The Billionaire’s Surprise Baby by Lisa Kaatz
Sydney
“Where the hell is Jax?” I ask.
“No idea,” Pierce says through a mouthful of peanut butter cookie.
He’s sitting at the kitchen table in Jax and Ayla’s house, a plate full of cookies in front of him and one in each of his hands.
“Please chew with your mouth closed,” I groan. “And I think those cookies are for everyone.”
“I won’t eat them all,” he says defensively.
“Sure.”
“What’s this meeting about?” Pierce asks.
“No idea,” I say. “I figured you knew.”
“Nope.”
Reid walks in.
“Hey,” Pierce says. “What the hell does Jax want to have a meeting about? This is short notice. I had a date tonight. I had to cancel.”
“Your date dodged a bullet, then,” Reid replied darkly. “And we’ll talk about it when Jax gets here. Where’s Thomas?”
“Ayla,” I say, pointing upstairs. “She can’t resist him. Practically steals him out of my hands as soon as I walk through the door lately.”
“Baby fever,” Reid smiles. “She’s, what, five months along now?”
“Something like that.”
“I’ll have a niece and a nephew soon,” he says. “That’s so weird to think about. Just a year ago, it was only us. Now we’re bringing in the next generation of Adlers are here. Who would have thought?”
“The next generation,” I muse. “That’s so weird. It’s been just us for so long. The three Adler brothers and their trail-behind sister.”
Pierce wrinkles his nose.
“Trail-behind?” he asks. “Yeah, right. More like a badass rebel sister. You’re so lucky that Jax never expects you to work for the business like me.”
“You seem to enjoy the benefits of the company helicopter just fine,” Reid shoots at him.
“Yeah,” Pierce grins. “I do.”
“Well if I’m not expected to work for the business, why do I need to be here tonight?” I grumble. “I’m tired.”
“You’re still a partial owner,” Pierce says. And then his face changes, understanding dawning. “Wait. This is about Madison isn’t it? Fuck. Did we lose Livingston?”
I look at Reid. His mouth is grim.
“Fuck!” Pierce pounds his fist against the table. The plate of cookies rattles.
“Calm down,” Reid says. “We’re going to talk about it. We’re fine. The business is fine.”
“The business, sure,” Pierce says. “But the real estate department? Are we dissolving it? Fuck that man, I wanted to get involved in that.”
“When do you want to get involved in anything?” Reid snorts.
“I like real estate,” Pierce says, rubbing his jaw. “As soon as I get back from my trip to Greece I want to dive in. Maybe take on a director position.”
“You didn’t even finish your internship and you think we’re going to let you be the director of a department?”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s nepotism,” Reid snaps. “And just because you’re an Adler, that doesn’t entitle you to a position people work hard for. That’s not our style, Pierce. It’s not how we do things. Maybe if you showed up to work on time and not hungover every now and then, you could work towards something like that. For now - ”
“Could both of you please just shut up,” I groan, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“Sorry,” Reid says, sitting down next to us. “I guess I’m…I’m a little shaken by this situation too, I guess.”
“Yeah,” Pierce says. “I mean…it had to have been Nate Madison, right? We had this deal in the bag before he showed up.”
“Oh, we know for a fact that it’s Madison,” Reid replies. “Because Madison called Jax right after he closed the deal. To tell him the good news.”
“What a prick,” Pierce grumbles. “Calling right after to rub it in? Who does that?”
“Someone who wants to merge with us,” Reid answers. “Badly.”
“Why though?”
“Pooling our resources,” Reid replies. “I mean, in a lot of ways, it makes perfect sense. If it were anybody other than Nate Madison, I would probably be all for it. You can’t deny that the man is smart. Do you want someone like that as your competition or as your partner? But he’s also a ruthless, vindictive son of a bitch and on principle alone I just can’t imagine working with the bastard.”
I’m looking down at the table, listening to everything they’re saying but contributing nothing of my own. What can I say? They’re right. They’ve got Nate’s character down pat. If only I’d been smart enough to see it all along.
“His family is no good,” Pierce says. “You know about his dad right?”
My ears perk up. Nate never did like to talk about his family much. Unlike my folks, his parents are still alive. But Nate doesn’t speak to them. Or about them. Not to me, at least.
“Yeah,” Reid says. “Dark stuff.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. I can’t resist anymore.
They both look at me.
“He’s…not a good guy,” Reid says slowly. “I don’t know if you want to know, honestly, Syd.”
“You’re already talking about it right in front of me,” I say. “I’m just curious. Whatever he’s done, I can handle it. I know you think I’m a baby and that I don’t remember anything about our own parents but I’m not a child, you know. I can handle hearing about bad things.”
“I know that,” Reid says. “It’s just a little bit…unsavory. His father is a known sexual predator. He’s a bad man, Sydney.”
“Predator how?”
“He…well, it’s all just ‘alleged’, but that just means he’s richer than god and his legal team can get out of anything. But allegedly he…”
“He killed a stripper,” Pierce cuts in. “Basically. After doing God knows what to her beforehand.”
“Really nice way to put it, Pierce,” Reid says, shooting him a look. “Very delicate.”
“Sydney said it herself. She’s not a kid. She can handle the truth.”
“Correct,” I say. “So…wow. I guess that’s why his family has a bad reputation? Jax is always talking about it but I never knew why. I figured it was insider trading and embezzlement and all of that other rich guy crime.”
“Oh, there’s plenty of that,” Reid laughs. “It’s hard to find someone who earns in our tax bracket who doesn’t engage in stuff like that, though. This is…well, obviously what Nate Madison’s father did is beyond the pale. There’s white collar crime and then there’s ending someone’s life. And that’s not the only skeleton in the closet in that theme, either. Assaulting women was a bit of a hobby for him, from what I hear. It’s just that this is the only offense that might have actually landed him in hot water if it ever got in front of a jury.”
“So he got away with it?”
“Never even saw a trial.”
“That’s awful,” I say.
“Yep.”
We’re all quiet now. Pierce picks up another peanut butter cookie and stuffs it into his mouth whole. Reid takes a seat and pulls out his phone, scrolling through email.
And I think about Nate.
What kind of childhood would he have had, growing up with a father like his? He sounds barbaric. Did his father’s cruelty extend only to women? Or did he unleash his violent rage onto his own children too?
I remember a scar on his arm that I asked him about once after sex. He clammed up. Told me to mind my own business and refused to say anything more.
What was that about?
Nate’s father is Thomas’s biological grandpa.
Whether my big brothers wanted it to be or not, the Madison’s and their dark family secrets are already connected to us. They entered our very bloodline when I had a child with Nate. It’s just that he - and my brothers - don’t know it.
What would they think if they ever found out?
It’s just another reason why they’ll never know the truth. Nate made it clear when he broke up with me that he’s not interested in me, marriage, or babies. He described that life as his “personal hell on earth” in fact.
So I’m doing him a favor. Keeping the secret from him allows him to continue his bachelor lifestyle and also protects me from the pain of feeling his abandonment even more than I already did when he broke up with me.
And most importantly, it protects Thomas. Because the last thing I ever want Thomas to feel is unwanted or like a burden to his family. The way that I’ve felt for so long.
No. Thomas will never know anything but pure, unconditional love and support from his family. He will always know that he is wanted. He will always feel important and treasured. And Nate is obviously not equipped to give my son that feeling, no matter how capable of financially providing for Thomas he is.
And keeping the secret also benefits my brothers. They don’t like the idea that their little sister got pregnant from a meaningless one night stand with a guy she barely remembers. But this lie is better than the truth: their problem sister got knocked up by the one man on earth they can’t stand. The one who is currently backing them into a corner and making demands and the one whose family history makes their skin crawl.
If they knew, then they’d know that their only nephew is half Adler and half Madison.
We hear the sound of a car approaching and shortly after, Jax walks in.
“So many glum faces,” he says dryly. “What a welcome home committee.”
“You called us here,” Pierce says. “And we already know what’s up, Jax. We lost the Heron building. Livingston is going with Madison. Right?”
He frowns.
“Yes, they’re drawing up the paperwork this week,” he says.
“Good, then there’s time to change their mind,” Reid says quickly. “It’s not final until the ink is dry.”
Jax shakes his head.
“I called Livingston before I left the office,” he says. “That’s what took me so long. I thought maybe I could change his mind. We’ve worked with so many partners of his before…our reputation…I don’t know where we lost him but I’ve heard a little of Madison’s plan. He’s going to try to preserve the original building.”
Reid laughs.
“That’s ludicrous,” he says. “That building is ancient. A teardown is more economical. It’ll be more efficient, too, long term. The energy costs - ”
“Apparently Madison’s thought of that too,” Jax says. “I don’t know the details of course but he’s promised Livingston modern-day efficiency in a historic package. I don’t know how he thinks he’s going to keep costs down. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t renovate dirt-cheap and still get a high priced outcome. The only way I know to bring a building like that up to code and to modern specifications is to shell out a fortune. A fortunate that Livingston has made it clear he will not be spending on Heron.”
“Maybe he’s got some secret weapon,” Pierce muses. “Some high tech engineering that isn’t well-known yet.”
Reid rolls his eyes but Jax nods thoughtfully.
“Yes,” he says. “I mean, it has to be something cutting edge…or Madison is just blowing smoke and is going to paint himself into one hell of a corner once the invoices start coming in.”
“I wish I could have been a fly on the wall in that meeting,” Reid says.
“Me too,” Jax says.
“So what do we do?” Reid asks.
I watch them all intently. Jax looks puzzled but lacks the usual stress lines on his forehead that appear when he’s talking business.
“Well…” he says slowly. “I actually made another phone call on my way home from the office. To Nate Madison.”
“No,” Reid says immediately.
“What else would you have me do?” Jax asks. “He’s a smart guy and he’s got us by the balls. I don’t know what he had to do in order to pry the Heron project from our hands but whatever it was, it’s impressive. And I want to know how he did it. I want him on my team.”
“He’s the enemy,” Pierce says.
“He’s only the enemy because he’s not on our team right now,” Jax says. “Do you think we’d scoff at his tactics if he was using them to win over clients for us instead of steal them from us? No. He’d be one of our highest paid men on the team. The only reason we’ve come to hate him so much is because he’s so fucking good at his job. And believe me, it pains me to say that just as much as it pains you to hear it. But it would be foolish to let our dislike of the man cloud our judgement of his skill. We’ve underestimated him in the past. That’s on us. No more.”
“So we…what, we merge with him?” Reid scoffs. “Is this our plan every time some little shit comes onto our turf?”
“This isn’t some little shit,” Jax says. “We have competition everywhere we go. In every market. In every sector we put our finger into. But Madison is the only real threat that we’ve come up against. Everything else, we’ve overcome. This isn’t backing down from a fight. This is fighting that fight for five years and coming to respect the opposition and give them the recognition they deserve.”
“What the hell did Madison say to you?” Reid asks. “The other day you acted like hell would freeze over before you worked with him.”
“The other day I was certain nobody could win Livingston from under us,” Jax says.
“I’m not agreeing to it,” Pierce says. “A merger requires us to agree on this, yeah? Well I don’t.”
He folds his arms over his chest.
“Pierce, don’t be - ”
“I don’t agree to it either.”
Everyone turns to look at me.
I clear my throat and continue.
“Jax, I know I’ve never gotten involved much,” I say. “And honestly, it’s an honor to even be included as a stakeholder in all of this. I didn’t do any of the work like you and Reid did.”
“And me,” Pierce says.
“Yeah, and like Pierce did,” I add. “I was still just a kid when all of this got started. But now that I’m older and…well, I have an appreciation for the Adler legacy that I didn’t have before. And I don’t want to compromise that just because Nate Madison stole another client from us.”
“Well said,” Reid nods.
Jax sits at the table and slides the plate of peanut butter cookies in front of him, picking one up in his hand.
“Sydney,” he says. “I appreciate that. I really do. We worked hard to build Adler Co into what it was. But when we started, we weren’t even in the real estate game. The real estate part of the business was never the main piece. And right now it’s a liability. I can’t afford to keep subsidizing that department with profits from other places in the company. If we don’t merge with Madison, we lay the staff off. All of them.”
We’re quiet for a moment. Then Reid speaks first.
“There’s no other way to salvage it?”
The defiant edge in his voice has slipped away and he almost sounds fearful.
Pierce’s eyes are wide.
“No,” Jax says. “Delaying it further would be dragging it out. If we lay off now, we’re able to give our people advance notice and help them find their next place. And give them a generous severance package as well. It’s the humane way to do this. Not bleed money until our hand is forced.”
“Just laying off the real estate department?” Pierce clarifies.
“Yes,” Jax says. “The rest remains the same. We’re in good standing everywhere else. We had a record breaking year with our tech department last year and we stand to have another this year. But again, we can’t siphon money from profitable areas of the business to feed this dying area. So these are our options as I see them. We merge with Madison and flip this situation around and become a successful giant in the real estate scene - which I like the sound of. Or we go under and suffer a little embarrassment. And lay off a lot of good people who depend on us for a paycheck.”
“Thanks to Madison,” Reid murmurs.
“Madison beat us fair and square,” Jax reminds him. “If he manages to pull off what he’s promised, we could stand to learn a lot from him.”
“And if he doesn’t, he’s going to have his ass handed to him in more ways than one,” Pierce says. “Why should we merge with a guy like that?”
“I think I’ve already explained that,” Jax replies. “It’s up to you, ultimately. Between the three of you, you could outvote me. But I want you to be aware of the ripple effect this decision has on our company. A lot of lives could be changed as a result. We have some time to think it over. Madison gave us one week.”
Reid sighs, uncrossing his arms and slouching in his chair.
“Jax, whatever you think is best, my vote will be with you,” he says. “You’ve never steered us wrong. You think with your head and not with your heart. I hate this Madison fuckhead, but I don’t want an old family grudge getting in the way of good business sense. I don’t need time to think. I vote for the merge.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Pierce laughs. “You know what? I don’t need time to think either. Because I vote no to the merge. It’s like Sydney said. We’re going to compromise our image.”
“Our legacy,” I correct him.
“Right,” he says. “Same thing. The Adler name means something, Jax. Are we really going to let this punk throw it away?”
“Our brand doesn’t go anywhere,” Jax says. “It just evolves. Madison has the skill and the know-how, and we’ve got the reputation. Again, together this merger could take both of our companies to the next level.”
“No way,” Pierce says. “I’m with Sydney. I’m not willing to compromise our morals and dirty our reputation with this asshole just because he might have some secret real estate thing up his sleeve.”
Reid starts to argue with him and Jax is already leaning forward in his chair, fingers interlaced and resting on the table in front of him. All three of them look ready to engage in a nice, long, Adler brother debate like the ones I’ve seen all my life growing up. There will be a lot of yelling and fists slamming on tables and finally, in the end, smiles and laughter. Jax will go get beers from the fridge and they’ll all toast to another chapter closed in the Adler Company book.
“Actually,” I say, cutting them off. “I want to change my vote. Um, if that’s okay with you guys.”
The three of them look at me.
“I don’t want anybody to lose their jobs,” I say. “And from the way Jax describes it, we’re in a bit of a bind here. It sounds like we had a lot riding on doing the Heron building for Livingston. If that’s not going to happen…I don’t really see what choice we have. I vote that we merge with Nate Madison.”
Pierce’s mouth falls open but Reid and Jax look pleasantly surprised.
“Thank you,” Jax says. “I appreciate this, Sydney. You know, you are a part owner precisely because I value your opinion. This is a family business. It’s partially yours. And one day it’ll be Thomas’s, too.”
My throat tightens. Would part of Nate’s empire be Thomas’s, too, if I’d told him the truth when I found out I was pregnant?
If we merge companies, maybe it doesn’t matter anyway. Maybe Thomas will inherit a piece of that pie regardless. What a weird turn of events.
Pierce shakes his head, then goes to the refrigerator and grabs four beers. The great debate has been cut short; three votes versus his one means he loses.
“If this all blows up in our faces, don’t blame me,” he says, handing the beers out. “I don’t trust this guy as far as I can throw him.”
“I can’t imagine you could throw him very far,” Reid snorts.
Pierce punches him on the arm, then opens his beer and takes a long swig. Then he holds it in the air, a toast.
“To the merger,” Reid says.
“To not laying people off,” Pierce grumbles.
“To trying new things and giving people a second chance,” Jax admonishes, raising his bottle high. “With any luck, we won’t regret it.”
I raise my beer too, but say nothing. All I can think is that maybe I’ve just made a big mistake, agreeing to this. Since having Thomas, I’ve done everything I can to avoid bumping into Nate. How easy is that going to be, once he and my family’s business are one?
But I’ve got no choice now. I just hope he doesn’t look too closely at Thomas and put the pieces together.
