Page 53 of Billionaire Boss's One Night Stand

It wasn’t every goddamn day that a man learned that his lover was carrying his child.

Lover?That felt inadequate.

Loren could beit. The One. I had already been coming to that conclusionbeforeshe announced that she was pregnant.

With a baby or not, I want her for good.

This news about my pending fatherhood stole my breath, but now that I’d walked off the shock and felt clearer in the head, I was left with a rosy, glowing excitement.

I’m going to be a father. A father! Me!

Bachelorhood had served me well while I focused on work. Being a workaholic and a young parent sounded like a recipe for instant disaster, either on the parent’s side or the kid’s.

Yet, that wouldn’t change me. Loren was a go-getter like me, eager to rise up the ranks based on her performance and merit.She wouldn’t just give up on who she was now that she’d be having a baby.

And I wouldn’t need to change. I could still work. I would still do everything I could to be a CEO.

In fact…I rubbed my chin, wondering if my grandmother was teasing or joking when she said she might retire sooner with news of me settling down.

I just might have to take you up on that offer.

When my phone buzzed, I sighed and knew that I could reenter society, that I could be clear and level-headed now that I’d accepted my future as a parent, as the partner to Loren—in whatever capacity she would let me.

It was John, and I answered quickly. A sense of fear hung in the recesses of my mind, apprehensive and impatient about whether he might have gotten word that things were heated between me and Loren.

“Hello—”

“Dude! Where the fuck are you?”

I furrowed my brow, stopping on the sidewalk. Hearing John’s angry voice was something I was expecting, but not about his needing to know where I was. “Having a moment to myself. Why?”

“Did you forget about the meeting with Gammon?” he demanded.

Oh, fuck!I rotated my wrist to look at the time. It was already past the hour of when the meeting was supposed to start.

Thunder rolled overhead, threatening to bring a storm. It was almost like the skies were getting angry with me too as I tried and failed to comprehend how I’d forgotten about the big meeting that would get me be promoted.

“I went for a walk, and I…” I turned, walking faster in the direction of the Gammon building. There was no chance I’d get there on time now, but I’d try. “And I was lost in my thoughts.”

“Fine. But get your ass over to the Gammon building.” He groaned. “Now.”

I ran, weaving through the traffic to get there before it was too late.

21

LOREN

Where the hell are you, Matt?

I sighed, smiling at the rest of the team.

We waited and waited as long as we could at the office. Matt didn’t show.

He walked off after I told him that I was pregnant, and that was the last I saw of him.

He can’t just walk away fromthis, too, can he?

Acquiring Gammon Industries as a new client was a huge deal. It wasn’t something Matt would willingly give up. Maybe he could walk away from me and the prospect of having a baby with me, but this project was significant for him.

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