Page 98 of The Billionaire's Paradise

Leilani nodded, wide-eyed. “Now. We need to gonow.”

Suddenly the phone in my pocket buzzed. I pulled it out and saw Mrs. Mulroney’s name appear.

I answered it.

“Where the hell are you, Matthew? You’re not at the house.”

“We’re having a baby!” I shouted into the handset. “Meet us at the hospital!”

“Sweet baby Jesus in a manger! We’re on our way!”

Cal was already on the other side of Leilani, propping up her other elbow. “Okay, we’re getting you to the hospital,” he said calmly… but not. “We’re going now.”

“Great,” Leilani said. “Because if you don’t, this boardroom’s about to become a delivery room.”

That’s when Hal grabbed Cal’s shoulder from behind.

“Wait—Cal, just one second—don’t leave like this,” he said, his normally confident voice crumbling. “We can fix this. We can talk—please. Don’t walk away from this deal, we’re so close—”

Cal and I ignored him, shuffling Leilani quickly toward the door.

Hal pulled on Cal’s shoulder again. “Cal, listen to me—Cal,please.You don’t understand what this will do to me. Just give me five minutes—five minutes—we can renegotiate—”

Cal didn’t even look at him.

And neither did I.

We hit the hallway. Everyone was surging toward the exit. Kimo barked something about the car being out front. I was pretty sure Tutu was praying in two languages.

Behind us, Hal’s voice rose again—panicked, sweaty, desperate.

“Cal! Don’t do this—please! The natives will find somewhere else to roast their pigs.”

That was it.

Suddenly Cal, Leilani, and I all turned in unison.

And in perfect sync, the three of us shouted—

“Fuck off, Hal!”

It echoed down the hallway, where Hal stopped… and quietly broke.

It was, I have to say, one of the most satisfying moments of my life.

Then suddenly we were shuffle-waddle-running again.

Because there was a baby on the way.

And nothing else in the world mattered.

CHAPTER 32

Two vehicles screechedinto the emergency bay at the same time—Tutu’s clunky car groaning around the corner like it had just escaped a demolition derby, and a bright yellow taxi fishtailing beside it like it was auditioning forFast & the Furious: Honolulu Drift.

Both skidded to a halt, side by side, before all the doors flew open.

From Tutu’s car floundered Kimo, Nakoa, Tutu, Cal, and me, all trying to exit at once, which went exactly as you’d expect. Cal’s door got stuck, Nakoa’s foot was on the seatbelt, Kimo fell flat on his face in his haste to get out and I may have elbowed Tutu directly in the boob while trying to climb over her.