Billionaire's Baby Contract (Hawthorne Brothers 1)

Whatever the reason, I’m getting a baby contract and not a marriage contract. The question is: Am I willing to settle for it?

I finish my water but hold on to my glass as I lean against the kitchen counter.

At least, if I agree to this contract, I’ll have Ethan in my life. It will be better than my current situation because we’ll have an unbreakable bond through the child we share. And I’ll get to spend time with him outside work. In that sense, I am getting a promotion.

But what if Ethan finds someone else? The contract says I shouldn’t have sex with another man, but it doesn’t say anything about Ethan not being with another woman. Sure, he’ll have sex with me until I give him a child, but what about after? Is he just going to set me aside, keep me in the shadows like a dirty secret while he marries someone else?

The thought is enough to rip my chest open. It’s so painful I just want to dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it.

I clutch my chest as I look at the papers on the table with tear-filled eyes.

Ethan said to give him my answer by Monday.

I think I already have it.

~

When Monday comes, I go to work in a black and gray dress and fiery red heels. After Ethan arrives, I step inside his office as I usually do.

“Good morning,” he greets me from behind his desk.

“Good morning,” I reply, trying not to think about how good he looks in his suit.

Too bad I’ll never get to see him out of it.

I clear my throat, make my routine report and give him his schedule.

“And that’s all you have for today,” I tell him when I’m done.

“And the thing I asked for?”

His eyes go to the envelope I have tucked under my arm. Not that he hasn’t been looking at it nearly the entire time since I entered his office.

I place it carefully on his desk. I draw my breath and hold it as I watch him take the document out.

He goes straight to the last page. Then his eyebrows furrow.

“You didn’t sign.”

“No. I didn’t.”

Ethan just stares at the page. I fidget with my sleeve as I wait for him to say something. Finally, he lifts his head and looks at me.

“Are you sure about this?” he asks. “You can have more time to think about it if you want.”

So he doesn’t like my answer. He’s giving me time to change my mind. I won’t.

“If there’s something you don’t approve of or something you want added to it…”

“I’m sure,” I tell him with my shoulders straight.

He falls silent.

I draw another breath. “Is there anything else?”

Ethan taps his fingers on his desk. Then he shakes his head.

“No. You can go.”

Chapter Eighteen

Ethan

Stella can’t be serious.

Long after she’s given me her answer, I still find myself glancing at the brown envelope on my desk in disbelief.

I had the contract crafted carefully. It was rushed, yes, but my lawyer’s good. He put in everything I asked him to, and I asked him to put in a lot of things, including a very generous sum of money.

So why didn’t Stella sign it? Didn’t she say she wanted to be a mother? Has she changed her mind?

I want to summon her back into my office, tell her to cancel all my appointments and just have her tell me what’s on her mind so she can make me understand why she said no, so I can convince her to say yes. But I wait until my work is done.

“Is there anything else I can do for you before I go home?” Stella asks me when she pops into my office at the end of the day.

“Yes.”

I leave my desk and sit on the couch, brown envelope in tow. I place it on the table and gesture to the other couch.

“Sit.”

Stella sits. She crosses her legs and clasps her hands on her knee. Then she straightens her shoulders as she waits for me to speak.

I decide to go straight to the point. “Why didn’t you sign the contract?”

Stella glances at the envelope, then holds her chin high.

“Because I decided it wasn’t in my best interest to sign it,” she answers simply.

“And exactly which part made you think that?” I ask.

“Everything.”

“Everything?”

Stella draws a deep breath. I can tell she’s struggling to form an explanation inside her head. If she’s so sure about her answer, why can’t she explain it to me?

I lean forward and look into her eyes.

“Stella, let’s be honest here. I’ll go first. I was hoping you’d sign this.” I point at the envelope on the table. “I don’t understand why you didn’t.”

She exhales. “No. You don’t understand because you don’t understand me at all.”

My eyebrows furrow. Now, I really don’t understand her.