Page 24 of Accidental Theirs (Alpha Billionaire Daddies #6)

Chapter Twenty-One

DAMIEN

I stare at the instructions in my hand. They might as well be written in Chinese, for all the sense they make to me.

I look around the former guest room, taking in the sight of all the pieces of wood and bolts littering the floor.

I’m never going to get this thing built.

The doorbell rings, and I sigh, heading downstairs to answer it.

I pull the door open, and Olivia is standing there, biting her lip.

“Olivia,” I breathe, reaching out to take her hands and bringing her inside.

She doesn’t instantly pull away from me, and that’s encouraging, at least.

“Did you get my flowers?”

“I did. Thank you.”

Looking down at her helplessly, I’m not sure what else to say.

I’ve been an idiot, and I hate that things got so messy between us .

I woke up this morning hungover and regretful, and I’ve been trying to apologize to her ever since.

She looks down at my hand and raises an eyebrow.

“Did I catch you in the middle of something?”

I look down to see an Allen wrench in my hand.

My cheeks burn, and I’m not sure I want her to know what I’m building upstairs.

But right now, she needs reassurance, and just because I’m embarrassed doesn’t mean I shouldn’t give it to her.

I take her hand and lead her upstairs to the guest room, where I’ve started to set up a crib and a changing station.

Olivia claps a hand over her mouth, her eyes watering. “Damien. This is...”

“Early. I know. But when the baby is here, I want him to have his own room.”

“Him?”

I smile sheepishly. “I don’t know. Just feels like a boy, I guess.” I pause, watching her face. “Are you okay?”

She sniffles, rubbing at her eyes. “I’m fine. It’s just the hormones.”

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“Some water would be nice. Or tea, if you have it.”

“Tea it is.”

I head downstairs again, and she follows me into the kitchen as I put on the kettle, taking two teacups down from the cabinet.

Olivia sits down at the small breakfast nook in the kitchen, looking around.

“You have a beautiful home. It’s smaller than I expected.”

I shrug. “I didn’t want to rattle around in a mansion. I only need so much space.”

She licks her lips, and I struggle not to look at her mouth.

“You’ve never had a live-in girlfriend?”

I scoff. “Me? No. Nothing like that. ”

Her eyes search my face curiously, and I wonder what she’s thinking.

She doesn’t speak again, and I pour boiling water over the teabags. “Cream or sugar?”

“Just sugar, please. A lot of it.”

I chuckle and put the tea in front of her along with a spoon and a container of sugar. I sit across from her, and she mixes in a truly insane amount of sugar.

“Should have known you have a sweet tooth.”

“Because I’m so sweet?” She smiles, and my heart swells.

Maybe things are getting better. I would hate myself forever if I chased her away because of my actions.

“Listen, Olivia, I want to apologize.”

“You already did. Twice.”

“It’s not enough.” I take a breath. “You have to understand that this is a lot for me. I’ve never... I’ve never really had a family, not outside of you and your mother, and I didn’t expect this."

“I didn't expect it either.”

“I know. And it was wrong for me to blow up on you like that.” I look at her as earnestly as I can, leaning across the table. “Can you forgive me?”

“I already have. Don’t worry about it. Emotions were high, and maybe I could have handled it better, too.”

I let out a relieved breath. “I’m so glad you understand. You’re not just my employee, but one of my best friends. And I plan to be here for you in any way that I can.”

“And if it’s not yours?—”

I wave a hand to dismiss her fears. “If it’s not mine, I’ll still be here for you. No matter what.”

She gives me a shaky smile and sips her tea. “That’s really good to hear, Damien.” She pauses for a long moment. “On the other hand, what are we going to do about Carter Holdings? ”

I sigh. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”

“Dominic thinks we have a leak.”

I stiffen. “A leak? Really?”

“I’ve gone over it and over it in my mind, and I can’t think of anyone who would want to sabotage us.”

I think about it for a moment.

Yvonne has always been a champion of the little guy, and she pays everyone well. Since she passed, Olivia hasn’t changed any of the contracts, and most of the people that we work with are friends of hers.

“I can’t, either. Are you sure he’s right?”

She nods. “He sounded pretty sure. He’s going to stall for us, get us some time to figure this out.”

A brief shock of jealousy rushes through me.

Dominic to the rescue, I guess.

“I’m sorry I ever kept it from you,” I say quietly, and Olivia presses her lips together but doesn’t answer. “You were right to be upset with me about it. I was just worried that you’d stress out and cancel the merger, and if you do...”

“We go under.”

I nod. “Exactly. But now you’re saying Titan wants to dissolve us?”

She huffs out a breath. “That’s what Dominic says. He says with debt like ours, it would be their safest move.”

He’d know.

It’s not exactly that I’m suspicious that Dominic is involved in this—I don’t think he’d ever do anything to hurt Olivia, but it seems like really weird timing that her ex happens upon this information.

Is he using it to leverage time with her?

Because if so, that’s not going to fly. I may be one of a few options, but I don’t plan on taking this lying down.

I want Olivia and everything that comes with her, and I’m not going to let Dominic outshine me .

Or Sebastian, for that matter.

“What about the new employees? People hired after Mom passed away?”

“There’s only a handful of them. We could go through the files, see if anyone has a shady background.”

I feel bad saying that, knowing my own background isn’t exactly sparkling clean, but it’s the only place I can think of to start.

Olivia nods, standing up. “Let’s do it.”

I blink up at her. “Right now?”

“The crib can wait.” She pats her belly. “He’s still got some cooking to do.”

I grin. “You think it’s a boy, too?”

She shrugs. “Well, it’s a fifty-fifty shot. Do you want to drive, or should I?”

I stand and grab my keys from the hook hanging in the kitchen. “I’ll drive.”

I lead her out to the car and by the time we get to the office, it’s full dark.

It’s almost creepy, being here after hours with only the overnight security guard at the gate.

As we walk through the parking lot, I stick close to Olivia’s side.

She punches in her keycode at the door, and we head into the file room, where everything is, all the employee files, receipts, invoices... every paper trail we have.

Olivia shakes her head. “I should have been more active with monitoring our finances. It was just that you’ve always handled everything....”

I wince. “Your mother made some risky investments. They didn’t pay off, and our bills kept coming. I kept trying to find the money, but after a while, it was a losing battle.”

She lets out a breath through her nostrils and heads to the back of the room, starting with the newest hires and working backward.

I start at the other end, and hours pass before we meet in the middle.

We take armfuls of file folders to a nearby conference room, and she plops them down on the table.

“I don’t care if we have to work all night. I’m going to find this leak.”

I smile at the determination in her voice.

“We got this, sweetheart.”

She offers me a bright smile, and it warms my heart. I don’t see it enough lately.

Midnight rolls around, and we’re halfway through the files when Olivia stretches in her chair, her breasts jutting out.

Lust washes over me like a wave, and I clear my throat, looking away.

“Maybe we should take a break?” I suggest, and Olivia groans.

“I wanted to get this done tonight.”

“It’s late. We’ve got some maybes.” I gesture to the pile we’ve set out for potential leaks. “We’ll halve them up and work on going through them at the office tomorrow.”

She bites her lip. “I don’t want anyone else knowing about this. If the leak finds out that we’re looking...”

“Of course not. We’ll keep it under wraps. I just think you should go home and get some rest. All this can’t be good for the baby.”

That seems to convince her, and she stands, stretching more.

We load up the car with all the files, and I take her back to my house, walking her to her car with her share of the file folders in my arms.

I put them in her trunk, and she stands next to the door, watching me .

I approach her, and she doesn’t back away. I brace my hands on the door, caging her in.

She looks up at me with interest, one groomed eyebrow quirking up.

I lean down, letting myself inhale her scent. “Are we okay now?”

She’s far more intoxicating than any drug.

She tilts her chin up. “We’re okay.”

I put a finger under her chin, stroking there. “And I’m still in the running?”

“For baby daddy? Obviously.”

I shake my head. “Not just that. For your heart.”

Her eyes widen, pupils dilating. “You’re still interested in me that way?”

“Of course, I am.”

A smile plays across her lips. “Good.”

I lean down to kiss her, but she darts under my arm.

I groan, and she giggles.

It’s like a game, but I’m having the time of my life.

“See you at work, Damien.”

“See you then, sweetheart.”

I watch her drive away, standing there for a long time before going back into the house.

I’m going to get this crib built if it kills me.

She needs to know how serious I am.