Page 6 of Next Door Billionaire's Surprise Baby

"You know what that makes you, right?" I cut him off. Now that the shock of the news has worn off, I feel my blood start to boil at Tim's blatant irresponsibility. "A deadbeat. And you, of all people, should know better than to be like that."

His face crumples again, but I can't tell whether it's at my scolding or at my reference to our father, who walked away shortly after he turned five,

"I..." He starts to speak but trails off, the words seemingly stuck in his throat.

"You have no excuse, Tim," I tell him, "You made your choice. If you want to live your life alone, go live your life alone. But remember that you have a daughter who doesn’t know her father because you walked away just like your father did."

I'm way too triggered to continue the phone call, so I hang up on him. Two different emotions are warring in me: anger at what he did and glee at the fact that the woman I've always wanted is now free to see other men.

I just have to find her first.

Chapter 3

Chloe

You'll Work With Me

Driving my car into the huge parking lot that looks to contain no less than a hundred vehicles, I seek out an empty space between two expensive-looking SUVs and park my car there. I turn off the engine and stare out the windshield at the high-rise building looming in front of me.

The company's name hangs from beams attached to the glass panels and is carved out in an ornate design to read,

K-SYNCH

"K-Synch," I say the name, testing it on my tongue and wondering how the owner came up with such an interesting name.

I check the time on my digital watch and see that I'm an hour early for my interview. I had all the time in the world to prepare for this interview after I received the email from them yesterday. I selected my outfit, shoes, accessories, and down to my underwear so I wouldn't have to fret about getting ready in the morning, and it paid off. I even made sure to pack Skye's lunch bag last night, so I wouldn't forget anything when I dropped her off with Fiona.

It's been four days since I moved to Austin, and I must admit that it wasn’t as overwhelming as I thought it would be. I was able to get an apartment the day after I arrived, and by yesterday morning, I was officially done unpacking and organizing my things. I even had time to purchase furniture and arrange them in my apartment.

I nearly cleaned out my savings to set up my home and was beginning to panic when Fiona, true to her word, sent my resume to different companies she worked for as a remote programmer. It didn't take long for replies to start rolling in, and Fiona helped me pick out the best company to go with.

And now I'm here, more nervous than I've ever been in my life, but at the same time, optimistic about getting the job. Also, since I've always worked remotely and never in a corporate building, I'm pretty excited about the experience.

I’m getting tired of waiting and decide to get out of the car and make my way into the building. I'm instantly struck by how serene and professional the interior is. I walk up to the front desk and tell them I’m here for the interview. The receptionist directs me to the Human Resources department.

Once there, l wait for a few minutes until the head of HR comes out to greet me. She's a middle-aged, jolly woman with a soft smile and an even softer voice.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Ms. Smith," she says, and I feel a bit overwhelmed by all the formality.

"Call me Chloe, please."

She lets out a soft laugh at how flustered I look, "All right then, Chloe. Let's start by telling me about yourself."

The introduction stage of the interview went smoothly, and I learned that her name was Brenda.

"Come on then," Brenda urges with a genuinely excited grin, "Let me give you a tour of the software engineering department."

I follow her into an elevator to go up a few floors above. The software engineering department is everything I imagined it to be, with dozens of high-performing computers at each station and the developers hunched behind the screens.

"...was one of our best software developers, but unfortunately, he decided he wasn't cut out to be an employee anymore," Brenda prattles on.

We pass by a lab with a computer running some program. I ask one of the developers what the program is supposed to do and he shows me the source code. After reviewing the code quickly, I notice a few mistakes and immediately get down to correct them. It takes just a little under ten minutes to fix, and I notice everyone is staring at me when I'm done.

The look of satisfaction on Brenda's face is enough to tell me that I've already gotten the job. There's a new man standing beside her, and I suspect he's the head of the software engineering department because he shuffles closer to check what I just did.

Then he chuckles triumphantly, "Good job." He turns back to Brenda, "Please hire her."

The HR head gives me a wide smile, "You didn't have to ask."

---