Chapter 15

Evan

I did not set the alarm; I had no need to today. I laid in bed, and my eyes opened. A strange feeling washed over me. For once, I had nowhere to be. Normally, I had some sort of schedule, but not today. My plans went no further than my daily session in the gym. Then after that, nada, nothing. It showed how little I had going on in my life, apart from living the high life.

I swung my legs from the bed and dressed in my regular clothes for my morning gym session. I made my way to the gym and stepped on the treadmill. Headphones on, I hit the switch and the treadmill began to roll. I stared out the window and slowly began to jog as the treadmill gradually increased its speed. The music blared in my ears, and I let my mind wander. Susan had been dropped, as she should have. Her money would be refunded and good riddance to her. I had no clients pending at all. It dawned on me. I hadn’t been in this situation very often. I was alone.

After Susan’s episode, I didn’t even have Piper, or the chance of being with Piper, it seemed. She had seemed distant, and I felt sure that she wouldn’t be proceeding. I would have to see how that one panned out. It had unfortunately happened before. When it came to Piper, my behavior always seemed to disappoint. Could Piper be the thing that changed this? No. I had lost the opportunity to be with her all over again.

What if she became pregnant? Have you thought of that scenario, Evan? Fuck!

That thought had not made itself known to me until now. Piper had not actually signed any contract. So, if she did become pregnant, I had no disclaimer in place. Her (our) kid would be an heir to my estate. I would have an “actual” child of my own. If that happened, it would mean my whole life of being careful had turned completely upside down.

Life’s a lottery, and your success rate is ninety-nine percent. What are the chances she has conceived on the first attempt? Shit!!

The one time I thought a woman shouldn’t be pregnant was right now. I had never wanted children. Not just because of the money aspect; I just didn’t want them. This feeling could have come from many places. I mean, it could be the fact I was adopted, or from the fact that there are many women who are single. This means there is a whole host of kids walking around who have no real person to call dad. And it’s only the mother who will have that memory of me. Not the kid.

It’s Piper though, that’s the difference. Christ, if it did go wrong and she conceived, I would be happy it was her. She was not stupid and would do the right thing. She would also be a great mother. I had no doubts in that department.

You wanted her so bad. Ten fucking years. Evan!!

It’s true. I’d wanted Piper so badly my cock had been thinking for me. My brain had taken a back seat, and I had been guided by my full loins. I’d convinced myself the only way to be with Piper, was taking her as a client and servicing her like all of the others. Those precious moments that I had sought for so long were here. It had all stemmed from the fact she wanted a child. She’d be another single mother who wanted to bring a child into the world with no father.

I wanted to give her everything she had sought by coming to me, the Baby Maker. Then Susan fucking Reynolds had gone and shoved her fucking nose into everything. Somewhere she shouldn’t have ventured into. The situation between Piper and me was personal, not that it should have been. Christ, it should have been purely business. When Susan Reynolds had shown up, it looked like a personal attack on Piper. Because of her stupid outburst, the door to Piper had been slammed very firmly, closed hard into my face.

I had to start again. I wanted to put things right with Piper. There was no way for me to turn up at her place and be led to her bed this time. The approach would have to be entirely different. She wouldn’t let herself slip a second time. Not with me, and not now.

I exited the shower after an extended workout, and the phone rang.

“Hello, Tyler,” I said.

“And a good morning to you. What are you doing?”

Just don’t ask me about the apps. I’m not in the mood.

“I have a quiet day for once,” I said. “Well, not just the day. I have a quiet week ahead, as far as I can see.”

“That’s not like you,” Tyler said, laughing. “You’re always saying client this and client that. I’m surprised you even have time to talk.”

Tyler was right. I had been busy. More than busy, and now it had ground to a halt. Temporarily, I hoped.

“Don’t talk to me about clients,” I snorted. “I’ve had enough of them for the past few days.”

“Why? What happened? I thought they were all good. You have some clients who are giving you grief?”

“Only one client,” I said angrily. “Susan Reynolds. That’s who. Fuck, she really pushed things too far this time. She went way out of bounds.”

“Evan, you tell me nothing. I have no clue who you’re talking about.”

“It’s a long story. Pull up a chair, and I’ll tell you.” I followed my own advice and sat on the couch.

“I’m sitting, and I’m all ears,” he said.

“I had this one client, Susan Reynolds. She fucking signed the contract that all my clients have to sign, but she couldn’t follow the rules. She became clingy and possessive. She tried digging her nails into me when we had sex. She’s a bit of a wild thing.”

I explained all about Susan to Tyler and how close she’d come to voiding her contract from the first session on. She was desperately possessive and looked at our time together as if I was her boy toy. Instead of a guy providing her with a valuable service and getting her pregnant.

“She sounds fun. That’s for sure. Fuck, you should have let her take full advantage of you! That would make a rare change.” Tyler laughed.

“It might sound like fun, but let me tell you, it was a struggle. God, every time she came to see me, she tried to do this or tried to do that. Damn it, it was as if she had read the contract and decided to go outside of what was stipulated on fucking purpose.”

“What happened to her? Did she bite you and damage that precious skin of yours?” Tyler laughed again, signaling that he was joking. I hated it when he fucked around, especially about this.

“Nothing like that. I wish it was something simple like that. I was having dinner with Piper and in walked Susan Reynolds, right out of the blue. She came up to me and started mouthing off at me for postponing on her twice. She was angry. Fucking infuriated. She even said she was someone important and could make business hell for me.”

“Is she mentally stable? She sounds like a crazy bitch to me. Screaming and shouting in a public place. That’s way out of line. Anyone that can snap and do something like that could be crazy.”

“Hell yeah, she even took a swipe at Piper. She said I’d postponed our meeting because of Piper, but Piper is more of a woman than she will ever be.”

“What did you say to the crazy fuck? I hope you laid down the law. Contracts are there for a reason. I hope you told her so.”

“Well, her contract has been voided now. I told her that at the restaurant. She’d gone one step too far. Before that, I thought I could keep her in line, but not after last night.”

“She sounds like trouble. Just watch your back. A woman like that, there’s no telling what she might dream of doing. Especially if she knows you basically turned your back on her.”

“I’m not worried,” I said. “She’s all talk. And she’ll understand what is going on and realize I’m serious. Especially once she has the money returned to her.”

“From the sound of it, there may be more to come from her,” Tyler said, sounding concerned. “And returning her money might just add fuel to the fire. It could make her worse. I’m sorry, Evan. It’s a shitty situation.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens. I have my eye on her. I’m going to keep a close watch on what she’s doing. I’ve invested too much time into this enterprise to let her step on my toes and make things difficult.”

Tyler could be right. Maybe she would cause more trouble. If anyone wanted to really screw with me and make it difficult for business, it had to be Susan Reynolds. If she opened her mouth, she could make my life hell. The whole business could come crashing down.

“So, how’s it going with Piper?” Tyler asked. “She sounds like a decent woman from what little you’ve told me.”

“Everything was going fine until that episode last night. Now I’m not so sure. After Susan showed up, Piper took off and left me at the side of the road, saying she wasn’t going to continue with the whole thing.”

“Piper sounds like a much wiser choice of woman. It sounds like she could do you a world of good. Evan, you could do with a change of pace to your life. You’ve been fucking yourself into early retirement.” Tyler laughed.

“I think I might have screwed that all up last night. Things got awkward after Susan’s outburst. Very fucking awkward.”

Susan Reynolds could hurt the Baby Maker, but Piper could bring the whole thing to a stop. Especially if I let myself get too close. Christ, I’d have to do as she asked and not share her with anyone. Could I do that? I wasn’t sure. There would be clients who needed my help. I couldn’t leave them out in the cold like that. Piper though, seemed worth the risk. But could I survive without Baby Maker being a huge part of my life?

“It sounds like you have a major decision to make, Evan. If this was a computer problem, I could help you. But relationship advice, I’m the last person to ask. Although for what it’s worth, I think you should go after Piper. It’d be stupid to let her slip away from you again. It’s not often you’re handed a chance like this. So, make the most of it.”

Come on Evan. Make a decision. Think this through properly.

As much as I tried to fight it, I knew I had to see Piper again. I had to try again and fix things. I just didn’t want the business to crash and burn because of one woman, no matter who that was. Or did I care if it did?

I took Tyler’s advice. I hung up the phone and decided to see Piper. I missed her like fucking crazy.