The Baby They Bonded Over

Chapter 2

Jeremy almost fell out of his chair when Nadia told him how far she wanted to take the charade. Nadia wasn’t sure whether Jeremy would agree to go along with the plan, but she knew this was the best way to get what she wanted out of Paul. She knew that once Paul saw her and Jeremy happy together, and expecting a family, that would be the push he needed to leave her alone.

Jeremy stared at Nadia with uncertainty, “Okay, stop kidding me! You’re playing, right?”

Nadia shook her head, “Why would I play around with something like this? I’m dead serious.”

“But that’s exactly what you’re doing with this ridiculous plan,” Jeremy explained. “You’re playing around and this time it’s an actual human life you’re playing with! Why would bringing a baby into this fix anything? That would make this sh*t all the more complicated, Nadia. I know we’ve known each other for a long time now, but this just doesn’t seem right. This doesn’t seem like something you want to do. Why don’t you let me talk to my team and let me see what we can do first? Maybe we can scare some sense into Paul and we don’t have to go through with anything. I just don’t know about bringing a baby into this situation. That just seems like a permanent life decision I’m not comfortable making.”

“Jeremy,” Nadia gazed into his eyes. “I know it sounds completely crazy but you’re the only man I trust to even consider this plan with. And you don’t know what I’ve been going through with Paul. Sending your corporate goons after him won’t do anything. You’ll probably just piss him off, and get them hurt. He isn’t intimidated easily. It has to be something unforgiveable on my part. That’s the only way this will work. I realize it’s a child’s life that we’re talking about, but we can give it up for adoption so this way a deserving family gets a baby, and I get to move on with my life.”

“I still don’t know about this,” Jeremy rubbed the back of his head. “This just seems like we’re doing too much.”

“No, Paul is doing too much,” Nadia corrected.

“So what’s he been doing? And why haven’t you called the cops yet or anything?”

“That’s just it,” Nadia almost broke down into tears. “He hasn’t done anything to me, yet! I went to get coffee the other morning after my run and there he was. He was sitting in the shop. My home girl who works there said he was sitting there for a little over two hours, like he was waiting for somebody and when I left, so did he.”

“Well did he say anything to you? Or your friend?” Jeremy asked.

“No! He’s in creep mode and I can’t stand it! He shows up at Babes & Bosses like we’re still together. He gets the women in there on his side and makes me seem like I’m the crazy one for ending our relationship. He makes me seem like I’m in the wrong for not taking him back. He’s got my manager looking at me like I’m unprofessional, my clients are getting pissed at the amount of time he steals from their appointments, and worst of all because he hasn’t physically done anything to me or showed up anywhere he’s not supposed to, there’s nothing I can do. I really just need your help, Jeremy. Please, I don’t know who else to turn to.”

“I guess we can try it out and see what kind of results we get,” Jeremy conceded.

Nadia exhaled a huge sigh of relief, “Good. I’m glad you’re on board with this. We got a dinner to go to with Paul later this week on Friday night. So we may be able to pull it off.”

“Oh?” Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Friday night? That’s great. Thanks for telling me. I didn’t have any plans. None at all.”

“You don’t do sarcasm well, so stop it,” Nadia held her hand up in Jeremy’s face. “Listen, just come to dinner and we’ll take things from there. Stop acting like you’re dating somebody. You’re too scared of these gold diggers out here.”

“You’re right about that,” Jeremy agreed. “I did have my eye on a nice young woman from another tech firm. We always end up at the same functions and seem to connect but I don’t know.”

“You can’t be dating anyone else Jeremy! Not until after you get me pregnant and we have this baby. You’re gossip material and any chip in our relationship armor will add fuel to Paul’s fire. Besides, you ever think that she’s just trying to get close so she can find out stuff about how you do business? These females can’t be trusted out here. At least with me, you already know what you’re getting into. And you know I don’t want your money. I’m not trying to trap you with this baby and I’m not even in the same industry as you so nothing you’re working on will help me in any way, shape, or form. Face it; you know this plan works out, so just be sure to be ready on Friday.

Jeremy shook his head as he tried to figure out exactly what he signed up for. He hated to admit that Nadia made sense, especially when it came to the women in his industry. Surely everyone wasn’t a corporate spy, but he isn’t willing to take that chance. He finally agreed to the entire plan but wanted to get through dinner with Paul first before they jumped in the sack. Nadia smiled widely as she got her way and made her way out of his office.

“I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this,” Jeremy laughed as Nadia left his office.

“But you love me! Thank you, love you too Milk Dud,” Nadia giggled as she walked out.

The next few days flew by as Nadia got excited about the dinner with Jeremy and Paul. He had been blowing up her phone trying to see who she was coming with, but she kept it to herself. He tried to get under her skin by telling her he was going to bring his new girlfriend, but she knew he was trying to play the same game she was. The only difference was she was going to win.

Nadia hit up every department store imaginable to find the right dress for the evening. The restaurant was a new spot that everybody had been talking about. Charlene had mentioned it to her before and she knew that the dress code was casual but she still wanted to turn heads when she showed up, especially with Jeremy on her arm. She decided on a sleek, form fitted, burgundy dress that hugged every inch of her curves. The dress stopped just above her knees, to keep it classy but sexy. The cutout exposed her back so she pulled her super thick, curly, black hair up into a tight bun. A few pieces of her diamond jewelry brought the outfit together with a diamond embellished clutch to carry the necessities.