One Night Baby - A Romance Compilation

by Tia Siren

  He looked at me and curled his lip. “It’s beneath you. Hell, it’s beneath me,” he said.

  I laughed. “Well, you’ll be happy to know I’ve changed my mind. I’m not doing the show. I’ve already found the woman I want.”

  Connor stopped walking. “Excuse me?”

  “Call Gabe and Jack. Tell them I’m done. I’m out. I won’t be there tonight or ever again. Thank them for their time and all that. Maybe send them a fruit basket or something as an apology,” I said absently, picking up my walk to my office.

  “A fruit basket?” he growled. “You can’t just quit. Do you know how much work it took to get you that damn show?”

  I stopped walking, turned to look at him, and reminded him of my position and his. Connor wasn’t the kind of man who would back down from me. It was why I had him. I needed him to keep me and my ego in check, like now.

  “Please, tell them I’m sorry, but this isn’t going to work.”

  Connor was shaking his head and mumbling something I couldn’t quite hear under his breath. I was pretty sure I heard “asshole” but couldn’t say for certain. I didn’t care if they thought I was an asshole. I probably was.

  I had barely gotten myself seated behind my desk when April told me I had a call from Jack.

  That was fast.

  “Hi, Jack,” I said, doing my best to be friendly.

  “I just got a call from your PA. You can’t quit the show, Mr. Case,” he stated in a way that told me he was pissed.

  “I’ve found the woman I want to pursue. I’m not interested in any of the others. It would be a waste of my time and theirs.”

  “That’s not the way this works. I don’t give a shit who you found. You signed a contract. I’ve got a lot of money and my reputation on the line,” he spat.

  “I’ll pay you for your time and whatever the clause states for breaking the contract,” I told him, not worried in the slightest.

  He laughed. “You think so, huh?”

  “How much?” I asked.

  “A million dollars.”

  “Excuse me? That’s insane.”

  “We have advertising dollars that we spent. We have advertisers that paid to have their ads run along with some strategic product placement. We have our staff and the money we would have made. This doesn’t just go away because you don’t want to play anymore,” he said.

  I leaned back in my chair. I had the money, but one didn’t get wealthy by throwing money away. “Okay. Can we come up with a way for me to wrap this thing up sooner rather than later?”

  “I need to talk to Gabe and see what we can work out. I’ll cancel tonight’s competition. Gabe showed me footage from the dinner. You’re asking this woman out again?”

  “Yes.”

  He was quiet for a few seconds. “Fine. We’ll have cameras follow you to her house. You make a grand gesture, roses, candy, the whole nine yards. We’ll start playing to a love at first sight theme. I’ll get back to you once I’ve talked to the execs to see how they want to handle this. I can tell you there will be a fee for breaking your contract.”

  “I’m sure we can negotiate something. In the meantime, I’ll talk with my lawyers as well,” I said, reminding him I wasn’t so easily bullied. I could fight back just as hard.

  We hung up, and I immediately put a call out to my lawyer. He would review the contract and look for any loopholes. For now, I would play along with their little strategy, but I had no interest in dating other women and pretending to be interested. I wanted Emily.

  I had Connor get Emily’s address from her application. Armed with a dozen long-stemmed roses and a nice bottle of wine, I had Alex drive me to her apartment on the other side of town. One of the cameramen rode with me, getting what I thought had to be some pretty boring footage of me sitting in the back of a car.

  When we arrived in front of the older building, I was a little surprised. It wasn’t the best neighborhood. I was starting to get a clearer picture of who Emily was. It explained why I had never met her before. We had nothing in common. Another cameraman was waiting on the sidewalk when we pulled up. My car and the cameras caught the attention of the people sitting on stoops and chatting on the street.

  “Are you sure this is the right address?” I asked Alex.

  “Yes, sir. Connor said second floor, apartment twelve.”

  I took a deep breath. “Okay. Here goes nothing.”

  I got out of the car, telling Alex not to even think about opening my door. I walked inside, feeling a little self-conscious in my suit and carrying the roses with two men following me, documenting my every move.

  I hoped she was home. It was just after six and there was a good chance she could be at work. Jack wanted the date proposal to be completely unscripted and unplanned. It was the shock value he was looking for.

  I knocked on the door, hoping she was home.

  “Hi.” I smiled when she opened the door.

  The look on her face told me I had definitely surprised her.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, looking from me to the cameras.

  “I wanted to see about that second date,” I said, holding out the flowers and the bottle of wine. “I brought these to persuade you.”

  She stepped into the hallway, pulling the door behind her, leaving it open just a crack. I suddenly got the idea she wasn’t alone.

  “Is this a bad time?”

  “I wasn’t expecting you,” she said, once again pointedly looking at the cameras.

  “I wanted to surprise you.”

  “You did. You definitely surprised me. At my house. With cameras.”

  I was captured by her natural beauty and struggled to find words that made me sound smooth and debonair—my typical public personality. She was wearing a pair of low-rise jeans that hugged her hips with a T-shirt tucked in, showing off her flat stomach. Her hair was piled in a loose bun on top of her head, and she barely had on a drop of makeup. She was stunning. I liked this look better than the fancy dresses and the made-up face. I felt like was actually getting to see her for who she was. I liked her even more.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t call first. I wanted to see you. Will you go out with me again, say tomorrow? I’d love to take you somewhere private and romantic where we can get to know each other better.”

  She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  My mouth dropped open for a split second before I regained my composure, remembering my reaction would be caught on camera.

  “Don’t make me beg.” I grinned, trying to play off her initial rejection.

  “I like you, but this isn’t for me,” she said, waving at the cameras. “Good luck, Tyler.” She pushed open the door to go back inside.

  I caught a glimpse of a little boy, about three years old, staring up in awe at the cameras.

  “Who’s that, Mommy?” the child said.

  Emily looked at me, horror on her face, before slamming the door shut. I stared at the door, the image of the child in my mind. He had dark brown hair and green eyes. There was something vaguely familiar about him. I did a little mental math and then shook my head. That was crazy. There was no way he could be mine.

  I remembered the cameras and pasted on a fake smile. “I think you guys scared her off.”

  The men holding the cameras didn’t say a word. They just kept filming. I walked out of the building, noticing the flickering light in the hallway, thinking that had to be some kind of fire hazard, and headed for my car.

  “I don’t think we need to document any more of my failures tonight,” I said to the cameraman who tried to climb into the back seat with me. “Show’s over for tonight.”

  “I’m supposed to follow you back to your place.”

  I shook my head and gave him a tight smile. “That’s never going to happen. If Gabe or Jack has a problem with that, they can call me. Good night, guys.”

  I slammed the door and ordered Alex to get me the hell out of there. I leaned
back, surprised she had shot me down. I had thought we had hit it off the other night. The image of the little brown-haired boy kept popping into my head. I’d had no idea she had a kid. She certainly hadn’t mentioned him. I wondered if that had been a question on the application form. I had never specified my preference for kids or no kids.

  I didn’t know a lot about kids, but I was guessing he was around three, maybe four. If he was four, he couldn’t have been mine, but if he was three… My mind went back to that night. I had used a condom every time we’d had sex. I dismissed the kid. He wasn’t mine.

  I felt the car slow and looked to see we were already pulling into my gated driveway.

  “Thank you, Alex. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I told him, climbing out of the car and heading inside.

  I wasn’t about to lose Emily after I had just found her. I would ask her out again, on my terms. The show and all their rules and cameras could kiss my ass. This was my life and I did things my way.

  Chapter Twelve

  Emily

  “Come on, buddy, Mommy needs to get to work,” I said, hoping to get Tommy to kick it up a notch.

  He was really dragging today, and I was already behind. Seemed like I was always running late. I could have gotten up three hours earlier and still been late.

  My phone rang just as I was locking the door to the apartment. I dug in my purse and answered it without checking the caller ID. The only person it could have been was my boss or Sarah.

  “Hello,” I said in a rush.

  “Emily?” The smooth, deep voice came through the phone, stopping me dead in my tracks.

  “Tyler?” I said, pulling the phone away from my ear to check the number.

  I didn’t even have his number, so it wasn’t like the numbers on the screen meant anything to me.

  “Yes. I wanted to call and apologize for last night.”

  “It’s fine,” I said, grabbing Tommy’s hand and walking down the stairs with him.

  “No, it isn’t. I knew you weren’t comfortable with the cameras and I should have been more considerate. I was trying to make this grand gesture and it backfired. It was a stupid move. The producer was pressuring me, and I caved in. I promise it won’t happen again,” he said with such conviction I actually believed him.

  I sighed. “I understand.”

  “Will you meet me tonight?” he asked, his voice lacking his usual confidence.

  “With the cameras in tow?”

  He let out a breath. “Yes. I’m sorry. I’m stuck in a contract and working to get out of it, but for now, I’m stuck with them.”

  I could hear the sincerity in his voice, and despite the cameras, I wanted to see him. I liked talking to him and I did need to make a decision about our future. I had to decide what to tell him.

  “Okay,” I muttered.

  “Great! I’ll pick you up. Does six work for you?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Can we make a little later?”

  “Sure. How about eight?”

  “Perfect. I’ll be ready.”

  “Emily?”

  I smiled. I loved hearing him say my name. “Yes?”

  “Dress casual. Whatever you were wearing last night was hot.”

  I burst into laughter. “I had just gotten home from work!”

  “Damn. I need to go to wherever it is you work. I could watch you for hours,” he said in a husky voice.

  The sound sent heat flooding through my body. “I’ll see you tonight,” I murmured and hung up the phone.

  I buckled Tommy in and nearly bounced my way around the back of the car and into the driver’s seat. I liked the way he made me feel. I felt sexy when he looked at me with the same passion I remembered from that first night.

  I called Sarah on my way to drop Tommy off, and as I’d hoped, she was more than happy to watch him while I went out with Tyler.

  After being at work for a few hours, I’d just come back from my break to see Leo sitting at a table in my section. I begged the other waitress on duty to take him. She refused.

  “What do you want, Leo?” I said, hand on my hip, staring down at him.

  “I wanted to see you.”

  “Why? I’ve got nothing to say to you.” I glared at him.

  “Do you have a minute?”

  “No,” I shot back. “I have work to do.”

  “I saw you on that show the other night. If you’re desperate for a boyfriend, I’m here. I’ll be a daddy to that kid of yours.”

  I scoffed. “That will never happen. You need to leave.”

  “Come on, Emily. You can’t still be mad about that other stuff. We were good together,” he said, trying his best to be sexy but only making me loathe him more than I already did.

  “Leave, Leo. I’m going to find my manager and tell him you’re harassing me,” I said, spinning on my heel.

  His hand snaked out, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back. “Just give me a chance. We could be happy together.”

  Yanking my arm back, I headed for the back office. I knew my manager wouldn’t be of any help, but I was hoping Leo would get the picture and leave. Waiting in the narrow hallway, I watched until I saw him stomp out the door.

  Thankfully, he stayed away for the rest of the day. I was excited for my date. After a mental inventory of my closet, trying to think of something casual and sexy, I still didn’t know what I was going to wear, but it wouldn’t be my tired old jeans and a T-shirt.

  After picking Tommy up, I made him a quick dinner while I rummaged through my closet, trying to put together the perfect outfit. I finally settled on jeans, a flirty pink top, and heels. It was casual, but not work casual.

  Sarah showed up and whistled loudly. “You look gorgeous!”

  I laughed. “Thanks. He said casual. I have no idea where we’re going.”

  “That’s exciting. I’m only a teensy bit jealous, but mostly I’m excited for you. This has been a long time in the making.”

  “Thank you,” I told her, giving her a quick hug.

  There was a knock on the door. “Is he picking you up?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

  When I opened the door, he held up a hand. “Wait. The cameras are here, but I bought about a minute.”

  “I didn’t expect you to come here,” I said, looking back to make sure Tommy was still in his room.

  “I wanted to officially pick you up.”

  I nodded, grabbed my purse, waved good-bye, and stepped outside my apartment before Tommy came to investigate.

  “I’m ready,” I said.

  He took my hand and led me down the hall, past the cameras. I ignored them as much as I could and climbed into the waiting car.

  “Home, Alex,” Tyler commanded.

  “Home?” I asked with confusion. “I thought we were going out.”

  He smiled. “I thought we could have a little more privacy at my place.”

  “Oh,” I said for lack of anything better to say.

  “How was your day?” he asked casually.

  I smiled. It was all a little weird to be sitting in the back of a car with the father of my child, the man who could make my heart race with a simple look my way.

  “It was okay,” I said, not wanting to bore him with the details of my job.

  I stared out the window as we drove through the city, heading away from the bright lights. I was in awe of the stately houses. Soon they faded away and became tall black iron fencing. We stopped at a huge gate, Alex waiting for the gates to open before driving through. I could barely breathe as a mansion came into view.

  “This is your house?” I asked, barely able to get the words out.

  “It is.”

  “Wow,” I mumbled.

  Soon, the car came to a stop. A large man opened the back door and helped me out. I stood there, looking up at a house that was at least as big as my entire apartment building.

  “Shall we go in?” Tyler asked, taking my hand and leading me through the massive, ornate wood
en doors being held open by what I could only imagine was a butler.

  Never in my life had I seen an actual butler. I felt like a complete moron with my mouth hanging open as he led me down a huge hallway of black marble, my heels clacking against the surface with every step.

  “In here,” he said, stepping through an archway and into a dining room with a huge table. There were place settings for two at one end.

  I heard a noise and turned to see a man with a camera behind me. I had completely forgotten they were there. Tyler was the perfect gentleman, pulling out a chair for me.

  “Thank you,” I mumbled.

  “Dinner will be served shortly. Remember the restaurant the other night?”

  I giggled. “How could I forget?”

  He smiled. “He’s a friend. He’s cooking for us tonight.”

  “You have friends in very good places.”

  He smiled. “Actually, I have few friends, but I have plenty of people who like to call me friend simply because of what I have.”

  “I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I mean, that has to be tough.”

  He shrugged. “You learn. So, I have a confession to make,” he started, and I felt a shiver of apprehension.

  “That doesn’t sound good,” I teased.

  “The show, it was my idea. I asked for it,” he said.

  “I’m not that surprised.”

  He laughed. “We’ll address that in a minute. I asked for the show so I could find you. I’ve been looking for you for a while. I even hired a private investigator to find you.”

  My eyes widened. “You did what?”

  He chuckled. “I swear, I’m not a complete stalker. After that night, I—well, I wanted to see you again. I didn’t have your name or know anything about you. I was desperate,” he said in a husky tone.

  “Wow,” I whispered.

  I had never heard of anything so romantic in my life. The sound of glass hitting the floor snapped me out of the trance his words had put me into.

  He sighed. “How much longer do you need to be here?” he asked the clumsy man holding the camera.

  The young guy gulped. “Uh, we’re supposed to film the date.”

  Tyler looked back at me. I shrugged in response.