Page 8 of Santa Baby
Silence hangs heavy over us until I can’t take it any longer and have to ask, “Why are you doing this? Helping me? Your brother needed to marry. Is that why you’re doing this?”
“No.” I wait but don’t really expect him to tell me. But he does. “My brother is taking the easy way out of our father’s will. He left a clause saying both of us have to marry before we can own any part of the company my father started. Otherwise, the whole company goes to his partner…Patrick.”
I feel my eyes widen and my mouth starts to drop open before I can compose myself and realize for the first time…I have no idea who this man really is. Has he been married before and that’s why this whole scheme is no big deal to him? Who is Nic Bell?
Chapter Seven
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Nic
“You…work with the man who could take your company from you?” I watch as she tries to understand. Not a lot of people would understand. You would have to be a douche for it all to make any kind of sense, but I have enough of a grasp on it to explain to her. Or at least try to.
“I do. He controls Chris’s part of the business now and until Chris gets married.”
She dances her eyes away and shifts as I help her feed the baby. “You’ve been married before?”
“No. I chose…another way.” She looks at me with a creased brow and waits for me to go on, “I became a lawyer and waited for the company to…run into trouble.”
“Trouble?”
“I understood what kind of men Patrick and my father were. I knew Patrick would run the business in the hole and need to find a way to dig himself out. He took my share of the business and started selling it off. I just happened to be the owner of the company that bought it. And now I have my half back.”
“Oh wow.”
“Never been married. Haven’t really dated for years and don’t like women like Muffin who use other people -babies no less- as insurance policies. As for why I am doing what I am doing…let’s just say I have my reasons. I’m sure one day there will be time to tell them to you, but I have to start heading back.”
“Oh, of course. Um, here, let me help you.”
“You have the baby. Don’t worry about any of this. I have it.” I make quick work of packing everything back up and helping Talia carry most of the baby’s stuff so all she has to worry about is Noelle as they walk me back to my office.
I’m about to tell her to take the car so she doesn’t have to lug all of this shit around with her when Patrick calls out to me.
“Nic! How you doing man?”
I school my features and turn with Talia under my arm. He knows how I’m doing because we just saw one another not more than an hour ago. My guess is his nosey wife called him because she wants more information, or he saw me walking with Talia and wanted to know what I was up to. His eyes take in the diaper bag hanging off my arm and my other arm wrapped around Talia who is holding the baby.
“Who do we have here?”
“Patrick, this is my fiancée, Talia, and our baby, Noelle.” Beside me, Talia stiffens at my choice of words but she’s going to need to get used to the possessive pronouns I chose to use.
“Baby?” Patrick’s eyes widen and he looks from me to the baby and back again. “I…you…?”
I turn from where he stands floundering and focus on Talia and the baby. “I’ll call you when I get home from work tonight.” She nods and I step in close to her and drop a kiss on her mouth, turning her so Patrick can’t see the surprised look that crosses her face when I do it. “Have my driver take you wherever you need to go so you don’t have to lug all this shi…stuff around.”
Right by my side, my driver steps forward and takes the bags from me.
“I don’t need…”
“Do it so I don’t worry.” I stare into her eyes, and she finally gives me a nod, letting me help her into the car.
Patrick barely waits until the car pulls away before he’s asking me questions. I only give him a little before I head back into my office, but I don’t get back to work. Instead, I start working on my plan. When I want something, I have a tendency to become single-minded and obsessive. And I have my sights set on Talia.
By the time I call her once I’m home, not only do I have a plan but I’ve already implemented some of it. When I hear her voice I realize another reason for going so hard at getting everything in place…it means I don’t have as much time to think about just how good she smelled anytime I came close to her, how good she looked sitting with a baby in her arms with the pale winter sunshine glinting off her curls and her sweater highlighting the soft swell of her breasts, or fuck me dead, how soft those lips were under my own when I stole a kiss shocking and surprising her.
“Hello.” She seems out of breath and hurried.
“You okay, angel?”