Chapter 5 Karma Was Truly a Bitch
KARMA WAS TRULY A BITCH
Declan
That scent. Why did her perfume affect me this much?
I shot to my feet and followed her. She was so pissed she hadn’t even noticed she’d slammed the door in my face.
Just as well. What would I say to her? You’re not fired?
I couldn’t say that. I had spent the entire day trying to figure out what to do about Isla Vendetti.
Or actually, I mostly thought about all the things I wanted to do to her.
Images of the beauty mark on her perfect ass kept flashing in my mind’s eye.
I pressed my forehead on the door and thought about the matching beauty mark she had right between her tits.
I thought about how much I wanted to lick my way from one end to the other.
Fuck me, I’d never had a problem like this one with an employee before, or any other woman.
What drew me to Isla? Was it because I knew she needed help?
Or because she called me on my bullshit earlier?
I already knew her tight body was part of the equation.
Jesus, I wanted her badly. But it wasn’t like I’d never been with a beautiful woman before.
Whatever it was. It didn’t matter. Isla was out of my life for good this time.
I only wished she had accepted my money.
She’d called it pity money. But in reality, its sole purpose had been to appease my guilt for firing her on account that my dick couldn’t handle being in the same room as her. God, I was a real asshole.
I glanced up at the windows and the city lights beyond them.
Work. I had to focus on work and forget about Isla.
That seemed like a good solution. I strode to my desk and gathered my things.
The new security design still needed some final tweaks, but I could get that done at home.
In my head, I visualized the rest of my night—take away, more work, gin, then bed.
A nice, quiet evening sounded like a good idea.
Tommy, my driver, met me at the curb. I’d been working with his company for years.
He always made himself available for me whenever I was in town.
He knew my hours and how I liked things done.
I relaxed in the back seat and released a breath.
This was more like it. My normal schedule with no hot, spunky brunettes to complicate my life.
Isla was trouble with a capital T. I rolled my eyes.
She was gone, why was I still obsessing over her?
I opened my laptop and pulled up the new network design I had been working on. This was a problem I could solve. Going through the paces of figuring out the next piece of the puzzle was soothing to me.
“We’re here, sir.”
“Yes, we are.” I lifted my head in time to see Frank wave at me. “Thank you, Tommy.” I tapped his shoulder “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I’ll be here. Have a good one.”
“You too.” I climbed out of the car and headed toward the lobby where Frank greeted me as usual.
The quiet hum of the lift car made me think of last night and Isla’s body curled against my chest. “Jesus, let it go.”
I strode the length of the corridor, enjoying the stillness.
I was proud of the life I had built. No complications.
No problems I couldn’t solve. No one to answer to.
By the time I reached my condo, I felt less guilty about letting Isla go.
And I had even come up with a better solution to Nicolas’s security issue.
I was so eager to fire up my computer again, I almost missed the pushchair crowding the threshold. Almost.
“Hello?” I shot a glance behind me, then stepped forward to peek inside the bundle of blankets. Sure, as fuck, there was a sleeping baby in it. What the bloody hell? I fished my phone from my pocket and called the front desk. “Frank, there’s a pushchair at my door.”
“A what?”
“A bloody stroller. There’s a stroller with a baby in it. Do you know who left it here? Or why?”
“That can’t be.”
“And yet. Here it is.” I pulled down the covers again to get a better look at the baby. Yeah, it was real. “Has anyone reported a missing baby in the building?”
“I’m afraid not. My apologies, Mr. Noble. Maybe…” He trailed off.
“Go on then.”
“There was a woman here to see you earlier. I believe her name was Harper. I told her you weren’t home. Now I’m wondering if she snuck in when I took my break.” He talked so fast I wasn’t sure I had understood it all.
The worry in his voice was clear, though. He knew I didn’t like surprises.
“Are you sure she said her name was Harper?” I tried to picture her face and came up with nothing.
“Yes, sir.”
“Did she have a baby with her when you saw her?”
“No, she did not. I would definitely remember a baby.”
“Can you try and get a hold of Ms. Harper? Maybe Tommy still has her information? He drove her home last time.”
About a year and half ago, I had spent a wild night with Harper. At the end of our affair, I had Tommy drive her home. Then I left for London. I honestly had not thought of her until now.
“I’ll get on it right away.”
“Thank you.” I ended the call, rubbing the creases on my forehead, staring at the very real baby in front of me. Of course, I was thinking the worst. If Harper was here and purposely left a kid at my door, did that mean…? Adrenaline rushed through me, and I couldn’t finish the thought.
Was this my baby?
No, that couldn’t be. I’d never had sex without a rubber.
And Harper wasn’t the motherly type. She wouldn’t go and have a baby without telling me.
Though, if I were being honest, I didn’t know much about her.
And she knew nothing about me. Not even my real name.
We only hung out for one night, and it wasn’t like we spent the time talking and getting to know each other.
Well, what was the point of dwelling on what we did and didn’t do eighteen months ago? As soon as Frank got a hold of Harper, I would have my answers. I unlocked the door, pushed it open with my shoulder, and pulled the pushchair inside.
For several beats, I considered where to park it…
err…him or her. I wasn’t a complete idiot when it came to infants.
My sister had four of them. I visited her often and even helped out a bit.
The idea of being the sole person responsible for another human being, though, scared the shit out of me.
One thing I knew for sure—never wake a sleeping baby.
At this hour, I wondered if she was down for the night.
In the end, I brought the pushchair with me and left it next to the bar cart while I fixed myself a drink.
I needed to calm the fuck down and come up with a plan.
So far all I had worked out was that I needed to find Harper, find out if the baby was hers and mine, and then figure out a paternity test, a parenting schedule.
My mind went down a rabbit hole of more things that needed to happen before I could be a dad.
Mainly, the baby couldn’t possibly spend the night.
Or the day for that matter. I had work to do—an office to go to.
Nicolas wasn’t the hard ass he used to be now that he was happily married and with a kid, but he still expected his hacker issue to be resolved in a timely manner.
From what he told me this morning, his shareholders and clients were riding his ass about the security breach.
My phone rang in my pocket, and I grabbed it as if my life depended on it. “Did you find her?” I didn’t even check the screen to make sure it was Frank calling.
“No, I’m sorry. I spoke with her roommate. She said Harper left the apartment about a year ago—”
“Did she say where she might’ve gone?” I asked before he finished his sentence.
“No, she didn’t.”
This was a dead end. “Thanks, Frank.” I hung up.
What now?
Calling my sister would unleash an avalanche of questions from my sister, and then Mom, and possibly all of London.
Until I knew for sure this was my baby, I had to keep this quiet.
I could already see the tabloids going to town with this juicy news.
Not that I cared what they thought. But this could impact the company, and Nicolas was already in hot water over the cyber hack.
I couldn’t add a scandal to it. His shareholders would pressure Nicolas into hiring someone else to fix his problem.
I’d never been fired from a job before. I wasn’t about to start now.
Yeah, the irony wasn’t lost on me. Not two hours ago, I had fired Isla for way less.
I went down through my options and list of people I could call for help. Out of habit, I called Casey. She picked up on the second ring even though it was almost one in the morning there. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes and no. I have an interesting situation over here.” I glanced down at the baby, noting her chubby cheeks and long eyelashes. No sense in beating around the bush. “Someone—well, we think it was a woman named Harper—left a baby at my doorstep.”
“Omigod.”
The silence on the other end of the line made the hair on the back of my neck prickle.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“What? Of course, I’m sure. It’s a baby.”
“No, I mean, was it meant for you?”
“I’m the only here. And no one has reported a missing kid in the building. Trust me, I checked.” I rubbed my temple.
“Was there a note? Or an email?”
Brilliant. That was actually a good idea. “Let me check.”
I switched to speakerphone and set my mobile down. Gently, so I wouldn’t wake the baby, I felt around the blankets. Sure enough, tucked in the outer edge, I found an envelope. I didn’t recognize the writing as I ripped the letter open.
Joseph Winston Sokol
I read the birth certificate. The mother was Harper Sokol—No father listed. “Casey.”
“Did you find something?”
“His name is Joseph. I think I’m the father.” I raked a hand through my hair and sat on the edge of the sofa. “Why did she leave him?”
“What are you going to do?”
When I didn’t respond, Casey switched to work mode.
“Okay, first things first. Does he have formula and diapers, extra clothes? And do you have baby care for the rest of the week? I can’t fly out for another week, I have client meetings, but I can check with my local resources and see if anyone can recommend a temporary nanny. ”
“Wait. I can’t keep him.” What the fuck was I saying? It wasn’t like someone had dropped off a puppy. Of course, he was staying. “I mean, I’ll check on all that stuff for tonight.”
“I hate to do this to Ms. Vendetti, but I think you should call her. She’s a local and might know someone.”
“Why would I call her?”
“She’s your executive admin, your right hand.”
“Hmm, about that.” I cleared my throat. “I fired her.”
“Already? Why? She was perfect. Overqualified, if you ask me.”
Yeah, she was. She was smart and witty. Beautiful. I opted for the truth. “I met her last night at the Crucible and brought her home.”
“Bloody hell, Declan. What happened?”
“Nothing, actually. She was wasted.”
“You didn’t have sex with her. That’s good.”
I should be offended that she wasn’t asking.
“Of course, I didn’t.” Though I did spend the better part of my day thinking about it.
“That’s actually good news.” She clicked her teeth then released a long breath. “Call her and tell her she has her job back. Trust me, she wants this opportunity in the worst way possible. She’ll do whatever you need.”
Whatever I need? A bloke should be so lucky. “What makes you say that?”
“She wanted the programmer position. But apparently, Nicolas’s wife and Isla are sisters, but they’re sort of not talking right now.
Long story short, Nicolas offered Isla the executive admin job to ensure her time at Windsor Financial Holdings was temporary.
But Declan, looking at her interview results, we would be stupid not to hire her on permanently. ”
“Is that so? How old is she anyway?”
“Twenty-five.” She blew out a breath, as if she were at the end of the line with me.
Asking about Isla’s age didn’t mean I was interested. She looked young. And apparently was quite accomplished.
“You’re calling her, yeah? You could lose the contract over this.” She went silent, which meant she was worried.
Karma was truly a bitch. I fired Isla, and now she was my only hope to keep my own job.
If she could be my nanny for a day or two while she helped me find a full-time person, I might have a chance to finish my contract with Nicolas and also find Harper.
She and I still needed to talk logistics.
Was she really giving up her baby? Why now?
“You’re right. Seems Isla is my best bet.” I shook my head at the phone even though Casey couldn’t see me. “What a fucking mess. Thanks for the help.”
“That’s why I make the big bucks.” She let out a light laugh. “Now I have to get back to bed. I have an early meeting. Unless you want me to cancel?”
“No, I need you there tomorrow. Let me know how that one goes. It would be nice to have a job in the UK for a change. I’m tired of all this traveling.”
“Come on. Tokyo was fun.” She chuckled. “After that project, Nicolas’s network should be a piece of cake.”
I was lucky enough to have a job that made me a ton of money, and on top of that, was also fun and challenging—in a good way. But as much as I loved my job, lately I’d been missing home.
“It sure was. I guess I’m getting too old for this. Good night, Casey.” I waited until she said goodbye, then ended the call.
Like an idiot, I stared at the screen, thinking about the next person I had to call.
An image of the perfect arse she flashed me last night appeared in my mind almost like a reflex, as if it were the most natural thing in the world for me to be thinking of her like that.
I had to forget what I saw. Especially now that I had to do the right thing and re-hire her.
Would she be agreeable to this new proposal, or would she tell me to bug off? Only one way to find out, I supposed.
I inhaled. The second I realized I didn’t have Isla’s number, a text from Casey appeared with Isla’s contact info. I made a mental note to give Casey a bigger bonus and tapped on Isla’s number. She picked on the first ring, puffing breath after breath on the phone. Was she crying?
“You have some nerve calling me after what you’ve done. Go to hell.” She hung up.
Fuck me. If the heavy Brooklyn accent was any indication, she was beyond furious. She didn’t even let me explain.
I turned to face Joseph and gasped. He was awake, eyes wide as he shot glances to his left then right. As soon as he spotted me, his eyes welled up with tears, and then all hell broke loose. The cry was like nothing I had ever heard before.