Page 17 of My Cruel Billionaire

“Look at this. He drew a picture of a nice man he met at Evan’s office. He’s craving a male role model in his life, Jenna. That’s not misogynistic to say, either. It’s something that all of his friends have and he wonders why he does not.”

I stared at the drawing in my hands, the sad truth slowly dawning. It had to be Michael. Who else would Damon have had the chance to meet? No one was allowed up on that floor of the building other than those who were invited. That was why I had felt safe leaving my son to play by himself while I had my admittedly brief meeting with Evan and Michael.

“Oh my goodness,” Mom said with a gasp. “It really is Damon’s father, isn’t it?”

I hung my head, dejected. Yes, it really was his father.

“Sweetie,” Mom said, her lips forming an inverted U. “Don’t you think that maybe it’s time you told Michael about his son? I mean, they’ve already met at this point.”

My eyes narrowed, and my voice sounded harsh even to my own ears.

“You don’t know this man,” I snapped. “He’s a cold, unfeeling jerk. He doesn’t need or want anyone in his life. I don’t want Damon exposed to that kind of element.”

“Oh come on, he needed you at one point, didn’t he?”

“Until he fired me.”

“It’s been a long time. Maybe he regrets firing you and breaking up with you with equal measure?”

I sucked in a deep breath of air, held it for a long moment, and then slowly let it out to calm myself down.

“You don’t know this guy, Mom,” I said more softly than I had before. “You just don’t. There's a good reason I can’t tell Michael that Damon is his son.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. What reason?”

“Michael sees the world in shades of dark gray. Everyone is just one step removed from trying to fuck him over and steal his money.” I sighed. “If I told Michael, he would just assume I was trying to use Damon to get something out of him. Money or whatever.”

Mom frowned, but I could see the wheels turning behind her eyes. She was actively thinking about what I had said for a change instead of trying to find ways to dismiss it.

“That’s why I never told him I was pregnant in the first place, Mom.” I looked out the window as rain hit the glass pane with a gentle tattoo. “If I had, he would have almost certainly thought it was a scheme to try and get him to take me back. Or a scheme to get his money, which is a lot more likely in Michael’s worldview.”

Mom chewed that over for a moment. Then the tea kettle whistled and it created a temporary reprieve. We went to our neutral corners, metaphorically speaking, while she poured us each a cup of chamomile.

“Jenna,” she said as she handed me my cup. “I want to ask you something, and I don’t want you to take it the wrong way.”

“That’s not a good way to preface something, Mom.”

“Just bear with me, please.” She sipped her tea, made a face, and added some honey and lemon to it. “Do you still have feelings for Michael?”

My heart thudded in my chest. It was like a panic attack. On reflex, I hotly denied the charges levied against me.

“Of course not,” I snapped. “That big jerk? Ha. He had his chance and he blew it. I don’t harbor any feelings for him any longer… except maybe for contempt.”

“Well then, good,” she said with a smile.

“Wait… you think that's good?” I sputtered. “Why on God’s green earth would you think that?”

“Because,” she said with a hint of triumphant smugness. "if you don’t have feelings for Michael any longer, there's no reason to turn down Evan’s merger offer, now is there?”

She gave me a look like ‘gotcha, didn’t I?’ and stood there beaming a smile at me.

I looked into the other room at Damon, and then gave a resigned sigh of defeat. I went over to Damon and picked him up, balancing him on my hip. I dug out my phone from my jeans pocket with my free hand and flipped through my contacts list until I came to Evan’s number. My finger hovered over the green phone icon for a long moment before I finally pushed it.

Evan picked up on the very first ring. Smug bastard was waiting for me like he knew I was going to call him back.

“Evan?” I said, clearing my throat. “I accept your offer.”

Chapter Six

---