An Heir At Any Price: The Billionaire's Obsession - Contemporary Romance (8 page)

“Great, Holly! Thank you. Are you at
home? I’ll send my driver.”

“No, just tell me where to meet you
and I’ll be there.” He didn’t argue, he gave me the address of his
attorney’s office and when I hung up I noticed my hands were
shaking again. I called a cab and headed towards my
destiny.

~

Chapter Eight

~

I got into the cab and tried
to get my breathing under control. I didn’t want to walk into this
meeting looking like the wreck I was feeling like inside. I had to
do this - I didn’t see any other choice. I felt like I needed to
rationalize it to myself.
If I was only
taking care of me, this wouldn’t be necessary. If I didn’t have to
pay two rents and double on all the utilities my waitress job would
be more than enough.

But, I wasn’t only taking care of me
and no matter how much I resented that fact, I knew that I’d never
be able to turn my back and walk away from my mother.

I paid the cab driver and stood in
front of the massive three-story law office. Taking another deep
breath I reached for the gold handles on the double doors and
pulled them open. I was thrust into an oasis of luxury instantly
and I knew this wasn’t the type of attorney that chased ambulances
for a living. The floors were white marble and the furniture
consisted of plush white chairs and couches with fluffy white throw
rugs and glass topped tables. Vases sat on the tables filled with
fragrant fresh flowers and what looked to be original art work
adorned the walls. I walked up towards the reception desk but
before I made it there, Aiden stepped off of the elevator. As
usual, he looked good enough to eat. This was going to be so
hard.

“Hi, Holly. Is everything okay with
your family?”

“It’s fine, thank you,” I
lied.

“I’m glad to hear it. Thank you so
much for coming down. My attorney’s office is on the third floor.
Would you like to go up?”

“Yes, I’m ready,” I said. I really
wasn’t. My insides were shaking and I was refusing to allow myself
the thoughts that wanted to flood my psyche. The thought of giving
up a child, the thought of walking away from Aiden after I spend
the better part of a year with him, pregnant with his child…my
stomach lurched as I tamped those thoughts back down. I need this.
I can have a whole new life…

Aiden led me to the elevator, stepped
in after me and pushed the button for the third floor. He could
tell that I was nervous, or at least I guessed he could because he
asked me, “Are you okay, Holly? You’re sure you want to do
this?”

“I’m okay,” I lied again.

He still looked worried but he didn’t
say anything else. He led me up to the attorney’s office. We passed
a small reception desk and walked directly into a huge office that
was decorated even nicer than the lobby. His attorney was a small
man with a bald head and big round glasses.

“Miss Valentine, welcome!” he said,
heartily shaking my hand. I tried to smile but I was feeling really
sick to myself now and I had this horrifying urge to throw
up.
I nodded and said, “Call me Holly, please.”

“Have a seat, can I get you a drink?”
he asked, as Aiden pulled out one of the plush leather chairs
around the big, heavy oak desk for me.

“Just some water, please,” I told him.
I wasn’t even sure if I should drink that, I was feeling sicker by
the minute. Aiden was looking at me like he was even more worried
now. I must have been turning green or something.

“Holly, you’re really pale, I’m sorry
to keep asking, but are you really okay?”

I thought about lying again, but I
realized I couldn’t sit here and hide it any longer. The anxiety
was crawling across my skin and I felt like I couldn’t sit still
any longer.

“I might just need some air,” I told
him.

Aiden looked at his attorney and said,
“Can I take the papers with me? We’ll go let her get some air and
maybe she’ll feel up to going over them later.”

“Yes, of course,” the attorney
replied. He gave Aiden a folder and then looked at me and said, “I
hope you feel better, Holly.”

I forced a smile and said, “Thank you,
I’m sorry to be so much trouble.”

“You weren’t any trouble at all, feel
better,” he replied.

Aiden took my arm and held onto me until we got outside. As soon as
we hit the air, I gulped it. It was cool and fresh and it felt so
good against my hot skin. After a few seconds Aiden said, “The
color is coming back into your cheeks.”

“I feel better, thank you. I’m
sorry.”

“Please don’t apologize. I’m well
aware that what I’m asking of you is unorthodox and can be anxiety
provoking. I am willing to do whatever it takes to make this easier
on you. Would you like to go home, or would you like to come to my
apartment and still go over the contract? Whatever you need.”
I considered telling him I wanted to forget the whole thing and go
home, but that was a very brief thought. I didn’t want him to drive
me home right now. I knew that he was still worried and would
insist on walking me in. I wasn’t ready for him to see the inside
of where I lived. Finally thinking I really wanted to just get this
over with, or on with, I suppose, I told him, “We can go to your
apartment and take care of the contract.”

“Okay, good,” he said. He waved at his
driver who I hadn’t even seen waiting out front. He pulled the
limousine up and we got in, both of us lost in our own thoughts on
the short drive to his apartment building. I slid out the door of
the car and stood gaping at the building. I was trying not to, but
it was at least thirty stories high and made mostly of glass and
steel. I closed my mouth and followed Aiden to the door that was
opened by a man in a nice coat with tails and a hat which he tipped
at me.

“How are things today Mr. Scott?” he
asked.

“Very well, Neil, thank you for
asking. This is Miss Valentine. You’ll be seeing a lot more of her
from now on.”

“It’s a pleasure Miss Valentine,” he
said. I told him it was nice meeting him and took the arm that
Aiden was holding out for me. He led me to the elevator and another
man in a similar uniform pushed the up button and greeted us the
same. Aiden and I rode up to the top floor. I wasn’t surprised now
that I knew him, I would expect nothing less than the
penthouse.

The doors of the elevator slid open
into a warm, elegant looking hall and facing a dark wood door with
a gold ‘P’ in the center. He unlocked it with a code on the door
and we stepped inside to an open foyer surrounded by big, open
windows that offered breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline.
There were two giant Sego Palms in what looked to be very expensive
pots, a nice corner table and a crystal chandelier. It was
definitely understated, but very tasteful.

He led me into the sitting room. It
was also very tastefully decorated. Here, there was art on the
walls, and another huge window that looked out onto the other side
of the city.

“Have a seat, Holly. Can I fix you a
drink? I have a very nice white wine.”

My stomach was feeling a lot better. A
glass of wine might help settle my nerves I thought. “Sure, that
would be nice, thanks.” He went over to his gorgeous oak bar and
opened a bottle of wine he took out of the little wine cooler. He
poured us both a glass and brought them back to sit next to me. We
made uncomfortable small talk through our first glass of wine, but
by the second one, we were both ready to get down to business.
Aiden pulled out the contract.

“Okay, the wording is simple, not to
legal-easy for a lay person to understand, but I’m going to go over
the finer points with you before you sign it just in case you have
any questions, okay? I want to make sure you understand it all
completely.”

“Okay,” I agreed.

“The first one is that while you’re
carrying my child, you have to make sure that you eat right, sleep
right, take your vitamins…follow all of the doctor’s orders, and
just generally, overall make sure that you and the baby stay
healthy.”

“That won’t be a problem. I generally
do all that anyways,” I told him, honestly.

“Good, but just to be safe, because
this is so important to me, I want you to live here until you
conceive and throughout the pregnancy.”

“Here? Really?” I didn’t mean that to
sound like an insult, but the look on my face told him that he may
have taken it as such. “I’m sorry, I just…I guess I didn’t realize
it would require us living together.”

“Of course, I’m sorry. I should have
mentioned that earlier. Is that a deal breaker for you?”

I didn’t know how to tell him my
concern. The thought of being with him every day thrilled me. The
thought of living together for all of those months and being
emotionally detached enough when it was over to walk away
unscathed…I wasn’t sure I could do it. Then there was my mother. I
suppose if I got her in rehab right away he wouldn’t be privy to
too many of her antics.

“No,” I heard myself say without
realizing I’d opened my mouth. “It’s not a deal-breaker. I was just
a little caught off-guard. It’s not like I live anywhere that I’ll
be sorry to get away from for a while.”

“Good, it’s just all about keeping you
and the baby safe and well. You will, of course be paid very well
by the week, and everything you need will be provided. I have a
doctor already lined up. He is a highly recommended obstetrician
and I will insist that you use him. He’ll insist on weekly
pregnancy visits and I’ll expect you to be at each one.”

“I don’t have any argument with that.
What about my job?”

“I would insist that you give that up
for now as well. This will be your job, your full time
priority.”

I liked Joe and I loved Rose and Myra,
otherwise I was not in love with my job. “That’s not a problem,” I
told him. “As long as I can give Joe a couple weeks’
notice.”

“Of course, that’s not a problem for
me. Lastly, once the baby is born, you will be paid your lump sum
that we discussed, and then you walk away. This baby is mine; I
need to make sure that you fully understand that from the
get-go.”

This was the hard part. It was one
thing to talk about an imaginary pregnancy, but when we start
talking about a part of me, my own flesh and blood, I start getting
worried about being able to do this. I was determined though, I
would make myself do this, I reminded myself how much I needed to
do this and I said, “I understand.”

“That’s it then,” he slipped the two
page contract out of the folder and handed it to me. While I read
through it, he poured us another glass of wine. He sat back down
and handed me the glass.
When I finished reading I asked, “Do you have a pen?” He took one
from his pocket and handed it to me. I signed it and before the ink
was dry I realized something - the contract didn’t state the method
of conception and neither had Aiden. Uncomfortably I said, “I’m
sorry, I did forget to ask one thing, how will I be getting
pregnant?” That sounded really stupid to me as it came out of my
mouth. I picked up my wine glass and downed what was left in it.
Aiden was looking at me with those sexy dark eyes and I swear for
at least a few seconds I saw a flicker of desire in
them.

“We have two choices. You can see the doctor and be artificially
inseminated, or you can choose the more mutually pleasurable
option.” He grinned when he said that and ran his eyes from my face
down to my neck and stared at it like he had biting it on his mind.
I suddenly felt like I couldn’t breathe.
I sat my wine glass aside and said, “I’ll take option number two.”
It was the wine talking, but in the next instant his mouth covered
mine and I felt his warm tongue slip into my mouth and knew that
there was no going back.

Chapter Nine

~

I woke up the next morning in my new
room, slightly disoriented but still lost in the afterglow of our
lovemaking from the night before. I looked over to my left and then
to my right - the bed was that big. It was empty too, other than
me, void of a gorgeous, dark eyed man.

I sat up, stretched and reached for my
phone. There were no missed calls, so Mom must have done okay
during the night. I needed to start working on finding a facility
for her to rehab in before she was ready for discharge. I had the
day off today so I decided now was as good a time as any. First, I
called the unit where she was admitted and asked to talk to her
nurse.