Who's the Boss Now (Managing the Bosses Series, #3) (10 page)

"Right." He glanced down at his desk and took a shaky breath. "She's pregnant and she says it's mine."

"What?" Ice cold horror rolled through her.
No, no, no, no!!

"I’m sorry. I have no clue what the fuck to do about it. I don't want anything to do with her, but if she's carrying my child..."

"Then she has the baby and you help her with it." Jamie walked across the room, trying to push away the idea that Alex might actually try to work things out with Annette. The beautiful model red-head was a total witch who treated everyone like trash to walk on. That woman wasn’t mean to be a mother, except maybe to a hatchling of vipers.

"I know... I just..."

"What other options are there?" Jamie swallowed hard and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Many, okay? There are many options. I had what I thought was a shitty father, and I just remember growing up thinking that if I ever had a kid, I would love him with this intensity that left him breathless. That above all he would know that his dad loved him and supported him."

The tears in Alex's eyes was almost too much, but the thought of him leaving her to suffer alongside Annette was soul-shattering.

"I understand that more than you know." She reached up and brushed away a tear. "That is a decision you need to make. With or without me." It broke her heart to say that. She would step aside if she had to. She didn’t want to think about it, but she knew she would.

"Just give me time to think through this, okay?"

She didn't trust herself to do anything more than nod and leave.

How in the world was she going to deal with seeing Alex with Annette? He would go back to her. He wouldn’t let his own kid grow up without a father. Jamie could see that in his eyes and the way he so fiercely protected the thought of being a dad. Why would Annette want a baby? The toothpick prick did not see the type to want children, let alone carry one. How would Jamie deal with Annette? Deal with her and Alex together?

The answer was simple. She wasn't.

"Y
ou ready?" Gina's voice pulled Jamie from the report she was trying to edit. She couldn't seem to keep herself concentrated on anything for more than a few minutes, but who would be able to? Alex was in the next office probably trying to decide if their relationship was over due to knocking up his ex. Could things get any worse?

"Yeah," Jamie mumbled and picked up her purse. "I need something strong."

"Like a man or are we talking good liquor?" Gina smiled and walked out into the hall.

"Both maybe. Who knows?"

"Sounds like you got a new story to tell me." Gina pressed her shoulder against Jamie's.

"Only if you want to be depressed with me." Jamie gave her friend a tight smile and held the door for her.

"That's not good. Spill."

They got into the elevator with a crowd of people from the office and Jamie simply gave her a look. "At the bar."

After making their way through the large crowd of suits that were trying to get out to the street, they decided on trying a new bar. It was just a block from the office, and lots of the staff had been touting about it all week. The drinks were cheap, strong and delicious.

"So talk to me. The anticipation is likely to kill me. You know my life has little to no drama in it." Gina messed with her long dark hair as it blew around them.

"It's highly confidential. Good?"

"Of course. You know that I would never spill your secrets." Gina tugged the door to the bar opened and smiled at the host. "Two please."

"Right this way, ladies." The younger male gave Gina the once-over and smiled before turning to walk them to their seats.

Gina wagged her eyebrows at Jamie and they both chuckled. The guy could be a kid brother or someone either of them babysat, but a love interest? Never.

Jamie pulled the drink menu out and scanned it as she dove right into the heart of the issue. "So let's see... Alex thinks I have feelings for his brother Mark, my parents are getting divorced and one of Alex's old girlfriends popped pregnant earlier this week and says it’s his."

Gina sat with her eyes wide and mouth gaped open.

Jamie couldn't help but laugh at the expression on her friend’s face. "Right? I told you it was depressing."

"Wow. You can't make that kind of shit up." She shook her head slowly and glanced down, as if she were trying to comprehend all of the issues presented. "The pregnant girlfriend is a bit too much. So help me, it’s better not be fucking Annette. I hate that bitch. The other things suck badly, but your parents haven't gotten along in years. Kudos to your dad for leaving your mother. Sorry."

"No, you're right."
On my dad, and on Annette
. Jamie glanced up at the waitress. "I'll take a double shot of jack with a spritz of coke."

"Apple Martini for me, please." Gina turned her attention back on Jamie. "And the situation with Mark... please. That's easy to clean up and most likely just Alex having issues with his past. But the pregnant chick? Damn."

"Right? I think the worst part about all of it is that I think we were just starting to move toward being in a solid relationship." She glanced down, focusing on the straw that she rolled between her fingers. "That’s not going to happen now."

"What?”

“There is way too much baggage here.”

“Did Alex say who it was?”

“You guessed it before. Annette.”

“Fuck! She is such a skank bitch!” Gina punched the table. “Alex needs to make sure the bitch is actually pregnant with his baby.”

Jamie stared at her friend. “Why would someone make that up?” That was beyond crazy.

“To try and keep billionaire Alex Reid in her clutches!”

“I don’t think she’d lie about that.”

Gina shook her head. “Fine. Then she’s pregnant. Don't tell me that a tough girl like you is scared of kids." She reached out and squeezed Jamie's arm.

"This isn’t about me. It's about Alex." Jamie sighed. "He's trying to decide if he needs to get back with Annette and work things out. I don’t think he wants to be a dad from afar."

"What? Oh hell no. Annette is the worst thing in the world. She's a man-eater. A rich bitch with three chips on her shoulder." Gina's voice grew loud as she let her emotions fly.

"It’s not for me to decide. If Alex wants to try to make things work out with her for the sake of the kid, then what say do I really have in anything? I can’t stop a man from stepping up to the plate and being responsible." Jamie pulled the snack menu toward her, but decided against it seeing that her dinner with Nicholas was only a few hours away.

"He's making a mistake if he comes to that conclusion. Being with her would be so much worse for the kid than being raised in two households, Jamie. They did nothing but fight when they were together. I don't even think Alex has a clue of what a good, wholesome relationship looks like." She moved back as the drinks were delivered, taking hers and testing it.

It seemed to Jamie that since her and Alex had been together, all they did was argue as well. She defended him though, the fault was not all his. She was equally responsible. "He's been pissy lately due to the stuff with Mark, which isn't really stuff at all, but this thing with Annette has him over the edge. I keep trying to figure out what my part is in the drama. I want to support him and help however he'll let me, but I'm almost positive he's going to slam the door shut."

"He's a damn idiot if he does. You're the best thing that’ll ever happen to a man like him. You're his humility, his reminder to be authentic. Alex is a good man, but he has the potential to be a great man. A really great one. He just needs the right woman with him."

"I hope that's me." Jamie took a long drink of her liquor and sunk down into the idea of him turning his back on her. What would she do? Move? Quit her job?

It wasn't just a relationship that would be lost. All of it belonged to Alex, and where he would be benevolent in the event of them breaking up, she wasn't sure she would be. Making a clean break would be her only option.

Please don't let it come down to that.

––––––––

"J
amie. Thanks for meeting me." Nicholas stood as she approached his table, his attire completely different from the morning. He had on a pair of Khaki slacks and a green polo shirt, which brought out the hint of green in his steely grey eyes.

"Of course. I'm appreciative of all you’re doing for the firm. Alex is as well. He sends his appreciation." She blushed as he moved behind her, pulling out her chair and helping her get seated.

"Does he?" Nicholas laughed and subsequently held up his hands. "Okay. I'll behave. I'm glad he's okay with us having dinner. He's got a great product and he needs to start looking for a partner. I'm not interested, but a couple of these financial moguls I'm golfing with next week might be. They're all multi-billionaires and incredible smart where finances and investments are concerned."

"Make sure you bring that up with him next week. I've no intention of sharing Alex's future plans today, but I'm sure he would be thrilled to work through any opportunity." She moved down to pull out a few files. "I brought some of the investor information you asked for. The rest we had to order, but I have a few packets coming overnight to your office. They should be there on Monday."

"Jamie." He set back and smiled comfortably. "What did you want to be when you were a girl? When money and advancement were of interest? What was your dream job?"

His question caught her off guard, but she found her footing quickly. She laughed, the double shot of a drink with Gina giving her that slightly giggly, liquid courage she needed. "I wanted to be a dancer, but I gained a bit of weight as a teenager and dance was a thing of the past." She shrugged, not quite sure why she shared the truth with him. She could have pulled from the hundreds of lies she'd used in the past to save herself the humiliation of reliving her childhood.

"I can’t picture you heavy. I’m sure you were very cute.” He tilted his head and smiled warmly. “What caused you to gain weight? A bad breakup? Some teenage boy break your heart?"

"Donuts and Cheetos. They are the devil. I'm convinced." She gave him a cheeky grin and turned to the waitress ordering a glass of red wine.

He ordered and turned his attention back toward her. "And I assume you lost your weight during college?"

"Lost my weight? No." She let out a short chuckle. "I'm still trying to lose the weight, which is another topic you and I are not going to traverse together tonight."

"Well, let me just say this... you don't need to change at all. You're beautiful and intensely feminine. Where young women got off track on thinking that they should have bones protruding from their collarbones and ribs is beyond me. Girls might be incredibly thin, but women are not. At least the type of woman that make most men's blood run hot."

Heat rushed up her chest and bled up to cover her throat and cheeks. "Thank you."

"Of course. Now... tell me when you're going to start taking dance lessons again."

She smirked and picked up her wine, taking a small sip before shaking her head. "No dance lessons for me. I have enough to keep my plate full, and none of the items are donuts or chips nowadays."

It was his turn to chuckle. The deep timbre of his laugher was enjoyable, and she found herself relaxing even more in his presence. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy. The mixed vibes that she'd gotten from him were frustrating. Alex couldn't stand him, but it would seem that her illustrious boss wasn't too fond of too many people.

"Well, I wanted to be a fireman when I was a boy. My parents weren't too thrilled by my decision and pulled the rug out from under me when I was five years. They made sure I went to college, which I’ve told you about and what I forgot to mention was that if I wanted to inherit their wealth, then I needed to put my dreams on the shelves and start focusing on investments and business."

The information was a bit of a shock. Nicholas a fireman?
No wonder he appeared to be in such great shape.

"And you gave it all up?" Jamie asked. “Those five-year-old fireman dreams?”

He chuckled. "Kind of. I volunteer at a firehouse, but I'm the only child, and my parents needed to know that I supported the continuation of their investment firm. I get the best of both worlds now, but it’s rather time-consuming, which leaves me where I am now."

"Which is?"

"Alone." He gave her a sad smile. "It's a choice I made by putting my career in front of the possibility of family, but now that I'm wishing I would have chosen differently."

The server arrived with perfect timing to take their order. Jamie had no clue what she was going to say to him. He should have been married and been a father by then, or so society would say, but he wasn't. Dating sucked royally and she wasn't sure if she even knew of anyone that she could set him up with. Was that what he really wanted? Her help in finding someone? Surely not.

"Anyways," he started again, “I’m going to shift my focus completely now. It's time to find someone to share all of this stuff with."

"I'm not sure it's your stuff that a woman would be interested in." Jamie offered.

"No? What would a woman be interested in? If you were the center of my attention, and I was hell-bent on getting you to say yes to a life with me. What would you want?"

Her shoulders tightened at the turn in the conversation. "Hypothetically?"

"Of course. I know you're with Alex."

Was she? Not really.

"I would want someone to love me, to accept me, hold me accountable, and support me in the different areas of life that we would walk through together." She pursed her lips and glanced down at her hands. "I think having a partner in all things is at the top of my list. And sex. I would like a fucking lot of it."

"I couldn't have said it better myself. You sure Alex is the one for you?" He winked as they shared a laugh.

Nicholas was nice, handsome and incredibly charming. If things didn't work out with Alex, she wasn't quite so sure that another date wouldn't be in order.