The Tycoon's Paternity Agenda

by Michelle Celmer

  Nathan blinked. “Oh.”

  Jordan looked confused. “How is that possible?”

  Adam told them about the embryos, and Katy’s offer to carry the baby. For now, that was all they needed to know.

  A lot of backslapping and handshakes followed, but he wasn’t finished yet.

  “There’s something else. Something I’ll be announcing formally in a few months. But I wanted to tell you all first. After the baby is born, I’m stepping down as CEO of Western Oil.”

  Three mouths fell open in unison.

  “Stepping down?” Nathan asked. “You live for this company.”

  “I’ll still be on the board. I just won’t be as involved in the day-to-day operations. I want to be there for my child.”

  “Had you considered hiring a nanny?” Nathan asked.

  “I could do that,” Adam said. “But I promised myself a long time ago that when I had children, I would be there for them. Not a ghost, like my father. Especially since I’m raising this child on my own.”

  “Which raises the question, will you look outside the company for a replacement, or promote from within?” Emilio asked, getting to the heart of the matter.

  “I’ve already spoken to the board. It was agreed that we would promote from within.”

  The three men exchanged glances. That meant that for the next eight months they would be under a veritable microscope, their every decision and act used to judge them. Three friends—two of them family—in competition for the brass ring. It had the potential to get very ugly. How they all handled the stress would be a determining factor to the board’s decision.

  “So who would you choose?” Nathan asked, knowing that the board would most likely follow Adam’s lead.

  “I won’t make a choice until the board votes,” he told them. “Until then everyone has an equal shot at the position. In essence, my choice will depend on your performance for the next eight months.”

  “No pressure there,” Jordan said wryly.

  “This position is pressure,” Adam told him. “And as you all know I have a lot vested in this company. We all do. If not for each one of you, it wouldn’t be what it is today.”

  “I think we all know who will get it,” Nathan said. “You and Emilio are good friends. He’s obviously got the advantage.”

  “This is business,” Adam said. “Friendship has nothing to do with it.”

  “Not to mention that I’m going to leave you guys in the dust,” Jordan said smugly, with a smile that said he was as good as in. His brother glared, but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

  “Any questions?” Adam asked, but everyone seemed pretty clear on the way things would be until the decision was made.

  When the meeting was over, Emilio hung back. “I just wanted to say congratulations again. I know this is something you’ve wanted for a long time.”

  Adam gestured for him to close the door. He’d promised Katy he wouldn’t tell anyone the truth, but Emilio was one of his closest friends. He knew he could trust him to keep their secret.

  Emilio shut the door and sat back down.

  “What I said about the baby being mine and Becca’s, that might not be the case.”

  He frowned. “Whose is it, then?”

  “Mine and Katy’s.”

  “You slept with her?”

  “The day the embryos were transferred the second time. The doctor says there’s a five-to-one chance Katy’s egg was fertilized.”

  Emilio shook his head and muttered something in Spanish. “Maybe this was inevitable.”

  Inevitable? “What do you mean?”

  “A man doesn’t talk about a woman constantly unless he’s attracted to her.”

  Had he really talked about her so much that both Celia and Emilio took notice? Without even realizing it?

  “What are you going to do now?” Emilio asked.

  “The only thing we can do. Have a DNA test, and if it is Katy’s, share custody.”

  “You won’t marry her?”

  Emilio had no business lecturing him on marriage. “I’m surprised you would even ask that. Especially when you’re so against marriage.”

  Emilio shrugged. “I’m not the marrying type. You are.”

  He was. But not anymore. “You know damn well I’m never getting married again.”

  “I know you’ve said that.”

  “But you obviously don’t believe it.”

  “I believe you have a responsibility to the child. And its mother.”

  “And if you were in my position? Would you ask her to marry you?”

  “Of course.”

  Adam was stunned. “You don’t believe in marriage.”

  “No, but in my culture it’s a matter of pride for a man to take responsibility for his actions,” he said, then added sheepishly, “And if I didn’t, my mother would probably disown me.”

  “So you think I should marry her.”

  “What I think doesn’t matter.”

  Then why all the unsolicited advice? What the hell was with everyone lately? First Celia, now Emilio?

  “This is getting really complicated.”

  “You slept with your deceased wife’s sister and you’re having a baby. At what point did you think it wouldn’t be complicated?”

  He had a point.

  “Look,” Emilio said. “You’ve had a rough couple of years. I just think that you deserve to be happy.” He looked at his watch and pushed himself up from his chair. “And speaking of being happy, I have a date with a lovely older woman.”

  “Older?”

  “My mother,” he said with a grin.

  “You have my sympathies.” Monthly trips to the opera was one part of his marriage Adam didn’t miss. Becca insisted they keep box seats. He used the time to either check email on his phone, or take a nap.

  Emilio chuckled. “Not all men hate opera.”

  No, but he was betting more than half were only there for their wives. Although he had come to suspect that Becca favored the social aspect of the experience over the actual performance. She was big on flaunting their wealth, and always obsessed with wearing clothes from whichever up-and-coming designer was in favor at the time. She routinely spent the entire day in the salon getting her hair and nails and makeup fixed. He could never figure out why she couldn’t be content to just be herself. Like Katy.

  He did not just think that. Maybe he was too preoccupied with her.

  Emilio was at the door when Adam asked, “Before you go, can I ask you a question?”

  “Of course.”

  “Before Becca got sick, did I seem happy?”

  Emilio frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “Did you think we had a good marriage?”

  He considered that, as though choosing his words carefully. “I recall thinking that if you were happy, you would have spent less time at work, and more with your wife.”

  “You work as much as I do.”

  “But I don’t have a wife at home.”

  Another good point.

  “Out of curiosity, why do you ask?”

  “Celia said something this morning…” He shrugged. “You know what, never mind. Have fun tonight.”

  Emilio looked like he wanted to say more, but he knew Adam well enough not to push.

  When he was gone, Adam glanced at the phone. Talking about Katy made him want to pick it up and call. She’d text messaged him earlier to say that she had gotten back home safely, so he really had no reason to call her. Maybe all he wanted was to hear her voice.

  Which was exactly why he didn’t do it.

  Adam managed to hold out a week before he stumbled across a legitimate excuse to call Katy. He was reading an article on the internet about prenatal DNA testing, and a safer, less invasive method was mentioned.

  He called her cell but it went straight to voice, so he tried the ranch phone instead. Katy’s mom answered.

  “Well, hello, Adam. What a pleasant surprise. How have you been
?”

  “Good. Busy.”

  “You know, we didn’t get a chance to congratulate you. We were so pleased to hear that it worked the second time. I did some reading on the subject online and it sounds as though you and Katy were quite lucky.”

  Not as much as she might think.

  “Is she there?” he asked.

  “She’s out running errands for her father, but she has her cell with her. Do you have the number?”

  “I tried her cell but it went right to voice mail.” He hoped the errands didn’t involve any heavy lifting. She had to be careful not to overexert herself.

  “There are a lot of holes in the service out here. She was probably driving through a dead zone.”

  What was the point of even having a cell phone if there was no reception? What if she got into an accident, or broke down? He would have to look into getting her a satellite phone.

  “Don’t forget, we still owe you that supper,” she told him. “We’d just love it if you came up to see us. It’s only right we celebrate together. We could make a day of it.”

  “I’d like that,” he said, surprised by the realization that he actually meant it.

  “You’re welcome anytime. You know we don’t stand on formality here. You just jump in your car and head up whenever the mood strikes.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  “You’re family, Adam. Don’t ever forget that.”

  He had a sudden and unexpected lump in his throat. Her parents had every reason to think the worst of him, yet they still considered him one of them.

  It was sad that Becca never understood what an extraordinary family she had, and he regretted not insisting she make more of an effort to keep in touch.

  He regretted a lot of things about their marriage, and only recently had he begun to realize that.

  “When Katy gets in could you tell her I called?”

  “Will do, Adam. You take care.”

  He hung up and tried her cell again, this time leaving a message. “Hey, Katy, it’s me. I found some interesting information about DNA testing that I want to discuss with you. Call me when you get this.”

  He answered a few emails while he waited for her to call him back. But after an hour passed, he began to wonder if she’d gotten his message. He dialed her cell, once again getting her voice mail.

  “Me again,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure you got my last message. Call me.”

  She was probably on the road, he figured, and wouldn’t check her messages until she got home. Which was fine, since she shouldn’t be driving and talking on her phone at the same time anyway. No point in taking chances.

  He immersed himself in work, and before he knew it, it was nearly five o’clock. Katy hadn’t called yet, but he was sure she had to be home by now. He tried her cell, but again it went straight to voice.

  He dialed the ranch, and her mother answered again. “She’s here, Adam, but she’s out in the north pasture with her father. As soon as she gets inside I’ll tell her you called. It shouldn’t be more than an hour.”

  He waited one and a half, then he got caught up in an over seas call that ate another hour. When he was finished Bren buzzed him.

  “Ms. Huntley called.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he snapped, and realized he’d just bit her head off unjustly. She had strict instructions that unless it was a dire emergency she was not to interrupt overseas calls.

  “Sorry,” he said. “Long day.”

  He picked up the phone and called Katy back again.

  “You mean she didn’t call you?” her mother said, sounding surprised. “I gave her your message.”

  “No, she did. But I was on an overseas call. Is she there now?”

  “No. She left about ten minutes ago. She went to see a movie with her friend Willy.”

  Willy? “Willy Jenkins?”

  “That’s right.”

  He felt his hackles rise. She was with Willy “Friends-with-Benefits” Jenkins? The idea of what they might do after the film made his blood pressure skyrocket.

  “I’ll probably be asleep when she gets in, but I’ll leave a message that you called.”

  Meaning she was expecting Katy to be late. “I’d appreciate that,” he told her, jaw tense. He hung up and shoved himself back from his desk. As long as she was pregnant with his child she had no business sleeping with anyone. Who knows what kind of diseases or viruses this Willy person could have contracted? The way she made it sound, he wasn’t one to turn down a casual roll in the hay. He could have slept with dozens of women.

  He distinctly recalled that when she offered to do this for him, she agreed to practice abstinence.

  The only exception to that particular rule was if the man she was sleeping with was him.

  After playing phone tag for the better part of the next day, Katie finally got a hold of Adam around seven. Her parents were outside so she curled up on the couch with the cordless phone.

  Though she had tried hard to keep him off her mind, she’d missed him. Missed hearing his voice.

  “Hi, it’s me,” she said when he answered.

  “Well, you’re a tough woman to get a hold of,” he said sharply.

  She was so taken aback she was speechless. And hurt. They hadn’t talked in almost a week, and when they finally did he was a jerk. He was clearly upset with her, but she couldn’t imagine what she’d done.

  “I’ve been calling you for two days,” he said. “I guess you’ve been busy.”

  “Busy?”

  “Going on dates with Willy Jenkins.”

  Dates? Is that what this was about? Her mom must have mentioned she went to the movies last night when she talked to him. Although she would hardly call it a date. “You have a problem with me going to the show with a friend?”

  “I do if you’re sleeping with him.”

  Sleeping with him? Where the heck had that come from? Her mom sure hadn’t told him that. “Who told you I was sleeping with him?”

  “You did.”

  “I did? When?”

  “That day in the coffee shop. You said you were ‘friends with benefits.’”

  Yes, but that was years ago, and… Oh, good Lord. She slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

  Was he jealous? Of Willy?

  The billionaire oil man was threatened by a lowly ranch hand? Adam must have been sitting around all day stewing in his own juices.

  It was such a ridiculous notion, and he had himself in such a lather, she couldn’t resist poking the lion with a stick.

  “What makes you think it’s any of your business who I sleep with?” she asked him.

  “As long as you’re pregnant with my child, it’s my business.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “We had an agreement that you would practice abstinence while you were pregnant.”

  They did? She didn’t recall agreeing to that. But since she’d had no plans to sleep with anyone—not even him—it never seemed relevant anyway. “So I should be practicing abstinence, unless I’m having sex with you? Is that it?”

  There was a pause, then he said, “That’s different.”

  Behind her someone cleared their throat, and she snapped her head around to find her mom standing in the kitchen doorway. The woman was stealthy as a damned cat. And it was clear, by her expression, that she’d heard what Katy said about sleeping with Adam.

  Well, damn it all to hell.

  Fourteen

  “Adam, I need to call you back,” Katy said.

  “Why?” he demanded.

  “Because I do.”

  “We need to discuss this,” he barked, like he was issuing an executive order.

  “I know we do. It’ll just be a few minutes.”

  “What’s so important you can’t talk to me right now?”

  At the end of her patience, she said, “Willy is here for a quickie, that’s what!”

  She hung up on him and dropped the phone on the couch beside h
er.

  Her mom stood in the kitchen doorway, arms folded, shaking her head. “That was real mature.”

  Not one of her finer moments, but he was sort of asking for it.

  The phone immediately began to ring. Her mom walked over to the couch, picked it up and answered. “Well, hello, Adam.” She paused then said, “She’s not feeling too well. Morning sickness, I’m afraid.”

  Another pause, then she said, “Yes, I know it’s not morning. They just call it that, but it can happen anytime of day. I’ll have her call you back when it passes.”

  She hung up and sat down beside Katy.

  “I fell hard and fast, just like you said I would,” Katy admitted. “So go ahead, say I told you so.”

  “Would it make you feel better if I did?”

  She sighed and collapsed back against the couch cushions. “Probably not.”

  “Are you…seeing him?”

  “He didn’t want me.” She shrugged, suddenly on the verge of tears. “What else is new, right?”

  “Oh, honey.” She gathered Katy in her arms and hugged her.

  “I guess I should have listened to you.”

  “At least now I know why you’ve been moping around for a week.” She paused, then asked, “Did he…seduce you?”

  “He was a perfect gentleman,” she admitted, as if she wasn’t ashamed enough. “This was my fault. I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I wasn’t thinking.”

  “It’ll be easier after you have the baby. You won’t have to see him at all if you don’t want to.”

  Now that her mom knew about the affair, not fessing up to the rest of it felt like lying. “Actually, I might be stuck seeing him a lot. For at least the next nineteen years.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “There’s a pretty good chance that my own egg was fertilized.”

  She braced for the fireworks, but instead her mom hugged her tighter. “Oh, Katy. Why didn’t you say something?”

  “I thought you would be angry. And I was embarrassed that I screwed things up so badly.”

  “How does Adam feel about this?”

  “He’s been wonderful. Besides breaking my heart, but that isn’t his fault. I know how you and Daddy feel about him, but he’s not the person you think he is. Rebecca lied to us, Mom. About a lot of things.”