Egotistical Executive: A Hero Club Novel

by K. L. Humphreys

  Forty minutes later and I'm walking into the Bateman's house; it's quiet. A little too quiet. "Where's those beautiful kids of yours?" I ask once we take a seat.

  She laughs, "Chance took them to see Adele, when I told him you were coming over he tried to stay but I kicked him out." The sides of her mouth tilt, she loves annoying her husband. "How are you doing?"

  Aubrey had Chance drive me to the hospital when my mom collapsed. I was having dinner at their house and Aubrey told me that I was in no state to be going anywhere alone so she made Chance do it. Although, I doubt it took much persuading seeing as the man texts me every day to check in.

  I shrug, "I'm numb, I have been since I found out about it."

  She stares at me for a moment, "But that's not what you wanted to see me about, is it?"

  I shake my head as my throat starts to clog, the tears that have been falling all day threaten to spill over again. "I need your advice," I whisper.

  She's instantly on edge and she moves over to sit beside me and holds onto my hand, "Mel, what's going on?"

  I reach into my purse and pull out that stupid white stick and show it to her.

  "Oh, Mel," she whispers and I nod. "What are you going to do?"

  I laugh, "That's why I'm here."

  Aubrey frowns, "Mel, I can't tell you what you should do. This is your choice." She gives my hand a squeeze and I know that it was the right thing to do coming here.

  "I know, but I also know you Aubrey, you're the only person I can trust that will set it all out for me. You'll give me unbiased advice. Tell me the pros and cons and you won't sugar coat it."

  I watch as she swallows harshly, "I can do that."

  "I need it. Right now, I'm not able to decipher anything. There's too much going on for me to even think about all of this."

  She pats my hand, "Give it a couple of weeks and then you can decide."

  I shake my head, "I can't. I'm at least eight weeks, maybe ten. I'm on the pill and I'm strict about taking it. But the last time we had sex, we didn't use a condom."

  She releases a harsh breath, "Okay, so you're at least eight weeks. How are you feeling about it?"

  The tears finally start to fall and I leave them be, "I don't know. Everything is so up in the air right now."

  "I know, God, you're going through so much right now. I'm so sorry, Mel, I really wish there was something I could do to help you."

  "You are, trust me, knowing that you're here is enough."

  "Do you want to keep the baby?" There's no hesitation in her voice and this is it, this is where I need to make a decision.

  "I've always wanted to be a mom. I never thought I'd be pregnant this young, and I'm not sure if it's the right time."

  She gives me a thoughtful look but I'm not sure what it means, my head is running wild with different scenarios and I can't keep up with everything.

  "Okay, my next question is. Would you want to have an abortion?" My hands instantly come to rest on my stomach. It's a move Aubrey doesn't miss and she gives me a watery smile. "What about going to term and giving the baby up for adoption?" she asks correctly realizing that I don't want to have an abortion.

  "That's what I'm not sure about," I tell her softly, worried that she'll think I'm awful.

  She nods, "Okay, so we're going to term, that's a start. Now we have a while to decide what you want to do." She pulls me into her arms as my tears continue to fall. "It's going to be okay, Mel, I promise."

  "I know, I just don't want to do this without my mom."

  "Oh God." She chokes and I know that I'm not the only one that's crying.

  It takes a while for the two of us to gather ourselves before we're able to talk again. "Who's the father?"

  I sigh, this is probably the worst thing about this, the fact that I have no idea what the man's name is. "I had a one night stand."

  Aubrey frowns, "I thought you said that the last time 'we' had sex you didn't use a condom?"

  Damn, she's smart. "Okay, so I met this guy, he came into the coffee shop and was an ass. Aubrey, I mean he was a jerk." I shake my head, God, why is this so hard? "We met up later, and he persuaded me to have dinner with him. By the end of the night, he'd gone from asshole to a pretty decent guy. He was hot and I had a few drinks, we ended up having sex. I left in the morning, with the intentions of never seeing him again. He said one night, that's what it was supposed to be."

  She grasps my hand again, giving me a reassuring squeeze, "But it wasn't, you met him again?"

  I nod, "Two weeks later, I met him again. It wasn't long after I found out about mom."

  She gasps, "Mel, you were dealing with that for a long time alone, why didn't you tell us? We'd have been here for you."

  "I know," I whisper feeling worse. "I just didn't want it to be true."

  "Of course you didn't." She wipes away her tears before turning back to me. "You met him again..."

  I smile, "Yeah, so there were no pretenses, we went back to his hotel room. I was hurting and was grateful for the distraction. Anyway, he told me to get out once we were done."

  She shakes her head, "Why the hell are men assholes?"

  I shrug, "You're telling me? I mean he pulled out and was like you can go now."

  She gasps, "Oh my God."

  Yeah, that's the general consensus.

  "Have you told him yet?"

  I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks. "Um, no. The problem is, I don't know his name, and he doesn't know mine. He's from out of town and I have no way of knowing who he is."

  She nods, "That's okay. Tell me everything and I'll get a friend of mine to see if he can find him."

  My mouth opens in shock. "You'd do that?"

  She gives me a look that tells me that I'm stupid. "Mel, you're my friend, practically family. I'd do anything I can to help you."

  "Thank you," I whisper, unsure how I'll ever repay her.

  "So you're keeping it then." She smiles and I roll my eyes. She's too smart for her own good. "Whatever decision you make, I'm right behind you."

  This time, I'm the one that pulls her into my arms and I hold on tight. We're broken apart by the sound of her cell ringing. She quickly answers it and I scoop up the pregnancy test and throw it back into my purse. I have another stop to make today and I'm dreading it. I call a taxi as I wait for Aubrey to finish her call.

  "Chance is on his way home, he wants to know if you're staying for dinner?" Aubrey asks once she ends the call.

  I shake my head, "No, thank you. I have to go and see my father."

  She grimaces. "Well if you change your mind after you've seen him or if you want some company afterward. You know that you're more than welcome to come."

  I smile, God, how did I get so lucky to have such great friends? "Thank you, but I'm going to spend the night with mom, maybe hearing that she's got a grandchild on the way will help her fight that bit more."

  Aubrey smirks, "I reckon once your mom finds out that you're pregnant she's going to get a new lease on life."

  "That's what I'm hoping." I get to my feet and gather my purse. Once I'm at the door, I turn to Aubrey. "Thank you. I needed you today and you gave me exactly what I needed. I know that it's going to be hard but I don't think I can give my baby up." I shrug, "It's the twenty-first century, single mom's aren't frowned upon anymore."

  "No, they aren't. I know that you're going to be a great mom, Mel. Besides, you'll have a lot of babysitters once he or she is born."

  I smile, for the first time in months, I actually mean it. "Yeah he or she will." I hug her again. "Thank you."

  "Anytime Mel. Be prepared for Chance to act like an ass." She laughs, "He thinks of you as his sister, you being pregnant will make him lose his mind."

  I roll my eyes, which makes her laugh harder. "Seriously, Mel, just wait and see."

  As we open the door, we see the taxi pulling into her drive. "Take care and call if you need us."

  "Thanks. I'll talk to you later." I say and slide into the ta
xi.

  "Melanie, I didn't realize we had a meeting scheduled today." My father tells me as he sees me sitting in the reception area of his office.

  My back stiffens at his words, I'm his daughter and he acts as though we're in business. The man is insufferable. "I was wondering if we could talk?"

  He frowns but holds open his office door for me to go through. "Jill, hold my calls please." He instructs his assistant.

  I walk into his office and sink into the seat, I'm tired and I can't wait to get to mom's and collapse onto the sofa.

  "What did you want to talk to me about?"

  This never happens, I don't ask him for anything. Ever. I haven't done since I was a child, if I ever needed anything I'd always ask mom. "Have you spoken to mom?"

  He shakes his head, "I haven't spoken to that woman in years."

  I sigh, "Okay, I need you to keep it that way."

  He glares at me, my father hates being told what to do. "Melanie, what's going on?"

  "I need you to promise that what's said today, stays between us."

  He nods slowly, "Okay, but only if you tell me what's happening."

  "Dad, mom has cancer and I need you to pay the hospital bills."

  The color drains from his face. The man that's usually indifferent about everything looks as though he's about to faint. "Cancer?"

  "Yeah, Dad, she has breast cancer," I reply softly. I should have probably told him softer but he's always seemed to not care about anything.

  "Mel..." he says and it's the first time he's called me that, he always calls me Melanie. "Is she going to be okay?"

  "I don't know. I really hope so. She's starting treatment and they're hopeful. We just have to wait and see."

  "Your mother doesn't want me to know?" He inquires with a frown.

  "She doesn't want anyone to know, but, Dad, she despises you, of course she wouldn't want you to know."

  He mutters something under his breath but I can't hear it. "Of course I'll pay for her medical bills."

  My shoulders slump with relief. "Thank you. I didn't want her to battle this and then to lose everything."

  "Of course. It'll be our secret. I'll do it as a charity donation." His mind begins to spin and the calculating man is back, he's spinning this to see how it'll look good for him. I roll my eyes, he's never going to change. "Your mother will never know about this."

  I get to my feet, "That would be great. Thanks for your time, Dad."

  "Melanie, you know that I'll always have time for you."

  I don't bother arguing with him because there's no point. "Okay, I'll talk to you soon."

  "Bye." And that's it, no I love you, no take care of yourself. Just bye.

  Once I'm outside of his office building, I'm able to breathe again. The next couple of months are going to be hard, but not impossible. The benefits will outweigh the pain.

  My hand rests against my stomach, I'm going to be a mother.

  For the second time today day, I have a happy smile on my face.

  11

  Mel

  FOUR YEARS LATER

  "Ethan!" I yell as my chubby little boy tears through the house. I bite my lip to hide the smile as he strips from his clothes. Cassidy's eyes widen as she takes in my naked boy. "Ethan," I say once I catch up to him and begin to dress him. "We don't do that when we have company." I remind him gently.

  "I get it," Cass says smiling. "I want to strip down after I finish work too."

  I shake my head, she's as bad as he is, always egging him on. If he's in trouble you can be sure to find Cass somewhere shouting from the sidelines. Zoe tells me that it's Cass' way of reliving her youth; she's living vicariously through my son.

  Looking at my baby, my heart constricts as I take him in. He's his father, every single detail of Ethan is Mr. Executive, including those damn green eyes that I love so much. "We're going to see Nana today." I remind him and his little face lights up. "Which means, we have to keep our clothes on."

  He scowls at me and I want to laugh but decide it's better not to, I'm not wanting to deal with one of his tantrums today. My son has an aversion to clothes and is not afraid to show it. It caused me a great deal of embarrassment when he'd streak through the grocery store, or the doctor's office but I've come to get past the embarrassment and use blackmail instead. It works wonders.

  "Ethan, if you keep your clothes on, I'll get you McDonald's for dinner."

  His greedy little fingers reach out as his green eyes light with happiness. "Okay, Mama," he replies softly. "We see Pop today?"

  I sigh, my boy has a soft spot for my dad, I was shocked as hell that my dad even took an interest in my pregnancy. But he did and when I had Ethan he softened ever so slightly. He's still the same man I grew up with but with Ethan he's not, he's his Pop and I'm grateful that he has that relationship.

  "How is she?" Cass asks once I manage to get Ethan fully dressed.

  "She's lost the fight and I'm pissed." I sigh, I shouldn't be angry, she's fought hard and we finally thought she'd beaten it. She'd been cancer free for just over a year when the news came that it was back, this time with vengeance. It's spread and they're not optimistic, in fact, they've told us she's got a year at most left on this earth, and I have no idea what to tell Ethan. How do you tell a three year old that his nana's dying? I can't do that to him. I'm still trying to come to terms with it myself.

  Cass shakes her head, we're all trying our hardest to keep our spirits up but it's tough when we know that the outcome is likely not going to be good.

  I glance at the clock that's on my kitchen wall and back at Cass, "You're going to be late."

  She narrows her eyes at me and I realize she thought I forgot. "I'm not going."

  I scoff, "You are so going. Cass, you've been talking about this guy for weeks, why the hell are you backing out now?"

  She glares at me. "This is date three."

  I roll my eyes, "Just because this is date three doesn't mean you have to sleep with the guy. You're not ready for that, then don't do it. If he's as good as you say he is, he'll understand."

  Her face falls and I see the vulnerable Cass come to the surface, these past four years have been hard on us all. "What if he doesn't."

  "Then he's an ass and you're better off without him."

  Her shoulders droop and her head falls forward so that she's staring at the floor, "I really like him."

  "Then let him show you he's worth it."

  She lifts her head and looks at me with a bright smile on her lips. "You're right. Have you been talking to Zoe? Usually she's the one to dish out relationship advice."

  I shake my head, "I haven't spoken to her in a few days." She's in London doing her residency, she's loving it and I'm happy for her.

  "Okay, I'm going. I'll see you in the morning." She walks over to Ethan and kisses his chubby cheek, "Bye, Ethan." He waves at her, "Bye bye."

  "Are you going to that event with Aubrey tomorrow?" I groan at the mere mention of that event. "You need a night off, you're so busy, Mel. You get up, get Ethan ready, drop him to daycare, then go to work, you spend the day with kids, then come home to your own child, and take care of your mom. You need a night off."

  Cass and I are teachers. We both worked so hard for it even though it took me a little longer than it did her as I had Ethan. I completed my degree along with my placement and was lucky enough to be offered a full-time teaching position here in Los Angeles. I’m living my dream and my boy’s right with me. I have everything I want in my life. Except—Mr. Executive. I’d love Ethan to have his dad around.

  "That's what Aubrey says anyway."

  She glances at Ethan then back to me, "Who's looking after the little guy?"

  "Chance," I say with a smirk. Chance adores Ethan, if he could he'd spend all day every day with him. Not only does Chance adore him, so do CJ and Bree. Both Ethan and I are lucky that we have a lot of people to love us.

  Cass' lips thin and I know she's not pleased, she wants to watch
him tomorrow. "I'll take him over the weekend." I laugh but when she raises her brow I know she's being serious.

  "How about we see how he gets on with Chance before we make any more dates."

  She scowls at me. "Fine. I'll see you later," she tells me as she opens the front door.

  "Let me know how the date goes."

  "Of course," she responds instantly. "Tell Mrs. Karlson, that I'm thinking of her."

  "I will do. Have a good night and remember, there's no stress. Do whatever you feel comfortable doing."

  I watch as she climbs into her car and drives off. Ethan's trying to climb up my leg as I close the door, "Shall we go to Nana's now?"

  He nods, "I'll get my bag," he says as he releases my leg and runs toward his bedroom. I grab my shoes from the floor beside the door and slide them on. As much as I love my mom, I dread going over there, watching as she slowly deteriorates. Not to mention her constantly asking if I've found Mr. Executive yet. It's getting annoying, I've been searching for four years and as of yet his identity is still a mystery.

  "Ready, Mama," Ethan says as he strolls into the room with his backpack full of toys. Every time he goes to my mom's he brings a bag full of toys. God, I love this little boy.

  "He has his bear, he never sleeps without it..." I tell Chance for what is the fifteenth time. "If you need me, please call." I can't believe that I'm doing this. It's not even noon and I'm already leaving my baby.

  Chance glares at me before turning to Aubrey, "Tell her."

  Aubrey bites her lip, "Mel, he'll be fine, he loves Chance. I'm not sure why, but he does."

  Chance's eyes widen, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

  I step between the couple, "Can you focus please?"

  Chance sighs and pulls me into his arms, "I've got this, Melly, trust me."

  I relax into his embrace, "I do trust you. It's just the first time he's spent the night away from me."

  "And I'm grateful that you trusted me with having him." He sounds so sincere that my heart melts.

  "You're the best." I grin as I pull away from him.