Page 45 of The B!tch List

“So, junk hardware aside, you’re saying you’ll keep her even if she isn’t yours?”

“That’s about the size of it I guess.”

Nancy blew out her cheeks and shook her head. “I’m just… shocked.”

“Shocked that I have a kid or shocked that I want to take care of her?”

She didn’t answer immediately but stared at me. “A little of both?” she said it like it was a question.

“Well, me too because apart from getting used to the idea of being a dad, I’m also seriously considering the piercing.” I laughed and rubbed my hands up and down my face. “Okay, so tell me what you’re doing here? I don’t think you came here to have sex under my mom and dad’s roof.”

She smiled and she looked so damn pretty. Her dark hair was falling around her shoulders and her lips were all pink and pouty, and if she wasn’t such a pain in my ass, I could seriously consider… nope I wasn’t going there.

“I don’t want to bring my crap to you now, Shaw. It’ll wait.” She waved me away and moved to stand up.

“No don’t,” I said nodding for her to sit down. “You obviously wanted to speak to me about something so spill it.”

Tia shifted on the couch and we both froze. When she settled again, Nancy shook her head.

“Honestly, Shaw it’s fine. I’ll give Tate a call.”

“Is it about the bank?” She worried her bottom lip. “Come on, Andrews, spill it.”

She sighed. “I need a written bid for the purchase and the owner is being a little dick about it, otherwise I’d do it myself.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s doing sealed bids and wants them professionally written along with my business proposal. Like I said I’d do it myself, but Belinda says he wants it from my lawyer.” She reached into the huge purse I hadn’t noticed her bring in and pulled out a buff-colored folder. “It’s all in here and I was kind of hoping that you’d help me with it.”

I took it from her and opened it up. She certainly had all the information in detail, it would probably only mean that I’d need to type it up on Hallahan & Associate Lawyers headed paper. The problem was I didn’t have any at home, it was all in the office.

“There is another problem though,” Nancy said tentatively.

“Yeah, what’s that?”

She looked at her phone which was on the couch next to her. “I only have one hour and twenty-two minutes to get it to him. Seeing as he lives near Dallas, he’s said that I can email it.”

“That solves one problem,” I said, getting up. “I thought I’d have to go to the office for some notepaper. Let me get my MacBook and I’ll be right back. Or,” I glanced over at Tia who I was pretty sure was going to wake up screaming soon, “at the risk of sounding like a misogynistic asshole, could you take care of Tia while I do this in dad’s office? Otherwise, if she wakes, I know I’m just going to want to take care of her.”

My gaze went back to the couch and something in my chest kind of pinged. I had no idea what it was, but it was warm and comforting. Nancy’s hand on my knee startled me.

“I don’t think that’s you being a misogynistic asshole at all. I think it’s you being a good friend and a good father.”

I laughed emptily. “She might not be mine don’t forget.”

“Hmm, she is kinda too pretty to belong to you.” Nancy laughed and scuffed my shoulder. “This doesn’t mean that we’re going to be friends by the way. You’re helping me, so I’m helping you.”

“God,” I replied, grimacing like I could smell the worst shit ever. “As if. I’d rather kiss Mrs. Callahan than be friends with you.”

Forty minutes later after she’d settled my ‘daughter’, and got her back to sleep, I was seriously reconsidering having Nancy Andrews as a friend because, and don’t ever repeat this, she was pretty awesome.

Shaw Jackson was possibly a father, and I wasn’t sure how to deal with that. I mean it wasn’t unusual for guys our age to have kids, but Shaw? Shaw, the man who drove me crazy at any given opportunity?

I had to admit he was pretty good at fatherhood, from what I’d seen. Okay, so there were things that he still needed to learn, but he clearly wanted to try and be the best dad possible, if that was how things turned out. Although, to be honest, I was pretty sure he was going to want to keep her even if she wasn’t his.

On top of all that, he’d done a great job on my proposal and my bid. I defied Ruthie to have produced anything more professional than what Shaw created. He’d printed me a copy and when Belinda called around to my apartment earlier, she’d been beyond impressed. After having a time limit put on sending it, the owner had said he’d decide in the next couple of days, asshole. But, as Belinda said, he had all the power so what could I do except hope that I’d finally beaten Ruthie at something.

Our feud wasn’t just a recent thing. It all stemmed back to high school where she’d been a little bitch to anyone who wasn’t in her inner circle. You guessed it, I was not in her inner circle of cheer leaders and pageant queens. She also hung around Shaw and his buddies like a bad smell. That was what I thought anyways. I’m not sure Shaw did, considering he was often seen under the bleachers with his tongue touching her tonsils. She wanted him from the moment she transferred to our school in the sixth grade from Tuscaloosa. Before then I had a feeling that Shaw was kind of sweet on me. He asked me to dance at our little sweetheart’s party that was held in the school hall. Then the next semester Ruthie joined the school and like a shiny new toy everyone wanted to be her friend. The more people she gathered around her, the more she saw herself as the Class Queen who got whatever it was that she wanted. Shaw Jackson never looked my way again, until prom and we know how that ended.

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