The Arrangement: Book one in the Seattle Billionaires Series

by Nora Ford

  I am not going to lose this baby too.

  I grabbed my phone, called my lawyer and told him to send me a new prenup contract.

  Late that night the contract was in my hands. It was a generous one and covered everything.

  After I read it one more time, I was satisfied. Talia would agree to this, I was sure.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Talia

  The whole drive to Liv's, I was in shock. How could this happen? We were careful. When I decided to take the pregnancy test because my period was late, I was only taking it to rule out pregnancy. I took the test three times; I am definitely pregnant.

  What am I going to do? Adam finally started to trust me. He didn't tell me that he loved me yet, but he didn't have to say the words. I could see them in his eyes and feel them in his touch. The past few weeks turned our relationship into something more profound. They were full of sweet gestures that mattered. I believed it wouldn't be long before he tells me the words that I've been dying to hear. Everything is going to change now.

  I am not sure, how Adam is going to take this. Would the loving smile on his face turn to hatred when he learns of the pregnancy? He might think that I am tricking him into extending our marriage. Then all the trust and the mutual respect would end.

  I tried hard not to cry as I drove to Liv’s place. However, I couldn’t hold my tears anymore as she opened the door for me.

  “What’s wrong?” She was shocked to see me like this. “Is Timo okay?”

  I nodded and went straight to the living room. Tessa jumped to her feet and came rushing to me, "What happened?" She patted my hand and made me sit, Liv came and joined us on the couch. "What's wrong, Tal?" She asked again concerned.

  I wiped away my tears and took a deep breath, “I am pregnant.”

  “God, you scared the hell out of me.” Liv poked me in the side playfully, “Congratulations.”

  "But we were careful," I said almost to myself.

  “Are you on the pill?” Tessa asked.

  “No, but we used condoms.”

  "Condoms have a two percent birth rate taking into consideration that you never forget to use them," Tessa told me.

  "We never…" I wanted to say that we never forgot, but then I realized that it wasn't entirely correct. We did forget, once though.

  It was on Christmas Eve, I bought sexy lingerie and wore it for Adam, it was my Christmas present for him, and he liked his present very much. Although the news still shook me, I couldn't help to smile at the memory of that night.

  “From the look on your face, I could tell you weren’t that careful after all.” Tessa pointed out.

  "But it was only once," I whispered.

  They both smiled at me, “It doesn’t take more than that to get knocked up. Didn’t they teach you this at school?” Liv teased.

  “What did Adam say about this? Was he upset?” Tessa asked.

  I shook my head and said, “I didn’t tell him yet.”

  “When are you going to tell him?”

  “I don’t know, but soon. I guess.”

  After a few moments, Liv broke the silence, “I know you weren’t expecting this, but maybe this pregnancy is a sign for a new beginning.”

  “What… what if he doesn’t want the baby.” I was thinking out loud. But they both heard me because they said at the same time, “You did it before. You can do it again.”

  "But I don't think that Adam is anything like the asshole you were married to," Tessa added and I smiled. "No, Adam is nothing like Jeff, but even if he didn't want anything to do with the baby, I could do it on my own." I agreed.

  Out of reflex I put a hand on my tummy and smiled, “God, I am having a baby.”

  After the initial shock has gone, I realized that I wanted this baby. Maybe it wasn’t a part of our arrangement, but it was conceived in love from my side at least.

  “I am sorry for getting emotional over the whole situation. I didn’t mean to ruin our girls’ night.”

  “That is normal. It’s called pregnancy hormones.” Tessa shrugged and gave me an encouraging smile, “You were in shock, but you’ll adjust. You’ve always adjusted, no matter what’s thrown at you.”

  “Thanks.” I gave them both a weak smile.

  “Besides, the night isn’t over yet. You go and change so that we can get started.” Liv said.

  True to her word, Liv has set everything in the living room for our girls' night. The food and the wine, she also brought orange juice and water for me. The three of us sat there eating and enjoying each other's company; they managed to distract me from my thoughts.

  "But now we can't get Talia drunk and make her tell us about her sexual adventures," Tessa complained and drank her wine glass empty. I could see it wasn't her first; I guessed it wouldn't take much more before she gets tipsy.

  “You don’t need to get me drunk to tell you that. Which part do you want to know? The mind-blowing Jungle sex or the sweet and slow breath-taking sex.” I smiled coyly.

  "Now she's going to brag. However, I'll go for part one." "I can't remember when was the last time, I had this kind of sex," Liv said.

  "I assume Peter was the missionary type and he had no imagination in the bedroom," Tessa observed.

  “We’re not going there.” Liv gave her a warning look.

  Tessa ignored her and went on, “I don’t want to hear about it, and I think there is nothing to hear anyway. I guess he did it fully closed.”

  "Tess." I wanted her to stop; I didn't want her to upset Liv. But Tess didn't get the hint, "You know Peter reminds me so much of Aron. I can't picture any of them naked."

  To my surprise, Liv wasn't upset. She asked her somewhat amused, "Why would you want to picture them naked?"

  "I don't want to; I hate him you know."

  “Who? And how much did you have to drink?” I asked.

  “Aron Hamilton, who else? and I am not drunk.” She wasn’t drunk yet, but she was on her way there. Tessa never talked about her emotions.

  “Have you seen him lately?” Liv wanted to know.

  "Yeah, I was invited to a party last week, and he was there too. He criticised my dress, my lifestyle and told me that my irresponsible behavior affected his family image. I just told him to go to hell and left the party early." She told us.

  Liv and I exchanged worried looks, we also didn't approve the way Tessa lived after losing Seth. "He's not totally wrong. You can't keep on living the way you do, it's dangerous." I squeezed her hand.

  "What's wrong with the way I am living, I don't do relationships. When I need to get laid, I hit a bar and have a one-night-stand. I don't have time or energy for anything else. Besides, I don't do that often." She tried to explain.

  “Seth was your act one, sweetie. Someday, you will find love again, but you have to give yourself a chance.” I told her.

  "Seth was my first and last, I will never, ever, let myself fall again." She shook her head, and a sense of sadness coated the moment.

  I pulled her into a hug and squeezed her tightly. Suddenly, the tension in the room was so thick I could cut it with a knife.

  Liv and I exchanged a long glance before we changed the conversation to a new topic.

  After a while, Liv suggested that we watch a movie and both Tessa and I didn’t object.

  Late that night, I thought about Tessa a lot; I hated the fact that she was still hurting and that I couldn't do anything about it. She and Seth were so much in love; it wasn't fair that she had to lose him like this. But life goes on, and she must learn to live again.

  Thinking about Tessa dragged my thoughts away from my situation. I didn't brood over the baby and what would Adam feel and say about it.

  The following morning, I woke up with morning sickness and I realized that it was inevitable to confront Adam.

  Chapter Twenty

  Adam

  I had a restless night; I couldn't think of anything other than Talia's pregnancy and the coming baby. The fact that I was about to be
a father was overwhelming. I wasn't aware that I wanted to be a father until I saw the pregnancy test last night. I needed to know how Talia felt about the baby and what she was going to say about extending our arrangement.

  She has to agree.

  It was the reasonable thing to do. The new contract would give us eighteen more months; this would be sufficient time for us to decide where we wanted to go from there.

  The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that this indeed was the best option. All I had to do, was to get Talia agree to my proposal.

  I went through the new contract one more time while I waited for Talia to come. I didn't have to wait so long, half an hour later I heard her car. She was surprised to find me waiting for her as she came through the door. "You're still here; I thought you were going to the office." She approached and brushed her lips briefly against mine.

  I pulled back a little bit so that I could meet her gaze, “I missed my wife, I decided I’d wait for her.”

  She smiled shyly at me and said, “Your wife missed you too.”

  “Good, because I missed this,” I leaned forward and started to kiss her, REALLY kiss her. Like I’ve never kissed her before.

  I had planned to keep my hands off her until after we had our conversation. But the way she looked and sounded was just too much. As my mouth dominated hers, I found the zipper to her dress and yanked it down.

  “Wait! Timo could…”

  I didn’t give her a chance to finish her sentence, I said between kisses, “Timo is going to spend the day with Josh, Mrs. Smith took the day off to visit her daughter. We have the house to ourselves.”

  Talia didn't answer. Instead, she tugged my T-shirt up and off. A moment later it was tossed on the floor along with her dress. She was as eager and desperate as I was.

  When I lifted her off her feet, she melted against me like hot wax. "I won't make it upstairs," I said as I carried her to the living room and laid her on the nearest couch. "I can't keep my hands off you."

  “Then don’t.” She said breathless, “Don’t keep your hands off me.”

  And I didn't. I wanted her warm body, her long, slim lines, and curves. I needed the taste of her filling me as I kissed my way down her body. Talia breathed my name out as my lips brushed her skin in a featherlight motion. She reached for me, her hands stroking my back lightly. We were savoring each other. When she cupped my face in her hands, our eyes met, I felt joy merged with desire.

  I kissed her again, slowly this time and she completely melted into the kiss. I felt her fingers thread through my hair as I slid into her. Her gaze held mine as we moved together in a perfect rhythm.

  When we both found our release, I realized that I was still pressing her into the couch with my full weight. I lifted myself up, and she rolled herself free. I looked at her as she sat there, beautiful, glowing and smiling at me. "I missed you last night. Did you and Timo have fun?"

  “We sure did, how about you, did you have a good time?”

  “Yeah, it was nice, but Tessa had a lot to drink and woke up with a terrible headache this morning.” She said, although she was smiling, I could see that something was bothering her.

  “Sorry to hear that, but this isn’t the only thing that’s bothering you,” I frowned.

  “Nothing is bothering me. I’m fine, I promise.” She gave me a weak smile.

  “Are you sure there is nothing you want to tell me?” I wanted to give her chance to tell me about the pregnancy herself.

  Talia was silent for a few moments, and then she finally said, "There is something I need to tell you. Give me few minutes to change, and we can talk." She picked up my T-shirt and put it on first then she gathered her clothes and left the room.

  Twenty minutes later, we were sitting again in the living room with our clothes on this time. Talia was quiet; I could see that she was pondering over what to say.

  So, I decided to help her; I took out her phone and the test from my pocket and gave them to her, “You forgot these last night.”

  Talia looked down at the test in her hands and up back at me, she was blushing, “You…you know?”

  "Yeah, I found the test last night," I confirmed and smiled at her.

  “And you’re not mad?” She asked confused.

  “Why should I be?”

  “Because this wasn’t part of our deal.” She looked at me, “Our arrangement will end soon.”

  “Yeah but we can extend it a little, I’d say for eighteen more months, what do you say?” I asked her and picked up the new contract from the side table.

  “What is this?” She hesitated as she took the papers.

  “It’s a new arrangement. We can go through it now if you like.” I tried hard to sound casual, but I was so anxious about her answer.

  “Yeah, let’s get it out of the way.” She was disappointed, I could hear it in her voice.

  "I know you're disappointed now, but when you think about it, you'll find that it is the reasonable thing to do," I told her and sat on the couch next to her.

  Talia nodded and smiled weakly. She wasn't happy, but she didn't refuse. That was a good sign, I thought.

  After she went through the first couple of pages, she shook her head, “This is very generous, but if I say yes, it won’t be for the money this time.”

  "But…" I wanted to object, but Talia stopped me, "No money." She said again.

  I couldn’t argue anymore, I sat there and watched her go through the rest of the contract. She quickly read it and was about to pick up a pen and sign it, when something stopped her. “You can’t be serious,” She shook her head slowly. “You want a DNA test?” She looked horrified.

  "This baby is going to be the heir of my empire; I had to be hundred percent sure it's mine." I tried to explain.

  “And you’re not sure?” She jumped to her feet and tears filled her eyes.

  I reached out, but she stepped away from my hands. “Don’t you dare touch me.” She tore the contract to pieces and threw it on the floor.

  Without another word, she left the room. I knew better than to follow her in that condition. So, I sat there and waited for her to cool off first.

  Half an hour later she came down the stairs with her bags.

  “What are you doing?”

  "I'm leaving. Our time is up anyway; I'll stay at my parents' till I find a house." She said, her eyes were red, I could see she was crying.

  "Talia, please wait, we can work this out. If you don't want to do the test, it's okay with me."

  She shook her head, “It’s not the test Adam, but the fact that you asked for it.” “I would have said yes to your new arrangement. I would have stayed and waited for things to change. But they won’t because you don’t want to change them.”

  I didn’t respond because she was right; I was comfortable with what we have; I didn’t want more.

  “What about Timo and the baby?” I heard myself asking.

  “You can still take part in their lives if you want. I won’t stop you.” She said and turned around and walked out of my life.

  I didn't follow her; I decided to give her time to calm down. She’d come back. I kept telling myself.

  *****

  A week has passed, and Talia didn't come back. She didn't call or take my calls. I went to her office every day this week, but she wasn't there. I was in a shitty mood all week; my employees tried to avoid me as much as they could. But I didn't care about work. All I cared about was Talia. I let my people keep tabs on her and on what she was doing.

  I knew she was looking for houses; I contacted the real estate company that she was using, and they sent me a list of all the houses she saw until now. Among all of them, there was one she liked so much, but she couldn't afford it. My first instinct was to buy the house for her, but I decided against it. I knew Talia very well by now, she won't accept.

  I was sitting in my office trying to come up with a plan, how to make Talia accept the house when I heard the noise outside my offi
ce.

  I opened the door and saw the last person I was expecting to see, “Sharon, what are you doing here?”

  “Adam, darling, I missed you so much.” Her eyes lit when she saw me.

  "What do you want Sharon?" I asked impatiently.

  “I need to talk to you. In private.”

  I didn't answer I went back to my office and she rushed after me. As I closed the door, she came closer and wanted to kiss me. I took a step back and asked her to take a seat. When I was seated behind my desk, I asked her again, "Why are you here Sharon?"