The Billionaire's Secret Baby: A BWWM Pregnancy Romance (18 page)

Roman sighed heavily and shook his head. "Alright. I'll talk to her when I go home tonight."

Allen nodded and stood up. "I'm sorry, Roman, I know things are way off for you right now. I wish this was easier."

Roman shook his head. "It'll all work out. We'll make it work out. I'll talk to her tonight."

Allen smiled a little and left Roman's office.

When Roman got home that night, he sat with Agnes and Denise at the table and ate dinner silently while the two of them talked. When Agnes went to her room, he looked at Denise and said quietly, "We need to discuss something."

She wheeled on him and stared at him with wide eyes. "What? What's going on?"

Roman walked to his library and sat down on one of the sofas. Denise followed him and sat beside him, looking worried.

“I know you feel like you want to be friends with Senator Johnson and his wife, but I need to ask you to stop contacting them. They aren't interested in a personal relationship with you. They would rather keep our association strictly business."

Denise's jaw fell open. "What? What are you talking about? Carmen is one of my best friends!"

Roman shook his head. "No, Denise, she's not. I know you've been trying to get her to become your friend, but she just doesn't like you and she doesn't want to be friends with you." He was sorry to have to be blunt with her, but he knew that was the only way to get her to really understand.

She jumped up off the sofa and glared at him. "She is too my best friend, and I love her!"

Roman looked up at her sympathetically. "Does she ever call you?"

Denise was quiet a moment and then shook her head. "Not very often, but she's a busy lady! She's the Senator's wife!"

He continued. "Does she spend time with you, ever? Lunch, shopping... anything?"

She stood there, staring down at him. “No,” she said, in a low voice.

"Does she ever accept or answer your calls?" he asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"No," Denise said, as a pinkish red began to color her face.

Roman leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "She doesn't like you. She doesn't want to be friends with you, and she and Edward and not going to buy that boat from me if you keep harassing them. They have said that themselves. They want you to leave them alone."

Denise's mouth dropped open again in shock, as her face flushed full red, and he knew then that she finally understood it.

"That bitch! How could she use me like she has?" Denise turned on her heel and began to pace the floor. Then she stopped short and glared at Roman.

"This is your fault! I was trying to make a good name for us, and get us a few more rungs up the social ladder of success and you went and screwed it up! It had to be you! They loved me until you got involved!" She gritted her teeth and snapped angrily at him.

Roman stood up and looked down at her. "Don't you blame me for it, Denise, they don't like you because they think you are a just a social climber who is trying to become more popular by being friends with them. They are right. You don't even like Carmen. I've never heard you say anything good about her except concerning her social status!"

Denise shrieked. "Well why the hell would I like someone like her, anyway? She was nothing but a social climbing whore herself, not too long ago when she was the Senator's nanny, taking care of that kid of his. Then she went and screwed around with him and got him to marry her! At least I'm just trying to better our position by being friends and not sleeping with the Senator! She's nothing but a dirty low down immigrant, anyway!"

Roman raised his voice to her. "If you want to get technical, Denise, we are all immigrants, and the Native Americans are the only ones who aren't! As far as Carmen, you just said she was your best friend! Now you're calling her a whore? Is that how you treat your friends? Or is that just your true color coming through now that you think you can't get anywhere by associating with them?"

"She's a phony! She doesn't even belong in society at all!" Denise shouted at him.

"You're just throwing her under the bus because you can't use her anymore, now! That makes you the fake friend, Denise, and I'm going to say this, I'm glad that they saw through you right from the start, and didn't want anything to do with you because you were just using them the entire time!" He flung his arm through the air and shot an angry look at her.

Denise took two steps toward him and yelled again. "I can't believe you're taking their side after everything I've done for you! I've done everything I could to make us shine in the public eye, to give us a good solid spot in society and you just blow it all away like it's nothing!"

"I don't care about society! I don't care about any of that nonsense, and you know it!" he shouted back. "As far as I can see, you're the one who always wanted it, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to find out that you were only married to me because of my wealth and status, since that seems to be what's most important to you!"

She picked up a sofa pillow and launched it at him. "Well, why the hell else would I be married to you? You're no great catch! How else was I going to become the star of socialite San Francisco? You're such an idiot!" she screamed at him and then turned and stomped out of the room, leaving him standing there in shock.

He had only been surmising. He had been guessing and not even really on purpose; it was just something he had thrown out in his argument, wondering if she had only ever been with him because of his wealth and inherent social status. He didn't attend all the parties and go to all the social functions; he would make an appearance now and then, not really caring about it at all, and not paying attention to what anyone else ever thought of him, and he realized that that was probably why he had gotten so far; he wasn't trying to get anywhere.

Her admittance, however, put his marriage into a whole new light. He hadn't really given it any thought before, but now he could see how everything in their marriage that hadn't made much sense before, suddenly clicked into comprehension. Why she had gone after him the way she had;  why she’d been so hot in bed with him at first until they were married; and why she married him so quickly.

Why, after they had settled into their marriage and their home, her affections had worn off and she had moved to her own room and left him cold and lonely. Why she had gone outside of their marriage and had an affair... it was because she was using him for his wealth and his social standing. He was flabbergasted. He sat down on the sofa and raked his hand through his hair, stunned by the realization.

He had promised his life to a woman who cared next to nothing for him. Then he realized another truth. The reason she was still married to him, the reason she had wanted to fix their marriage was because she was afraid that Cami was going to sneak in and take her social standing and her place. She was devastated that Cami had given him a child and solidified a position in his life for the rest of his life.

Roman could not believe what he was realizing. His head began to pound and he decided he would deal with all of it the next day. He was tired and in pain, and his fight with Denise had only made it worse.

After a couple of pills and a glass of water, he was resting deeply in his pillow, wrestling with dragons and ladders in his dreams.

Chapter 8

Roman was standing in the kitchen the next morning, making coffee when Agnes came in and stopped just inside the doorway, glaring at him.

"You piece of trash! How dare you upset my poor daughter the way you did last night, after everything she has done for you, and you go out on her and cheat on her, having a bastard child with some black woman! You are so damn lucky that she loves you and that she has been loyal to you and stayed around this house, being your wife, cooking and slaving for you while you're off screwing around with other women. She doesn't ask for much from you at all, and what do you give her in return? Grief and pain! I can't stand the sight of you!

“You make me sick to my stomach! She could have done so much better than you, and I've told her that, but she insisted on staying with you and now she's paying the price for it!" She turned and walked over to the table, sat down and lit a cigarette. "You're a bastard yourself, you are," she growled at him.

He shook his head and took his coffee out of the kitchen and into his office. He wasn't seated in the room five minutes when Denise came in all smiles and nerves and sat down across from him.

"I'm willing to forgive you for last night. You were awful to me, but I am still trying to work on fixing our marriage, and I think if you apologize to me, then we can move forward and forget the whole nasty business ever happened," she said sweetly, looking at him with a patient gaze.

Roman shook his head slightly. "Apologize to
you
? Are you serious?"

She slapped her hands down on her thighs. "Well alright fine, we were both fighting. I'll apologize if you will."

He just stared at her. He was sure she must have lost her mind. He didn't however, wish to deal with her if she was going to be nasty to him, so he took a deep breath and sighed. "Alright, I apologize for fighting with you last night."

"And for yelling at me," she added.

Roman closed his eyes and drew in a breath for patience. "Alright, and for yelling at you as well."

"Good. Now that's settled, we can move forward. See, it's much easier when you just admit that you were wrong and then let it go," she smiled smugly.

He sighed heavily and looked at her in all seriousness. "Listen. Emma is coming over today, and I don't want you to make anything difficult for her or me, and I want you to be polite to Cami. If I can be polite to your mother, you can do the same favor for me and be polite to Cami."

Denise lowered her eyes at him. "But my mother is family. Cami is just a whore who screwed you in a one night stand."

Roman stood straight up at his desk. "Get out of my office right now.
Out
!" he shouted, pointing to the door. "And I don't want you around when Emma and Cami get here."

Denise stood up slowly and straightened her dress and then waltzed out of the office without even a glance at Roman.

That afternoon, when Cami rang the doorbell, she was greeted by Denise who stepped through the door to the front porch.

"Well, hello," Denise said shortly. "You're welcome to stay out here, and we can just take the baby from you here. There's no need for you to come inside our family home."

Cami stared at her in shock. She couldn't believe that Denise could be so rude. Denise looked down at Emma in her car seat and her face clinched as if she was looking at a disgusting bug. "You can leave her there on the step. We'll take her in."

Cami looked at Denise with a warning glare. "I'm not leaving my daughter on your doorstep. Where's Roman?" she asked insistently.

Denise shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he's out screwing some other whore to make another kid."

Cami was just about to turn around and leave when Roman appeared at the door and pushed past Denise. "I'm sorry, I was coming from the other end of the house." He smiled at Cami and she could see that he had been having a rough day. Her heart went out to him, and she wanted to hug him, but she knew with Denise standing right there, she shouldn't get close to Roman at all.

He walked straight toward her and wrapped his arms around her in a big hug. She paused a moment and then realizing that he probably needed the hug more than he showed it, she reached her arms around him and hugged him back for a long moment, and then let him go. She didn't want him to have trouble later.

"How are you doing?" she asked, hoping for a positive answer.

He shook his head and looked away from her. "I'm alright," he said, shrugging.

She knew he wasn't being honest with her, and she also knew that this was no place to try to talk to him.

"Well, someone is excited to see you!" she said, hoisting the car seat up and handing his daughter to him. Emma squealed and grinned, reaching for Roman, and an enormous smile spread over his face. "You are exactly what I needed today!" he told her, leaning in and kissing her cheek.

"What time will you be picking her up?" he asked, looking back at Cami.

She tilted her head, "Whatever works for you is fine." She smiled at him.

"Why don't I keep her until after dinner?" he asked, with a hopeful look.    

Cami nodded. "That sounds great."

"Are you leaving that bastard child here with us? What the hell are you bringing it in here for? I don't want that kid in this house!" Agnes stood at the doorway screaming out at them.

Cami's jaw fell open and she stared at the bitter old woman in the doorway.

Roman closed his eyes and bit his tongue for a moment, and then looked at Cami.

"That's my mother-in-law. That's Agnes." He turned and looked at her over his shoulder and she flipped him off and then went back into the house, slamming the door behind her.

"Oh my God," Cami said quietly.

"Don't you say anything about my mother!" Denise demanded angrily.

Roman turned to look at her and shook his head. "You know what? That's it."

He turned and looked back at Cami. "What were you going to do with your afternoon?" he asked in a voice strained to stay calm.

Cami smiled a bit. "I was going to go shopping and then go to the beach. Would you like to come with me? We can make a family outing out of it?"

Roman nodded. "I'd like nothing better. Put Emma back in the car. I'll get my things and be right back out here."

Cami nodded and took the baby from him, and he turned and headed back up the stairs with Denise hot on his trail.

As soon as the door closed, she growled at him, "Just what do you think you're doing taking off with her like that? I told you I didn't want you doing that! I told you that you could spend time with that kid here at the house, not out with her mother!"

He wheeled on her swiftly and stopped her in her tracks, almost making her crash into his chest. "I'm spending time with my daughter in a positive environment rather than in a hostile one. Do you think I want my daughter in here with your hateful mother?

“No chance. It's bad enough she'd have to be around you, but your mother just drew the line. I'm going to visit my daughter and if her mother just so happens to be there, then so what! That's too bad. If you wanted her here, you should have made her feel welcome."

Denise gasped in anger. "I was making her feel welcome!"

"Save it, Denise." Roman snapped, not even looking at her as he turned and walked to his office. He picked up his wallet and phone and started for the door without another word or even a backward glance, and Denise watched him go with deeply angry eyes.

Roman walked out of the house and got into Cami's car. When he closed the door, she put her car in drive and pulled away from the house without saying anything. He rubbed his hand over his forehead and sighed.

"I'm so sorry about that,” he said, feeling miserable about it. "Neither of them had any right at all to speak to you the way they did. I'm not making excuses for either of them, but both of them went way beyond their limits --  or at least mine."

Cami just shook her head. "I understand that it's been a hard transition for all of you.  They are probably still getting used to the idea. Maybe it won't be that bad next time, now that they know how serious you are about it."

Roman had his suspicions that it would be that way for a while, at least until they got used to the idea of Emma being a permanent part of his family. He shook his head. "Well, it better happen soon,” he said in annoyance.

Cami decided to change the subject. "Well, where are we going today?" She smiled at him and he paused a moment and then gave a little laugh.

"I will let go of the hard moments,” he said with a breath of relief. "Let's go to the park, as you said, and we can do some shopping and then walk along the pier if it's not too crowded. How would that be?" he asked.

She nodded. "That sounds like a nice day out to me."

She took them to Golden Gate Park and they strolled through the lush greenery, pushing Emma in her stroller, laughing and talking, and neither of them could remember a day when they had more fun. They stopped for ice cream and shared bites of the different flavors they chose, and then they were off to the store. Roman told Cami that they stopped for ice-cream first because it's never a good idea to go to the store on an empty stomach.

She laughed at him and he stood there and watched her, feeling her happiness warm and lighten his heart and his mood.

They picked out various groceries and small items for her home that she was just finishing up. She was just in the middle of choosing vegetables for a salad, when she looked up at him and asked, "Would you like to stay for dinner tonight? You were going to keep Emma that long, anyway. You're welcome to stay and have dinner with us if you like."

Roman didn't even have to think about it. "I'd love that! Yes, thank you so much. What shall we have?"

"I was thinking fish, pasta, salad, bread, and chocolate for dessert." She raised an eyebrow at him. "How does that sound?"

"It sounds perfect." He smiled at her and they finished up their shopping and headed to the beach for a stroll down the sidewalk.

He pushed the stroller and she walked next to him, and they talked about all kinds of things, from their childhoods and they way they wanted to raise Emma, to their aspirations and goals for the future.

They made a stopping point and headed back to the car, going past all the small waves that were washing up on the golden sand. She looked at him and bit her lip slightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't even think for a moment that it might be difficult for you to be by the sea. How are you feeling about that?" she asked him cautiously.

He shrugged. "I love the sea; it feels like home to me and it always has. Nothing could keep me from it, not even the accident that I had. I should have been more careful; I should have checked the weather.

“I'm a better sailor than that. I just had so much on my mind, and I wanted to get out and get some fresh air. I wanted to let go of the stress and anxiety that was bothering me and just... breathe again. Try to think of solutions to the things that were bothering me."

She tilted her head and looked at him. "Did you find any solutions?" she asked him.

He laughed a little and sighed. "Well... yes and no. Part of what was bothering me solved itself, and part of it has been amplified, but time is going to be the only real solver of all the issues in my head. Only time." He smiled at her and motioned to the sea.

"That, though, will always be a part of me, and I will always want to be near it or on it."

Cami nodded and smiled. "I love the sea, too." She blushed a little and looked at him shyly. "I never loved it as much as I did when the two of us were on Captain Heatherwick's boat." She reached the car and put Emma in her car seat, and then stood back up to help Roman put the stroller in the trunk.