Book 3 is another standalone novel that also introduces new plot and characters while still maintaining the Billionaire's secret baby series.
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I had a one-night stand with my billionaire boss and surprise! I'm pregnant.
And he cannot know.
Travis Caldwell. The chiseled Greek god in a suit.
It all started when I sold my company to him, which made him my new boss.
We were instant enemies.
His plans for my business make me want to scream.
But before I know it he's making me scream in the bedroom.
I should probably stay away from him.
Easier said than done when you work for the hottest man alive.
His touch drives me insane, his kiss sends me to another planet.
Now I want him every single day.
I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to tell him about the baby when I find out,
He's been hiding a huge secret of his own...
*Full Book starts here*👇
chapter 1
PAIGE
I wince a little as I burn my tongue on the hot coffee I am sipping, trying hard not to spill any on my all-white pant suit. However, despite my singed tongue, I moan with appreciation as the liquid gold slides down my throat.
I'm not entirely sure that adding coffee on top of the nerves I'm feeling today is a good idea, but there's nothing I can do about it. I need my caffeine fix.
I start to walk out of The Dreamy Bean, my favorite coffee shop. Someone pushes the door open. A gust of wind rushes in. I close my eyes and inhale a lung-full of that distinct New York fall smell; the unique mixture of rain on concrete, browning leaves on the sidewalk, and exhaust fumes. There's nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world.
My eyes flutter open and my heart stops. The only man I've ever loved is standing in front of me.
He looks just as surprised as I feel.
"Paige..." He scratches his head jostling his blonde curls as he shifts from one foot to the other.
I clear my throat to make sure my voice doesn't shake when I speak. "Jason... It's been a while."
He chuckles. "Yeah, it really has. How are you these days?"
"Good. You?"
"Everything's good..."
We stand there, staring at each other in silence.
Then Jason speaks. "By the way, I guess congratulations are in order. I read in the paper that you sold your company. If I remember correctly, for 200 million?"
I smile. "250, and thanks."
He whistles. "That's a nice amount. I guess I was wrong." He smiles and then casts his gaze to the ground.
He should be embarrassed. I remember the words he threw at me as he stomped out of my life four years ago.
You're wasting your life on a company that will never get off the ground.
You should give up and get a real job.
I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but what makes you think you're so special that you will make it in fashion? It's a cutthroat business.
He takes a step closer. "Hey, Paige, I just want to apologize for all the bullshit I said when we broke up."
"Thank you, but your lack of support is what lit a fire under my ass and spurred me on for years. So I guess I have you to thank for all my success." I smile.
He takes a deep breath. "Still, it was a shitty way for a boyfriend to act."
I chuckle. "You won't get any pushback on that from me."
He laughs too. "Let me make it up to you. What do you say I take you out to dinner sometime?"
I don't even need a moment to think.
"No," I say.
He actually looks surprised. "No?"
"No," I reply plainly.
"I don't understand."
Bless his heart. He thinks I'm the same girl he met in college who hung on his every word.
"Jason, you're in my past. I have no desire to revisit whatever we had. Even if it's for friendship."
I look at the carrier watch on my wrist. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to get to."
I teeter around him in my heels and walk out of the coffee shop and onto the street where the rain has picked up. I quickly climb into my chauffeured town car and settle into my seat.
I have been waiting years to do that. If the rest of my day goes that well I'll probably spontaneously combust from joy.
"Where to, miss?" Jeremy, my driver asks.
"To DeLisle."
"Yes, ma'am." He tips his driver's hat at me in the rearview mirror, then drives off.
I'm sort of dreading what awaits me at work today. I'm semi-hyper ventilating in my seat when my phone starts to ring. I fish it out of my bag.
It's my best friend, Haley.
"Are you at work yet?" she blurts as soon as I answer the phone.
"Good morning to you too."
I can hear her roll her eyes over the phone. "Yes, yes, good morning. Are you at the office?"
"No, not yet. I am on my way in."
"Big day, huh?"
"Yes, it is."
"How are you feeling?"
I'm about to answer when I hear a toddler screech in the background. "Is Maggie OK?"
"Ugh, she's fine. These terrible twos just won't come to an end. She wants ice cream for breakfast and I said no."
I chuckle. "Your life is so glamorous."
"Don't even get me started. I mean, I love my daughter, but how is this my life now? I can't believe I have to stay home with her all day while Fred gets to go out into the world and interact with actual adults."
"Why are you complaining? He offered to stay home with Maggie but you wouldn't let him."
"Damn, I thought you would have forgotten that by now."
"Never." I laugh.
Haley laughs too. "Whatever. Enough about Maggie for now. Answer my question. How are you feeling? And don't say fine. Being the control freak I know that you are, today can't be easy."
I pause for a bit then confess, "I am nervous..."
"I can imagine, but try to remember why you did this."
"Yeah that's not the problem. I don't regret selling the company to the Caldwell Consortium. It's just that I have never had a boss, my entire professional life. Now all of a sudden I do. I'm not exactly sure how I will handle that."
"I'm sure it's going to be an adjustment, but just be patient. Of course, it's going to be different from what you're used to, but ultimately this was what you wanted. You sold DeLisle because you wanted to focus on more creative endeavors and you wanted to concentrate on your love life. The fact that they asked you to come back as their Head Designer and Creative Director was the cherry on top of the cake you hadn't anticipated."
"You're right, and speaking of my romantic life, you won't believe who I just ran into."
"Who?"
"Jason."
"Jason? As in Jason Baker?"
"The one and only..."
"And how did that go?"
"Amazingly! He apologized for being an asshole to me, and then asked me out."
Haley is silent on the line for a moment before she tentatively asks, "What did you say?"
"No, of course."
Haley cackles in my ear. "You had me worried for a second there. Thought you might have said yes."
"Oh my God, I would never do that."
"I wish I could've been there to see it."
"Yeah, it was epic."
"He has a lot of nerve asking-?" Haley is interrupted by a loud crash in the background. "Maggie!"
I gasp. "Is everything okay?" I ask, my hand going to my chest.
"She's fine. She just pushed over Fred's beer can collection. Hey, I'll talk to you later. I need to go deal with this."
"That's fine. Talk soon."
We say our goodbyes, which is just as well because Jeremy pulls up across the street from DeLisle.
The rain has stopped. I get out of the car and gaze up at our main offices in New York's gritty yet glamorous Meatpacking District. It's a four-story building; the bottom floor is our flagship boutique, while the other three floors are our offices.
I cross the cobblestone street and head into the building.
Once I get off the elevator on the second floor, I am hit with the overwhelming smell of fabric. That was by design. When planning this office space, I made sure that we had fabric store rooms just off the elevator bank on every floor. I wanted anyone who walked in here to know exactly what we do.
I wipe a droplet of rain off my dusty rose trench coat, brush a wisp of my honey-blonde hair that has escaped my high ponytail off my face, and begin walking to the boardroom.
As I go, I exchange pleasantries with some of my employees.
Oh wait. I guess they're my coworkers now.
That's going to take some getting used to.
I walk into the boardroom and Jasmine is the only person in here.
"Good morning, Jasmine," I say to our head of HR.
"Good morning," she replies.
"The new boss man isn't here yet?"
She shakes her head with a small smile.
I take a seat across the table from her and wait.
I have never met the CEO ofthe Caldwell Consortium, Travis Caldwell. He acquired my company with the help of his drones, never once making an appearance. The only thing I know about the man is that he comes from old money. His family is from Texas and they made their money from oil. Aside from that, I couldn't find anything else. He keeps a pretty low profile.
We don't wait long. Moments later the door opens and in walks possibly the most gorgeous man I have ever seen.
The first thing I notice about him is how striking his blue eyes are, and how well they contrast with his gorgeous salt and pepper hair, which has more pepper than salt. He is tall, broad shouldered and wearing what I can tell is a bespoke black suit.
He walks further into the room. Jasmine and I stand to greet him. He smiles and I am almost blinded by his beautiful teeth.
He walks to the head of the conference table, shakes both our hands and says, "Good morning, ladies."
Jasmine and I both mumble our responses unintelligibly.
"I'm so happy to be coming on board here. I think we're going to make a great team," he says. I can hear the hint of a southern accent on his deep baritone. It's the kind of thing I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't cyber-stalked him before this meeting.
I swallow hard before I say, "I do too."
He rubs his hands together. "Good. Well, I am really busy today so let's just get to business."
"Great!" Jasmine says a little too loudly.
"So, I'm really impressed with you've been able to achieve here at del Isle, but I think it's time we go bigger."
I raise an eyebrow. "Bigger?"
"Yes, bigger. I would like for us to ramp up production, perhaps switch into ready-to-wear. You know, get a slice of that big pie and do so while keeping costs low."
I can already feel my head starting to spin. I clear my throat. "Mr. Caldwell, you do realize that delis leis a high fashion brand, don't you?"
"Please, call me Travis, and yes, I'm aware."
"Well, one of the basic tenants of high fashion and luxury is exclusivity. That is our brand. You can't exactly expect us to pivot from couture to ready-to-wear. That's insane."
He sits back in his chair and smirks at me. "What I think is insane is spending tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours in manpower, making one dress for a Hollywood starlet to wear on some red carpet one time and then return to us. We need to move product to turn a profit."
"We have been turning a profit," I say.
"It's cute that you think the money you've been generating is a profit." I'm about to respond when he cuts me off. "Like I said, I'm very busy today. You know what I want, find a way to get it done."
He climbs to his feet, buttons his jacket, and struts out of the room.
My jaw is on the floor.
"It seems he's all business?" Jasmine says. While I struggle for words, she continues, "I'll schedule another meeting for when he is less busy. Perhaps then we can try to come to some sort of a compromise."
I can't believe he just did that.
If he thinks he's going to turn my company into some cheap sweatshop, then he has another thing coming. This is a hill that I would literally die on.