The Billionaire Replacement

by Emma Lea

  Declan walked out of his father’s office building feeling powerful. He had built a billion dollar, international business out of renovating one hotel and yet he had never felt as powerful as he did right in that moment. Until he had stood up to his father and called him on his bullshit, Declan had always felt like an imposter. Even though he had worked hard to build his business independently of his family, he could never escape his last name and he had always wondered, in the back of his mind, how much of his success was because of his familial ties? But now those ties were cut. Within a couple of months The Mayfield Group would become a part of MSL and he would be a free agent, as it were. The opportunity for Declan to start again with only his own reputation behind him was liberating. He was finally the master of his own life and it felt great.

  The only thing that would feel better would be having Brandi by his side. He hadn’t quite worked out how he was going to tell her everything that had happened. She had seemed pretty adamant that she never wanted to speak to him again, but that wasn’t acceptable. She needed to know how he really felt about her and the lengths he was prepared to go to for her forgiveness. He was not above publicly debasing himself if that’s what it took.

  Declan’s phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out. He frowned with puzzlement as Abby’s number flashed on his screen. He tapped the answer button and lifted it to his ear.

  “Abby?”

  “Oh thank god, Declan,” she said and he was alarmed at the sound of her voice.

  “What is it? Is everything okay? Did something happen to Mason?”

  “No, not Mason. Brandi.”

  “Brandi? What?”

  “There was a dress fitting today for the bridal party,” she said breathlessly, “and even though I’m not a bridesmaid I was there to, you know, help out or whatever. And Brandi was there and god, she’s so thin! I know she hasn’t been coping with the pregnancy and the morning sickness and everything but I hadn’t realised just how bad it had been—”

  “Abby!” Declan cut in sharply. “Would you stop babbling and please tell me what the hell is going on?”

  “Yeah, sorry, it’s just that I’m worried and nervous and anxious…” she took a breath and Declan wanted to reach through the phone and strangle her. “Okay. Brandi fainted.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief which nearly choked him when she went on.

  “And hit her head and there was blood and she passed out and the ambulance came and they’ve taken her to hospital.”

  “The baby,” he whispered.

  “I know. I told the paramedics that she was pregnant. Sorry, I didn’t mean to do it in front of everyone but I thought it was something they needed to know before they gave her something that —“

  “Which hospital?”

  “Huh?”

  “Which hospital did they take her too?”

  Declan barely heard the rest of the conversation after Abby named the hospital. He slid into the back of the car that was waiting for him outside his father’s office and gave the address to the driver, urging him to hurry.

  25

  The drive to the hospital was interminable. Eventually they made it and Declan was out of the car before it came to a complete stop. He raced inside and startled the receptionist as he demanded to be told where Brandi was being treated. The receptionist refused to give him any details because he wasn’t a relative and it didn’t matter that he was the father of the baby. Declan could hear his voice rising as he tried to convince the woman that he needed to see Brandi but there was nothing he could do to keep it down. He was in a full-on panicked state and until he saw her and saw for himself that she was okay he wouldn’t calm down.

  A hand clapped him on the shoulder and he expected to see a security guard preparing to haul him out but instead he looked into the blue eyes of his best friend.

  “Mason,” he said, “tell me what’s happening. Where is she?”

  Abby stood a little behind her fiancé a pinched look on her face. He knew Abby’s issues with people and he didn’t want to frighten her but he was already beyond his tolerance of empathy.

  “Come on,” Mason said and his voice brooked no argument. “We’re all waiting down the corridor.”

  Declan let himself be led away from the reception desk but it didn’t lower his anxiety levels any. Nothing would do that until he saw Brandi, held her hand, saw her blue eyes, even heard her yell at him for being a selfish bastard. He would prefer that over the silent, solemn faces of his friends as they sat and waited to find out what was happening.

  Mason led him over to a spare seat, but he couldn’t sit still. He paced the small, square room as they waited to hear what the doctors had to say. He couldn’t look at any of his friends, couldn’t see how they clung to their significant others while his lay in a bed somewhere out of his reach. And he couldn’t let himself even think about the baby that she carried. He couldn’t even contemplate the possibility that something had happened to take that small life away from them. He had barely begun to accept that he was going to become a father and yet the thought of losing that little bean had grief curdling his stomach and closing his throat.

  The door opened and a man in blue scrubs stepped into the room looking around at the faces assembled.

  “Declan?” he asked and Declan strode over to him.

  “That’s me,” he said. “Can I see her? Is she okay?”

  The doctor smiled and Declan’s knees turned to water with relief.

  “She is going to be fine. She’s asking for you.”

  Declan followed the doctor down a short corridor and into a small examination room. He stalled in the doorway as he looked at the woman he loved laying on the bed. Abby was right, she was so thin and the dark circles under her eyes and the pasty shade of her skin told the story of just how sick she had been. And then there was the white bandage on the corner of her forehead, which turned his guts to stone. She opened her eyes and a small, sad smile ticked up the corner of her lips as her eyes filled and overflowed with tears. Before he knew what he was doing he was across the room and her hand was in his. He sat on the chair beside the bed and laid his head on her shoulder, breathing in her scent which was now tempered by a decidedly medicinal smell.

  “Oh god, Brandi,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “I was so worried about you.” He tipped his head up and looked at her. “Are you okay? What did the doctors say?”

  She sighed and cupped his cheek with the hand that he didn’t currently have crushed in his. “I’m going to be fine.”

  “And…” he cleared his throat and tried again. “And the baby?”

  “The baby will be fine,” a technician said as she wheeled a machine into the room. “And I’m going to prove it to you.”

  Declan moved out of the way while the nurse got set up and then sat and clutched Brandi’s hand again as they both watched the ultrasound screen. The first thing he heard was the galloping heartbeat of the child they had created together and he had to swallow the lump that formed in his throat.

  “See? I told you,” the technician said smugly. “And look. There’s your little precious one.”

  Declan stared in wonder as she pointed out the blob that was their baby. His heart clenched and his eyes misted at the sight. He looked up at Brandi to see her tear-stained cheeks and her grinning smile as she was transfixed by the image on the screen. He had never seen her look more beautiful.

  “I’ll just take some quick measurements and then I’ll give you two some alone time.”

  Declan couldn’t take his eyes off either Brandi or the screen where his baby was. He kept flicking his eyes between them and wondering what he had ever done in his life to be given such a precious opportunity. He had taken such pride in his business but it paled in comparison to what he was currently holding in his hands.

  Finally the technician was finished and she packed up her machine and wheeled it out of the room leaving them alone and quiet. He had so much to say, but he didn’t know
where to start. He looked at Brandi and she looked at him with so many emotions crossing her face that he couldn’t tell what she was thinking, so he said the only thing he could think of.

  “I love you,” he said. “I love you so very much.”

  “I love you. I love you so very much.”

  Brandi could hardly believe the words but oh, how she wanted to believe them. He looked like hell and the way he had stared at her when he first came into the room had given her hope that maybe things weren’t as over between them as she had been trying to convince herself. She opened her mouth to speak but he held up a hand to hush her and hurried on.

  “I know you don’t believe me right now but I want you to know that I intend to prove it to you in as many ways as I can until you do believe me. I know I have been an idiot and that what you overheard was probably the worst thing you could have possibly overheard, but there was more to the conversation than that one small snippet. I know it doesn’t negate what I said, but please understand the context it was said in. What you missed hearing me say was how much I love you and how happy I am. Yes, the baby would have smoothed things over with my mother, but that’s not the reason I am happy. I am happy because I couldn’t think of anything better than starting a family with you and spending the rest of our lives together. I asked you to marry me because I want you to marry me. I want to grow old with you and have many more babies with you and bounce our grandkids on my knee. I know I have a lot to make up for and I want you to know I’ve already started. I surrendered The Mayfield Group to my father. The lawyers are drawing up the contracts to transfer the ownership as we speak—“

  “Declan! No!” She couldn’t believe he had done that. She would never have asked that of him, he had to know that. “That’s not what I wanted—”

  “Shh, it’s okay, I know that. I didn’t do it because I thought you expected me to give it up for you. I did it for me. As long as that clause was in the contract, my family would always have something over me. I am done with that. You accused me of using our child as leverage and you were right in some respects. It made me realise what type of father I wanted to be and I knew then that as long as The Mayfield Group was mine, my parents would have leverage over me. If I had to choose between you and my company, I choose you.”

  Brandi stifled a sob. The last thing she wanted was for him to give up the business he had worked so hard for. “Call them,” she said. “Call them right now and stop this madness! You can’t give up your company for me, I won’t let you.”

  “It’s too late, my love,” he said with a smile so sweet that Brandi lost her breath. “I don’t want it anymore. I want to build something new. I want to build something with you. I’m sure between the two of us we can come up with something to keep me busy and then we will have a legacy to leave to our children. That is, if you will forgive me for being a moron.”

  Brandi reached out and cupped his face. How could she have ever doubted him? It had been her own insecurities that had caused her to distrust him and his motives. She had believed him to be different but had spent so much of her time trying to prove to herself that he was just like all the others that she had missed the truth.

  “I need you to forgive me too,” she said. He started to shake his head but she shushed him. “I should have trusted you. I should have stepped out onto that balcony and demanded an explanation instead of running away like a coward. I should have believed in what I felt for you instead of trying to pretend that I hadn’t fallen in love with you.”

  His eyes widened and his face split in an adorable grin. “You fell in love with me?”

  “You know I did,” she said, swatting him on the shoulder.

  “Does that mean you will marry me?”

  “Is that a proposal?”

  “No,” he said with a grin and a shake of his head. “I already proposed. This is just a clarification of the answer.”

  She laughed. “Yes,” she said, “I will marry you.”

  He kissed her then, gently but thoroughly.

  “Is it safe to come in yet?” Bailey asked from the door and Declan lifted his head.

  “No,” he said, “go away.”

  Brandi swatted him again and laughed as she beckoned Bailey and the rest of them into the room. It was a tight fit in the small space but she was so happy to see all their friends gathered around her.

  “I guess you all know our news now,” she said.

  The men shared a look which had their partners slapping them, all except Abby. Of course Abby had known.

  “You knew and didn’t tell me?” Bailey said to Hunter who shrugged.

  “Declan told us in the cone of silence, babe,” he replied. “You can’t disrespect the cone.”

  Brooks nodded solemnly which was when Harper and Bailey realised that Abby wasn’t glaring at Mason.

  “You knew?” Bailey asked her friend. “Of course you knew. You told the paramedics.”

  Mason and Abby shared a look before Abby answered. “Declan told Mason without the cone of silence in effect,” she said.

  “We were going to tell you,” Brandi said, “but we were going to wait until after your wedding. We didn’t want to ruin the excitement for you.”

  “Are you kidding? You wouldn’t have ruined anything.”

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Declan said. “You all know and now I want to add that Brandi and I are going to get married, so make sure you all keep April free in your diaries.”

  “April?” Brandi blanched. “I’ll be as big as a house by then. No, we won’t be getting married in April.”

  Declan smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her. “As you wish, my love.”

  They were lying in his huge bed. Brandi was on her back and Declan lay on his side, propped upon his elbow. They were still clothed except that Declan had pushed Brandi’s t-shirt up to expose her stomach and he was currently drawing circles on the naked skin. It felt good.

  Brandi had been released from hospital under the proviso that she keep her fluids up, get lots of bed rest and eat small, regular meals. The doctors had assured her that her baby - their baby - was fine and healthy and the constant nausea would eventually pass. God, she hoped so. There was nothing worse than that constant feeling of wanting to throw up. Having Declan lying beside her helped. It was probably a placebo effect, but she wasn’t going to argue with it. Any moment of nausea-free time was a welcome relief.

  “What are you going to do now that you’re unemployed?” she asked with a grin. “You have a family to think about now. You can’t just bum around on the couch.”

  He kissed her, just a quick peck and she could feel his lips smile against hers.

  “I have some ideas about that,” he said. “I was thinking about doing something online…I don’t know what yet. Maybe expanding on what you do with kids’ parties, but for adults.” She opened her mouth to speak but he pressed a finger to her lips. “No, you dirty girl, not like that.” He smirked at her. “Your parties are all about making little kids’ dreams come true and I was thinking of maybe doing something similar.”

  “Like that old television show, ‘Fantasy Island?’”

  His eyes lit up. “Oh yeah, that’s a great idea. I still have an island in fact.”

  “What?”

  “I bought it to develop a resort on it, but it was too far down the production line to be part of The Mayfield Group, so I still own it.”

  “That’s not an online business,” she said.

  “No,” he replied and leant down to press his lips to her tummy. “It’s not. But maybe I could do both.”

  “I want to do something with the trust we set up for Caitlyn’s parents,” Brandi said. “I want to expand it and offer it to other parents with terminally ill children.”

  He looked up at her, his eyes soft. “Yeah, I want to do that too and maybe…”

  “What?”

  “A scholarship. Maybe we could set up a scholarship for kids that survive their cancer and want to go to universi
ty.”

  This guy. Brandi’s heart skipped a beat as she looked at the man she loved to distraction. On the surface he came across as the good-time guy who didn’t really take things seriously, but scratch the surface and you could see the strength of his character and his generosity. He had such a big heart and she was sorry she ever doubted him.

  “I like that a lot,” she whispered as she ran a hand through his hair and cupped his cheek. She went to speak and then decided not to. She didn’t know how he would take what she was going to say and maybe it was better to wait a bit longer before she voiced it.

  “What?” he asked. “You were going to say something.”

  She shrugged. “I have a thought, but I didn’t know if it was too early to start discussing it.”

  “Is it about the wedding? Because you know I will bend over backwards to do whatever it is you want. I’ve thought about it and I thought a private celebration on my island. Hunter can fly us all over and there is a hotel there already, although it’s a bit rustic…” he searched her face. “Is that too much pressure? Am I getting ahead of myself?”

  She smiled up at him. “No. It sounds perfect. But that’s not what I was thinking about. I was thinking about baby names.”

  “Baby names?”

  “Yeah,” she felt her cheeks heat in a blush. “I know it’s early days yet, but I thought…” She took a quick breath and let it out in a rush. “I thought that if we had a girl—”

  “We’d name her Caitlyn,” he finished for her with a smile. “I already thought of that and yes, I want that.”

  She felt the tears on her cheeks and Declan’s face fell. “Have I upset you?”

  She shook her head, the lump in her throat too big for her to speak without sobbing.

  He lowered himself down next to her and gathered her into his arms, kissing the top of her head. “Caitlyn was such a special girl,” he murmured. “Even though I only met her a couple of times, she really impressed me with her intelligence and her kind heart. You know she told me to look after you. She asked me to make sure I was there for you and loved you after she was gone. I would have done it anyway, but knowing how much she cared for you and wanted the best for you made me realise just how special she was. She also made me promise that I wouldn’t let you give up going to the hospital and dressing up like Disney princesses.”