The Alpha Billionaire's Unexpected Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Pregnancy Romance

by Joanna Jacobs

  “Like I said before I’m not certain I want to be a parent.” She bit her lip. “I grew up as an unwanted child, so I know exactly what it’s like, and I’m not willing to put an innocent through that. They didn’t ask for it. While it is still nothing more than a cluster of cells the best thing I can do, for the child and for us, is end this.” She shrugged. “I’m sorry.”

  ***

  “Please think about this.”

  “What are you doing here?” Marco was leaning against her car, even though it was 6am and Vanessa didn’t think he had any idea what that time in the morning was. “I need to go to work.”

  “I was up all night thinking about what you said. How could I not? You said some things that made me think, and I can understand why you believe the best thing you can do is abort the child, but I just… give me a chance to prove myself.”

  “An abortion is something that needs to be done as soon as possible.”

  “Yes, I know, which is why all I want is a week. Let me show you I could be a good father.”

  “Why does this even matter to you?”

  “I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t, but it does, and I just… please, Vanessa, I’ve never asked this of anyone before, and I didn’t think I ever would. I just… that’s my child you’re carrying, and I… why do I care? I didn’t before, but now there’s a child growing inside of you who’s half me and I never thought that would happen. I never wanted it to happen, and I’m beginning to think that was a mistake.”

  “Marco…” She shook her head. “Nothing you can do will make me think keeping the baby is a good idea.”

  “How about I take full time custody? I’ll be a single dad.”

  For far longer than she expected all Vanessa could do was stare at him. “I didn’t think there was anything you could say that would surprise me, but that did.”

  “I think I’d be terrible at it. I wouldn’t normally have suggested anything quite that stupid, but you’re carrying my baby. All I’ve been able to see in my head is this little mixed race child, and I can’t seem to shake that, although they do keep changing gender. Sometimes it’s a little girl, with hair like yours, and sometimes it’s a little boy, with my eyes.” Marco smiled. “I can’t walk away from that.”

  “Right now they’re nothing.” She glanced down at her stomach. “They’re just a cluster of cells that might become a baby.” She looked up again. “I’m barely pregnant. I could have a miscarriage. I could end up having a stillbirth. The child you’re imagining doesn’t exist yet, and yet you’re pushing me to keep it, as though it means more to you than anything else.”

  “It does. Until it happened I didn’t think I’d care, but I do. If you don’t want me to be a part of your life that’s fine, but I’m not the person you think I am. I read the magazines I’m in too, and sometimes I hate what I see, because that’s only a part of who I am. People look at me and they see the playboy billionaire, and that’s all they see. They don’t have any idea what’s behind that and most people don’t care.”

  ***

  Going on a date with Marco was probably the stupidest thing she’d done since falling into bed with him. Their eyes met, and Vanessa did her best to smile at him. She didn’t want to be there, but she was willing to give him a chance, even though she knew it probably wasn’t going to change anything. “Tell me about yourself.”

  “You know who I am.”

  “No, Vanessa, I know what you do. You’re a very good party planner. I know nothing more about you that that, which is obviously due to the fact you were keeping yourself at a professional distance. Now we’re getting to know each other as people.” He brushed a hand through his hair. “Well, I do know something, but I don’t really want to bring that up, because it sounds like it was painful for you.”

  “There was a time when it hurt to know neither of my parents wanted me, but I’ve done a lot to let go of the anger I felt. Now I don’t feel much about it at all. I do feel sorry for them. The only reason they kept me was because their parents, both my maternal and paternal grandparents, were very religious. Getting someone pregnant meant getting married and having the baby. Fortunately I don’t believe that.”

  “So your parents saw you as the thing that had forced them to stay together?”

  “Yes, they did.” She shrugged. “When I was thirteen I left.”

  “Thirteen?”

  “I had a place to stay. One of my best friends’ families took me in, and neither of my parents cared about that. By that point they were both in the midst of having affairs. Mom was pregnant with someone else’s baby, but they still haven’t divorced, because that’s not what people do. I’m so glad I got myself out of that mess. My half-siblings don’t even know I exist and that’s definitely a good thing.”

  “Wow.” Marco shook his head. “I guess I was lucky when it came to parents. Mine both loved me, and they showed me how much they cared every day.” He sipped the water in front of him, choosing not to drink because she wasn’t. “I think they’re part of the reason I’m doing this. They would want me to do the right thing for my child. I haven’t told them yet, and I won’t until you make your final decision. If you choose to abort I will tell them about this, because it’s made me see how much I do want to change my life, and I want them to understand the choices I’m making. I won’t tell them who you are though. I’m not going to make this any more difficult for you that it already is.”

  “Thank you for that.” She sipped her own water, wishing it was wine. “How did you become a billionaire?”

  Marco laughed. “Luck, mostly. I did the work to get there, but hundreds of people do the work - it’s just the lucky few that actually make as much money as I did.”

  ***

  Vanessa picked up the phone to the only woman she’d ever thought of as a parental figure. “Hey, Ness. It’s been a while.”

  “I know.” Vanessa bit her lip. “I need to talk to you about something.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  Of course Jenna would have picked up on that. That was why Vanessa turned to her, instead of the woman who’d given birth to her, and it made sense. “I don’t even know how to say this.” Vanessa stared at the wall, trying to find the words. “There’s this guy. He’s nice enough, I guess, but really not my type, and I have no idea how it happened. I did, however, end up spending a night with him, and that night’s led to me becoming pregnant.”

  “You’re certain?”

  “Unfortunately. Abortion, to me, seems like the best option, but he… he found out and now he’s saying he’d like a chance to prove himself. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Do you want to have a child?”

  “No. Yes. I don’t know. I didn’t, when I thought I was going to be alone, but from everything he said it seems like I’m not going to be.”

  “That’s the last thing you want to rely on. Right now he might want to be a dad, when it’s not real, but how’s he’s going to feel when it is real? How’s he going to take to changing nappies, and doing night feeds, and looking after someone who can’t communicate their needs effectively? You don’t know him. What you need to think about right now is if you’d be willing to be a single mother, because that might be what you end up being.”

  “Is there any way to find out before the baby comes?”

  “Probably not, unless either of you knows someone who’d be willing to lend you a baby overnight. Then you might be able to find out what sort of dad he could be.” Jenna sighed. “I know having an abortion soon is going to be important, but don’t rush into it without truly thinking this through. You’re going to feel like you’ll be a terrible mother, because you mother was, and I want you to see that isn’t necessarily true. You know what it’s like to grow up like that and I know you wouldn’t do that to a child of your own.”

  “I’d try not to, but that doesn’t mean I’d be successful.” Vanessa sighed. “Thank you for the advice.”

  “You’re welcome, love. If you want to
talk face to face you know where I am.”

  “I would have come over. I just… it’s hard enough telling you this over the phone. I was scared you’d be disappointed in me for letting this happen.”

  “Ness, everyone makes mistakes. It’s how we deal with them that shows what sort of person we are and I know you’re going to be thinking a lot about what’s best for the child. I trust you to make the right decision.”

  ***

  For a long time Vanessa stared at her phone. Jenna might trust her to make the right decision, but she didn’t. Biting hard on her lip she tried to work out if it was a sensible thing to do, and there was this voice in the back of her head telling her she should go for it, because if she didn’t she’d regret it. That voice was harder to ignore than she wanted it to be. Sighing, she dialled the number Marco had given her, still uncertain, still worried she was doing one of the most stupid things she’d ever done, even though it seemed like a good idea.

  “Vanessa?”

  “Hi.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “No, something isn’t wrong.” Apart from the fact she was thinking of doing something she might not be able to deal with. “Why would you think that.”

  “Last time I saw you I got the feeling I wasn’t going to hear from you again.”

  “Honestly, I wasn’t planning on contacting you, but I had a long conversation with someone I trust to give me good advice and I have a proposition for you.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “A couple of close friends of mine have a baby. They were hoping to go away for three nights, because their mothers had both said they could take the child for them, but those plans have fallen through. I offered to take the baby for those three nights, to see what it would be like. I was hoping you might be willing to join me.”

  Marco was silent. She wished she was in front of him and able to see what he was feeling, but she wasn’t. All Vanessa could do was wait for him to give her an answer. “Three nights, at your apartment?”

  “Yes, at my apartment. They’re more comfortable with that than me taking the baby somewhere else.”

  “Okay.” She couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. “It seems like a good idea, but I’m not certain how easy it will be for you to deal with having me in your apartment.”

  “Neither am I. I just… if we’re going to have this child I want to know if things could work out with the two of us co-parenting. Right now I don’t trust you to be a good parent. I don’t know you, I don’t know how you’re going to react to things, and having this will test both of us to see if it’s possible for us to do this.”

  “When is this happening?”

  “A couple of weeks from now, from Friday afternoon to Monday late morning. It all depends on traffic, obviously, so there is a chance it will be later on the Monday.”

  “In that case I’ll see you then.”

  “Yeah, you will. Thank you, for agreeing to this.”

  “It’s a good idea, Vanessa, and it will give us a chance to see how we parent and how we work together in difficult situations.”

  ***

  “You’re sure about this?” Marie studied Vanessa. “If you aren’t we can still cancel.”

  “I’m sure.” Vanessa looked at Beth. “You’ve been looking forward to this for months, and if I’m going to be a mom I need to know how to deal with a baby.”

  “She’s a little different to a newborn, but you are still going to have some of the same issues. I don’t know how she’s going to take to being in a strange place without us. If worst comes to the worst you can take her to Mom’s place.”

  “That’s not going to happen. I offered to do this, because I knew how hard things were for everyone.”

  “Right now Mom’s just glad someone can go to the funeral. When Dad…” Marie shook her head. “I’m sure you have better things to do than listen to me ramble on about my problems.”

  “Marie, I’m here if you ever need to talk this through. I know life has been very difficult for y’all recently.”

  “Yeah, it has.” A tear trickled down her cheek, but she scrubbed it away. “Thank you for this, Nessa. I don’t know what I would have done if someone couldn’t take Beth on. Being there for everyone at this time is something I wanted to do, and so did Mom, but things just didn’t work out the way we hoped they would.”

  “Sometimes they don’t.” Vanessa leaned forward and kissed Marie on the cheek. “You’ve done a lot for me over the years and I’m glad I can help you out.”

  “How about we go over the list one last time? It will take my mind off what’s coming.”

  “If it’ll help.”

  “Beth normally cries if she’s getting hungry. At the moment it’s about every five hours during the day, because I think she’s going through another growth spurt, and at night she might wake up once. That’s what’s making me think growth spurt, which is just what I don’t need. There is a chance one of her teeth might start coming through, but I doubt it will. If it does I’ve put in all of the teething stuff. There’s gripe water, just in case. Mom is available to talk to if you forget anything, and I have a page full of notes scribbled down.”

  “I know you hate leaving her.”

  “This time it’s something I have to do.”

  “She’s going to be fine.”

  “Like I said Mom will take her in.”

  “Your mom’s not going to need to. It’s just a weekend. Beth and I will get along fine.” Vanessa took Beth from Marie. “The two of us have spent time together before, so she knows me, and that’s why I offered. Being with someone she knows should make this easier.”

  Beth babbled something and started chewing on Vanessa’s hair, which always seemed to happen. “Yeah, it should.” Marie smiled, although there was still worry in her eyes. “Thank you for this. I really do appreciate it.”

  “You’ve said that a hundred times. Now go, otherwise you’re going to be late.”

  ***

  Marco looked at Beth. “How old is she?”

  “Six months.”

  “That’s young for parents to be leaving a baby with people who are basically strangers.”

  “Normally they wouldn’t have done, but there have been some big family issues happening recently, all at the same time, which means Marie is the only person who can go to her grandfather’s funeral. They were close and she wanted to be there. It’s just a very long drive and she didn’t want to take Beth all that way. Her mom was meant to be taking Beth, but then her husband became ill, so it’s just impossible. Marie’s husband Ben’s mom would have taken on Beth, and then she had an accident about three weeks ago that means she can’t.” Vanessa shrugged. “I was the next possibility, because I’ve spent a lot of time around Beth.”

  “I didn’t think you liked children.”

  “Of course I do. I love Beth. I’m just not certain I want one of my own. I like being able to give them back later on.”

  “From what you said Marie’s family sounds interesting. Marie was always the only person who could go to her grandfather’s funeral?”

  “It’s her paternal grandfather. Marie’s dad died when she was young, and that’s why she was close to her grandfather. She used to spend every summer with him. I went one year, and I can understand why she was so close to him, which is why she really wanted to go. Marie’s mom would have gone if Marie, for some reason, couldn’t, because she’s stayed close to her late husband’s family. There were no issues between them.”

  “Do you know a lot of people with interesting families? All of my friends’ parents stayed together.”

  “Was that because they wanted to or because they felt they had to?”

  “I don’t know. I never once stopped to ask that question. From the outside they looked happy.”

  “Obviously, thanks to your upbringing, you have no idea how easy it is to look happy from the outside when you’re screaming on the inside. I was one of those people.” She shrugged. �
�Most of the people I know have interesting families, because that’s the way a lot of families are. They go through changes. People end relationships, even when there are children involved, and get remarried, so there can be half or step-siblings. Most of them were luckier than I was and I’ve never held that against them.”

  Nodding, Marco held his arms out for Beth. “Let me hold her.”

  “She doesn’t know you.”

  “Not yet, but she will, if you let go of her for a few minutes.” He smiled. “I never thought I’d see the maternal side of you this soon.”

  “Beth’s one of my god children. I look out for her interests, so it’s for the best that you don’t screw this up.”

  “I won’t.” Vanessa passed Beth to him. “I have held babies before. I’ve just never been with them overnight.”

  ***

  The sound of Beth crying over the baby monitor woke Vanessa up. Without stopping to think about what she was doing she went to slip out from under the covers, only to find an arm was stopping her. She rolled over to find Marco sitting up. “You’re the one who spent a couple of hours lulling her to sleep. I can do the night feed.”

  “I don’t mind doing it.”

  “Neither do I.” He shook his head. “If we’re going to co-parent you need to be willing to accept my help.”

  “Okay.” She smiled and lay back down. “Maybe letting you sleep in my bed wasn’t such a bad idea.”

  “Seemed like the logical thing to do.” He slipped out from under the covers, yawning. “Milk’s in the fridge, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I won’t be long.”

  Vanessa thought it would be easy to get back to sleep without Marco in the bed. It wasn’t as though she was used to sharing a bed with someone, but she lay there for what felt like hours, not knowing what he was doing, and that was when she decided to go find him. When she walked into the living room, where he’d put on the small lap, she found that he’d fallen asleep there with Beth on his chest. Vanessa couldn’t stop herself from smiling at them. Throughout the day he’d showed himself to be a much better father than she thought someone who was known as a playboy could be. Obviously he was right when he said the magazines wrote what they saw of him, and not who he truly was.