by Nikki Chase
In my mind’s eye, I see tiny little fingers and toes, pink and perfect.
“It’s probably not a good idea to think of it as your baby. It’s Heath’s baby, really.” Jane gives me a stern look. “If you’re going to do this, you need to be careful not to get carried away and start thinking it’s a real relationship or a real family. Your hormones will try to convince you that it’s real, but you can’t listen to them.”
“I know,” I say.
Despite Heath’s obvious interest in my body, he doesn’t seem to expect any kind of personal involvement between us. This is going to be a business arrangement and nothing else.
“So…?” Jane asks, her eyes searching for clues in my face.
“I’ll do it.”
Kat
“I’ve reviewed the contract you sent me, and I only have one thing to ask,” I say.
“Go ahead.” Heath sits back in his chair, looking stately and confident. He knows he’s won.
But it’s okay. I’ve thought this through.
After talking about it with Jane that first night after Heath gave me the offer, the challenge for the rest of the week was to come up with a decision. I went back and forth, but in the end I decided to go for it.
Jane’s right. It’s not like I’ll be exploited. Heath needs me as much as I need him, so we’re helping each other. What’s wrong with that?
This is a one-way ticket to success, which is what I’ve always wanted.
I feel like the experience would bring me closer to my mom, whom I’ve never met. Maybe if I have my own baby and then give it away, I’ll finally understand why she did it.
And… I don’t hold out much hope that this will happen… but I wish my dad would come out of hiding and reach out to me if I’m successful.
I’m concerned about my obvious attraction to Heath.
Obviously, it would be easier to keep things professional if I didn’t soak my panties as soon as he speaks to me in that low, sexy voice. But at the same time, I wouldn’t have even considered accepting this offer if Heath weren’t so irresistibly gorgeous.
Now there’s only one thing to straighten out.
“This is going to be confidential, right? Nobody’s ever going to find out.”
Heath bursts out laughing. “Kitten, that’s the last thing I expected to hear from you, but I’m glad that’s what you’re concerned about.” Heath gives me a reassuring smile. “Believe me, I don’t want anyone to find out about this arrangement either. I think we can both agree that I have more to lose in that scenario than you do.”
He’s right.
I’m a nobody—at least for now. People don’t care about me. They don’t want to read about me in their favorite gossip blogs.
But Heath… Even him going out to buy coffee is newsworthy, judging by the paparazzi who wait just outside the building for Heath to appear every morning.
“So this is never going to get out?” I ask again.
“If you don’t say anything, nobody’s going to find out. Only you know about it, and my lawyer who’s drafted this agreement.” Heath stares at me with his sharp, blue eyes. “Have you told anyone about our arrangement?”
I squirm. I didn’t expect my question to backfire. “I told my roommate, but she won’t tell anyone.”
“That’s what they always say,” Heath says dismissively. “Just so we’re both clear on what to expect, I’ll deny any involvement with you publicly if word ever gets out about this.” He points at me, and then at himself. “I’m sure you understand why, and I recommend that you do the same if the media ever goes after you for confirmation about our association. To everyone else, I’m just your boss and you’re just my personal assistant.”
“I know,” I say curtly. It’s kind of offensive, what he’s saying. He’s implying that I’ll blab to the media about this.
“If you ever mention my name and say that we’re more than that, the deal is off. Even years from now, I’ll come after you with my lawyer if you ever decide to write an exposé about it or something,” he says.
“I don’t even write non-fiction,” I snap.
“Maybe you’ll reconsider. Maybe you’ll think it’s a good way to market your work.” Heath shrugs. “But hey, no need to get defensive. I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m just going through what’s going to happen under certain circumstances. That’s what this contract is about, remember?”
“Yes.” I nod. I should leave my emotions out of this. This is strictly business, I remind myself.
“Good,” Heath says in the kind of voice that sends a thrill straight to my core. He speaks with absolute certainty. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You will report to work in the morning as usual, but you’ll be working inside my office. And as we’ve already discussed, it’ll be a different kind of work.” His smile is calm, but his hungry gaze leaves no doubt as to what he means.
As I nod, I concentrate on ignoring his hot stare and his filthy words. I hate how easily I blush. In a situation like this where I need to put forward a strong front, it’s a big handicap that I need to contain.
“Once you get pregnant, you’ll move into my apartment,” Heath continues. “You’ll go to the doctors’ appointments that will be scheduled for you, and you’ll eat whatever my personal chef cooks for you. I want to make sure you’ll give birth to a healthy baby.”
I listen to Heath’s words, but I already know these things from the contract he sent me. We’re just going through things we already know now.
But I like how thorough he is. It makes me feel like we can actually pull this off. Yes, this may be a crazy plan. But if we cover all the bases, it could work.
“When the baby is born, you’ll continue to live with me to breastfeed the baby. Once he or she is weaned, you’ll go back to your old life—or an improved version of your old life, I should say.” Heath pauses to let his words sink in.
“You’ll have a new job as a romance author, and you’ll be free to plan your days,” he says. “You won’t have to wake up in the morning and get stuck in an office, doing things you don’t care about for eight hours. You can fill your days with activities you enjoy doing.
“Hell, you can just stop working altogether and retire on the money I’ll give you. You can do that if you invest that money well and live simply.
“You know what? That’s probably a good thing to do, no matter what you decide to do. I’ll introduce you to a great financial planner. He’ll help you get things sorted out.”
“Thank you,” I simply say.
I acknowledge his thoughtfulness, but I don’t mistake it for kindness.
I’ve worked with Heath long enough to know that he often throws in some unexpected bonuses at the end of negotiations, just to seal the deal. That wasn’t a spontaneous offer.
The strategy works well, although I’ve always thought Heath’s clients were suckers for buying this cheap move.
But now, as I sit on the other side of the negotiation table from Heath, I recognize how sincere he comes across. He puts so much thought into every little thing that it feels personal.
Even though he can be ruthless toward certain big corporations, Heath is a courteous, reliable business partner who keeps his side of the bargain.
I know I’m in good hands. And I know he’s going to be a great dad, if he approaches fatherhood like he approaches his business.
“I believe that’s everything,” Heath says with a small smile as he slides a copy of the contract across his desk.
“Yes.”
I take the contract and flip through it. Everything seems familiar because I’ve done nothing over the past few days but read every clause, over and over again. I don’t know if I was looking for an excuse to bail or to go all in.
But right now, I’ve made my decision. I take the fountain pen Heath’s offering and sign my name on the dotted line.
There. It’s done.
I’m really doing this.
Heath
“Let�
��s go,” I say as soon as she shows up in my office.
Kat looks delicious today, but then she always does. A thin pink blouse covers her body, affixed to the skin of her cleavage by gravity and skimming the rest of her upper body demurely. Her white lace pencil skirt shows off the flare of her hips.
My strait-laced personal assistant with the tight bun on her head. I can’t wait to peel off her office-appropriate clothes and plunder the prize within.
Her hand is still on the door handle. A cute little frown appears on her pretty face. “Where?”
“You’ll see.” I put my arm around her delicate shoulders and lead her out of the office.
She keeps insisting, though, and I keep refusing to answer. She puts on a mirthless expression in the car.
“You don’t like surprises, kitten?” I ask.
“Not when I’d planned to spend the day at the office,” she answers curtly.
I chuckle. She’s always been highly organized, which makes her a great personal assistant. She wrangles my schedule like she was born to do it.
“I only told you to show up at the office in the morning as usual. I never said anything about staying in the office the whole day. Sounds like you were anxious to get started on the baby-making,” I say. “Did you want to pick things up where we left off the other day?”
I know she remembers the kiss I gave her in my office. With her sparkling green eyes, she panted and begged me for more.
But it’s not my style to gobble up everything in front of me, like I’m in a cheap buffet joint.
No, someone like Kat… I want to taste her, really savor her. An exquisite beauty like her doesn’t come around often. And she’s not just a looker—I’ve seen glimpses of her brilliance and her sensuality.
I can’t wait to enjoy this arrangement.
To me, sex without intimacy is like a dish without any spices. But I get the feeling that being with Kat is going to be like an explosion of tastes… and not just in my mouth either.
But I need to wait. It’s going to take a little preparation to get her to the right state of mind.
“Let’s keep this professional,” she retorts, which only proves my point. She’s not ready yet.
“Work can be fun, too, kitten,” I remind her.
“Spoken like a true workaholic.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Fair enough.”
Kitty’s got claws!
“I’m just saying, it’s okay to enjoy your work. That’s why you want to be a romance author, right? Because you enjoy the work?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she admits.
“You know what they say about all work and no play.”
“Is that what this is? Play?” she asks.
“You can say that.”
I take no more questions and ask Kat to tell me about herself instead. But beyond saying that she lives with an investment banker (the roommate who made notes on her smutty manuscript), she doesn’t reveal much.
When I ask her about her family, she mentions having a step-mom and step-siblings, but gets even more tight-lipped than usual. It really makes me wonder what her life is like.
She stops talking about herself altogether when we pull up outside the airport and park the car. It’s her turn to ask questions now.
“Why are we at the airport?” she asks with suspicion in her voice.
“You don’t have to plan every second of your life, kitten. Let loose a little. Go with the flow,” I say as I get out of the car. I smile to myself when she follows me and we make our way into the airport building.
Kat’s jaw slackens as a man in a smart suit drives up in a caddy and takes us past the lines at the check-in desks and the security checkpoints.
“Are we… flying somewhere?” she asks. The widest part of her hips brushes against my thigh as the caddy whizzes past other travelers.
“That’s generally why people go to airports, yes. To fly somewhere.” I give her a smile.
It’s so amusing to watch her try to figure out what I’m planning. I can almost hear the gears turning in her mind. But she’s not going to guess this one.
“You’re not… This is… not human trafficking, right?” she asks in a small voice, as if she realizes how ridiculous it sounds but still has to ask.
I burst out laughing. When I finally calm down, I give her a dramatic, sinister look and say, “If this were human trafficking, you think I’m just going to tell you?”
“No?”
“Not a chance.” I shake my head.
“You really did make your money from stock trading, right?” she asks.
“Stocks, humans… Whatever makes the most money. What’s the difference?” I pause to watch her decide whether to laugh at my lame joke or run in the other direction.
She lets out a nervous laugh. “You’re not going to fool me. I know some finance nerds who are big fans of your work.”
“Sure.” I hop off the caddy when it stops. “But they don’t know all the things I do on the side.”
Kat catches up to me in the jet bridge connecting the airport gate to the private jet. “Ha-ha. Very funny. Where are we really going?”
“Shopping.” I nod at the flight attendant welcoming us on board.
“Shopping for what?” If anything, her tone only gets more insistent after getting an answer for one of her many questions.
“Wine.”
The flight attendant directs Kat to her seat. She lands her luscious ass on the leather and folds her toned legs gracefully. She keeps her eyes on me, waiting for an explanation. “Where?”
“A winery.” I know she’s just going to keep asking the same question, trying to get me to reveal more information about the location. “You’re going to work overtime tonight. We’re probably only going to reach our destination at the end of the day.” I pause. “Or is it going to be morning again when we get there, because of the time difference? I can never tell.”
“We’re flying far enough for there to be a time difference?” Kat asks in a surprised voice.
“Yeah.” I fasten my seatbelt.
I usually like this big, comfortable seat with plenty of leg room, but right now I hate that the spaciousness of the aircraft also means that there’s a wide aisle between my hands and her sexy little body.
“So we’re probably flying to the east or the west…” Kat’s voice trails off as she thinks.
“Hint: we’re going to fly over the Atlantic.”
“We’re going to Europe?” Kat asks in a fascinating mixture of disbelief Apprehension, and excitement.
“Yeah,” I say. “It’s going to be about ten hours until we get there. You’d better rest up. It’s going to be morning when we land.”
“Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said ‘overtime,’” Kat says.
I laugh. I don’t often have people challenge me, and that’s the way I usually like it.
But with Kat…
I don’t know. Even when she’s being a sassy smart-mouth, she’s entertaining. There’s an honesty about her, a genuine quality.
Most people want something from me. Money. Connections. Power. Assistance.
I’m not saying Kat doesn’t want all those things. Let’s not pretend that I’m not paying her to be here. I’m not delusional.
But she acts like she doesn’t need all those things. Like she could take it or leave it. I can’t tell if it’s pride or if she’s here for a different reason.
Is it me she’s staying for? Is it something else?
I’ve worked my ass off to build my business from an unknown investment firm into an international hedge fund management company worth billions of dollars.
If there’s anything I know, it’s that I can make anything happen if I really put my mind to it.
So here’s what I’m going to do. I’ll crack Kat’s armor and show her how much fun this can be, if she lets go and follows her instincts.
Sure, this agreement is about having Kat deliver my baby. But that doesn't have to be all
it is.
I’ve decided that Kat will be my next project. I’m going to tame her.
Kat
As if the impromptu trans-Atlantic flight on a freaking private jet isn’t crazy enough, we’re met on the tarmac by a black sedan at our destination. The rear door of the car is open, held by a man in a tweed flat cap, a pair of white gloves and a big, friendly smile.
“Merci, Alain,” Heath says as he hops in beside me on the backseat.
The man nods and closes the car door.
The interior of the car smells like fresh lavender and vanilla. The leather seat feels buttery soft on my skin—except for the few inches between Heath and me. That space is electric, like I’d risk a zap if I were to get too close.
This feels like a dream, and not just because I’m suddenly all the way in France, when I’d never even traveled out of the country before—say, to Canada, for example.
To be honest, though, this morning… Or was it yesterday morning? This time difference thing is really messing with my head.
Anyway, when I walked into Heath’s office—whenever it was—I was considering cancelling the whole arrangement.
Who cared about my romance career? If it was meant to be, it would happen.
And there was never any guarantee that I’d get a lightbulb moment that shines a light on the circumstances of my own birth and helps me understand my birth mother. Same went for the tearful reunion with my dad.
These were just pathetic, impossible, childish wishes.
But then Heath knocked me completely off my balance. Who the hell just randomly takes a girl to another continent just to have some wine?
But then again, who the hell just randomly hires a girl to have his baby?
The answer to both is Heath Anders.
He just keeps coming up with surprises. This is not just about him having the money to do these things, but also about his spontaneity.
Contrary to what I told him, I actually love surprises.
It's just that I was already feeling conflicted, and he was making it hard for me to stick to the decision I’d made while tossing and turning in my bed last night.
