My Stepbrother's Secret Baby: A Billionaire Stepbrother Romance (5 page)

BRENNA

“Shh,” his voice said in the darkness of the early morning. As I came to, I realized I was naked, lying under a mountain of covers in Trenton’s bed. With a hint of a mini-hangover headache starting to throb in my temples, bits and pieces of the previous night were slowly fading back into my memory. “Stay asleep. I’m going to work. I’ll be back later.”

“When?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.

“Five,” he said. “We’ll take more then. I’m in meetings all day, but I promise you can have me all to yourself tonight. I’m sure you’ll have questions.”

He leaned over, and whether or not he meant it or whether or not there were any intentions behind the action, he kissed me.

I sunk back down into the covers and waited as he showered, dressed to the nines as always, and hurried out the door in a cloud of expensive aftershave and cologne. The moment the ding of his private elevator echoed throughout the apartment signaling that he’d left, I climbed out of bed.

I showered in his enormous marble tile shower and helped myself to his wide assortment of high-end skin care products. This man had everything. I slipped into one of his t-shirts, which I’d found tucked away, neatly folded in a drawer in his custom closet, and tiptoed out to the kitchen to make some breakfast.

After a bit, I headed back to my quarters to grab my phone and figure out what to do with myself. I still didn’t know what to make of the situation. All I knew was I was a grown woman and I was standing on the cusp swallowing my pride and becoming one of the youngest millionaires in the country or walking away from it all. Each day that went by with Trenton dangling carrots in front of me made it harder and harder to say no to him.

Trenton Ellsworth wasn’t a creep. He wasn’t a weirdo. He wasn’t a player or a poser. He was quite simply a man born to privilege who wanted to expand his family in an unconventional manner. When I tried to boil it all down, that’s what I got.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand of my bed, just where I’d left it the night before. The caller ID said it was my Aunt Clara calling. She was the kind of aunt who always had her nose up everyone’s business and usually only called when something major was going on. That woman loved to gossip.

“Hello?” I said as I took her call. “Aunt Clara, what’s going on?”

“It’s your grandmother,” she said with a sigh. “She’s in the hospital. You need to come home.”

“What?” I asked, feeling my entire world crushing down. My grandmother was my everything, and last I knew she was a picture of good health at sixty-two years old. “Aunt Clara, what happened?!”

“I found her unresponsive this morning when I stopped by,” she said. “Doctors think she had a stroke.”

I fell down to my knees as hot tears pooled in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks, leaving wet trails in their places. “No. No. No.” It was as if someone had sucker punched me right in the gut.

“Brenna, sweetie, she’s gonna be alright,” Clara said. “I think. But you need to get down here right away. She’s going to want to see you when she wakes up.”

I hung up with Clara and began stuffing all of my belongings into my bag. I had to get out of there as fast as possible. I wanted to see my grandmother. Hold her. Tell her everything was going to be okay. She needed me there to talk to the doctors and to understand her medication routine. She couldn’t do it all on her own. I had to get there fast.

I flew out of the penthouse and down to the street where I hailed the first cab I saw.

“JFK Airport,” I said to the cabbie as we flew through the streets of Manhattan and suddenly hitting stop and go traffic. “Ugh.”

“You okay, miss?” the cabbie asked, sensing my frustration.

“I’m fine,” I replied as I searched for plane tickets on my phone. I was able to find a seat on a plane leaving to Chicago in two hours. It was going to be close, but I was going to take the chance. The next flight out wasn’t until later that night. I didn’t have time to wait.

I tipped the driver as he dropped me off by the curb and ran inside to the Delta counter. I whipped out my emergency credit card with the thousand-dollar limit and slapped it on the table.

“I need the ten o’clock flight to Chicago,” I said, breathless from running in there.

“Ma’am,” the attendant said. “The line is over there.”

She pointed to the left where a mile long line for Delta Airlines wrapped around two poles and stretched all the way back towards the front doors. Somehow I’d missed that. I began to cry.

“I need to get home to see my grandmother,” I cried, wiping tears. “She’s in the hospital.”

The attendant looked sympathetic. “I’m so sorry. I wish there was something I could do.”

“By the time I get through that line, it’s going to be too late,” I said, glancing at my watch. It was already eight thirty. I hoisted my bag around my shoulder and walked away, headed towards the very end of the Delta line. I’d have to wait a few extra hours. I had no other choice.

After a solid hour of waiting in line, I approached the counter and asked for a ticket.

“I’m sorry, miss,” the attendant said as she clicked through the computer. “That flight is booked. I can put you on standby but there’s no guarantee.”

My mouth hung open in disbelief.

“Or I can put you on the first flight out tomorrow,” she offered, biting her lip and probably praying I wasn’t going to freak out at her.

“Standby is fine,” I said. “I’ll take my chances.”

She printed my standby ticket and directed me to security. All I could think about was my grandmother and nothing else.

TRENTON

“Brenna?” I called out when I got home. Five o’clock on the dot, just like I’d promised. The place was empty. My staff had gone home. Silence echoed through the vast walls and high ceilings. “You home?”

I headed over to the secret door and knocked. Nothing. I scanned my finger and let myself in. Her place was empty too. I checked around. All her things were gone. She’d just…vanished.

Maybe she had second thoughts? I wondered.

I pulled my phone out and texted her. No response. I called her but it went straight to voicemail. I sat down on the edge of her bed and raked my fingers through my hair trying to remember the night before. It had gone pretty damn well I thought. She seemed to enjoy it. She enjoyed it a lot actually. What would’ve made her run out?

I left her apartment and locked the door, heading to my room to undress and unwind. I was going to need a stiff drink. All day I’d thought about her. And not in the usual way. A different way. Like I couldn’t get her out of my fucking head. The way she tasted. The way she smelled. The way she bit her lip when she was orgasming the night before. The way she melted into the covers when it was all done.

I pulled my phone out and sent her a text. A bunch of questions marks. I had no words. Several long hours later she finally responded.

“In Chicago.”

I immediately dialed her. “What are you doing in Chicago?” I tried to wrap my head around the fact this morning she was lying naked in my sheets and by the time I got home she was on a flight across the country.

“My grandmother had a stroke,” she said, her voice faltering as she tried to stifle her emotion. I supposed for a girl like her it was difficult showing her vulnerability to a man she hardy knew.

“I’m so sorry, Brenna,” I said. “Is there anything I can do?”

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I don’t think so. I’ll let you know.”

“Don’t hesitate to ask for anything. I mean that.”

“I’m probably going to be here a while,” she said. “So, I don’t think I’ll be able to be your surrogate. I’m sorry.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I said. “Wait a minute.”

“Yes?”

“I’m not in any rush,” I said, not wanting to lose her. “I’ll wait as long as I need to if you’re on board with this.”

She paused. Silence.

“Are…you on board with this?” I asked, my voice hopeful.

“To be honest, Trenton,” she said, “I haven’t thought about it at all. I’ve had too much going on to even think about it.”

“I understand,” I replied. “Sounds like you have your hands full. Tell you what. I’ll be here, waiting, and you take all the time you need. If you need anything, let me know. If you would like to continue getting to know me and considering my plan once the dust settles and your life gets back to normal, please contact me.”

Closing the book like that was like a punch to the gut, but if there was one thing I knew well it was women. Stop chasing them for a while and eventually they’ll come after you.

“O-oh,” she stammered. “Okay.”

She paused as if there was more she wanted to say.

“Take care, Brenna,” I said. “I hope your grandmother recovers.”

I meant what I said. About her grandmother. I had no intentions, however, of giving up what I wanted: Brenna and a baby.

BRENNA

“Grandmother,” I said as I perched by her hospital bed. Her eyes began to flutter and she looked around.

“Brenna?” she said, her voice raspy. She cleared her throat. “Baby, is that you?”

“Yes,” I said, reaching over to grab her hand.

“You came,” she said, trying to smile. The left side of her face drooped a bit. I hated seeing her so weak.

“Of course I did,” I said. I stood up to give her a hug and kissed the thin skin of her wrinkled forehead.

Just then, my Aunt Clara barged in the room with a cup of coffee in hand. She was my grandmother’s only remaining child, and while she may have had a difficult personality, she still loved her mother more than anything. She hadn’t left her side once.

“So you said earlier that she’d been feeling funny all week,” I said to my aunt. “Why on earth didn’t she go see a doctor?!”

Clara bit her lip. “She lost her job last month. She didn’t want to tell you.”

My jaw dropped. She’d been sending me a couple hundred dollars here and there, even as recently as last week.

“She doesn’t have insurance,” Clara continued. “She thought she could take some vitamins or something. I really don’t know what was going through her head.”

I turned back to look at my grandmother whose eyes were fluttering as she was falling back asleep. Her poor body had been through so much that day. I sat back in my seat as I realized she was going to leave that place needing physical therapy and with a mountain of hospital bills she’d never be able to pay on her own.

“Clara,” I sighed, shaking my head. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Clara said, looking worried.  Clara had no money. Never had. I couldn’t expect her to help out. She was always there to lend an ear but never more than that. She lived a very humble existence, and I was quite sure she could hardly pay her own bills most months.

I thought about Trenton and the money, and suddenly my decision was becoming crystal clear. I didn’t have a choice. I knew what I had to do.

***

“Brenna,” Trenton said a week later as I walked into his office. “You’re back.”

He stood up as I entered his office, looking pleasantly surprised.

“You didn’t think I’d come back did you?” I asked, putting on my best game face. I was going to try to make this work. Not for me. Not for my personal gain. But for my grandmother.

“What changed your mind?” he asked, smoothing his tie, his blue eyes piercing mine.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “Where’s the contract? I’d like to read it.”

He reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a stack of papers clipped together with a binder clip.

“Here you are,” he said, handing me a gold pen.

“I’m not signing these yet,” I said. “I’m taking them home. To my new little apartment. I’ll read everything over and we can discuss my questions at dinner tonight. At your place.”

I clutched the papers to my chest and walked out of his office, heading back to my new place in his penthouse.

According to the documents, we had three months to conceive. I would carry the baby and after that, we would share 50/50 custody. I would be given a generous monthly stipend to care for the child as well as a place to live in his building. The child would split their time between us and we would share holidays.

All sexual obligations were to cease upon confirmation of conception. There were no romantic obligations at any point. Seven appearances were required at different stages in the pregnancy as well as a faux engagement announcement.

He’s really going all out, I thought as I read the papers. He’s got it all planned out.

I pressed my pen against the dotted line and signed my future away.

***

“Dinner smells amazing,” I said as I sat at Trenton’s dining room table that night. He poured himself a drink and took a seat. “Long day?”

“You have no idea,” he said, taking a swig and quietly swallowing. “Not every day can be a million dollar day.”

I rolled my eyes. “I read the contract.”

“Oh, yeah?” he said, expression perking up. “Any questions?”

“Not really questions,” I said. “More just stipulations.”

“Okay,” he said, intrigued. “Go ahead.”

“You need to be transparent with me at all times,” I said. “I know we’re not dating, but I want to know that I’m getting the real you – all of you – at all times.”

“Easy enough,” he said rather smugly.

“I want to know if you go out on a date, if you sleep with anyone else,” I said. “Those types of things.”

He scrunched his face and smiled. “Okay. I can do that.”

“If I become pregnant,” I said, continuing, “me and the baby take full precedence over every single thing going on in your life, including but not limited to work, social engagements, and dates.”

“Of course,” he said. “That’s not even a question.”

Satisfied, I pulled the paper out from under my chair and slapped it on the table.

“We have a deal,” I said. “All of me. All of you. One year.”

“But hopefully eighteen years.” He stood up to grab the contract, folded it, and shoved it in his pocket as the chef brought out our next course. “Let’s eat, shall we?”