Alpha Billionaire Series

ALICIA

My suitcase lay spread open on the bed. I didn't know what I should pack. I needed a professional wardrobe, but I also was going to need something feminine and sexy for my time with Christopher. My clothes piled high on one end of my bed. My toiletries were neatly packed. I had a pair of sensible work pumps, and a pair of sexy strappy sandals.

Everything else was still a mystery and stressing me out.

I'turned when I heard a knock on the door.

Hannah leaned against the door jamb. “Are you certain you want to go?"

“What's that supposed to mean? Of course, I want to go. My boss wants me there."

“Wants you there in a professional capacity, or..2" She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

“Definitely or... So much or," I sighed. “I will be there in a professional capacity as well. But this will be the first time we will have to see if this dating the boss thing is going to work out”

She stepped into my room and began picking up different articles from the pile on my bed.

She held a few blouses against her shoulders and swished back and forth. “You should definitely wear this. It's good for wor and you could wear it on a date.”

I reached out and snatched the blouse out of her grasp and tossed it into the suitcase.

“It's what the magazines would call versatile, day to evening wear she continued.

“You know those magazines always make shit up so that us women feel like we are failing at being women. Day to evening outfits always look stupid. No one is ever thin enough or wears the right kind of makeup. It makes me glad that Ceejay is a boy. He won't have to put up with all of those stupid standard’s society put on women."

“Amen to that."

Ilooked at her, my brows lifted. “Weren't you the one just now telling me to follow the magazines and pack day to night wear?”

“You are going to want multipurpose clothes, or you'll be dragging a huge suitcase around.’

I groaned. “Fair point.”

I picked up the blouse. Okay, I could wear it with my standard gray skirt, and it would look cute with a pair of shorts, or a flippy little skirt. “Would this work with jeans?”

“Totally. Are you packing a swimsuit?”

I folded up another blouse. I was going to be gone for four nights over a long weekend. I needed a week's worth of business clothes, one official party outfit, and then what? I didn't know how to plan a wardrobe to carry over from work hours into evening date night fashion. I came home from work and threw on a pair of sweats, or shorts and an old tee. I didn’t know how to dress business casual for off hours. And I certainly didn’t own sexy lingerie for my time alone with Christopher. I didn't even own matching underwear.

Ishook my head. “No,” I said sadly. “Last year they held it in Miami, this year it's in St. Louis. I missed a free work-paid trip to the beach by a year”

“Yeah, but if you were still at your old job, you wouldn't know any different”

“I know."

“Why don't you take a break and go read to Ceejay. You aren't going to see him for a few days. I'm sure he is going to want extra stories tonight.”This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.

“I can’t thank you enough for being able to take care of him."

“Hey, this worked out great for me, and you know it. With the mill cutting my hours, taking care of Ceejay has been so much easier than trying to find another job that worked with my schedule.”

It had taken less than a week after making arrangements with Hannah for watching Ceejay in exchange for lowered rent before everything clicked into place. And it had clicked. I couldn't remember which one of us figured it out first, but it was a brilliant idea.

Istill did a lot of the cooking for dinners. I was a better cook. But not having to worry over getting Ceejay late from day-care changed my stress load a whole bunch. It was making a difference, for good, in all of our lives.

“You will read to him when I'm away, right?” The nerves in my belly took a turn and now I was worried about Ceejay.

“I will read to him every night, and you will call him on the phone every day."

“You're right, you're right. It's not like I'm going away without any form of communication. I shouldn't have to sneak away to call”

Hannah sat on my bed. She started folding items of my clothes. “Sneak away?”

“I haven't told my boss that I have a kid yet”

“The boss you are planning on banging while at the conference?”

“The same,” I admitted.

“You are very sneaky about all of this, aren't you? Care to share?”

I did not but talking it through with a friend was probably what I needed to do.

“It's a long story. Ill tell you after I give Ceejay a bath and put him to bed. Deal?”

She nodded.

Itossed a few more items into the suitcase and went to get Ceejay. He sat on the floor in the small living room playing with Legos.

“Hey buddy, it's time to put all of this away and take a bath.”

He whined. He never did like to put away the toys when he was having fun.

“I know," I said as I pulled the Lego bucket over and started to help him put the building blocks away.

“Play again tomorrow?”

“Of course, you can play more tomorrow. Hannah will help you build an amazing tower. Let's put all the red blocks away first okay?"

We picked up blocks, one color at a time until they were all put away. The bedtime routine always took longer. But it was time with my boy, so it was time well spent. Bath time got more water on the floor than I swear it did on Ceejay. He had a talent for making a mess while trying to get clean.

I left the flooding and damp towels on the floor while we finished our bedtime routine. Hannah had been right, we read extr stories, but it had been my choice. I kissed his little forehead after he fell asleep mid-story and finished up my portion of th bedtime routine by cleaning the bathroom.

By the time I was done I was ready for a glass of wine and some television. Fortunately, Hannah was ready with the wine. She curled up in the far corner of the couch. I sat at the other end of the couch, tucked my feet under me, and took a sip of wine “Story time?" I asked.

She nodded, a little too eagerly in my opinion. “So, you haven't told your boss you have a child?”

I nodded. “I have not. I don't know if this is even going to work out. I mean right now we seem to be pretty interested in eacl other, but I'm still concerned over the age difference.”

“What does age have to do with it?”

“What if he gets tired of me? He might think I'm past my prime, that I'm no longer desirable. I mean my father did."

“He's not your father. Maybe he'll love the idea of you having a child already. Maybe he can't father children. You don't know Oh, I knew all right, Christopher could definitely father children. Ceejay was a living proof. I hoped Christopher would be accepting when I did finally tell him.

“I know, I know. Maybe what my mother went through has made me overly cautious. I don't want to introduce him to Ceejay before I know that there is going to be an us. That wouldn't be fair to Ceejay, let him get emotionally invested in this guy when I don't even know if this guy has plans on sticking around. I mean, he could turn around and fire me.”

“Do you think your boss would do that? Just up and fire you?”

“No,” I snuggled into the couch pillows. “He seemed pretty concerned that we do not get caught fooling around at work on my behalf. So no, I don't actually think he's going to up and fire me. I can’t help but have that twinge of paranoia. I guess I'm still jumpy over the job after what Thom did to me."

“But you weren't dating Thom, or were you?”

“Ew, no." I tossed a pillow at her. “Don’t be gross. Thom was an old man."

“I thought you said this guy was an old man.” She smirked as she teased me.

“Older, not old. There's a difference between dating someone my father’s age and dating someone who is forty.”

“I thought you had gotten past all that age nonsense.”

I'took a long sip of my wine. “Forty isn't that old, right?” And Christopher was so incredibly handsome, it didn't seem fair. It really wasn't, and I was powerless against his charm.

“Now you're okay with the whole age gap thing?”

Itipped my head side to side. It wasn't exactly a nod, but yeah, I was okay with the whole age difference. After all, it was Christopher, and he did things to me with a smoldering glance that I had never felt before.

I reached out for Hannah's empty wine glass and stood. “I have enough time to get Ceejay to day-care before I have to be at the airport, and I need to finish packing”