Melody Anne's Billionaire Universe: Her Billionaire's Bargain (Kindle Worlds Novella) (7 page)

“I ask you again, what are you doing here?”

There was a twinkle in his eyes now and a tilt to his sexy firm lips. “The contract.” He held up a legal size envelope. “I need you to sign it.”

“I told you I wasn’t doing it. Cupcakes of Joy is mine. I’m not selling it. I’m not moving it. I’m not negotiating with your company in any way…end of story.”

“Kourtney, I’m not taking no for an answer.” The corners of his mouth were tight and the texture of his words were practically a growl.

“No.” She swung the door.

His smacked the palm of his hand against it, stopping it. “I’m not leaving until you hear me out. My company would pay for moving it. Literally lifting the whole establishment and relocating it where ever you want. Like Arboretum District, it would double your revenue out there.”

“Hel—” She bit off the word thinking of her daughter in hearing shot. “No. Mr. Powers, it’s not going to happen. My customers know me in this community. I’m a staple, a fixture.” She shoved at the door.

He remained a solid opposition. “What community? Have you bothered to open your eyes outside your store? Things are changing on the east side.”

“Yeah, it’s called
gentrification
.” That was a hot spot button from her. “Big business comes in and decides the people that live there have to go.”

Zac stood there for a moment just staring at her. “Those homes were dilapidated. Not to mention when we bought out the strip mall there was only four stores in a fifteen space mall.” He stepped into her space, bringing his warm spice smell with him. “Overlin will bring jobs and revenue to the area. How many people are you hiring with your glorified bake sale?”

Both pissed off and hurt by his words she stepped into his space. “Go to hell.”

“Mommy.” There was a patting on her thigh. “Are you angry?”

She gasped. Her heart was pounding now. Shocked that she’d allowed this man to get under her skin so much that she forgot about Zendaya. She had disregarded the one thing she wanted to keep private.

Frozen in the spot, she wasn’t sure what to do. What she wanted to do was shove Zachary out the door and slam it shut, locking all her dirty secrets inside.

“Who’s
phist
?” Never one to be ignored for long, her bold personality daughter, wedged her way between her and Zachary.

The powerful businessman appeared just as shocked as Kourtney felt. He took a step back and stared down at her daughter.

She inhaled. First to recover, Kourtney tried to keep control of the situation as she answered her daughter. “This is a business friend of mommy’s. Can you go back to the table?”

Before her daughter could move Zachary hunkered down before Zendaya. He looked from her daughter then up to her with question in his gaze.

She was sure that he was wondering why with all the things and personal family matters they had discussed last Thursday night, why she never mentioned her child.

“Hi. I’m Mr. Zachary. I’m a friend of your mother.” His voice was low and gentle. “What’s your name?”

Her daughter glance up at her as if trying to get permission to answer the strange man.

Caught in the set of mirrored gazes, guilt built like bile in the back of her throat. She gave a slow nod of approval as Kourtney bit into the flesh of her cheek.

“I’m Zendaya Marley Deen and I’m seven,” her daughter announced proudly.

“Well, Zendaya. That is a very pretty name for a lovely little girl. It’s nice to meet you.”

Zendaya beamed. “Thank you. I like your eyes.” She reached poked his cheek below one of his eyes. “They look like my
phriend
Sammie’s kitten. Her
phur
is gray.”

“So are yours.” Zachary’s brow creased and he was looking at Zendaya hard as if he were attempting to figure out a puzzle.

Kourtney needed this moment to end. Quick. She stroked her daughter’s wild curls back from her face. “Say good-bye, button. And go back inside.”

“Okay.” Zendaya lifted her little hand and waved. “Bye, Mr. Zachary.” Obedient, she turned to go back inside.

“Wait.” He caught Zendaya’s hand and drew her back.

She wasn’t sure what had made him stop her daughter from leaving.

When Zendaya faced him again. “Yes, sir.”

He didn’t answer her. Instead, still holding the little hand, he lifted his other one and brushed back her hair from the left side of her face.

Leaning over Kourtney looked to see what had seized his attention. Did Zendaya have cheese on her face?

Gently he caressed the birthmark on the side of her daughter’s face.

“My mother has this same mark.”

Oh, God…

“Mommy said I’m her heart. That’s why it’s shaped like one.”

Zachary nodded. His throat felt tight, constricted and he wasn’t all too sure why. It was as if he was on the cusp of a big moment, but it didn’t make sense. “My dad tells my mother the same thing about hers. She got her mark from my grandmother.”

The little girl smiled, a toothless grin that warmed his heart. He didn’t spend much time around kids, he figured that was the reason this little one was bowling him over.

“My mommy doesn’t have one.” Zendaya giggled.

Caressing the soft little cheek, he barely contained the tremors in his hand. “Can you give your mommy and me a few minutes alone?”

She nodded, her wild light brown with blonde highlighted curls bounced around her face.

“To your room and put on a movie for a minute, sweetheart,” Kourtney instructed.

“Yes, ma’am.” Waving again, Zendaya was off like a bullet.

He stayed low for a long moment. The situation didn’t make sense at all to him. Looking at the sweet little imp gave him a vision of what a daughter of his could possibly look like. Her hair color was a slightly darker shade than his, making her a sandy blonde, but the eyes and her mark were indicative of his mother’s family traits that were passed down.

It didn’t make sense.

“Zachary.” Kourtney’s voice waivered.

Bringing his gaze up her lithe body: bare legs showed off under short shorts, high, full, firm breasts free beneath a dark tank top. “I’ve always prided myself on being a man of reason. One plus one always equals two.” He rubbed his temple that was beginning to throb. “But…
this
…it’s not making sense.”

“Zachary.” His name came out on a wisp of breath.

He was ready to think his mind was playing tricks on him or maybe he’d stepped into some alternate universe, but the way Kourtney was worrying her bottom lip and the fact her greenish-brown eyes—completely different from her little girl’s—wouldn’t meet his, caused his heart to pound.

“What am I missing here, Kourtney?” He shoved his suit coat back to set his hands on his hips.

When she looked at him, there were tears in her eyes. “Come in.” She turned from him and walked away.

Like a zombie he followed behind her into the living room. The place was quaint, homey. She had knickknacks, throw blankets and pictures decorating the place. Most of them of Zendaya at different ages. He dropped the envelope on an end table.

Kourtney stood in the center of the room with her back to him. He kept his distance, allowing her time. For what he wasn’t sure.

"I'm sure you have questions about Zendaya." Her back was still to him as she shook her head. "I didn't know.”

"We've met before."

"When? If I'd met you before, Kourtney, I'd sure as hell remember." He crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

She shrugged. Facing him, she began, "I looked different then. My hair was short and straight. I was dressed different." She waved a hand down her body, he supposed she was signifying that she hadn't been strolling around in booty shorts and a tank top that dared a man to lift it to see what was beneath. Her long hair was in a ponytail.

"I'm usually pretty good with faces."

"Well, it was dark and we'd both had a couple drinks by then I'm sure."

She had his full attention now. "Where was this drunken meeting?" He wasn't one to get hammered. Not since his sophomore year in college. But, just like love, he steered cleared of imbibing too much.

“At some corporate party at the Westoria in Durham. I believe one of the big internet companies or search engines were putting it on.”

Seven years ago he had just landed his first two major contracts. Google bringing fiber lines into Charlotte. That construction had just gotten underway last year, but it had opened other doors, like him negotiating the contract of the Bobcat Arena with Time Warner.

Maybe it was because the discussion was opening up a mental door in his mind that things about that night were coming back to him. He'd had three glasses of champagne celebrating the acquisition. He recalled that he hadn't been drunk, but he'd felt good. His company was finally moving into the big league. There were so many people there that night, hired women. The alcohol and warmth had got to him and he needed some air. There had been a woman out there at the far end of the balcony of the president's suite, which consisted of the entire top floor of the luxury hotel.

"What were you wearing?"

"A cinnamon halter dress in satin."

Everything flooded back to him. He stared at the woman before him but saw her as she'd been that night. She'd been stylish, carefree and captivating. The soft spring wind outside had lifted her dress and teased him with glimpses of her thighs. He'd wanted to possess her right then. Frankly it was exactly what he'd done. After approaching her, they'd spoken briefly of inconsequential things. However, he had a single goal in mind. When he saw the interest in her gaze, picked up on every flirting overture she made, no matter how subtle. 

When he leaned in for a kiss, her lips had met his. “Why were you there that night? Were you working with a company?”

Her pink tongue came out and slid across the fullness of her bottom lip, moistening it. “In a way. I worked for an escort service back then. I was having a hard time in college finding the money to stay in. Scholarships weren’t cutting it and I’d maxed out my loans. One of my friends was doing it and brought me in. The company paid for designer gowns and all the trimmings I needed for my date nights. On top of it the pay was good.”

His hands fisted and tension sent ice along his spine. “Were you someone else's date?"

Her teeth sank into the side of her tempting bottom lip as she held his gaze. “No. What happened between us wouldn’t have happened if I were.”

“Were you being paid to have sex with the businessmen there?”

“It wasn’t a prostitution service.” She stabbed a finger into her chest and snarled. “I’m not a whore.”

“I never said you were,” he barked back.

Her hands swung up at her side and down as she let out a harsh laugh. “Your implication was pretty clear that I was taking money for sex with rich men.”

He couldn’t deny her words. Years from that night he could feel the burn of jealousy in his gut. “I’m sorry.” Shoving a hand into his hair he tried to wrap his mind around the whole situation. That night, he’d found himself yearning for her in a way he’d never desired another. He’d been insane with lust.

They backed into a vacant room off the balcony and he’d taken her against the wall. There had been no preamble, passionate kisses were the only foreplay. She’d come twice before a blinding orgasm finished him off inside of her. It had been the only time in his life he’d had sex without a condom. He could almost feel her slick, hot, tight walls, sheathing and pulsing around him at the moment.

She’d walked out on him that night too. When their fever had tempered, she’d excused herself to use the restroom. He’d stepped back out onto the balcony to give her privacy. Twenty minutes had gone by and she hadn’t come out of the room. Going in to check on her, he’d been shocked to discover she was gone. He went back to the main part of the suite where over sixty people partied, and shook hands on deals. He hadn’t wanted to show his hand by asking around for her.

“It shames me to say that I didn’t even think about the fact I hadn’t used protection until the morning.” He glanced at her. She was now seated on the sofa staring down at her fingers as they plucked at each other. “I’ve carried a condom in my wallet since that night.”

“Didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.” Sarcasm filled her words as she looked up at him then away.

“Yes and no. It was a foolish act on my part, but I never regretted that moment.” He crossed the room to sit on the corner of the solid oak coffee table before her, not touching her. “I thought about you a few times over the next few months. But, it never dawned on me that you could have conceived.”

Sharp greenish-brown eyes stared at him. “Why not?”

“Mature women in my circle protect themselves from pregnancy like the Great Wall around China.”

She was silent for a moment. “I’d been on a few dates before that. But, I wasn’t used to your world. My last boyfriend and man I was with before that was well over a year. I didn’t see a need for birth control.”

The question he had to ask weighed deep in the pit of his stomach, in the place that was the very root of who he was. “Did we create a child that night?” Like a pot set to boil, tension began to roil inside him.

“Yes, Zendaya is your daughter.” She never broke eye contact as her soft words crossed the space between them and changed his life.

He bowed his head. A million and one questions tumbled into his mind, thoughts of every moment he had missed with the beautiful little girl. He’d just gotten off the phone with his cousin Alex who had been through a similar situation. It made Zac feel as if he’d been ignorantly living in a vacuum with someone precious and pure kept from him. Just like Alex, Zac was pissed, but the hurt in his heart seemed insurmountable. Instantly his throat constricted and his eyes burned, all while the disquiet in his stomach erupted.

“Why?” he bit out through the strain around his vocal cords.

The silence in the room was deafening.

Unable to take it anymore he shot his gaze in her direction. Her face was buried in her hands and her shoulders shook even though no sound came out. Reaching out, he took hold of her wrist and pulled her hand away. As angry as he was at her for all that she had stripped from him, it broke his heart to see the tears streaming down her face. The urge to pull her into his arms assailed him, but he held it at bay. There were too many questions he wanted answers to and even with all that was between them, she was a distraction to him.

“I didn’t know I was pregnant for a couple months. I was under a lot of stress with school. When I realized it, I was scared. I had to tell the owner of the escort service and without that money I couldn’t stay in school.” The tears were flowing freely now, dripping on to their hands resting on her knee. “My aunt took me in. She taught me her baking craft and we raised Zendaya together until she passed a few years ago.”

The flood gates seemed to open up, she broke down. Unable to refrain from offering her comfort, he moved beside her and pulled her into his arms. He held her against his chest and stroked her trembling back.

When she regained a modicum of composure, he continued their conversation as he handed her a handkerchief from his pocket. Things had to be settled. “If you would have come to me, I would have taken care of you, Kourtney. You and Zendaya would have wanted for nothing.”

“By the time I figured out who you were, the son of Jake Powers of Powers and Powers Corporation in Durham, I couldn’t bring myself to seek you out.” She moved away and rested back against the seat.

At that time, his company was just getting off the ground and most people associated him with his father’s business.

“Why not? I had a right to know I was a father.”

“I know.” She swiped at a stray tear, clearing it from her cheek and sniffed. “How would it have looked to have me show up and proclaim to be your baby’s momma? You would’ve seen me as some gold digger.”

“Maybe.” He couldn’t deny it. There was too many of his colleagues that had been trapped in a similar situation, some of them by mistresses and it ruined their families. “Honestly, I don’t know how I would have reacted, but you still should’ve never kept her from me.”

“If I could do it over.”

“I’ve missed so much of her life.” He stood and went around the room going from one picture after the other, taking in the changes in his daughters face and size.

“I’m truly sorry.” She rose too.

I’m a father.
“I don’t know how to forgive you for this, Kourtney.” He faced her.

“It wouldn’t be right of me to ask you to.” She moved toward him, stopping directly before him. “I want to make this up to you somehow, Zachary. Make it up to Zendaya too.”

“I’m going to make sure you do.”

A small smile started at her lips. “I’m sure you—”

“You’re going to marry me.”

“What?” The small smile dropped and her eyes widened almost comically, making her appear as an ebony version of Betty Boop.

He wasn’t even sure where the suggestion had come from. Maybe because he’d recently spoken to his cousin Alex Anderson in Seattle and found out that he’d gotten married and had a child, so the thought had possibly been resting in the back of his mind. The Anderson and Powers boys had all achieved success, in their own right, but what was it without someone to share it with. Settling down seemed like the reasonable, expected thing to do. Right now, all he knew was that he couldn’t stop agonizing over every second and minute of Zendaya’s life he had missed and how he refused to miss another moment. His mind settled on what his mouth offered, he steamrolled ahead.

“I want my daughter in my life, permanently. End of story.”

“We can’t even agree on a business contract and you expect us to pledge our lives to each other.”