Page 25 of Billionaire's Baby Mistake

“Yes, yes there is. It’s for the… the formula he created and…”

“No, there is no deal,” she continues firmly. “He came here with a proposal, but it was turned down. We have our morals and what he was offering wasn’t for us…”

Marty Gogh has morals? Now that’s an outcome I never saw coming. But then what the hell was Dad talking about? Whatishis plan? I hang up the phone before I can hear any more, nausea swirling though me. Dad lied to me. He didn’t trust me enough to even tell me the truth, so now I have no information whatsoever. My heart pounds, and my mind is racing, trying to come up with a new solution. Whatever is going on could be dangerous, so it’s more pertinent than ever to take the right steps.

Maybe he does have a deal, but with who?Okay,I think to myself, determination running right through me.I need to speak to Alex, and now. I might not like it and neither will he, especially when I promised that he wouldn’t have to see me again. But I don’t have any choice. We need to help each other out and put an end to this mess before lives are destroyed.

It’s going to be so damn difficult to get Alex to trust me again after what I’ve done, but surely it’ll help that I’m trying? It should make a difference that I’ve come back with my tail between my legs? I glance at my watch, noticing there’s about an hour of the business day left, so I might be able to catch him. I just hope and pray that he lets me in, hears me out, and allows me explain. I probably wouldn’t if I were him, but he’s the nicer person, and has always been.

Why did I betray the one person who truly cares about me? The one who has shown me any love, and I threw it all back in his face. As I race to the office, all I can think about are his hands in mine, his lips against mine, his body making mine feel incredible. I feel gutted that I tossed it all away. We really could have been something; we could have truly been in love, and now we will never be anything. Not only will I never be able to forgive myself, but I’ll also never be able to forgive Dad either… and his terrible morals. He’s wrecked absolutely everything.

Once I’ve solved this problem and all this is truly over, I will have to leave regardless. I’ve made too much of a mess of things, so no matter what the outcome, everyone will be better off without me. I won’t make the same mistakes again, no way. Next time I will live a much better life having learned so much. I still need to find who I am and work out what I want. I need a silver lining to come from this black cloud. But first, I need to burst the bubble of that black cloud…

Alex

Ihavethepresscoming. I haven’t decided what I’m going to say yet, but that doesn’t matter. I need to tackle the rumors now before anyone gets there first. I want the information to come from me, whatever it might be.

“Thanks for coming,” I say gratefully to Nina. “I appreciate you being here, I know you didn’t have to, and I’m sorry for dragging you away from the hospital.”

“It’s okay. There isn’t a lot that I can do, to be honest. I may even be in the way. I don’t think it’ll be long before my brother is sent home, and my parents are there to help.” She purses her lips. I’m certain that she’s holding back a barrage ofI told you so, for which I’m very grateful. I know I did a lot wrong, and I feel stupid enough about it and don’t need it rubbed in my face. I just need to move forward. “Now, are you ready? I know you hate media stuff?”

“I’m not,” I admit sadly. “I have been blindsided. I never expected any of this and am not sure how to handle it.”

“You’re going to do what you always do,” she tells me, shrugging her shoulders at me. “Act confident and everything will be fine. Use your faith in the company to restore the faith of others.” If only I held the same belief. It’s been shaken to my very core, and I just don’t know how we can recover. I’m not sure that any of us have it in us. “Now, everyone is here, so let’s get… what the hell?”

She glances through the window where the press members are sitting, and her face turns completely ashen. “What’s going on?” I plead, remembering the debacle of the last press conference I held. “Has something gone wrong?”

“It’s…I don’t know how to tell you this, but Zaya is in there.” She looks like she might faint at any moment, which has my heart racing like crazy. I was already really dreading this, but now Zaya is in the way…the woman who tried to ruin my company. The one who wrote that I would never see her again. She’s come to sabotage this on top of everything else? Will her betrayal never end? “She’s on the stage… talking.”

“Fucking hell,” I jump up as hot stressful pressure starts to build in my stomach. “What the fuck is she saying? How am I going to counteract this?” Again, I’ve lost all control, and honestly, I feel like I could fucking scream. “Open the door now…”

Nina pushes open the door, and I listen for a second, trying to work out the most professional way to handle the issue. If I storm up there, all guns blazing, the press will have a story, but not the one I want. With them already thinking that my employees are in disarray, this is the last thing I need. The words I hear coming out of her mouth have me stunned.

“…so it was a surprise fire drill that none of the employees was informed of. That’s why the fire brigade was called, for which we are incredibly sorry. We know it’s a waste of important time that could be used for real fires, so we will never do it again.”

Much to my surprise, a titter breaks out among the crowd. Are they buying this bull crap? I mean, I did remind my employees about the non-disclosure agreement, and I did make the point that it would ruin our reputation if any of this got out, but this… I don’t know, it seems a little suspect to me. I don’t feel like I can jump when they’re falling for it. It would make a big deal out of nothing.

“And also, a donation will be made to our local fire department.”

“So, there haven’t been any issues in the lab then?” one disappointed journalist calls out. “No fires or anything.”

“No, no,” Zaya laughs in a very expert fashion as if nothing has happened. I’m honestly very confused – is she a mad woman, or maybe she’s seen the error of her ways? I don’t want to think it might be that because I don’t want to be let down. I can’t stop my heart from skipping a very excitable beat. “Everything is fine and going to plan. The release date will be announced soon.”

Okay, this is very strange. How can a release date be announced after what she’s done? Has she brought my documents back?

“And… everything is fine with the employees too?” The crowd is getting bored, which makes me think that a story might not come out at all. Well played, Zaya Webber… or is it Zaya Connelly? What am I supposed to call her these days?

“Everything is fine, I’m sure you will all hear the moment things change.” She glances around, but it quickly becomes clear that no one else is about to ask anything to ask, so she wraps it up. “Thank you, everyone, for coming at such short notice…”

“What the fuck is she doing?” Nina hisses quietly.

“I don’t know,” I shrug. “But I sure as hell intend to find out.” Only a few moments ago, I honestly thought that I wouldn’t see Zaya again. I thought that she would run away and fade into the distance forever… now Ineedto see her. Ihaveto find out where her head is at.

I know about that, boss,” Nina warns. “She seems insane. I think you should get security to take her away.” I gaze at her for a few moments, considering her as one of my closest friends, certainly someone who has my best interests at heart. I smile and offer, “Your judgment seems to be better than mine. Why don’t you sit in the meeting and see what you think.”

“Um… yeah, okay.” She seems a bit bewildered. “That’s a good idea. Maybe it will be good to speak to her and find out what she’s up to. I suppose it’s best to know for sure.”

As the press file out, I watch Zaya carefully; instead of running out like I half expect her to, she comes toward me with a guilty look on her face. Former feelings floods through me as she moves - all of our intimate moments - and I feel my heart opening back up, even if I don’t want it to.Just be careful…I warn myself.Don’t get tricked again. She has already proven that she cannot be trusted. Just keep your guard up.

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