The Billionaire's Secret Wife (The Pryce Family Book 3) (Volume 3) (7 page)

On Tuesday, she bumped into Bobbie, wife of John Highsmith and a partner in her own right, in the break room. A lot of people underestimated her at first glance because she was petite with soft babyish white-gold hair and a pixie face. Nobody who’d ever faced her in a legal battle thought her small and cute though. She was the kind of lawyer Vanessa wanted to be when she grew up: fierce, respected and smart. Not to mention that Bobbie was a straight shooter and never held a grudge. If she hated you, you knew about it. Vanessa, luckily, was on the “like” side.

“Long time no see,” Vanessa said.

“Yeah.” A bleached smile plumped Bobbie’s rosy cheeks as she poured coffee. “How you doing, Vanessa?”

Other than the stress of elopement and a baby?
“Oh, fine.”

“Good. I heard about your new case with Felix. It’s a good one, very important for the firm.”

Too bad the client’s guilty
.

Vanessa’s feelings must have shown on her face, because Bobbie gave her a look over the rim of her coffee mug that said
I can eat babies for breakfast if it’s billable
. “The kind of thing that can get you noticed if you handle it right.”

“I understand. Listen. Um, do you mind if we chat privately?”

The other woman shrugged. “Let’s go to my office.”

Vanessa grabbed her tea and followed Bobbie to her corner office. The place smelled faintly of paper, leather and old coffee. It was one of the three largest ones on the floor, with the great view of downtown L.A. Stacks of papers, accordion files and legal tomes covered her desk and two tables, while the shelves were occupied by neat rows of leather-bound books. On the desk by her small laptop, she kept a small, framed photo of herself, her husband and their son. They were smiling for the camera, and the boy looked happy. Bobbie was the woman who had it all.

Vanessa closed the door, then took a seat across from the partner.

“So, what’s going on?” Bobbie said.

“There’s something I’ve been wondering about.” Vanessa wrapped her hands around her cup. “Marriage and motherhood as a female lawyer, you know.”

“Are you getting married?” Bobbie’s gaze dropped to Vanessa’s empty finger.

“No, it’s a friend from Stanford.” Vanessa cleared her throat. “But it got me thinking. I’m not getting any younger.”

Bobbie snorted. “Neither is anybody else. Well, what can I tell you? Husbands aren’t too terrible if they understand the demands of our career. So I’d say generally it’s best if you get hitched to another lawyer or someone similar. As for a baby, I suppose it’s doable, but for a brilliant lawyer with a bright career ahead of her, it can be difficult. Babies are more demanding than any client, and you can’t do a damn thing about it. It’s not like you can give them back.”

Vanessa laughed, and Bobbie smiled.

“Unless you find the lawyer work a cakewalk or you feel some kind of unshakable compulsion to have a child…or your man is okay being a house-husband…I generally advise female attorneys not to do it. It can derail your career. And unfair as it is, child-rearing generally falls on the woman. It’s not easy juggling a child and demanding career.”

“But you have a son.”

“What I had was John’s parents. They practically raised the boy. I’m sure you know how it is. You had nannies growing up, didn’t you?”

Vanessa nodded. She and her older brothers had had a series of nannies, most of them young. Her mother hadn’t kept any of them for long, especially when she suspected they might attract Salazar’s attention. Even though Ceinlys knew about his affairs, having it happen under her own roof was just too much.

“They can make things easier. But still, the actual pregnancy and labor and recovery are all on you, and you might resent the fact that the baby’s in the way, or that your career’s keeping you away from your child. It’s not always logical or emotions we’re proud of, but it’s there. It makes things more complex.” Bobbie’s smile turned rueful. “Any of that help?”

“Yes.” Vanessa nodded. “Thank you.”

“Anytime. My door’s always open.”

As Vanessa left though, she couldn’t help but think her situation wouldn’t be the way Bobbie had described. Justin knew how her job was. And the baby could have all the best nannies in the world—there was a lot of Sterling money, and knowing Justin and Barron, she doubted they’d be stingy.

But she didn’t know where she might fit in. All she had was a sinking feeling that she wouldn’t be in the picture for long.

Chapter Seven

Justin’s jet arrived to pick Vanessa up from the small Long Beach airport. Fresh flowers added a nice accent to the luxurious leather and wood-grain interior. He must’ve had it done specially for the occasion, but she couldn’t relax and enjoy it.

Since their texts about the prenup, he hadn’t contacted her once. Not that she’d been standing around waiting for something to come through the fax machine. She’d been swamped with work. Solaris Med was an important case, and it was already drawing a lot of media attention with accusations of wrongful termination and sexual harassment flung at the client. It wasn’t easy or uplifting to discredit the plaintiff when she knew they were right.

However, she’d managed to draft a fairly good prenup agreement in her very small amounts of spare time. It wasn’t her specialty, but she had a few to model from, like her parents’ own infamous version. Justin’s assets held little appeal, but she wanted a fair custody arrangement for the baby should they divorce.

Or, given what she’d seen in her own family,
when
they divorced.

The jet stopped in Chicago to pick Justin up and then flew on toward god only knew where. She couldn’t believe how high-handed and resolute Justin was. On the other hand, what had she expected? This wasn’t just any baby.

The heir to the Sterling & Wilson fortune
.

Sterling & Wilson was worth billions and had tentacles into the most profitable sectors of six continents. Justin’s great-uncle, Barron Sterling, had built it into the massive empire from nothing, and he’d hand-selected Justin to lead the company since he’d been a toddler. Barron and Justin had every important person in the world on speed dial, and there was nothing they couldn’t do if they set their minds to it.

It was no wonder Justin had reacted the way he had at the news of her pregnancy. His family tended to be conservative and straight-laced about things. Even if she’d offered to give him the baby no-strings attached, he probably would’ve insisted on marriage. Then there was Barron’s reaction. The man had destroyed people—including some of his own family members—for displeasing him. Vanessa had heard how he’d virtually exiled his own granddaughter Kerri to boarding school for something or other. How would he react if he found out Vanessa wouldn’t marry Justin while carrying his child?

She stared at herself in the small window. Her black skirt suit was positively funereal. She’d never wanted to marry. Ever.

Marriage was the most miserable institution in the world, not only for the couple but for their children.

Maybe Justin thought it’d be a good idea to marry, legally speaking. She didn’t know much about pregnancy, but she knew there could be serious complications. One of the associates at the firm had gotten pregnant last year, and she had to take six months off due to some problems. As her husband, Justin would have more legal rights in emergency situations, and it made sense he’d want to be in charge of her and their baby just in case.

But after the baby was born, there would be no reason for them to stay together. Couples didn’t have to be joined at the hips to raise a child—she knew from experience—and there wasn’t even love at the base of their relationship. They could have a clean and simple resolution, with each of them keeping what they’d brought to the marriage. She didn’t want a penny of Justin’s mon—.

“A penny for your thoughts,” Justin said, linking his fingers with hers.

She tried to pull her hand, but he merely tightened his grip. “My billing rate is a little higher than that.”

His lips quirked into a smile. “So bill me.”

Divorce probably wasn’t something they should talk about right now. She combed through possible topics to bring up. “I was wondering if your lawyers know what you’re up to.”

He sighed. “Are you still worried about the prenup?”

“Aren’t you?”

Justin waved his hand. “I’m sure you can draft a simple prenup saying we don’t want each other’s assets.”

“Never trust a lawyer who isn’t billing you.” She pulled out the prenup she’d drafted. “Here.”

“What are you asking for? Half of everything I own?”

She snorted. “I don’t want your money. Just a fair custody situation for the child.” Her mother had stayed to be with her children. The Pryce prenup was clear: in case of divorce, her mother would not only lose custody, but wouldn’t even be able to visit or get in touch with her children until they turned twenty-one.

Then a sudden realization hit her: Ceinlys had stayed way past that point…

For what?

Justin arched an eyebrow. “What about what I might want? Shouldn’t you consider some protection as well?”

Vanessa gave herself a good mental shake. This wasn’t the time to think about her parents’ marriage. “I doubt you’re interested in anything I have.”

* * *

Justin looked over at Vanessa, who had closed her eyes as if that would block out the world, including him. Maybe she was dreaming about him shoving a prenup in her face.

Her obsession with the agreement amused him. He didn’t intend to have one. He didn’t want Vanessa to feel that they were less than completely equal in their marriage. If that meant he was being stupid or that he might end up losing half his money, so be it.

Justin watched her softly breathing. It looked like she hadn’t slept well in the last few days. The semi-circles under her eyes looked bigger and darker than the week before, and her cheekbones seemed more prominent. He didn’t know much about pregnancy, but of course it could be rough on women, especially during the first trimester. And she hadn’t told her law firm, so there obviously wouldn’t be any accommodation from that end. He made a mental note to take care of it. His wife wasn’t going to work herself to death while pregnant. The case she was working on was getting some publicity, which would mean increased pressure to perform.

Vanessa’s idea about his not being interested in anything she had contained one glaring blind spot. It was true that none of her material possessions interested him. But he wanted
her
. And not just her, but the life that he knew the two of them could have together.

It astounded him that she didn’t believe that was possible. Or maybe it wasn’t that incredible, given her background.

To say that her parents didn’t have an ideal marriage would be an understatement. A terrible waste since they should’ve been happy. Salazar must have loved Ceinlys to marry her despite strong opposition from his family, especially his mother, Shirley Pryce. Not even five beautiful grandchildren had been enough to ameliorate her dislike of Ceinlys. Justin didn’t understand the old woman’s logic; what made it acceptable to love her grandchildren but despise the woman who’d given them to her?

So over the years, Shirley had berated Ceinlys, Salazar had had numerous affairs, and Justin was certain the rumors of Ceinlys’s men were true. A situation more or less guaranteed to mess up the children.

Justin didn’t want the past to affect what he and Vanessa could have together. They deserved the very best life possible, and he wanted to give it to her, even if it meant hiding their marriage until July against his better judgment. Vanessa seemed worried about her job, but he had no doubt her firm would be understanding of her situation. If not, she could always go someplace else. Hell, he’d buy her a damned law firm if that would make her happy.

If he’d had it his way, everyone would know she was his. They’d be married in a grand ceremony as big as—if not bigger than—the wedding his cousin Kerri had had in Thailand. He would’ve given her a wedding other women could only dream of.

He rested the knuckle on his left index finger against his lips as he considered. Maybe they could have another ceremony after the baby was born. Something romantic and sentimental, with all their family and friends in attendance… It would be just the thing. Maybe rent out the Ashford Castle in Ireland where they’d had their first vacation together…

The cabin attendant came over. “Sir,” she spoke in a low voice. “We’ll be landing soon.”

He nodded, then glanced over at Vanessa. Her face was lax in sleep.

“That’s fine,” Justin said, “but we won’t be deplaning immediately.” He checked the time. “We have about half an hour or so before we need to get going.”

“Yes, sir.” The cabin attendant slipped away.

Justin pulled out his phone and started typing instructions for his lawyers. Two of the newer associates were coming to join them, but Justin didn’t want to discuss what he was about to do with them. Ken Honishi, one of the senior partners at the firm, would be a better choice to take care of the matter.

Vanessa would probably blow a gasket when she found out, but he wanted her to know he was dead serious about this marriage even if she seemed unsure.

Thirty minutes later, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “We need to get going.”

Startled, she blinked. “Mm?”

“We’re here.”

“Oh.” She sat up, smoothing her hair. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“Probably needed the rest.” He looked at her belly meaningfully. “Want to get going?”

“Yeah, sure.” She got up with care, and they exited the plane together. A gleaming black stretch limo with dark tinted windows waited for them outside.

“You’ve thought of everything,” she said.

“Wanted to make sure you’ll be comfortable.”

They climbed into the limo. Vanessa settled in the luxurious interior as the driver pulled away from the airport and sighed softly. “So. Are you going to tell me where we are?”

“Canada.”

She jerked her head back. “Seriously?”