The Proposition
Authors: Katie Ashley
Tags: #friends to lovers friends with benefits coworker relationships babies
This is a work of fiction. All characters,
organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either
products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
All rights reserved. This
Smashwords edition is copywritten by Katie Ashley and any portion
thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the author, except for
the use of brief quotations in a book review. November,
2012.
Contents
For the Steel Magnolias in my life: my late
mother who started this writing journey with me, and for my
recently departed grandmother for continuing with me down the rough
and rocky path.
Emma Harrison
stood back to admire her hard work. A brief smile of satisfaction
flickered on her face. Somehow she had managed to perform an almost
miraculous undertaking of transforming the dingy 4
th
floor conference room into an exquisite pink dream. She was
especially proud of herself considering decorating and party
planning weren’t exactly her forte. Of course when it came to
selling the image any mother-to-be would want in a baby shower, her
position at one of the premiere advertising agencies in Atlanta
helped a lot. Cocking her head, she noticed the
It’s a Girl
banner was hanging slightly to the left. After she fixed it, her
fingertips smoothed over the pale pink tablecloth adorned with
refreshments and colorfully wrapped presents for the upcoming
arrival.
She blew an errant strand of auburn hair out
of her face and tried smoothing it back into the knot at the base
of her neck.
Yes, this is exactly what I would want for my baby
shower…if I ever get to have one.
A stabbing pain entered her
heart before crisscrossing its way through her chest. It was a
feeling she was becoming all too familiar with as her thirtieth
birthday loomed around the corner, hovering over her like a dark
cloud, while motherhood, along with Mr. Right, still evaded her.
Being husbandless and childless was all the more painful after her
parents’ deaths. After losing her mother two years ago, she had
sworn she would replace the love she had lost by finding a husband
and having a child. Unfortunately, nothing in her life seemed to
work out as well as she planned it in her head.
Struggling out of her thoughts, she flipped
her watch—the one that had belonged to her late mother—over to read
the time. Only fifteen minutes before the guests, mainly her
coworkers, started arriving.
Okay, Em, it’s time to get your
game face on.
The hostess of the shower can’t let the green
eyed monster of jealousy consume her and cause her to go apeshit,
flipping over tables and throwing gifts in a Hulk-like rage! Get a
grip!
The pep talk did little to still the churning
emotions coursing through her. She gripped the table until her
knuckles turned white. As the silent tears streamed down her
cheeks, she quickly wiped them away. Raising her deep green eyes to
the ceiling, she thought,
Please help me get through
this.
“You know, I have a nail file in my desk
drawer if you want to slit your wrists. It would be a hell of a lot
quicker than what you’re doing now!”
Emma jumped and clutched her chest. She
whirled around to see her best friend, Casey, smirking at her. She
frantically swiped the remaining tears from her eyes with the back
of her hand. “Jeez, Case, you scared the shit out of me!”
“Sorry. I guess you were just so lost in
misery and self-loathing that you didn’t hear me say your
name.”
Ducking her head, Emma replied, “I don’t know
what you’re talking about. I was just checking to make sure
everything looked all right before everyone gets here.”
Casey rolled her eyes. “Em, what were you
thinking agreeing to this? It’s slow emotional suicide.”
“How could I not? Therese is the one who got
me the job here. She taught me everything I know. She’s gone
through
three
rounds of In-Vitro Fertilization. If anyone
deserves a baby shower, it’s her.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t have to be the one to
throw it. I mean, she would have totally understood—especially with
everything that’s happened lately with Connor.”
Emma’s phone buzzed on the table. She glanced
at the ID and grimaced. “Speak of the devil.”
“Is he still calling and texting nonstop?”
Casey asked.
“Yep. Lucky me.”
“Let me answer. I’ll tell that asshat you’re
going to get a restraining order or something.”
“He’s harmless, Case.”
“You just need to tell him to man-up, grow a
pair and give you some sperm.”
A giggle escaped Emma’s lips. “As tempting as
that would be, I’d better pass. The whole sperm/baby thing is what
started this whole mess to begin with.”
Casey gave a frustrated grunt. “The very fact
you’re considering having someone donate sperm is ridiculous.” She
placed her hands on Emma’s shoulders. “You are way too beautiful
and sweet and amazing to give up on the dating world to have a
kid.”
“Nice pitch there with the compliments. Have
you ever thought of working in advertising?” Emma mused.
“Ha, ha, smartass. I wasn’t trying to sell
you anything. It’s the damn truth. I don’t know when you’re finally
going to believe it. Most of all, I want to know when the men
around this city are going to get their heads out of their asses
and see it too!”
Emma threw her hands up in exasperation.
“Case, considering my biological clock is clanging, rather than
ticking, I think it’s a little late for all that.”
“But you’re not even thirty,” Casey
protested.
“I know that, but I’ve wanted a baby since I
was twenty. I want—no I
need
—to have a family again. Losing
my parents and not having brothers or sisters—” Her voice choked
off with emotion.
Casey rubbed Emma’s arm sympathetically.
“You’ve still got lots of time for babies. And the husband could
still come along. ”
Rolling her eyes, Emma said, “Might I remind
you of the idiot parade I have had the misfortune to go out with in
the last six months?”
“Oh, come on, they weren’t that bad.”
“Are we grading on an extreme curve or
something? First, there was Andy the,” she made air quotes with her
fingers, “
practically
separated accountant whose wife
tracked us down on our date and proceeded to go mental on him in
the middle of the Cheesecake Factory.”
“Shit, I remember him now. Didn’t the cops
get called?”
“Oh yes. I had to call Connor to come get me
because they were both arrested for disrupting the peace!”
“So there was one bad seed in the mix,” Casey
argued.
“Then there was the mortician who regaled me
all during dinner about the ins and outs of embalming, not to
mention I think he had a pretty unhealthy attachment to some of his
dearly departed clients.”
Casey made a gagging noise. “Okay, I’ll admit
that necrophilia could turn anyone off from dating for awhile.”
“
Awhile
? How about a freaking
lifetime, Case?” Emma shuddered. “Thank God, it was one date, and
he never touched me.”
“So two bad eggs. There’s a whole city of men
out there, Em.”
Emma swept her hands to her hips. “And I
guess you’re having selective amnesia about Barry, the
dentist?”
Casey scrunched her face up as in pain. “Is
he still in jail on those voyeurism charges?”
Emma bobbed her head. “Thankfully, the state
is pretty tough on asshats who set up hidden cameras in the
men’s
locker-room at the gym!”
“Well, those are the extreme cases.”
“Frankly, some of the other girls in our
department think I need to write a book on bad dating
experiences!”
“Now wait a minute. You’ve gone out with some
decent guys, too.”
Emma sighed. “And the instant they realized I
wasn’t going to bed with them before the appetizer arrived, they
bolted for the door. If we actually made it through dinner, then
the stench of my marriage and baby desperation drove them
away.”
Casey grinned. “See you’re going about this
the wrong way. You need to give in to the idea of throwing caution
to the wind and having mindless sex to conceive.”
“I don’t think so.” Emma shook her head.
“Just because Connor bailed on the idea of sperm donation, doesn’t
mean I’m giving up. Somehow, someway, I’m going to have a child to
love.”
Aidan Fitzgerald rubbed his blurring blue
eyes. He peeked through his fingers at the clock on the computer
screen. Damn, it was already after seven. Even if he wanted to
finish the project, his brain was too fried. He could barely make
out the words in front of him. He turned off his computer, secure
in the thought that his newly elevated promotion of Vice President
of marketing meant he could wait until the morning and not have
someone bitch at him for slacking off.
With a groan, Aidan rose out of his chair and
stretched his arms over his head. He grabbed his bag and headed to
the door. As he flipped off his office lights, his stomach rumbled.
There was probably nothing at the house to eat, so he’d probably
need to pick up something on the way. For a brief instant, he
wished there was a woman waiting on him with a home-cooked meal. He
quickly shrugged the thought away. A couple of meals weren’t worth
the hassle of long-term relationships. In the end, he was much
happier with begging dinners off one of his married sisters. At
least until they launched into one of their tirades about how he
couldn’t be a bachelor for the rest of his life, and at thirty-two,
it was time for him to settle down and have a family.
“Bullshit,” he muttered under his breath at
the thought. The attractive cleaning lady down the hall raised her
head.
She then gave him an alluring smile.
“Goodnight Mr. Fitzgerald.”
“Goodnight Paula,” he replied. He smacked the
button for the elevator, fighting the urge to close the gap between
them and strike up conversation. He raked a hand through his sandy
blond hair and shook his head. Talking to Paula would most likely
lead to some tryst in the storeroom closet, and as much as he would
enjoy that, he was getting a little old for those kinds of
hook-ups.
The elevator jolted him down to the first
floor. Heated voices met Aidan the moment he stepped off, causing
him to grunt in frustration. Damn, the last thing he needed after
working late and being cock-teased by the cleaning lady was to come
up on some domestic dispute. And from the tone of both a man and
woman’s voice, that’s exactly what it was.
“Connor, I can’t believe you cornered me here
at work!” a woman hissed.
“What was I supposed to do? You won’t answer
my calls or emails. I had to see if you were all right.”
“I told you to leave me alone, and I meant
it!”
“But I love you, Em. I don’t want to lose
you.”
At the sound of scuffling, the woman’s voice
raised an octave. “Stop! Don’t you
dare
touch me!”