Single Mom for the Billionaire (Alpha Billionaire Romance Book)

by Davis, Alexa

  “You okay?” Terran asked quietly from behind me. “Do you want a cup of tea?”

  “Can you stay?” I replied wearily. “You’ve already done enough for me today.”

  “I want to stay. I want to know what’s going on with you since it’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to catch up.”

  “Yeah, I know, your mysterious man keeps you busy,” I laughed. “I want to know more.”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Terran shut down again like she did every time I brought up the man who had finally managed to lure her away from the world of dating. “I just want to make sure it’s going to work out before I talk about it. I don’t want to jinx it.”

  I laughed at her superstition. “Fine, fine, whatever.” I held up my hands in a defeated gesture. “I’ll talk about me, instead. I could use your advice.”

  I followed her into the kitchen and huffed to myself. While the kettle boiled, I let my head fall into my hands with distress. This was a mess. I felt like I was falling headfirst into a very dangerous situation. I was tumbling into the abyss – and going willingly. I should have been smarter after everything that I’d been through.

  “So, what’s going on?” Terran asked with a grin as she sat beside me. “How’s the super handsome boss?”

  “Urgh,” I groaned. “Confusing. I don’t know what to think about him. Ever since we had that meal together, things have been complex.”

  “Ooh sounds sexy.”

  I gave her a look. “It isn’t that; we’ve just been friends. I like him, obviously. I’ve already told you that I think he’s gorgeous and the more that his mom talks about him, the more I like... But I never expected anything from that. I didn’t ever think...”

  “Has he asked you out?” Terran gushed as her eyes widened in shock. She looked gleeful and happy. “Are you going on a date with him?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, at first I thought he was asking me out and I kinda panicked.”

  “You panicked? You should have jumped on him!”

  I chuckled. “Well, I didn’t, then he said that he and his mom want to take Delaney and me out to dinner on Friday. What do you think that means?”

  That silenced Terran; she looked as confused as I felt. I watched her face as she flicked through a whole range of emotions. “That’s weird. Nice, but weird. Like, how did you react as he asked you first off? Did you look hesitant?”

  “Maybe.” I shrugged. “I don’t know, it all happened so quickly. I was shocked, so maybe.” I clutched onto her arm, fear racing through my system. “Do you think he wanted to ask me out? Don’t you think if he actually wanted something to happen, he would have done it a while ago?” I kept thinking that. He hadn’t asked me out, so he didn’t want to. “I’m sure it’s just something innocent, right?”

  “I don’t know,” she told me helplessly. “It could be nothing, he could just be a really good boss, or he could be struggling with his feelings. Maybe he likes you, but he’s scared to do anything about it because you work for him. That could be it, couldn’t it?”

  My stomach twisted up in knots and almost made me throw up. I didn’t know what to think; it was all too real. A harmless crush was fun, but it was becoming something else. I wasn’t sure how to deal with it.

  “Yeah, we’ll see,” I murmured. “Friday will be the clue.”

  Friday... How was I going to deal with Friday? Until then I was going to be an emotional wreck. I could feel myself jittery and shake already...

  Still, it would be better to know. Either way.

  Probably.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alexander

  Thursday

  “So, boss,” Annie purred at me while fluttering her eyelashes. “What do you think? The first month has been pretty successful.”

  “It sure has.”

  I watched as she hopped up onto her desk. First, she crossed her left leg over her right, then with a deliberate slowness she uncrossed her legs, gave me a great view of her pink lace panties, and crossed her right leg over her left. My eyes flicked up to hers, and she sent me a seductive smile. Even with my “don’t dip the pen in company ink” motto, Annie was making it hard to resist...

  At least, she should have been. I knew my hormones should have been racing, there should be a definite bulge in my underwear, but there was nothing. No stirring, no heart racing...nothing. I was like a wall of stone, completely oblivious to her.

  Is this because of Elle?

  I didn’t want to think too much about Elle, especially since we were going out to dinner tomorrow night. Obviously, my mom and Delaney would be there, but there was definitely a “date” feeling in the air. Ever since I’d asked, something had shifted between Elle and me; there was more of a charge in the air as we spoke. It was almost as if we were building up to something, but I wasn’t quite sure what.

  Or maybe I did know, and I just wasn’t sure just what to think about it.

  “Are you coming out for celebratory drinks tonight?” Annie asked, running her tongue over her lips. “It should be fun. I think everyone is going.”

  “I can’t.” I didn’t want to. Maybe I should have, to show my face and build up morale, but if I did, I risked catching Elle before she went home for the night. She used to hang around for a bit, but recently she was leaving earlier. I assumed it was to get back to her daughter, but it put the pressure on me. “In fact...” I glanced at my watch. “I have to get going now.”

  “Oh, don’t.” In a fit of desperation, Annie grabbed onto my tie and yanked me towards her. I didn’t want to go, but I didn’t have much choice in the matter. I staggered forwards and fell against her body. “Don’t go yet; I think we have more to discuss, don’t you?”

  “What could you possibly mean by that?” I kept my tone stony and cold, and my eyes fixed on the ground. “We’ve talked everything through. Like I just told you, I have to go home.”

  “Oh come on, don’t be like that.” She pouted, making herself look childish, rather than sexy. “I can feel the heat between us, and I know you can, too. There’s no point trying to hide it anymore. I want you; you want me. Let’s just get on with it. It doesn’t need to affect us working together; we don’t even have to tell anyone.”

  She leaned her lips in and allowed me to feel her breath on my face. I slid my eyes closed, trying to work out why I didn’t want this woman who’d offered herself up on a plate for me. It seemed crazy to bypass an opportunity like this completely...

  But no, I just didn’t want to.

  “Annie, I don’t want things to get complicated between us. I don’t want our working relationship to become strained.”

  “It won’t,” she interjected rapidly, but I wasn’t about to cave to her that quickly.

  “I am going home now.” I stood back and straightened myself up. “I suggest we forget this ever happened. You are a wonderful manager, and I am incredibly pleased with the work you are doing here. But that is where it ends.”

  Annie’s lips parted. I half expected her to argue some more, but luckily, she caught herself in time and accepted that she’d been defeated. With a sharp nod, she fixed her eyes on the ground, where they remained until I turned to walk out the room. I didn’t mean to be so harsh, but she wasn’t getting the hint.

  As I slid into my car, my mind wandered back to Elle. She had been slowly creeping up on me ever since I first saw her, and now it seemed that she’d firmly set up camp in my brain and that was where she remained. She was always there in the back, making me smile at opportune moments.

  I couldn’t shake her off, however hard I tried. Every time I tried to push her away, she moved back to the forefront when my brain was distracted, swaying her hips, pouting her lips, and making me giggle at something sweet she said. Her cheeks flushed, her hair tucked behind her ears, her smile...

  Damn it; I’m in trouble.

  When I arrived at Mom’s home, she was all I could think about. I bounded through the door, excited to see her gorgeous face.
At first, I walked into Mom sitting alone in the kitchen and my heart sunk. I didn’t think I was late, I thought that I’d planned my day perfectly, but somewhere along the line, I’d failed.

  “Hey, Mom,” I said glumly. “Want a cup of coffee?”

  “Make three,” she replied casually. “Elle will be down in a minute.”

  My heart lifted, and I became like an excitable child. As I flicked the coffee pot on, I even whistled while I waited. When I heard Elle walking down the stairs, I forced myself not to turn. I didn’t want Elle to know just how eager I was becoming – it was fine inside of me where no one could see it, but I didn’t want her to know.

  “Oh hey, Alex,” she said smilingly. “How was work today?”

  “Fine, thanks,” I replied as I twisted my body around. “How was yours?”

  “Good, good.” She nodded slowly. “I’m going in a moment because I have to take Delaney out shopping. She wants to buy a dress for dinner tomorrow; she’s really excited about it.”

  That made my heart flutter excitedly. I was nervous about meeting Elle’s child. I hadn’t been around kids much since I was one myself, but I was still looking forward to it. I was excited to see this other side of Elle, the mom side. So far I’d only seen her at work, which didn’t give me much.

  “Oh well, I suppose I better dress up as well then,” I teased. “Mom I better take you shipping tomorrow so we can get new clothes, too.” Mom laughed but didn’t say much, so I turned my attention back to Elle instead. “Does she like pizza? I was thinking about going to an Italian.”

  “Sounds perfect,” Elle laughed. “She’s not too picky with food, but I know she likes pizza for sure.”

  I handed her the mug of coffee, and she drank it down quickly. By the time Elle had knocked back a few swigs the cup was almost empty. “Mmmm, thank you that was great. I need a good caffeine boost before I go.” She gave me a heart-stopping grin. “Thank you, Alex.” She swung her jacket over her shoulders and grabbed her bag from the ground. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “I’ll walk you out.” As soon as I said those words, I realized my mistake. Elle had a key to this house now; she wasn’t in the place where she needed taking to the door. But I’d said it, so I had to go through with it. I walked with her down the stairs in an awkward silence before turning to look at her. “Well, get home safely.” I swung my hands uncomfortably by my sides. “And, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah.” Elle gave me an expectant look as if she was waiting for me to say more, but of course, I didn’t have anything to give. “Right, goodbye.”

  “Bye.”

  Once the door closed behind her, I hung my head in shame. Every time I tried to make things better, I just made it a whole lot worse. I needed to try my best to make things right tomorrow, or it would be the worst night of my life.

  Urgh, just forget about it. Nothing I can do now.

  I got back into the kitchen to see Mom’s face looking crestfallen as she sat in her chair. I moved closer to her and threw an arm over her shoulder. “Are you okay, Mom?” I asked cautiously.

  “No, son, I’m not.” My heart fell as she said those words. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to come to dinner tomorrow night.”

  “What? Why?” I stepped back and gave her a look. “Are you okay?”

  “It’s my leg. It’s giving me too much trouble.” Her eyes flicked downwards, which made me suspicious. “I think it’ll be too bad tomorrow for me to do anything.”

  “How do you know that?” I pressed my hands onto my hips and narrowed my eyes at her. “It might be fine tomorrow. Why not see when you wake up?”

  “Oh no, I just don’t think...”

  “But I thought you wanted to meet Delaney.” Now I could really sense something fishy happening. “I thought you were really excited about it?”

  “I can meet her anytime.”

  She was up to something, and it was becoming ever clearer what. “Are you trying to turn this into a date? It isn’t a date, you know, it’s just...” I didn’t have any words. I didn’t know what it was.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mom stood up slowly and tried to move away from me, but her injury slowed her down, giving me the chance to say my piece.

  “Mom, what is going on here? Why are you trying to make something happen between Elle and me?” She said nothing. “Is that why you were so keen to hire her? Do you think her and I will just end up together? I don’t need help finding someone, you know.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about.” Mom actually had the nerve to glare at me as if I was the insane one. “I hired Elle because I realized that you were right and I actually needed help. I like her because she’s a nice person, and I know my body, too. If I say I’m not going to be able to do it tomorrow, that’s because I’m not going to be able to do it. You don’t know my body better than I do.”

  Weirdly, that shut me up. There were hundreds of arguments I could have given, but Mom would have only shut me down again. This was happening. I just needed to suck it up and get the hell on with it.

  “Fine, whatever,” I grumbled. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  I stomped from the room and made my way up to the room I’d been sleeping in ever since staying at Mom’s. Privately, I was super excited about spending some alone time with Elle. With her child, too. I just hoped that she didn’t get the wrong impression and assume it was me that turned it into a date.

  Unless she liked that idea... Then maybe I wouldn’t mind so much.

  I flopped back on the bed and imagined her flirting with me in the way that Annie did. I couldn’t imagine her acting like that, but I did know one thing. If I saw her panties, I would not be able to resist. Not for one second. My heart raced faster at the mere thought of what sort of underwear she might wear. And what dress she would put on for dinner.

  Oh God, what had I gotten myself in for?

  Chapter Sixteen

  Elle

  Thursday

  “Are you ready to go?” I asked excitedly as I met Delaney at the school gates. “This will be fun, won’t it?”

  “I like you picking me up from school!” she gushed excitedly while slipping her hand into mine. “And Terran, too. It’s fun. We had a spelling test at school today, and I got eight out of ten right, then in the playground, me and Rose did skipping...”

  The stream of Delaney’s day at school warmed my heart. I loved listening to what she got up to all day long. The moment was sweet and adorable... But there was a sad side to it.

  As with every interaction I had with my daughter these days, it was tainted with the knowledge that Mark wanted to take all of this away from me. And only to hurt me. He didn’t care about Delaney one bit; there was no chance he wanted to know what was going on with her schooling and life. It was all just to wrap me back up in the toxic cycle I’d just about dragged myself out of.

  “Are you sure you want to come?” I asked Terran bemusedly. “No hot date tonight?” I could see Terran’s expression falter.

  “No, I want to come. I like hanging out with you guys.” She took Delaney’s other hand. “It’s nice to spend time with you both.”

  “Okay, sure.” I left it there and slid into the passenger’s seat of Terran’s car. “I like hanging out with you, too.”

  “Especially if you’re getting ready for your hot date,” her tone turned teasing as she sent me a wink. As the car rumbled to life beneath me, I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

  “I’ve already told you that it isn’t a date...”

  “What’s a date, Mommy?” Delaney called from the back of the car.

  I sighed loudly and prepared myself to answer that question as I twisted around in the seat to clip her seat belt in. “A date is when two people go out to get to know one another a little better. To see if they like each other.”

  “Like boyfriend and girlfriend?” It seemed my daughter knew more about the world than I realized.

&
nbsp; “I suppose so, yes.”

  “So, do you have a boyfriend?”

  I cringed; this wasn’t something I’d been expecting to talk about for a very long time. I wanted to keep the subject of romance far away from Delaney until all the mess with her father was done with, but it seemed I didn’t have a choice in the matter.

  “No, I don’t have a boyfriend,” I replied firmly while shooting Terran a look. “Terran’s just joking. She’s talking about the dinner we’re going out on tomorrow night.”

  “With your boss?”

  “Yes.” I nodded. “That’s right. It’s just my boss, nothing more.”

  Delaney paused for a moment, and her expression scrunched up. I wondered what was going on inside her mind. I often wished I could crawl into her brain to get to know what troubled her and what she loved best of all. I knew her well, I had been with her for her entire life, but her thoughts were her own, and I wanted to know more.

  Then she spoke. “I can still get a princess dress, right? Even if it isn’t a date.”

  I laughed loudly and gratefully. At least she wasn’t desperately panicking that our lives were about to go through a massive upheaval while I invited a man into our home. That would have caused endless more challenging questions. “Yes, of course, you can.”

  I turned back around in my seat and watched the road come to life as we pulled out from the school and headed towards the mall. I wanted to get a new dress for myself, too. I felt like I could probably afford it, but I didn’t know if it was a good idea. I didn’t want everyone to start reading too much into things. Even me.

  Especially me.

  Every time I allowed my mind to wander, even for a second, I couldn’t stop myself from picturing Alex and me from sitting across from one another with a candle flicking between us, highlighting all of his best features. My head cocked to one side, my eyes widened, and my heart beat faster. I knew that if I were allowed to be on a real date with Alex, my emotions would get the better of me and I would get into too much trouble...