Steven (4 page)

He smiled.  “You are lucky.”  He finished fixing his sandwich and with a casual, “Goodnight,” thrown over his shoulder, he went back to his office. 

As soon as he’
d
shut the door, he picked up the phone.  When he
,
Justin
and
Cody
had made their first billion, they’d taken a vacation to the island of Motu Tane.  It was a private island they’d rented for the week.  Everything they’d wanted had been within their reach.  They’d lived in a virtual palace, and had staff to see to every one of their needs. 

Valentine’s Day was just a week away, and he was taking his little nanny to see the beach.  She was going to see the ocean in style.  Not from some little two star hotel in Galveston.  She deserved better.  He grinned. 
For some reason, he wanted to make her happy.  Life had thrown her some curves, including the baby she was raising, and she deserved better.

Justin
had been making noise about needing to have a business meeting anyway.  He’d just have the meeting on Motu Tane.  The others wouldn’t argue.  They could bring dates if they wanted.  He grinned.  He’d just make sure to invite them a day late, so he and Bailey could have some time alone together.

*****

Bailey
needed to do some shopping for Faith and wasn’t comfortable asking
Steven
for money, so she asked
Connie
how to handle it. 
Steven had furnished her room, but there were little things she still needed, a lot of little things, and Faith had almost outgrown her zero to three month clothes. 
Connie
pulled out a credit card and handed it to her.  “Just use this. 
Steven
pays it.”

Bailey
looked down at the card.  “Will he mind you loaning it to me?”
  She’d never had use of someone else’s money before, and it made her more than a little nervous.

Connie
shook her head.  “You really need to wait until the car is delivered, though.  He said it should be here this morning.”
 

Bailey
sighed.  “I wish he’d just let me use mine.  I feel weird driving other people’s cars.”
  She’d never driven a brand new car in her life.  All her cars had been used when she’d gotten them, and she drove them until they couldn’t be driven any longer.

Connie
laughed.  “The car will be for your use and your use only.  Think of it as your car.  He probably won’t let you drive yours again anyway.  It’s too old.”
  Connie shook her head.  “I’d be willing to bet money, he’s already arranged for it to be towed.”

Bailey
shrugged.  “I’ve been driving it for years.”
  She wasn’t particularly attached to her car, but it probably had another good few months in it before it died on her.

“It shows.  Trust me on this.  Drive what he tells you to drive.”

Bailey nodded and headed back upstairs.  Hopefully the car would be there soon, so she could go get the errands taken care of.

Connie
came and found her in Faith’s room less than an hour later.  “Your new car’s here.”
  She held a set of car keys out to her.

She looked up nervously
not reaching out for the keys
.  “What did he get?”
  She was almost afraid to know.  Hopefully something she wouldn’t be afraid to get behind the wheel of.

“Cadillac Escalade.  He wanted you to drive something big with more protection
f
or the baby is what he told me.”

Her eyes widened.  “An Escalade?  I’d be afraid I’d wreck it.  Those things cost a fortune!”
  She couldn’t drive something like that.  She’d worry about every scratch.

Connie
handed her the keys.  “Enjoy.”

Bailey
stared down at the keys in her hand wondering what she should do.  She wouldn’t feel comfortable driving a luxury
SUV
.  She knew she wouldn’t.  On the other hand,
Steven
had a point about her car.  It had broken down on her more times than she could count.  She shrugged.  It was his baby.

Within a few minutes she was off to get the things the baby needed driving the Escalade.  He was the boss, and she wasn’t going to fight with him over it.  If he wanted her to drive an expensive vehicle, that was his prerogative. 

She had to admit the leather interior felt luxurious to drive.  She’d never even been inside a vehicle like this, and found she loved it.  How was she ever going to be able to go back to driving cars she could afford?

When she got back, she carried the sleeping baby up the stairs in her car seat.  Slipping her out, she put her in her crib and
left
the room.  She carried in several bags of baby paraphernalia.  On her second trip in,
Steven
came out of his office to stop her.  “I need to talk to you for a moment.”

Her eyes widened.  Had she done something wrong?  “Sure.”
  Was he upset she’d spent more money on Faith without his permission?  Bonnie had said it would be okay. 

He opened the door to his office wider, nodding his head toward the room to indicate he wanted her there.  “Sit.”  He pointed to the brown leather couch taking up one wall of the room.

She’d been in there before, but hadn’t really noticed the room.  It was huge.  One entire wall was taken up by a computer desk and book shelf.  There was the couch she was seated on, an executive desk and chair in the middle of the room, and two chairs for someone meeting with him.

He took one of the chairs
and turned it to face
her.  “One thing we haven’t discussed is business trips.  While Faith is so young, I don’t want to leave her behind while I travel.  I’d rather she went with me
, which
means you need to travel with me as well.  I leave Sunday evening for a trip
, and
I need you to be packed and ready to go.”
  It was the best reason she had to go to the beach he could come up with on short notice.  Hopefully she wouldn’t see right through him.

“You want to take an infant on a plane?  Where are we going?”
  Her mind went through all the things she’d need to take to make Faith comfortable while traveling. 
It was mind-boggling.

“It’s my private plane, so it won’t disturb anyone.  Pack summer clothes
and
bathing suits
.  T
hat type of thing.”
  He shrugged as if it should be a simple matter to just drop everything and pack up for a trip. 

“Where are we going?” Her voice was more insistent this time.
  She really did need to know so she could pack appropriately.  What if he wanted to leave the US?  She didn’t even have a passport.

“Does it
matt
er?  I’m going and you’re going with me.”   He didn’t want to tell her where they were going, and he certainly wasn’t going to tell her they were taking the trip just for her.  He couldn’t wait to see his little nanny’s face when she saw the ocean for the first time.
  “I’ll arrange to get you a passport.”  It seemed as if he’d read her mind.

She bit her lip.  She wanted to tell him she wouldn't go, but she couldn’t do that.  Couldn’t he ever ask for anything?  Everything was an order coming from him.  “Have you ever asked anyone to do anything in your life?  Were you born ordering people around?”
  She was stalling, and she knew it.  How could she make a decision about whether to go on a trip with him without a minute to think about it
?

“I had a swastika painted on my diaper.  You’ll be ready
.
”
  It wasn’t a question.  She wondered what he’d do if she started calling him
M
ein
F
urher.

It was Thursday, so she only had two days to pack.  “I don’t know if I have the right clothes,” she stalled.
  She wasn’t trying to get him to buy her anything new; she was genuinely hoping she could get out of going with him until Faith was a little older.

“Buy them.  Use the same credit card you used for Faith’s stuff.  Spend whatever you want.  Just make sure you’re ready for a
week-long
warm climate vacation on Sunday afternoon.”

She sighed.  She had the clothes, because she’d bought them for her honeymoon, and he knew it.  “All right.  Faith and I will be ready.” 
She really felt reluctant about going with him, and it wasn’t just the baby.  She simply didn’t feel right going on vacation with a man she barely knew.

They both stood at the same time, and she found herself too close to him.  She tried to take a step back, but the couch was there.  He’d pulled the chair over to
o
close for her to have any room. 

Her breasts brushed against his chest, and she sucked in a breath.  What was it about him that kept her senses alive?

As soon as they came into contact with one another, he felt a jolt
of electricity spread through his body
.  His fingers went to stroke the side of her cheek. 
Why did he feel like he needed to protect her as much as he wanted
her
?

“I...uh…I think I hear the baby crying!”  She couldn’t meet his eyes as she said it.  She quickly dashed from the room without looking at him.  She hoped there were going to be a lot of people around on
t
his business trip, because she wasn’t sure how much longer the morals her daddy had pounded into her head were going to stick.

She ran up the stairs, forgetting the bags of baby things in his office.  She went into the baby’s room and started putting away the things she’d brought up previously, remembering right away she’d forgotten two bags in his office, but not willing to go back for them.
  She needed a little time before she’d be ready to face him again.

While Faith slept, she hung her sweet little dresses in the closet and put away diapers in her changing table.  She was almost done when the door opened.  She looked up and immediately blushed.

“You forgot these in my office,” he whispered noting the baby was asleep.  He put the two bags on the floor inside the door.  “Guess you didn’t hear the baby after all.”

She shook her head.  “She was still asleep.”  She couldn’t meet his eyes.  “Thanks for bringing those up for me.”
  She hated
that
he’d caught her in the lie.  Would he think less of her for it?

“No problem.”  He walked into the room and looked down at the sleeping child.  “Don’t you worry you’ll wake her if
you’re
in here rummaging around while she’s asleep?”

“Nahh.  I’ve known people who would deliberately vacuum their baby’s room while the baby was sleeping to get them used to
sleeping during
loud noises.”
  Not that she’d ever do it, but she’d heard it worked wonders.
  It just seemed cruel somehow.

She picked up the bags he’d brought in and started to put things away.  “You know you don’t have to be afraid of me, right?”
  He was standing so close to her, she felt overpowered.
  She’d never been so aware of another person in her life.  Why did he affect her this way?

Her head jerked to look at his face.  Was she that obvious?  “I’m not exactly afraid of you….”
  She couldn’t even finish her sentence.  She wasn’t afraid, though.  It was more of an awareness of him she’d never experienced with anyone else.

He raised an eyebrow, his face transformed by a smirk.  “Really?  You’re not afraid of me?”
  He was laughing at her, and she knew it.

She blushed.  “I’m just not….comfortable around you.”
  That was putting it mildly.  It was like saying sleeping on a bed of nails wasn’t as comfortable as a feather bed.

He took the bag from her and held each of her hands in his own.  “Why not?”
  He liked how flustered she was around him, but knew he’d like it more if she gave in to the feelings he could see in her eyes.

“I…I’m not sure I can put it into words.”  She couldn’t look above the collar of his shirt.
 
She did know how to put it into words, though
.  I’m in complete lust with you and don’t know what to do about it.  I’m torn, because I don’t think I should sleep with you, but I want to.  I want to be close to you in every way a human being can be close to another.

“Try.”

She swallowed hard.  “Well, to be honest, after that kiss in the hall the other night, I’m just a little bit embarrassed.”
  There.  That should satisfy him.  And it was the truth…..sort of.

“Why?  You’ve been kissed before, right?” 
He was staring straight at her lips, like he wanted to kiss them again
.  She needed to get away from him, but when she’d tried that, he’d just followed her.

She felt like her face was on fire.  “Yeah, but never like that.”
  She had been kissed, but only by one man, and he hadn’t been half as good at it as Steven was.  She couldn’t say that without her face burning off, though.