot that he might as well have been smoldering underneath his Giorgio Armani suit. He had dark brown hair, a neatly trimmed beard that matched, and umber-colored eyes that looked almost piercing. He scanned the room for a moment, and then his eyes locked on me. I shifted nervously in my chair as I got trapped in his stare, but then he turned and walked into the conference room.