Chapter Two
Natalie wished for the thousandth time that she had managed to wake up on time. Instead, her alarm never went off, and she was left scrambling for clothes before she dashed out the door. The end result was that she had wound up dressed in an olive green dress, which she supposed was dull enough to suit any office she might find herself working in. However, either she had gained a few key pounds or the damned thing had shrunk in the wash, because it clung to her slight curves, cutting off well above the knee. Natalie thought she was downright exposed in it, and the lingering leers of the men on the bus only confirmed it. She buttoned the cardigan all the way to her throat and grimly concentrated on what she had learned the night before.
Thomas Corp was a multinational finance firm, and in another world, one where she hadn't sent off the ad she had, she would have been thrilled to get a call from them. Even now, she was willing to go to the interview because the opportunity was too good to miss, but she was already tensed for the worst.
In the two weeks since she had posted her desperate job ad, she had received dozens of calls, and only two of them had been for jobs. Given that those jobs had been at a strip club and a restaurant where the waitresses wore very tight shorts and T-shirts, her hopes were dying on the vine.
She glanced up at the marble statue of the Thomas Corp logo as she walked in. Perhaps they had found her resume off one of the many sites she had posted it on. There was no reason to think that they had seen the job ad she had posted, even if some two hundred thousand people had...
She was escorted to a small room that looked far too cozy for an interview room. It looked more like a library, with a few comfortable chairs here and there, a skylight above, and a small cart laden with a coffee machine and creamer cups nearby.
"This is one of the employee break areas," said the friendly woman who had guided her there. "It's off limits for your interview, but on normal days, employees come here to refresh their minds and their spirits."
That sounded good to Natalie, and after her guide left, she looked around in appreciation. Thomas Corp was a company that she would be proud to work for. Perhaps this wouldn't be too bad after all.
She thought that until the door open and a tall, lean man dressed in a sharp-cut, dark blue suit came in. She blinked. With his black-as-sin hair and bright blue eyes, he could have been a model. What was he doing serving as human resources, even for a company as prestigious as Thomas Corp?
He entered the room as if he owned it, an assured confidence in his gait and posture. He stopped short of Natalie, which made her feel both relieved and disappointed, though she didn't really understand why.
"So you're Ms. Baker," he said thoughtfully, and she nodded, standing and holding out her hand to him.
"Yes, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity," she said, but he cut her off before she could go on.
"You look good," he commented as casually as if he was commenting on the weather. "Turn around."
A faint blush came up on Natalie's cheeks, but she was so stunned by this man's words that she did as he said. With her arms down stiffly at her sides, she revolved in place under his gaze. Perhaps there was a public face duty that went with this position? Perhaps he was making sure she would suit their customers?
Instead of introducing himself, the man watched her with a gaze that she couldn't quite decipher. There was something slightly predatory about it, but buried well underneath the menace and the curiosity, there was something almost sad and wistful about it.
What a strange thing to even think about pitying someone like him, she mused, but then he was stepping closer, so close in fact that she now had to look up in earnest to meet his eyes.
"I have to say, Ms. Baker, your photos did not do you justice."
"Photos...?"
"The ones you posted on your social media," he said smoothly. "Or did you think we weren't going to be checking?"
"Oh, of course," she said, stuttering just a little bit as he circled her. "Um, can you tell me what this position is for? The recruiter was very unclear on the phone."
"All in good time," the man said absently. "I'm still deciding what I think."
She stared at him. She might not have had a great deal of experience in the work force, but she was beginning to get the idea that this was no normal interview.
"I...I think I might need to leave now..." she murmured tentatively.
"No you don't," the man said, still eyeing her as if she were a piece of candy. "You're desperate, you need a job, and believe me, you want to hear my offer."
His offer, as if he owns the company, she thought, preventing her lip from curling with contempt. But...he's not wrong. I do need the money.
She supposed that he had seen the video too, and perhaps hiring her would be a private joke, something he put over on the older, stodgier members of the company.
She was just thinking that she could live like that when she realized he had somehow managed to get around behind her. His hands came down on her hips, making her squeak in surprise.
"You're not very broad here," he murmured. "Birthing might be difficult for you."
"What the hell!" Natalie cried out in shock. She lurched away from him, barely staying upright on her interview heels. She stared at him, ready to spit and claw if he thought he could take more liberties than that.
"Dear God. If I didn't want to work for the restaurant or the...the strip club, what makes you think that I want to work for you?"
"I think that two million dollars might do it," the man said smoothly.
Her jaw dropped, and he only grinned at her.
“Are you ready to listen to me now?”
Natalie wanted to be proud. She wanted to turn on her heel and stalk out, perhaps giving the terrible man the finger before letting the door slam behind her. Instead, she knew exactly how desperate she was. Natalie crossed her arms over her chest, staring at him balefully.
“If you touch me again without my permission, I am getting the hell out of here, and then I'm calling the cops. Bet your boss wouldn't like that, would he?”
To her irritation, the man only laughed, shaking his head. God, he was probably some kind of trust fund kid and never had to work a day in his life. He probably thought her problems were hilarious.
“All right,” he said. “I'll take that as a yes.”
“What in the world kind of job could I take, even here, that would give me two million dollars?”
“You wouldn't be working for Thomas Corp, Ms. Baker,” he said. “You would be working for me.”
“Uh-huh. And what kind of work would I be doing?” She thought she was ready for anything, but still, his next words brought her up short.
“You'd be having my baby and then signing over all rights to me,” he said, and she stared at him.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Natalie was so frazzled she barely noticed the fact that she had basically sworn at her prospective employer.
“Exactly what I said,” he stated so calmly that she wondered if he had rehearsed it. “I've had you investigated. Not a lot of ties, healthy, and of course your references are impeccable. And I have learned that you are available.”
With a slight twinkle in his eye, he showed her the screen pulled up on his phone. She winced when she read the ad she had insisted they post.
Hello world! This is Natalie Baker, and I'm here to tell you that I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make it. Maybe you want to be a part of that! Please...please, I'm begging you, be a part of it. I've just been fired, and I need something to hang on to. If you have a job, let me do it! I don't care if I'm an eighteenth-century hat-trimmer or some kind of futuristic...cyborg...assassin thing, I just need someone to give me a job! Take a chance on me! I promise I'll give you everything I've got!
It was ridiculous, desperate and now viral, and she pushed his phone away. She had spent enough time writhing in humiliation at that message, and she didn't need to do it again.
“I saw that, I saw all the take downs and analysis, and I suppose I saw something special in those words.”
“You mean you saw someone so desperate and drunk that she made herself into a goddamn Internet meme?”
“I mean I saw someone at the end of her rope,” the man said, and for the first time, she wondered if he could be kind. “I saw someone who needed help, and I thought perhaps we can help each other.”
Natalie paused, because there was the crux of it, wasn't it? Even the strip club had wanted something from her, something that no one else could provide. She was here for a reason, but as her eyes swept up and down the man's lean frame clad impeccably in a suit that cost more than six months' rent at her apartment, she had no idea what that might be.
"All right," she said. "I'll bite. How could I possibly help you?"
He took a seat in one of the chairs. She couldn't help thinking that there was something lordly about him, utterly authoritative.
"I take it you haven't recognized me yet," he said, not unkindly, and when she shook her head, he smiled.
"I'm Nathan Thomas. I own Thomas Corp, everything from the chair you are sitting in to our three plants scattered throughout the Midwest and the four in the UK."
Natalie blinked because it was better than choking. She had heard about him of course. Who hadn't? Nathan Thomas had been declared one of the most handsome men in the world by People Magazine; there was little doubt that he was one of the richest.
The surrealism of the situation made her shake her head.
"You're Nathan Thomas. And right now, you think you want me to help you?"
The slight smile on his face faded, and he nodded. There was something sharp and businesslike about him then. "I want a child. I want a child of my blood that you are going to bear."
She stared at him, because that simply felt like the newest strange piece in a day that was already a confusing mess. "A child. You want a baby."
He laughed a little at her shocked look.
"Not to eat, I assure you, because from the look on your face, that is what you expect. No. I need a child because, despite my reputation, I do have a certain amount of responsibility to my company and to my family. I need to offer up an heir, a stake in the future. It is something that my ancestors were very firm on, and unfortunately, they have given me the same ideas."
Natalie hesitated. "You know...there are more standard ways of having a baby."
"Oh? Do tell."
"Well, um, you could get married and..." She stopped when the twinkle in his blue eyes told her he was making fun of her.
"Let's put it this way. Doing things the standard way is not something that works well for me. My last attempt to do things the standard way ended in me getting slapped in a very fancy restaurant.
"No, I think it needs to be this way. You'll get money that will change your life, and I will get the child that will be raised to continue my family's legacy."
"This is insane," Natalie said, shaking her head. She started to rise from her chair. "I can't imagine why..."
She stifled a cry when Nathan was suddenly in front of her, blocking her way, his eyes a bright and piercing blue. For such a big man, he was fast, and she almost fell back in shock.
"Is it truly?" he asked her challengingly. "We are both people with wants, and we both have the ability to have those needs met. That's not insane. That's...the only logical choice."
She started to answer, but then his hand was coming up, touching her cheek with a feather-light pressure. For some reason, his touch stopped her in her tracks, sending a deep warmth through her. It was like stepping into a warm bath after a chilly day. It was like nothing she had ever felt before.
He felt it too, she knew, because he jerked his hand away. He didn't step back, however. For a moment, they simply stared at each other, and then, tentatively, he reached for her again.
Natalie took a step back, because God only knew what it would do to her to feel that shock again. She thought she was going to shout at him to find someone else who would breed for him, but what came out shocked her even more.
"Would you love it? The child, I mean. Son or daughter, would you love them?"
Nathan's reply was instantaneous.
"I would love them with all my heart," he said, and she felt herself relax. She had never thought that she was one of life's great detectives when it came to people's motives. Right then, however, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man was telling the truth. He was going to love his child.
After that, what else mattered?
"All right," she breathed, hardly able to believe herself.
"All right?" he asked. "What does that mean exactly?"
She couldn't help feeling slightly like a doe cornered by the hungry mountain lion. She knew this was her last chance to get off of this wild ride. Otherwise...
"It means that I consent. I agree. I am going to have your baby, and you are going to pay me two million dollars for it."
Nathan's blue eyes lit up with a kind of triumph that made something inside her very nervous, but he only nodded cordially.
"Good. The papers are in a folder on the table there. If you like, you can have a lawyer look them over, but I assure you that everything is aboveboard."
Natalie found herself laughing just a little bit. "Man, if you think I have the ability to hire a lawyer, you did less research than you thought."
The papers were simple even to her. In exchange for two million dollars, she would give him a child and relinquish all claims to it. The idea of giving up a child that she had borne made her a little queasy, but she thought of Nathan's fierce look when she had asked him if he would love it. She knew their child would be well-taken care of, even if she was not going to be the one to do it. There was even a clause where she could bow out of the arrangement any time until the pregnancy was confirmed.
With a deep breath, Natalie signed her name underneath Nathan's scrawling signature, and then she looked up. He was standing by the window, ostensibly looking out over the city, but she noticed something.
"You can quit looking at me in the reflection," she said, trying a slight smile of her own. "I signed."
The billionaire seemed torn. He obviously wanted to come and check, and at the same time, he seemed to want to remain as aloof as he ever was. Finally, he couldn't seem to help himself. He came to look at the papers, confirming that her name and signature were in the right places. Natalie smiled at him, a little braver.
Is there anything else, Mr. Thomas?" she asked.
He turned to her, and she only had a moment to remark on the hungry look in his eyes before he took her in his arms.
"Only one more thing," he growled, and then his head dipped down to hers.
The kiss he gave her was a hungry thing, almost wolf-like. She could feel his strength in his grasp, feel the power that ran through his body like a river. His mouth on hers was hot and demanding, and for a moment, she thought she would fight him, that she had to. Then his tongue breached her lips, and she was swept away on a tide of sensuality, something that threatened to drown her if she didn't hang on to him with all her strength.
Natalie had been kissed before, and she had slept with men before. Nothing she had ever felt rivaled this torrent of passion. Nothing came close. She had never felt as if liquid fire were dancing through her body, demanding that she push closer and closer to this man or else she might die. The force of the sensations flowing through her made her desperate, and it might have made her afraid, if there was any room in her at all for fear.
They were in some kind of eternal embrace. When Nathan finally pulled away, she felt shocked at the idea that it was still the same day, still the same hour when he had grabbed her.
He still held her loosely in his arms, but Natalie pushed him away. She checked her clothes, slightly surprised to find that they were still whole, and looked up at him.
"Why did you do that?" she asked through lips that were slightly sensitive from their passion.
The grin that Nathan gave her, slow and as hot as the surface of the sun, made her heart beat faster.
"Because I wanted to see if we should start with artificial insemination or whether we should try it the old-fashioned way. I think the old-fashioned way would be the best for this situation, don't you agree?"
It took Natalie's passion-clouded mind a moment before she realized what he was saying. When it did, she blushed even harder, making Nathan laugh.
"God, you think you're so funny," she muttered, and he nodded.
"I suppose I do. But trust me when I say I don't mean to make fun. But after that...well, I think we're going to have a fine time fulfilling the agreement, don't you?"
***
Two hours later, Nathan stood in his office gazing out over the city. He had been born in Dublin, as all the men of his family had been, and he had grown up in a variety of boarding schools all over the world. He was comfortable on almost every continent, and for the last few years, he had made Chicago into his base of operations.
He was a little startled to realize that he didn't want to stay in Chicago, not with Natalie Baker. He had never minded the skyscrapers and the cold grays of the city's winters before, but now he found he did. Perhaps she would enjoy the warmth of the hotel in Greece or even the wild, tropical warmth of the property in Buenos Aires.
Even as he pondered those thoughts, he shook them off. He had to acknowledge the first thing that had sped through his mind when he had laid eyes on Natalie's brilliant green gaze.
It was time to go home.
London first, perhaps, then...well, he had been away from Ireland for too long. His family was gone, but his country wasn't, and Nathan wondered if he could hear it calling him.
All over a beautiful girl's green eyes, he thought, shaking his head at himself.
He knew that to some extent, he was thinking about Ireland and where he could take her because it kept him from thinking about the girl herself. Of course, he had thought she was attractive when he’d had the detectives learn more about her. The unobservant would take in her slight build, her habit of ducking her head and avoiding eye contact, and would declare her plain. They would miss the elegance of her spare body, the way her brown hair was shot with red and gold, and they might entirely overlook her eyes, which gleamed like emeralds when she was angry.
No, he had suspected that he would find Natalie quite to his taste.
What he hadn't expected was the flash of need that had filled him when he’d touched her cheek and again when they had kissed. Nathan knew he had never felt anything like that, and the craving that had awoken in him was something almost terrifying in its strength.
Be honest with yourself, he told himself wryly. One of the reasons he had chosen Natalie Baker was because she was so different from the women he usually fell in with. She was subtle in her beauty. There were no hard edges to her, no wildness and willfulness. It would be easy to separate out his need for a child of his blood from the emotional entanglements that so many women threw around him.
Now that he had kissed her, however, Nathan wasn't sure of anything.
There's nothing wrong with feeling the way we do if we keep it under control, Nathan reasoned to himself. We have a contract, we have a plan. If we stick to the plan, it'll be fine.
The words comforted him, and he picked up his phone, ready to make the calls that would set his plans into action.
There was a voice at the back of his head, however, that demurred. If she hadn't agreed to the contract, he would have found some other way to stay with her, to kiss her again, to make sure that heat between them was a real thing and not something he had just made up. Now that he had found her, he didn't want to let her go. He wasn't sure if he could.