Epilogue
Andrew
I watched as Lexi took a few dozen pictures of Emma dressed in her new outfit. The girl looked adorable in a plaid skirt and crisp white top, with ribbons in her braids.
“Can you believe it's already her first day of school?” Janice asked from my elbow.
I shook my head. These past years had gone by fast. If I'd thought, three years ago, that I could hardly imagine my life without Emma and Lexi in it, it was nothing compared to how I felt now.
But I was going to have to get used to Emma not being in the house for most of the daytime, now that she was headed to school.
We drove up to the elementary school, and Emma craned her neck back to look up at the building. “Whoa,” she said. “Daddy, is this whole building my school?”
I laughed. “Of course not, sweetie,” I told her. “There's a lot of different offices and companies on different floors. That would be a lot of kids to meet, otherwise.”
Emma puffed out her chest. “I'm great at making friends,” she said. “Mr. Sanders said it last year when I was in kindergarten. By the time I come home today, I'm gonna have a hundred new friends.”
“Oh, really?” I asked her, stifling a grin.
“You be good today,” Lexi said, kneeling down next to Emma. “And share those crackers that I put in your lunch, okay? That's a great way to make friends.”
“I know, Mom,” Emma said, rolling her eyes. “I know that you're all sad because I'm going off to school, but I'm a big kid now, and this is what big kids do. You and Daddy are just going to have to eat lunch alone. But I'm going to be home for dinner.”
I gave her a high-five, but Lexi still looked a little upset. Emma looked around and then gave her a quick hug, kissing her on the cheek. “Sometimes, I get nervous too,” she said solemnly. “But Daddy goes to work, like, so many days, and he still comes home. School's the same, isn't it?”
Lexi cracked a smile at that. “Just like that,” she agreed. She sighed and straightened up, giving Lexi one last pat on the head. “Come on, let's figure out where your classes are.”
Emma bounded off, following the signs leading up to the administration office. I put my hand on Lexi's back as we walked up the stairs. She moved slowly, and I wondered if her ankles were bothering her again. I'd have to give her a good foot massage when we got home that evening.
“Are you doing all right?” I asked her in a low tone, not wanting Emma to overhear.
“I'm fine,” Lexi said, giving me a sad smile. “I guess with this new little one on the way, I'm just a little emotional. I still remember when I was pregnant with Emma. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago.”
“But look at how much has changed since then,” I pointed out.
“I know,” Lexi said, smiling again. “It's great to have you here with me, helping me out this time.”
“Not that you really need my help,” I said. I didn't mean it in a peevish way, though. I actually really admired how well Lexi had handled her pregnancy. She'd been nervous, telling me about it, even though we'd been talking about potentially having another kid at some point. Once she realized how excited I was, though, she had calmed down exponentially.
“I still wish we knew if it was a boy or a girl,” I said as we watched Emma run off to chat with some friends from her daycare whom she hadn't seen all summer. It looked like she was going to be settling in nicely. We got her all signed in and then headed back down to the car.
“I know you do,” Lexi said, returning to my earlier comment. “But I want it to be a surprise. I didn't know whether Emma was going to be a boy or a girl either, and when she arrived, it made that moment all the more special. Plus, I don't know, there's something fun about trying to guess, don't you think?”
“But I don't know what kinds of clothes to buy,” I complained. “Or how to decorate the nursery or what kinds of toys I should buy or anything.”
Lexi laughed. “Andrew, you're a billionaire,” she reminded me. “You could probably hire a tailor the night the baby was born and have them knit up a whole custom-made wardrobe for the kid by the following morning. Or if it really bothers you that much, just buy a bunch of outfits for boys and a bunch of outfits for girls. We'll get rid of whatever we don't use. I'm sure we could donate them to someone in need. Or we'll save them for if we—” She broke off, flushing bright red.
“Were you about to say that we could save them for if we had another kid?” I asked in surprise.
She shrugged, looking embarrassed. “Let's just get through this one first,” she mumbled, but I could tell that that was exactly what she was thinking.
I slung an arm around her shoulders. “You want a big family, don't you?”
“I was an only child,” she reminded me. “I always dreamed of having a big family, back when I was growing up.”
“Let's see how exhausted we are with two of them,” I suggested. “But I'm not ruling out the possibility.”
Lexi smiled. “Soon enough, Emma's going to be old enough that she'll be able to babysit for them,” she said.
“Isn't that a scary thought,” I said dryly.
Emma was proving to be incredibly smart, but she also had a wicked trickster streak in her that led to quite a few pranks around the house. They were all harmless, of course, but sometimes I wondered where she came up with the stuff. I could only imagine what things were going to be like once she had a little brother or two around. I wondered whether they would help her with her pranks, or if she would use them against the poor kid instead.
“Do you have to go to the office today?” Lexi asked as we climbed into the car.
I looked over at her in surprise. It wasn't often that she suggested I play hooky. “Are you feeling okay?” I asked.
“I'm just a little weepy still,” she admitted. “I don't mean to make you stay home just because I'm upset.”
“Don't worry about it,” I said, reaching over to squeeze her hand. “But let's do something better than staying home. It's our first day without Emma for the school year; we should have some fun with it. What do you want to do?”
“We could go shopping for baby supplies,” Lexi suggested. “We still need a good stroller.”
“That we do,” I agreed. “Let's go. Then, we can have an early lunch someplace downtown, and when we're done with that, maybe we can go home and have a nice cuddle on the couch and watch a movie before it's time to pick Emma up from school.”
“We don't need to pick her up today; Carly's mother will get her, and then we'll get the kids tomorrow,” Lexi reminded me.
“Of course,” I said, nodding. “All the more reason to have a nice cuddle session on the couch. We'll have nothing to worry about for the rest of the day.”
“That does sound nice,” Lexi agreed.
“I'll even give you a nice foot massage,” I promised.
“How did I get so lucky?” Lexi sighed, grinning over at me. She stared out the window as we drove along, and I knew she was looking at every little baby out there, wondering if maybe that kid was going to grow up to be friends with our new baby. I was thinking the same thing.
“Which do you want it to be?” I finally asked. “A boy or a girl?”
Lexi frowned. “I'll be happy with either, of course,” she said.
“Of course,” I agreed.
“I kind of hope that it's a girl. Having two little girls would be so cute. Emma would be great with a little sister. They could share clothes and do each other's hair and nails. I mean, there might be too big of an age gap between them at this point.”
“Are you saying that we should have had a second kid years ago?” I teased.
Lexi laughed. “Maybe,” she said. “Just think, though. When Emma's graduating high school, this little one is going to be a pre-teen still!”
“I'm still stuck on the thought of Emma graduating high school!” I said, shaking my head. “Katherine and I are four years apart, and that worked out fine for us.”
“But you and Katherine were different,” Lexi said. “You had something to unite against. There was a reason for you to love one another. But Emma's so good at making friends, she doesn't really need a younger sibling. Not the way that you did.”
“True,” I agreed, frowning. “I think they'll be friends.” I paused. “Don't you like the idea of her having a little brother, though?”
“He'd have to grow up pretty competitive to keep up with her,” Lexi said, laughing. “I like that idea, though. A matching set, one boy and one girl. Of course, we'll mess it up if we ever do have another kid, but I guess then we hope for another boy and another girl.”
I snorted. “Is that the way it works?”
“Plus, if we had a boy, you could teach him football and how to fix cars and computers and whatever else it is that boys are supposed to do.”
“Emma and I already toss around the football, although she prefers to play Frisbee with Spot,” I pointed out, rolling my eyes. “And I don't know the first thing about fixing a car or fixing a computer, so I guess the kids, boys or girls, are shit out of luck there.”
Lexi laughed. “Shit out of luck, only they have a billionaire for their father,” she said.
“True,” I said, smiling. I frowned, cocking my head to the side. “I'm a little nervous about having a boy,” I finally admitted. It was something that had been in the back of my mind since we'd started wondering about the gender of the new baby.
All right, it was something that had been in the back of my mind since Lexi told me she was pregnant, if not before that.
“I didn't have the best relationship with my father,” I told her, slowly tapping my fingers against the edge of the steering wheel. “And I can't help but worry, what if we have a son and I do the exact same thing to him?”
Lexi was silent for a moment. “Emma is fiendishly smart,” she finally said. “And I know that you aren't the playboy that you once were. You'd be perfectly happy letting Emma take over Orinoco, wouldn't you be?”
“Of course,” I said. “If that's what she was interested in. She'd be brilliant in business. I can already tell. The way that she makes friends, the way that her mind works. She's definitely going to grow up and be someone.”
“And have you tried to pressure her one way or the other?” Lexi asked.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Can you imagine trying to pressure Emma to do something that she didn't want to do?” I asked. “People talk about herding cats. That would be like herding cats to go out into the rain or something. It would be futile.”
“Exactly,” Lexi said. When I gave her a confused look, she elaborated. “You know that Emma would be the perfect child to mold into your image and to prepare to take over the company. And she's your firstborn. You could be doing to her exactly what your father did to you. But you don't. I have no reason to believe that you're going to push our second child to do anything that he or she doesn't want to do either.”
I frowned at her. “You may be right,” I said slowly.
“Anyway, if you do start to put too much pressure on the baby, at least Emma will be there to be friends with the kid,” Lexi finished. “Just like you had Katherine.” She paused. “Remember, my own relationship with my father wasn't very great either. But I don't think you're that kind of guy. From everything that I've seen with you and Emma over the years, you're a perfect dad. A little forgetful sometimes, maybe, and I'll never let you dress our kids again if I have my way, but you're a great dad. I don't think that you have to worry.”
I smiled over at her. “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I told her.
“I love you,” Lexi said quietly, and I could see the tears threatening again. “I never thought that I could be so lucky.”
“I'm the lucky one here,” I told her. “I have a beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter, and another beautiful child on the way. I'm not working as much as I used to, and my company is still pulling record profits every quarter. I'm a much better person now than I was when you first came into my life, and I know that that's all your doing. And isn't that exactly what a person is supposed to strive for in a relationship, to be their best self?”
Lexi gave me a watery smile, tears beginning to slip down her cheeks. “These are tears of joy, in case you were worried,” she joked.
“Come here, you,” I said, hugging her sideways as we pulled into a parking space. I kissed her hair. “I'm going to love you forever, in case you were worried.”
“Good,” Lexi said quietly.
That’s the end of the Billionaire Baby Daddy. Below I included 4 of my previous books to read as a free bonus.
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Billionaire Chase
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Claire Adams
Chapter One
Chase
“Another round for everyone,” I hollered out as I walked into Club Kitty.
“Mr. Foster,” the manager, Aaron, said as he pulled me aside. “Your father asked me not to let you buy rounds of drinks for everyone anymore.”
I hated when my father started talking to people and telling them what to do. He thought that just because he had money, he could control me. But I could take care of myself. I didn’t need my father butting into my business.
“My fucking father is not my keeper,” I said to Aaron. “George, I’m buying the round.”
The bartender stood still and looked at Aaron for guidance. George wasn’t prepared to get on my bad side, yet he also didn’t want to lose his job. As he looked back and forth between the club manager and me, it was hard to tell who was firmer in their stance. But I knew that money always spoke for itself, so I simply pulled out a few hundred-dollar bills and flashed them at the two men.
“Fine, Chase, buy your drinks. But if your father asks, I’m going to tell him that you insisted.”
“That works,” I said as I made my way to the corner lounge area of the club.
Club Kitty was my favorite place to hang out at on weekends. Actually, it was my favorite place to hang out on some weekdays, too. It was a dance club where some of the most beautiful people in Atlanta came to hang out. Sexy, young women dressed in next to nothing shook their assets in the hopes of landing themselves one of the wealthy men who frequented the club.
I was one of the most eligible bachelors in Atlanta. My father, Reynold, owned Foster Industries, a high-end manufacturing company that earned a net of over $5 billion dollars the previous year. Everyone in Atlanta knew I was on my way to being the next CEO. In fact, my father had plans to hand over his company at the next big stockholder meeting in a few months.
“Come here, beautiful,” I said as I grabbed a delicious-looking blonde off the dance floor.
“Hi,” she said as she latched onto me. “I’m Lana.”
“Lana, I’m going to take you into the back room and fuck you.”
She tried to look shocked at my proposition. She was sweet, maybe twenty-two years old, and totally my type. I didn’t come to the club for a long-term relationship. I came for fun, and Lana looked like just the kind of fun for me.
Most of the women had to pretend as if they were going to say no. There was a certain honor in not agreeing with my proposition right away. I understood. I didn’t want any woman to feel bad or to do anything they didn’t want to do. But I knew how the routine went.
First, she’d look shocked. Then, we would talk, and I’d flirt with her, tell her how beautiful she was. Then, she would soften up and start to smile more. Maybe she would start to touch me more often. Eventually, she would agree that my proposition was a great idea. She would want me just as badly as I wanted her. There was nothing as exciting as the conquest of a woman.
Yes, I knew it was a game. That was the fun of it. Nothing serious, no strings attached. Just good, old-fashioned fun. We all needed more fun in our lives. Everything had gotten too serious lately, and I was tired of it. I wanted to go back to the days when people just fucked for fun and the freedom of living life was truly still there. The confines of my reality were often too much for me.
“I’ll come back and dance with you, but that’s it,” Lana said as we walked to my favorite private room.
She was impressed that I had the private room all to myself. I didn’t need a bunch of my friends to chip in and help pay it. I could afford it on my own. My job with my father allowed me a hefty salary, which I enjoyed spending on a variety of things. None of them very long lasting – booze, women, and trips. My father also ensured I had access to credit cards and bank accounts to pay my bills. Even his recent attempt to have me cut back on my spending didn’t bother me. I had plenty of other ways to get money, if needed.
“Lana, you’re the most beautiful woman in this place,” I said as I pulled her close to me.
She didn’t resist. There was something about a man with money that made every woman agree to things they might not normally do. This was just a fact of life that I had learned over many years as a single man.
“Thank you, Chase.”
“You know my name?”
“Everyone knows who you are,” she said with a shy grin.
It was true. Everyone around Atlanta knew who I was, and at Club Kitty, they knew me very well. I loved the atmosphere at the club. The men were laid back, even though most of them had really high-stress jobs during the daytime. And the women were down for fun. It was a dance club, but it was also a great place to socialize with Atlanta’s elite – at least, the elite men.
“And you still came back to my private room with me. That’s pretty fucking bold of you. So, you know I’m an ass?”
“I guess,” she said.
She just looked down and continued her game. It was all right. I didn’t mind the games. It was fun to play a little with my ladies. It wouldn’t be fun at all if the women just came to the back room and spread their legs for me. I liked the hunt. I liked chasing after them.
I put my finger under her chin and pushed it up so she looked at me. Her bright green eyes glowed in the lights of the room. My other hand moved to her waist and pulled her tight against me. I guided our bodies into a soft dance with the music. There was no need to rush things; I would have her soon enough.
My body reacted to hers up against me, and I felt her uncomfortably shift away from me when my hard cock pressed up against her. But I didn’t let her go. Instead, I held onto her tighter. She needed to know how much I wanted her. I wasn’t making that up. I truly did want her – for the night, at least.
“I should go,” she said, as she looked down at the ground again.
“Okay,” I said and released her.
There was no use in forcing her to stay if that wasn’t what she really wanted. But I suspected it was just part of her game, and she did want me. No girl wants to seem like she is easy. They have this feeling of being a whore. But having a night of safe, protected fun shouldn’t make any woman feel bad. They are human and have sexual needs, just like men.
“Um, well, if you’d like to just sit and talk, we could do that.”
“Sure,” I said.
Five minutes. I’d give her five minutes of talking before she gave into me. I knew girls like her. She wanted me just as badly as I wanted her, but playing coy made her feel better about her desires. I wished I could just meet a woman who went after what she wanted and took it. I’d love to have a woman just grab me and pull me into the back room. I love any kind of woman any kind of way. But I figured that wasn't how most of them operated.
“What kind of work do you do?” Lana asked me.
“My father owns a manufacturing company. I’m in charge of international sales. It’s a great job. Lots of travel, and I don’t actually have to show up at work very often. But if you know who I am, I suppose you know what I do for work.” I grinned at her.
“I know you from your reputation. I don’t know much else. That sounds like an amazing job.”
“What about you? What kind of work do you do?”
“I’m in retail. I work at the mall.”
“Do you get a discount at least?” I asked with my signature grin.
“Yes, I love it. I can buy all of my clothes at forty percent off. I also get to give my friends and family a discount, too. If you are ever in the mall, just stop by and see me.”
“Thanks, that’s really sweet of you, Lana.”
I didn’t care about some mall discount. But I knew that trying to get her to talk was the only way this thing was going to move forward. I let my hand move to her leg as we continued to talk. I had to push her comfort level further. The more she let me touch her, the better it would be for later. She didn’t pull away. In fact, I felt the heat of my touch soften her determination to just sit and talk.
“Thanks, Chase. You’re really sweet, too.”
“Lana, I’d really like to kiss you now. Okay?”
She looked up at me and didn’t say anything. I decided to give it a try and leaned in to let my lips touch hers. Softly at first, just to test out her comfort level.
Our lips touched in soft, small kisses as my hand moved up her thigh. She wasn’t as sweet as she pretended to be, and I just waited for the release of her inner freak. Five minutes of obligatory conversation was over, it was finally all right for Lana to give in to her desires for me.
We continued the slow kissing game for a few minutes before her hand reached into my pants and grabbed hold of my raging cock. That’s how I knew she was ready to bring the evening to a whole new level.
I grabbed her and lifted her up onto my lap, with her legs spread on either side of me. She moaned as I lifted up her skirt and let my fingers play with her wetness. Oh, how she was wet already. I knew she wanted me, and that wetness just proved my thoughts were right.
Her breasts were near my lips already. So, I pulled them both out over her dress and let them look gloriously at me for a moment. They were huge, and perfectly round. My mouth took one of them in, while my hand moved up to play with the other one.
She moaned in delight, and I wanted to hear more of that. I squeezed her nipple hard between my fingers, as hard as I could squeeze it. The pain initially shocked Lana, but then the moan released, and she thrust her tit even closer to me. I moved my mouth over to the left nipple and let my right hand play. Again, I squeezed it hard between my fingers.
“Ouch, Chase. Careful.”
“I’m not a gentle guy.”
Lana contemplated what I had said for a moment and then something changed in the way she looked at me. She leaned down and kissed me roughly, as her hand grabbed my cock and pulled on it hard.
Oh, she likes it a little wild and rough.
She stood up and grabbed her purse. I watched as she pulled out a condom and leaned down to pull me fully out of my pants, so she could put it on me. I loved to watch a woman take control and roll the condom down my cock. There was a delightful mastery that women had which made the act look sexy and mysterious.
Lana straddled me and sat above my cock for a minute as we kissed. Knowing her body was only inches away from me was torture. I throbbed with a desire to be inside of her. I moved my hips toward her in the hopes that she would release me from my torture and slide her body onto my cock.
Suddenly, she thrust herself on top of my cock and threw her arms around my shoulders. Her body moved quickly, and I could tell her clit rubbing against me had her totally wired. My hands gripped her hips and helped her thrust against me, as my hips moved up to fill her up totally.
Within a couple of minutes, I could tell her body was getting ready to explode with excitement. Her hands gripped on tighter to my shoulders. Her face leaned into my neck, and I heard her breathing become more labored.
I reached my hands around and grabbed her ass tightly. While I held onto her, I spread her cheeks and forced her body deep onto my cock. The movement was more than she could take, and I started to thrust in time with her so we could cum together.
Cumming with a beautiful woman riding me was by far my favorite thing to do on a Saturday night – or any night, really. I didn’t have a particular type of woman that I liked. It was different with each one. Blondes, brunettes, redheads – it didn’t matter. I just loved women.
The problem was I didn’t love them enough to want a relationship with them. Most of the time, I kept things to one-night stands only. There were a few women who I felt strongly enough for that I had started relationships with, but those were extremely short lived.
Our movements were fast and hard, and we both released a loud moan as our bodies gave in to the delight of the moment. I pulled her in close and kissed her as she stayed on my lap for a moment while we both recovered. She was a beautiful girl, but I knew I wouldn’t be calling her for another night of fun anytime soon.
It was a sweet moment. It would have been sweeter if it wasn’t in the back room of a dance club and I wasn’t about to blow her off and never see her again. I loved one-night stand sex. It was quick, easy, and didn’t come with a bunch of emotions.
I knew it was different from relationship sex. I’d been in a relationship before, a very long one in fact. But sex was boring in relationships. There wasn’t that element of surprise or excitement when you saw each other. Pretty much from the first night I slept with a girl to the day we broke up, I always thought relationship sex was disastrously boring. And therefore, I didn’t find a need for it in my life.
My life was simpler without a woman. Even the sexiest of women tend to complicate a man’s life, and I didn’t want that. I wanted fun. I wanted to travel with my friends, party all night long, and fuck amazing women. Nothing else seemed like a life worth living.