Page 37 of His Captor

In fact, from the reports Rachel had been sending me for the past couple of months, as she’d gone ahead to set things up in Barrington while I’d finished up in Port Lucia, Hayden was not only a fantastic office manager, he knew where to find great deals on everything from office furniture to pens.

I tried to recall anything I’d learned about Hayden’s job experience, or anything about him at all, from when he was hired, but I came up blank.

“Why are you working here?” I asked.

I immediately felt stupid again. This was up there in terms of being the most awkward situation of my life.

“Better this than squirting out your baby on the street somewhere,” he said, then laughed.

I didn’t think it was funny.

Hayden stopped laughing.

“Okay, I’m here because I needed a job,” he said more seriously. “I’d figured out I was pregnant by the time my flight landed back in Barrington after that weekend. A whole bucket of pregnancy tests and a doctor’s appointment a week later confirmed it.”

I nodded, making a mental note to pay all of Hayden and the baby’s, my baby’s, medical expenses. I’d pay for all their expenses, no matter what they were.

“I told my parents,” Hayden went on, “and they immediately kicked me out.”

Rage roiled through me.Kill. Fight. Punish, my inner alpha roared.

I made an annoyed face at myself.

“Well, my older brother, Simon, says they didn’t kick me out, they were just launching me into my own life,” Hayden said, as if he thought I was angry with him or annoyed with his parents. “They’re still supportive, and Papa in particular is looking forward to being a grandpapa.”

“But you ended up on your own without a job,” I said.

“I had a job at first. The one that sent me to Port Lucia for the conference,” he said.

“And?”

“And they fired me about three months ago,” Hayden said. “Simon thinks it was wrongful termination because I was pregnant, and he’s probably right, but I didn’t really want to work there anymore anyhow.”

I wasn’t so sure of that. The tension in Hayden’s face told a different story, one that was sad and humiliating.

“But then you applied here, and Rachel hired you,” I said, the rest of the story clicking into place.

“Correct, boss.”

We both blanched a little when he called me that.

“Rachel is quality people,” Hayden went on clumsily, like he was trying to cover for both of our awkwardness. “I’m really grateful to her.”

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” I spoke over him. I drew in a breath and sat straighter, like an alpha who was about to have a family to take care of should.

“What we’re going to do?” Hayden asked, blinking.

I nodded, mostly to myself, as my course of action became clear.

“I’m going to take care of everything,” I said definitively. “Your medical bills, your living arrangements, the baby’s future, clothing, diapers, food. Everything.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Hayden said, frowning.

“Yes, I do,” I said. I nodded to his stomach. “This is my fault and my responsibility. I put a baby in you, now I need to take care of it.”

“Take care of it?” Hayden’s brow shot up.

“You can continue working here if that’s what you want, but I have more than enough money if you want to stay home and be a papa. I’m living in temporary housing right now, but I’ve already started looking for a permanent house. I’ll tell the real estate agent to look for something near good schools, something suitable for children?—”

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