Page 10 of The Billionaire's Secret Heir

“No, sweetie. But it is almost lunch time. Are you hungry?”

“Play,” Becka said.

Madi laughed at the fiercely determined answer. “That’s fine. Keep playing. We’ll eat later.” Turning back to Bret, she asked, “No fish sticks, then?”

“Nope. Though VDKI does have a tie to the ocean. They’re in shipping.”

Bret seemed poised to launch into more on the company, which Madi frankly didn’t care about. “When are we meeting him?”

“It’s last minute, but if you can get a sitter for Becka, we’ve set up an appointment for Wednesday afternoon.”

“That’s in two days,” Madi said, suddenly nervous.

“Do you think you can get a sitter?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem. He didn’t want to meet Becka?”

Madi tried to keep her voice from sounding hurt. It was irrational. This man had no idea that he even had a daughter, which was completely Calista’s fault. Not for the first time, Madi found herself wondering why her sister had started trying to contact Becka’s father just before her death and not before. She couldn’t imagine the shock it must be to find out that you had fathered a child with a woman you hadn’t seen in years. Knowing the typical shelf-life of Calista’s boyfriends was two or three weeks, maybe he didn’t even remember her. Maybe he was just like Calista.

The thought made her shudder. She longed for a full life for Becka. Two parents who loved her. Madi’s dating life before had been abysmal and now that she was essentially a single parent, her chances of finding a great man weren’t likely to improve. Madi knew she was at least moderately pretty, but compared to Calista, she had always faded away. She missed out on the blonde gene and had what her mother had always called hair-colored hair—a generic brown. Her brown eyes were similarly plain. Not hazel, just brown. If Madi had to sum up her looks, she would say that she was a plain Jane. Even in personality, she was lacking the kind of spark that Calista had that drew men to her.

“He didn’t say that, but this meeting wouldn’t be appropriate for a child. We’ll be talking specifics and legal matters,” Bret said. “We can definitely ask him.”

“Okay,” Madi said.

“How about this: when you call your babysitter, ask if she can watch Becka on Friday night as well. I’ll take you out for a celebratory dinner. How does that sound?”

Madi watched Becka, who had dug a hole about her size and was wiggling her bottom down into it. She would definitely need a bath before nap-time. She shouldn’t hesitate answering Bret. The question had caught her off-guard. She honestly couldn’t remember the last time she had been out with a man. Though this wasn’t a date—was it? In truth, she didn’t know the full extent of his relationship with her sister. She had suspected that they were dating, but when Calista died, Bret seemed sad, but not as broken up as she thought he might be if they had been romantic.

Surely someone as polished as Bret wouldn’t be interested in Madi. Plus, he didn’t seem particularly invested in Becka. Other than a quick greeting, he never interacted with her. It was probably just a friendly thing.

“I’d love to. Assuming I can get someone to watch Becka. I should probably start getting her ready for nap time.”

“No nap,” Becka said.

Madi and Bret laughed. “Sounds like someone has other plans,” Bret said. He stood, smoothing down his dress pants. He had left his jacket in the house and Madi followed him inside.

“Be right back, Becka,” she said. Becka didn’t seem to notice, enthralled with a butterfly moving through the yard.

Bret buttoned his suit coat at the front door and smiled at Madi. “Would you like me to pick you up for the meeting? Or should I just send you the address?”

“Oh, just send me the address,” Madi said. “I’ll meet you there. No sense in you coming all the way out here to get me.”

Bret gave her a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. Did he linger just a little too long? Madi felt jumpy and paranoid. Maybe she needed to talk to him about this expectation. It felt presumptuous to assume that he might have feelings for her. But she also didn’t want to lead him on if he was thinking something different about all the time they were spending together.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Bret called. “Look for a message from me later with the details.”

Madi shut the door behind him and made her way back to Becka, who was still enthralled with the sandbox. Who knew something so simple could bring so much joy or entertainment? That was the one thing that had changed in Madi’s life since Becka was born. She noticed and appreciated the small things more than she ever had. Seeing the wonder on Becka’s face when they went to the zoo or when she saw a flower or a bug or a new toy—all of it made Madi want to spend her days wide-eyed and appreciative of every little gift.

It was probably too much to hope for, but maybe Becka’s father would be the kind of man who could appreciate this as well.

* * *

Beckett paced his conference room. His lawyer, George gave a short laugh and ran his hand over his gray hair. “You should probably stop pacing before they get here.”

“I plan to,” Beckett said, scowling. He didn’t need his lawyer to tell him that pacing would make him look worried and weak. For negotiations, especially for something like this, Beckett needed to portray power and confidence.

His body was filled with a restless energy that he wished he could expel. That morning he had gone for a run and done an extra-difficult weight set in his home gym. But it seemed like that had done nothing to quiet the buzz of nerves. He shouldn’t have been so nervous, but so much was riding on this meeting working out. His whole future, essentially. While he hadn’t talked to his father about this, George assured Beckett that having a daughter would fulfill the heir requirements. Even if he had virtually no relationship with her. He knew this defied his father’s intent, but he didn’t care. His father couldn’t expect to dictate his love life or a stable family with a clause in a contract.

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