THE PLAYBOY'S VIRGIN (Complete Set)

by Mia Carson

  Belle laughed and shook her head. “No. He just assumed that once we had the baby, I’d want to be a stay-at-home mom and not work anymore. Not be with him at the office.”

  “And you got mad?”

  She frowned. “Well, yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

  Brent sighed and ran his hands over his hair. “You know he did it because he loves you, right? There’s no ulterior motive, even though I can tell by the determined look in your eyes you’re set on finding one. He loves you, that’s all.”

  “So then why wouldn’t he ask me what I want?” she replied stiffly.

  “He shouldn’t have assumed,” Brent admitted with a shrug, “but can you blame him? Who were you before you met? Who were you before you got pregnant?”

  Belle sank back in her chair and thought about his questions. Who was she before she landed that internship and started working with Greyson? “A workaholic,” she finally said quietly. “I worked too much.”

  “And I’m going out on a limb here and saying he probably thinks you’re still a workaholic.” She pursed her lips but didn’t respond. “That’s why he did it. Ashley does it to me all the time, tries to find ways for me to stay home. She’s even faked being sick before—for a week.”

  Belle could see Ashley doing that, and if she thought on it, she could picture Greyson pulling the same stunt if it stopped her from going into the office every day. He’d told her time and again she didn’t have to be there every day. Most women took maternity leave, but Belle had said that until Dr. Higgins told her she needed to quit working, she would be at the office every day everyone else was. There was no reason for her not to go. She sat in a chair for most of the day, anyway.

  “Just give the man a break,” Brent told her. “He loves you.”

  She held up her hands in defeat. “Fine, fine, I’ll let it go,” she said out loud, but there was one more thing Greyson would have to do before she really let him off the hook. “I found Mom’s pic in the yearbook.”

  “Great,” he said. “I think I found someone better.”

  Belle paused. “Someone? Like who?”

  “You’re looking at the senior yearbook?” he asked, and she watched as he flipped through pages on the screen. She nodded and pulled it closer. “Turn to page 85 and look at the middle picture of Mom and two guys.”

  Belle flipped quickly to that page and ran her finger down it to the picture. “Is that… is that Mom with Dad?” she asked. Her eyes read the description and she sucked in a breath. “Penelope Tinson with longtime boyfriend from the rival football team, James Hall, and Benjamin Long. Holy shit.” She sat back in her chair, staring at the young face of their dad. “Brent, which was the rival school?”

  “I already tracked it down, and I think there’s someone you should talk to. I found Benjamin and he’s on Skype right now,” he told her, his voice shaky with nerves.

  “Why the hell didn’t you start with that?” she yelped, fixing her hair and re-situating herself in her chair the best she could. “That’s kind of more important than my spat with Greyson.”

  Brent laughed and gave her a moment to compose herself before he said, “Alright, I’m adding Ben to the call. One second.”

  Belle tapped her fingers nervously, staring at the younger version of this Benjamin Long, a friend of their dad’s. Please know where he is, she thought, crossing her fingers as she waited. Please just tell us where he is.

  “Belle,” Brent said. She looked at the screen and saw his face and another, older man’s face—fifties, maybe—with jet-black hair and slanted green eyes, just like the picture in front her. “This is Benjamin Long.”

  The words stuck in her throat. All she could do was wave and smile. Ben laughed and waved back. “Pleasure to meet you, Belle. Can’t tell you how excited I am to finally meet James’ kids.”

  “You… you know about us?” Belle asked. “How?”

  “Your dad was around when you were little,” Ben said. “So was I, and you look just like your mom.”

  Belle’s face warmed, and she looked at the picture of Penelope, Ben, and James. “What happened? Why did she leave us?” The hurt in her voice almost made her feel guilty for laying such heavy-handed questions on Ben, but when she met his eyes again, a mix of anger and sadness warred across his face. “Ben?”

  “I know what happened, but I think this is a story better told in person,” he said quietly. “There’s so much to tell, and from the looks on both your faces, you don’t know a damn thing about either of your parents.”

  “We know Mom ran off with Dad,” Brent said. “Learned that from our grandparents.”

  “Your mom’s parents? Yeah, they’re a right piece of work,” he grunted. “We always hated them, and your mom never got on with them, either.” His lips lifted in a smile, and his eyes saw something far away as he spoke. “She was always running out of that house to be with James, and if he wasn’t around, she’d hide out at my place. I lived with my older brother—no parents—so we didn’t care. The three of us, we were like the damn musketeers. Like that for a long, long while.”

  He stopped speaking, and Belle’s heart pounded in her chest. They were so close to having all the answers, and if that meant flying Ben in to meet them, that was what she would do. “Where are you, Ben?”

  “Living in Montana, as far away as I could get,” he said.

  “Would you be willing to fly to Phoenix and meet with us?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound too desperate.

  His face softened, and he nodded. “For James’ kids, I’ll do just that.”

  Belle and Brent grinned, and Ben’s eyes misted over before he wiped at them quickly. “Ben? You alright?” Brent asked.

  “You two… you just remind me so much of them. Damn, I miss them both.”

  “Do you… do you know where Dad is?” Belle asked quietly. “Is he even… is he…?” She couldn’t bring herself to say the words, but Ben nodded in understanding.

  “He’s alive, last I heard, and that was just a few months ago.”

  Belle and Brent let out a collective sigh of relief. “That’s good… that’s really, really good,” Brent said, but Belle wasn’t so sure about actually meeting their father face to face. She listened as Ben told them more about his time with James and Penelope growing up and how James had met her when she worked at the local diner as a waitress. She spilled a milkshake on him—on purpose—when he tried to flirt and failed miserably.

  “He went back to that diner every day for a month until she finally gave in and went on a date with him so he could make it up to her. They were inseparable after that,” Ben said with a smirk.

  “Until he disappeared and she gave us up, you mean,” Belle muttered darkly.

  Brent’s face hardened, and Ben nodded slowly. “I understand your anger, Belle, I do, but once we talk, you’ll understand.”

  ***

  Greyson listened from the doorway of his office as Belle finished her call with Brent and whoever Ben was. When she hung up and laid her head on the kitchen table, he thought to give her a moment to herself until her shoulders trembled and his chest tightened with worry. He rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms without a word. She rested against him as the tears flowed down her cheeks, and he knew she hated to cry like this. Hated to show such weakness, but he didn’t think any less of her for it.

  “I take it your talk didn’t go as planned?” he asked when she finally sat back as he tucked her hair behind her ears. “Belle?”

  “It did, I think,” she said and filled him in quickly on who Ben was and what he’d said.

  “That’s good, though, isn’t it? Your dad’s alive,” he said excitedly, but she shook her head.

  “If he’s alive, why the hell are we flying his friend out to meet us and not him?” she asked harshly. “Why are we tracking him down?”

  Greyson tilted her chin up so he could see her eyes. “Ben said there was a story behind all of this, and if he has to fly in to tell it, I think your dad
might have a damn good reason for staying away as long as he did. Give him a chance.”

  “Coming from the man who still harbors a grudge against his dad,” she muttered.

  He opened his mouth to argue but closed it with a shrug. “Maybe I want you to have a good relationship with your dad while there’s still time.”

  Belle fell against him, and he laughed quietly with her head resting on his chest.

  “Are you going to be alright for the rest of the day? I do have to run into the office, after all.”

  She nodded and pushed back. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Going to prop my feet up and watch a movie or something.” Greyson’s lips thinned as he reached out and felt her forehead. “What are you doing?” she asked with a laugh. “I’m fine.”

  “Just checking. This does not sound like the Belle I know,” he teased and kissed her. “If you need anything, you call, okay? I’ll be back in a few hours.”

  He kissed her again and watched her waddle to the living room to get comfortable. Once she was settled in, he took his keys and drove into the office, smiling the whole way at what he was really doing there on a Saturday. When he’d reached the fifth floor, he didn’t go to his office but to what used to be a tiny conference room on their main floor, used only for storage. It was maybe fifty feet from Belle’s office, and when he peered around the corner of the doorway, his smile widened.

  “She’s going to love this,” he said.

  Tim and Davis turned around, happy grins on their otherwise pained faces. “Good, ‘cause my hand’s cramping like a mother from all this painting.”

  The dark blue walls were stenciled with characters and creatures from Greyson’s first game. A dark mahogany crib was set at one end with a mobile hanging over it with dangling orcs and goblins—cute ones—and a changing table and rocking chair sat on the other side.

  “If Belle wants to work and be a mom, she’ll have her chance to do both,” Greyson said and patted both Davis and Tim on the back. “I owe you both.”

  “As long as she stays happy and keeps you happy,” Davis said, “it’ll all be worth it.”

  “When are you going to show it to her?” Tim asked.

  “She has her interview with Tom on Tuesday,” he told them with a grimace.

  “So Monday?” Davis asked.

  “Oh no, I’m going to let Tom pitch her the new job, and when she comes back to tell me all about it, I’m going to show her the new papers I had Kelly type up,” Greyson said, “and the nursery. How can she pass up all the free babysitters?”

  Davis and Tim laughed with him. Greyson’s plan was flawless. He knew no matter what Tom offered Belle, his deal was so much better. She wouldn’t be able to turn it down, and if they managed to track her dad down in time for the wedding, she would have the one man who should be there to walk her down the aisle back in her life. Hopefully, for good.

  “I’m going to order us some lunch in and then we can head downstairs,” Greyson told them.

  “Wait, you expected us to do actual work today, too?” Tim asked and Davis shoved him with a sharp laugh.

  “What am I paying you overtime for?” Greyson asked with a wink.

  “I don’t know… Something about keeping your future wife happy after you screwed up again,” Tim said under his breath when Greyson reached the door.

  He paused, worried for a split second that his constant screw-ups would eventually drive Belle away, but the last two nights floated back to him… How they’d held each other, and their love passed between them without even having to say a word. He kept on walking, laughing when Davis and Tim bickered again like an old married couple.

  Chapter 4

  Belle sat down in the chair with a sigh as Tom asked her if she wanted anything to drink. “No, thank you. I’ll just have to leave in the middle of this interview.” She laughed and Tom joined her.

  “I would completely understand,” the older man said. “My, you look stunning.”

  “Thank you, Tom, but flattery is not why you brought me in here today,” she said, trying to keep them on track. Greyson hadn’t said a word to her all morning, and she worried maybe she would push him away by taking this interview, but she had to do what was right for her. She needed to work, and if Greyson couldn’t see that, she’d find someone who could.

  Tom sipped on a glass of water, watching her over the rim. “I’m assuming your husband-to-be does not know about this interview?”

  “Oh, he does, don’t worry,” Belle said. “I wanted him to know about it.”

  “And he doesn’t mind you being here?” Tom asked, surprised, his white eyebrows disappearing into his hairline.

  Belle shrugged one shoulder. “I didn’t really give him much of a choice.”

  “Well then, I’ll cut straight to the chase,” he said and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I have seen your work and your design capabilities, and since working with you at Greystone Games, I know how well you not only handle yourself but an entire floor of workers.”

  “Thank you, Tom,” she said, her cheeks warm.

  “You deserve the compliment. You are so young, yet you’ve managed to rise to the top in one of the newest, up-and-coming companies with so much promise. You’ve impressed me beyond half of my own senior staff, and just thinking about what you could do for us makes me want to offer you anything to convince you to work for me instead.”

  Belle nodded, her excitement growing. “And it wouldn’t be a conflict of interest for you? Me being married to the CEO of another company?”

  He shook his head and waved away her worry. “They are our partner company, so their interests and ours are aligned—for now.”

  “And if they weren’t aligned?”

  “Naturally, I would hope you would side with us, and we wouldn’t have to worry about going down that other, rather messy path,” he said and leaned back in his chair, studying her.

  Belle glanced around his office, giving herself time to think, when the baby kicked hard and she winced. “Damn—oh sorry,” she said quickly, but Tom grinned.

  “I’m a father five times over and grandfather four times over,” he told her. “I’ve seen it all, trust me, and I hear Greyson is beyond ecstatic over the baby.”

  “He is,” she said quietly with a soft smile. “He’s very excited, but… I’m not sure he likes the idea of me as a working mom.”

  “That is not a problem here. We have a nursery on the tenth floor if you need to bring your child to work, and as a designer, you wouldn’t always have to be in the office,” Tom assured her. “If you’re running your own team, you would be able to delegate much of the work while still keeping an eye on the overall progress.”

  Belle grinned. “And these designs… How will they work with Greystone Games?”

  “Greyson has the board on his side in this partnership for the moment, but we dictate where his projects go and what he is able to work on with the funding we provide. There may come a time when we disagree on which path to take his company and mine… or let’s say another large deadline is missed in the future,” he said.

  Belle frowned. “You said ‘for the moment,’” Belle repeated. “And why do you assume they would miss another deadline?”

  Tom smiled, and for the first time since meeting the older man, Belle spotted a glimpse of the hungry shark that got him to where he was today. “All I meant was things change. Nothing to worry about.”

  Her mental gears turning, Belle kept the smile on her face and concentrated on finishing the interview as red flags waved in her mind. When she finally left Tom’s office, shaking his hand at the front door before she walked out, she realized the man had slipped up. He was so sure of the job he offered her—a great job with incredible pay and opportunities—that he’d assumed she would take it. Too bad Tom didn’t know her well enough and simply assumed she would do what he wanted. Greyson could attest to the impossibility of that—loudly.

  Belle climbed into the taxi, and once they were on th
eir way, she pulled out her cell to let Greyson know she was on her way back to the office. He only replied with one word, and her heart sank. She was pissed at him for going behind her back and trying to take care of her, and she slapped his effort in the face. The taxi dropped her off outside the office, and she walked as quickly as she could inside the building, hitting the up button over and over until finally the doors opened and she stepped inside.

  If nothing else, he at least had to listen to her when it came to what Tom Bigsby was after. He didn’t want a partnership with an up-and-coming gaming company. He wanted to own them.

  The doors opened, and Belle stepped out, wincing when her stomach cramped. She paused, staring down at her belly, but the pain passed and she assumed it was simply a gas bubble. She waved and smiled at everyone she passed on her way to Greyson’s office, not bothering to knock before she pushed open his door and walked in, leaning her hands on his desk.

  “One second,” he said coolly, moving his mouse around on his desk.

  Belle reached out and stilled his hand, not letting go until he looked at her. “We have to talk.”

  Greyson removed his hand from beneath hers and leaned back in his chair, rocking as he studied her. “Is that right? You here to tell me you’re quitting my company to go work for Bigsby?”

  “Are you going to keep looking pissed off at me while I’m trying to save your company—again?”

  “What are you talking about?” he asked as some of the coldness in his eyes slipped away.

  “I’m not going to tell you a damn thing until you get that look off your face,” she snapped and straightened, crossing her arms over her stomach. Another cramp passed through her, and she winced, holding her side.

  Greyson was on his feet in a second and at her side. “The baby? You still have a few weeks, don’t you?” he asked worriedly.

  “No, I’m fine. Just gas,” she said and patted his hand. “You going to listen to me or not?”

  “So you said no to the job?”

  “Will you forget about the interview for a second? Tom is going to buy your company after the game launch,” she told him sternly. “He used your company to get this newest game off the ground, and then he’s going to take it all away from you.”