by J A Fielding
“It is but Dr. Hahn assured me that everything looks normal.” He turned his attention to the police officers. “I am sorry, but this will have to wait. Could you come back in the morning or something?”
“Of course.” Ben smiled at Francene. “We’ll take our leave now. And congratulations, Mr. Anderson.”
Axel smiled.
“Thank you.”
“I think I will also go down to the office and get started on the paperwork,” Agent Mejia said.
“You might want to pass by the precinct before you get to the office,” Victoria started. “I called the assistant district attorney before my phone battery died. She will be waiting for you there.”
“Okay. Charge your phone then. I’ll keep you posted,” Agent Mejia said before walking out leaving Axel and Victoria standing there, looking at each other.
“How is she?” she asked and Axel shrugged.
“Strong…and not cursing. Yet.”
“Maybe that’s just as bad as it’s going to get,” she said, smiling, and he took a long deep breath.
“I hope so.” He looked around and shrugged. “Come on. We’ll get some gear for you and get in there.”
“Is that even allowed?” Victoria asked as Axel led her through the doors.
“If anyone asks, you’re the doula,” he said and she laughed.
“Look at you throwing around all the maternity jargon.”
*****
Trina’s eyes fluttered open and almost immediately, she knew where she was. She tried raising her head, but it felt heavy. Everything about her body felt heavy. And sore.
“You’re awake,” she heard Axel’s voice.
She turned to look at him and the look on his face made her heart skip a bat.
“The baby…” she started as she struggled again, trying to pull herself up.
“Don’t get up…just lie down. The baby is fine.”
“Are you sure? Did you see her?” she asked and he nodded.
“I saw her all right,” he said in a soft voice, smiling down at her. “She is perfect. Healthy. Six pounds two ounces.”
She forced a smile as she laid back.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“A little after midday. You have been in and out for the last few hours since your delivery but everything is fine.”
“The last thing I remember is…asking for the epidural but one of the nurses said it was too late…”
He nodded.
“Yeah…your blood pressure shot up and for some reason, you just started pushing when the baby descended. The birth was actually quite fast but you were too weak,” he explained. “But don’t worry, I welcomed our daughter into the world and I made sure she got familiar with your scent.”
She smiled.
“Tell me about her,” she said in a whisper. “Tell me about our daughter Ellie.”
He looked down at her and began stroking her hair.
“She is beautiful. Ten fingers, ten toes, full head of beautiful black, curly hair and the most perfect brown eyes you have ever seen.”
“Where is she?” Trina asked. “I want to see her.”
“The nurses literally just took her away a few minutes ago,” he said. “She’ll be here soon enough.”
“But you should be there with her…what if someone…anyone comes and….” Her voice trailed off and he pressed his index finger to her lips.
“Ellie is fine. Victoria is with her.”
“Victoria?” Trina asked, confused and her husband nodded, laughing.
“She is going to make one feisty, overprotective aunt.”
“She came? Did you tell her that I was having the baby?”
“Well,” he started. “I had actually not called anyone. She called me almost immediately when we got here and…wait. Don’t you remember her being there with you? Holding your hand?” he asked.
Trina shook her head.
“Sorry,” she said. “I don’t remember much about last night.”
He smiled.
“Well, she was here. She came to tell me that there had been a break in the case.”
“Do they know where she is? Did they find Sonya?” she asked, excitedly and he nodded.
“Actually, her real name is Eva. Eva Maria Jacobs and they did more than find her. She is in custody,” he said as he looked at her. “So, it is finally over.”
Trina closed her eyes and felt a tear roll down the side of her face.
“Hey. It’s a happy day. Don’t cry,” he said just as the nurse walked into the room with Victoria walking close behind her. “Actually, you have no reason to cry. Your baby is here.”
“And she is beautiful,” Victoria said as the nurse put the baby in Trina’s arms.
She was smiling as she gently pulled the blanket to look at her daughter’s face. It was at that moment that she realized that no words Axel had said could ever paint the true picture of that baby’s beauty. She was that and so much more.
“Hi, Ellie,” she said in a soft voice. “It’s your mummy. And your mummy loves you so much.”
She brought her head down and planted a soft kiss on the baby’s head.
“Oh, my God, her head smells so good,” she whispered.
“Yeah, that will be my daily dose of goodness right there,” Victoria said. “Did Axel tell you?”
Trina nodded without looking up.
“He just did and I just thank God that Ellie does not have to live through the ugly world that woman created.”
“I know this is not such a good time but you will still have to talk to the police and prepare in case this case goes to trial,” Victoria said.
Trina looked up at her and shrugged.
“I don’t want to think or talk about that right now. I just want to look at my little miracle right here,” she said and Axel sat down on the edge of the bed.
“And that is exactly what we will do,” he said as he put an arm around her shoulders.
The end.
Her Older Asian Billionaire
Is he the perfect man for her?
A sexy billionaire romance, brought to you by Shanade White of BWWM Club (231 pages long).
Leslie produces an award-winning late night talk show.
So when property developer Ken Long appears on it and his Paradise Towers development is a hit, she not only invites him back on, but also agrees to produce a documentary about his venture.
Soon the two grow close.
And when he goes with Leslie to her hometown of Mississippi and gets stranded in a storm, they can’t keep their hands off each other.
But Ken's parents want to set him up with a Chinese woman, and have for a while.
Will Ken go along with his family’s wishes and leave Leslie in the lurch?
Or will their budding love bloom and win out over all the odds?
Find out in this heartfelt, sexy romance by Shanade White.
Suitable for over 18s only due to hot and heavy sex scenes.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 1
The house lights were just going down as Leslie skidded to a stop behind the production booth. Skidded was actually a kind word for the acrobatics she’d just performed. Ramming the headset on over her curly hair, she cued the band to start the opening song, thankful she would have a few minutes to catch her breath.
Today had not been the day to wear her new four-inch heels. Vainly, she’d wanted to look taller for her meeting with the head of the studio; little did she know that during her meeting all hell would break loose on the set. Her assistant had assured her that all was in order as she’d stepped into the elevator for the short ride to the top floor.
At on
ly five foot three, Leslie made up for her stature with chocolate brown eyes and a figure that made men look twice. Her unruly hair was shoulder length when not pulled back in a tight bun. Normally, she was dressed in yoga pants and a sweatshirt, tennis shoes on her feet. But today she had a meeting with the big boss and wanted to put on a good show.
Emmy nominations were due to be announced in just a few minutes and she was certain that the late night television program she had been producing for the last year was going to be nominated. However, she had no delusions that she might be nominated in the production category.
As one of the only female producers, she had little chance, but add to that the fact that she was only 28 and African American and her chances were nothing. Still, a nomination for the show was a great line on her bio. She’d worked hard to take the show from middle of the pack to third place, about the best she could do, considering who the competition was.
She had sat nervously in the big office as the announcer ran through the nominees in other categories, until they finally began to announce the awards for late night television. Just as she had predicted, the show had been nominated for several awards.
Feeling very satisfied with the nominations, her mind began to wander to other concerns, when she heard her name announced as a nomination for producer of the year. Shocked, she grabbed the remote off the desk and rewound the program. Hearing her name again, she actually laughed.
“Well, how about that,” her boss said, with a huge grin.
“I don’t know what to say. I never dreamed I would be nominated,” she said, stunned.
“Not a bit surprised myself, that’s why you’re watching this in my office,” he said. “Congratulations, you deserve it.”
“Thank you, it’s such a great honor.”
“You’ve done an amazing job with the show. We never thought it could be number three. I see big things in your future,” he said, rising to shake her hand, clearly signaling that the meeting was over.
“Thank you, I’ve got a show to produce, I better get to it,” she said, shaking his hand on her way out.
Knees a little wobbly, she made her way to the elevator, hoping she wasn’t going to make a fool of herself. An Emmy nomination was about the biggest honor a television producer could receive and she’d been nominated after only a year on the job. It was almost too much to absorb all at once.
Which was a good thing since the moment she stepped from the elevator, her assistant, Bruce, was in her face, detailing one emergency after another. She flew into action, not even taking the time to chance her shoes. That had been eight hours and three pep talks ago.
She’d had to run to make air time after a two-hour conversation with their headline star for tomorrow night’s show. She had called to cancel after video of her arriving at her movie premiere, clearly intoxicated, had gone viral. Her people were trying to explain it as exhaustion, but no one was buying their story.
She had charmed the star, her agent, and her boyfriend into keeping the appearance. It had been no small task either; she had promised a detailed list of any questions that would be asked during the interview. Leslie had finally agreed, just to get off the phone for show time.
Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind of all the clutter to concentrate on tonight’s show. David Masters was a funny man, who could charm the truth out of even the most reluctant guest, but he had an ego to match that talent. He had also been one of her emergencies today, another makeup artist had quit, walking out in a huff.
Looking as gorgeous as ever, David walked out on stage just as the band finished the song, with perfect timing as always. Leslie scanned the list of guests, mentally filling in their bios as she went. It was a packed show, including two actors, a politician, and a Chinese billionaire.
Normally, she spent the last hour before the show reviewing any new information on their guests that might have popped up during the day. In this fast paced world of social media and the internet, information can surface anytime. When she saw Ken Ling’s name, she had a moment of panic.
Bruce was supposed to update her on his research on Ken Ling; he had been a last minute addition to the show and Leslie hadn’t known much about him. That ship had sailed thanks to the drunken starlet. She just hoped that Bruce had been able to give David some material to work with. It was a short interview but dead air was never a good thing.
All she knew about Ken was that he had built a company worth billions from the meager beginnings of his father’s business. There could be no doubt that he could make money, but she assumed he was much like others of his class, more concerned about making money than the people who relied on his company for their livelihood.
She’d met countless like him, workaholics who cared more about the bottom dollar than the people their choices affected. True to form, Ken Ling was here in the city to talk about his new skyscraper. She had seen pictures of the monstrosity, promising to be the tallest building in the city, it was all glass and chrome.
In her opinion, the last thing this town needed was more upscale housing driving up property values until the people who had lived in the neighborhood all their lives were forced to leave. Half the upscale properties in the city were empty now as it was.
David was just getting going on his monologue, which was her cue to make a sweep of the green rooms where this evening’s guests were waiting for their turn on stage. It seemed to relax and reassure them when she popped in for just a few minutes before they were due to be on stage.
She saved Ken Ling for last assuming that it would take all her patience to deal with him. In her experience, these men tended to have an ego the size of an elephant, always happy to crow about their accomplishments, these visits strained her patience.
As one of the youngest producers in the business, now with an Emmy nomination to her credit, Leslie knew all about hard work. She had worked hard to get where she was and never had she felt the need to brag about her success. What was it about men and the need to be better than everyone else around them, she thought as she knocked on the door.
When she opened the door, Ken was sitting on the couch on his phone. When he saw her, he ended the call and got up to greet her. This alone was enough to make Leslie pause for a second.
“Ken Ling, nice to meet you. I appreciate this opportunity to appear on the show,” he said, reaching out to shake her hand. “I’ve heard great things about you.”
Accustomed to being flattered in such a manner, Leslie put on her best show business face and prepared for the usual superficial banter. “Thank you, we’re glad you could make time in your busy schedule to visit with us.”
Just then, Bruce let her know that the monologue was over and the first guest would be on in three minutes. Knowing that she needed to get back to the booth, she made her excuses and a quick exit, breathing a sigh of relief that the visit had been short.
She still didn’t know much of anything about Ken Ling, but she had handpicked her staff and could rely on them to pick up the slack for her when needed. She escorted the first guest to the stage then made her way to the booth, relieved to see that everything was in order. Bruce handed her a bio on Ken, and she scanned it quickly, finding what she thought she would.
Although Chinese, he had been educated at the finest American boarding schools, then a degree from a prestigious university in China. She was surprised he hadn’t gone to an American university and a little curious to know why, but moved on. He had taken over his father’s company at a young age, although it was difficult to tell when, and in a few years turned it into a billion dollar enterprise.
There were no details on what exactly the foundation of the company was, but she assumed it was manufacturing. There was little of interest in the bio with the exception of the press release about the skyscraper, biggest building in the city.....blah, blah, blah...
Nothing new here, should be an easy interview. He was only scheduled for a few minutes, and David would be able to pull it off. She really
needed to make sure that these types of guests were on the show less. They pulled it down, people weren’t interested in Ken’s type anymore. Their wealth was quickly becoming a turn off for the common man.
When it was Ken’s turn to come on stage, she held her breath, waiting to see how David would handle the interview. He had been known to be a little rough on these guys, not appreciating the fact that they were usually scheduled by the boys upstairs to gain favor.
Ken seemed at ease on stage, showing none of the telltale physical signs of nervousness; no leg swigging or hand clenching. She watched as he seated himself, clearly at ease he draped his arm across the back of the couch.
“So Ken, tell me why you think this town needs another skyscraper of upscale housing. The market is soft, lots of empty places out there now. What makes you think yours will be any different?” David asked, leaning toward Ken in a friendly way.
Leslie had been waiting for David to pounce, and true to form he had.
“Well, David, you must have been misinformed, my housing is for everyone. Paradise Towers is designed for those people who work hard every day for so little,” Ken explained calmly.
“What do you mean, Ken?”
“Let me explain better. I’ve been lucky enough to have made a great deal of money. Part of the reason I have been able to do that is the people who work for me, make the products I sell, and do all the dirty work. What I’ve done is create housing that these people can afford. Low rents and lots of conveniences, something to make their lives easier.”
“It seems to me that there isn’t much profit in that,” David prompted.
“No, there isn’t. But that’s not the point of this venture. I will be able to make enough money to cover all the expenses for the property. No profit, but as I said that’s not the purpose.”
Leslie was not prepared for this, not only was this guy doing something for the common good, he was soft spoken and clearly well educated. As the interview continued, she realized that he also had an uncommon sympathy for the working man. Intrigued, she could smell a follow-up interview in the making.
