Steven

Bailey Borders
looked at the house number on the printed page, and then looked at the house in front of her.  She swallowed hard.  There was no way this could be the right house, could it?  This place looked like a palace. 
She looked down at her torn jeans and her tee
shirt with the spit up stain on the shoulder.  She should have taken the time to stop and change somewhere, but how could she do that with the baby?

She turned into the long driveway and pulled up in front of the house.  She was surprised there wasn’t a guard sitting at the gate waiting for her.  It was that kind of house
– a colossal brick home with large columns at the front.  She couldn’t see how deep it was, but she’d be willing to be
t
it was the biggest home she’d ever seen
.  Her 1994 Ford Fiesta with the back bumper tied on with a wire, was going to look terribly out of place here.
  Everything she owned was in the car.  She and Faith had been evicted from their apartment just that morning.

She said a quick prayer that
Steven
Tilton
was a forgiving man.  She knew her sister had treated him poorly, but now that Angela was gone, Faith needed the support of her father.  She couldn’t keep her if she didn’t get some financial help.  She just couldn’t! 

She hated to go begging, but there was nothing left to do.  She’d used up her savings supporting her sister these last eight months.  Paying for her funeral had been the end of her money.  Period.  She and Faith were about to be evicted, and she’d have nowhere to go.  Please let
him
understand.

*****

Steven
used the remote to snap off the television and grinned at his two friends and business partners.  “Why do we even watch the Superbowl anymore?  We always know who’s go
nna
win months in advance.”  He raised his glass of whiskey in a toast.  “To
Sports Prognosticators Incorporated
, the company that revolutionized the sports world!”

“To SPI, the company that revolutionized my sex life!” 
Cody
couldn’t quite keep the grin from spreading over his face.

“To SPI, the company that made us the richest men in North America!”
Justin
threw back his drink and the other two followed suit.  “Where would we be today without SPI?”

Steven
shrugged.  “I’d be out peddling some other kind of software.  I’d still be a billionaire, though.”
 
He grinned as he said it to let them know he was half joking.

The other two laughed.  They’d all changed a great deal from those three nerdy college boys who’d placed a bet on the Rams to win the Super Bowl. 

Steven had developed the software based on an idea Cody had.  Justin had run the company.  Even today, Steven was the programmer, Cody the idea man, and Justin the CEO.  They had too many employees to count at their main office in Dallas. 

Steven
was happy with his life.  He lived in a huge sprawling mansion in the quiet Southlake suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth.  He worked from home most days, constantly upgrading the software that had made them rich.  Every year on Super Bowl Sunday, the three men got together for a celebration.  Their business had been born on a Super Bowl Sunday, and they were going to celebrate.

Steven
’s housekeeper,
Connie
, usually had Sundays off, but she always came in to cook for them on Super Bowl Sunday.  She made enough snacks they could have fed the entire company, but they never invited anyone else. 
They didn’t need anyone else raining on their parade.  Super Bowl Sunday was, and always had been, a celebration for the three of them. 
“You boys winding things up?” she asked as she walked into the room and picked up the scattered dishes.

They all looked at one another.  “We probably need some real food.” 
Steven
looked at the woman who had worked for him since college.  She was his mother’s best friend, so she’d known him all his life.  “Anything in the oven?”
His brown eyes pled with her to have mercy on his stomach.

S
he rolled her eyes at them.  “I’m about to stick some
ribeyes and baked potatoes in the oven.  I’ll serve them before I go.  I’d ask you three to make sure your dishes made it to the sink, but I’m not going to waste my breath.  This room is going to look like a tornado came through it in the morning like it always does.”  She shook her head as she left, mumbling something under her breath about knowing his mother had taught him better.

The three men ignored her mumblings, knowing she truly didn’t mind.  It was her job, and she did it without too much complaining.  Steven paid her five times what most women would make at the same job, and she was content.

They were all laughing and joking about a girl
Cody
and
Justin
had both had a crush on in college when they heard the doorbell.  Knowing
Connie
was there and would get it, they ignored the sound.  “If she saw me today, she’d beg me to date her,”
Cody
bragged.

Justin
rolled his eyes.  “She couldn’t stand you.
  Even back then, she secretly loved me.  She just didn’t want to get in the way of our friendship.
”

“She told me she thought you were a nerd, and she wanted me to meet her on the top floor of the library behind the stacks.  She just didn’t want to hurt
your
feelings.”

Steven
grinned at the antics of his friends.  They were both insane. 

Connie
stepped into the living room then with a strange look on her face.  “
Steven
, you need to come with me for a minute.”

“Can’t it wait?” Everyone knew he spent Super Bowl Sunday with his two best friends. 
Everyone he cared about in the world was in this room. 
Why would
anyone
come here today?  If he didn’t know them, then he didn’t care to see them.

She shook her head.  The look in her eyes had
Steven
getting to his feet to walk toward the door.  “Be right back, guys.”

He followed her to a formal living area used only for show.  He didn’t entertain much.  He was too busy working.  “Who was at the door?”
  Who was important enough to pull him away from his annual celebration with his friends?

“Angela
’s sister
.”
 

Angela?  He’d
dated her three times what
?  Eight months ago?  What was
her sister
doing in his house? 
Angela
was a heartless bitch, and he never
cared
to see her again.  “What’s she doing here?  Why didn’t you just tell her to get out?”

Connie
shook her head, indicating the closed door.  “You need to talk to her.”
  The look in her eyes told him there was a lot more going on than he realized.

He sighed and opened the door, stepping into the room.  Her back was to him, but her blond hair was
just like her sister’s
.
  Her figure was just as curvy as her sister’s from behind, but where Angela had been tall, almost five-ten, this girl was much shorter.  Maybe five-three, he guessed.
  “What do you want?”
  His voice sounded harsh even to his own ears.  He couldn’t imagine Angela’s sister being anyone he wanted to have any type of contact with, though, and the sooner he made that clear, the better for everyone involved.

She turned, and for the first time, he saw the baby in her arms.  He
had never met Angela’s sister.  Of course, Angela never talked about anyone but herself, so how would he know she had a sister?
 

“I’m
Bailey
, Angela’s little sister.”  She pulled the pink blanket away from the baby’s face.  “You’re a daddy.”  She watched his face carefully for a reaction.  Angela had told her a lot about him, including the fact she’d never told him she was pregnant. 

He raised an eyebrow.  “I know for a fact
she was
sleeping with someone else
while we were dating
. 
What makes you think
she’s mine?”  He couldn’t take his eyes off the little bundle in the woman’s arms.
  Why did he feel like that tiny thing was his responsibility, even though he knew she couldn’t be his child.

Bailey
shook her head.  “She’s yours.  Angela told me she was.”
  He had to believe her.

He stared at her for a moment. 
Despite her innocent face, she lied as well as her sister.
  “So?  What do you want me to do about it?” 
He’d get a paternity test to prove he wasn’t
the baby’s father
.  There was no way anyone was going to sue him for paternity
for
a kid who wasn’t even his.

“I want you to pay child support for starters. 
I can’t raise her on my own
.”
  Her voice shook as she said the words, but her chin was lifted and her eyes were steady on his.
  She blinked to keep the tears that were making her eyes shine from falling.

“Where’s Angela?”
  Why wasn’t the bitch raising her own kid?  He should have known she’d dump her on the first person she saw.  It was so typical of Angela.

She shook her head, tears coming to her eyes.  “She was killed by a drunk driver last month.”  She sniffed.  “I’ve tried to hold it together.  I really have, but Faith got sick, and I lost my job
because I had to take too many days off to take care of her.  The daycare wouldn’t take her when she was sick
.
”  She sucked in a deep breath.  “We got evicted this morning.  We have nowhere to go.
  If you could pay child support, then we can make it
until I find a job and a place to stay
.”

He looked more closely at Bailey’s face.  Despite its natural beauty, there were dark circles under her eyes.  She looked as if she hadn’t slept in weeks.  A strong wind could blow her over, she was so tiny.  He felt a strong surge of protectiveness, both for the baby and her caretaker.