15. Chapter Fifteen ~ Chris
Chapter Fifteen ~ Chris
“So, we’re ready for the big event?” Matt asks as everyone sinks down into chairs in my office.
“We should have everything we need,” I reply. “I’ve got the costumes and the girls received them the other day.” I can’t help thinking about just what Emma is going to look like in hers, but then I try to clear the thought so I can focus on the meeting. “The alcohol is ordered and we have a live band coming for part of the evening.”
“Good. And we’re fully staffed?”
“All the girls are on shift that night. The waitresses and the dancers,” Ethan agrees.
“Good. So we’ll be ready to go at the beginning of the week.”
“Definitely,” I agree and catch the glance everyone shares across the table. “What’s going on?”
“We need to know about something else.”
“What’s that?” I ask, settling back in my own chair and preparing for whatever they’re going to ask about. The financials for the club are solid. Everything is going well. We’re turning record profits year after year. I’m not concerned about anything.
And then Tony drops a magazine on my desk.
“What is this?” But I can see what it is. There’s a picture of me on the cover of the local rag. By itself that isn’t new. The headline, however, is a little different.
‘Who is the New Woman in His Life?’
Another one under the first has a similar headline.
‘Is there someone special for our favorite playboy?’
And another after that.
‘Just Who is Christian Warren Living With?’
“Looks like the local rags are trying to make a mint off making up stories about me again.”
“Are they made up?” Matt asks and I stay silent. I don’t want to say too much about what’s going on with Emma. I don’t want them to know what the truth of the matter is. That’s between just me and Emma. But also, I don’t want them to think I’m in some kind of serious relationship with her either.
“It’s just some girl I’ve been spending time with,” I say finally.
“And you moved her into your house?”
Again I pause. What can I tell them that doesn’t overstate what’s going on? Or understate it? Or cause more problems for me or Emma in the future? “She’s staying at my place right now, yes,” I admit. “But it’s not like … it’s not some super serious thing.”
“You moved a woman into your house and it’s not that serious?” Tony replies, raising an eyebrow at me. “Come on. We want to know what’s going on with you.”
“She’s staying at my place short term. But not like … with me. She’s got her own part of the place.”
“Okay, but if you’re not moving her in to have her with you then why move her in at all?”
“There’s some extenuating circumstances. You’ll find out about it all when it’s time.”
I can tell they’re not really happy with that and I’m not exactly thrilled about keeping secrets from them either. But as far as I know she hasn’t actually told anyone yet and me telling my whole crew before she even gets to tell her family doesn’t seem like a good idea.
Finally, with some grumbling, they accept it and Ethan pulls out a bottle of the good scotch.
“Here we go. A toast to another great year.”
“I think we’re a little late on that,” I reply wryly.
“I think we did a toast to a great year on New Year’s Eve,” Tony adds.
“A few of them!” Matt calls back and we all laugh. Yeah, we did have a little more than we should have. But everyone was having a good time.
“But this is the start of our best part of the season. Time for Mardi Gras. That’s going to be one heck of a party.”
“Hell yeah,” I agree. I’ve been planning this one for a while now, which is good because if I hadn’t, things with Emma would have certainly derailed my plans. But now, all I have to do is sit back and let it all happen.
With a couple shots under our belts everyone heads out, except for Ethan, who remains in his seat.
“What’s up?” I ask, knowing he’s not going to leave until he gets whatever he has to say out.
“These magazines. They’re not all junk. And if you’re moving someone in,” I can tell he’s hurt not to have been told about that, “then I think I know who it is, too.”
“It’s not important,” I say quickly but he gives me a skeptical look.
“It’s Emma, isn’t it? You moved her into your house? I mean, I know you’re constantly staring at the girl and I know you’ve had her up here several times, but … moving her in?”
“It’s … complicated,” I reply, glancing toward the window. I hesitate and then stand up, closing and locking the door before I come back. “All right, I need to talk to someone about this. And you’re … well, you’re the best friend I’ve got so, here goes.”
But I pause before I launch into the story. Ethan is just sitting there, staring at me with that same intense look he always gets when I’m going to lay out a plan. Like he’s actually interested and really listening. It’s one of the best things about him.
“I’ve got a contract with Emma.”
“A contract?” His brow furrows in confusion as he stares at me. “A contract for what?”
“A … baby,” I say finally and now his eyes widen and his mouth drops open.
“A baby? What the hell kind of contract do you have for a baby? And why the hell would you want a baby?”
“Look, like I said, it’s complicated. But you know how Mom and Dad have been getting on me about settling down and having kids and passing on the family legacy and all that shit?”
“Yeah … and?”
“So I’m going to get them off my back. Emma’s a good person. She’s going to have my baby. I’ll pass on the legacy and the family name and all that. And she gets paid well for it all. And I’ll take care of her and the baby of course.”
“Are you insane? You only met her … what? A couple months ago? And you’re planning on getting her pregnant? It’s one thing to sleep with a girl. Hell, if both of you are into it then do it as much as you want. But having a baby …”
“She’s pregnant.”
“What? How long has this thing been going on?”
“The contract? A couple months.”
“And she’s pregnant already?”
“She got pregnant pretty quick, actually.”
“So now … now what?”
“Well, now we just go through the pregnancy and I keep taking care of her.”
“You take care of her. And how exactly do you do that?” he asks, the skeptical tone still evident in his voice.
“She lives at my house. I provide everything she needs there and everything the baby will need. And I give her an allowance for anything else.”
“And she’s … good with that?”
“She signed the contract and she’s still there so, yeah. I think she’s good with it.”
“You didn’t at any point think that you should talk to someone about this plan before you jumped into a contract and got the girl pregnant?”
“It all worked out just fine, Ethan. She’s pregnant just like we planned. And we’re going through the rest of the contract.”
“What if she bails?”
“Then the baby stays with me. And I’ll get a nanny to take care of it while I’m working.”
“I can’t imagine you with a baby. Whether the girl stays or not.”
“Well, I’m going to have one now.” Ethan slumps back in the chair and stares at me, still incredulous.
“This is … damn. What does your family think?”
“They don’t know yet. We’re going to talk to them soon.” Even though we haven’t really talked about that. “We’ll tell them then.”
“You think they’re going to be cool about it?” If anyone knows my parents it’s probably Ethan. And the truth is … no, they’re probably not going to be keen on the whole thing, if they find out the whole thing. But I’m not inclined to tell them.
“I’m just going to present her as my girlfriend and tell them she’s pregnant. I’m not planning on telling anyone what I’ve just told you.”
“That’s probably a good idea. Because they’d think you were nuts, too.”
“Is it really that bad of an idea?”
“How well did you really know this girl before you made this offer?” he counters and I shrug.
“Well enough. And it’s worked out well so far.”
“You mean that she hasn’t killed you or robbed you blind? Yeah, I suppose it has.”
“She’s not the type for that,” I reply flippantly, though to be honest I never even considered the possibility.
“You’re lucky she’s not. But you really had no idea when you got into this thing. And for that matter she didn’t know a damn thing about you when she got into it.”
“Look, things have worked out, okay? It’s a little too late to be worried about all the what-ifs now, don’t you think?”
“I suppose,” he agrees but still shakes his head. “But I can’t really imagine you as a father.”
Neither can I, if I’m being honest. This whole thing is moving fast. But I’m actually enjoying it a lot more than I might have thought. Having Emma around. If only we could have the rest of the fun along with it …