All By Herself (A BWWM Pregnancy Romance Book 1) Page 8

  She came in spasms, her pussy clenching powerfully as her rapture washed over. “Oh, God,” she cried in ecstasy.

  Michael couldn’t hold back any longer. With a deep groan, he came, shooting his seed in huge spurts into her drenched cunt.

  They clung to each other, kissing, their bodies still shaking in the aftermath of their pleasure. “I love you, Michael de Winter,” whispered Zoe. She was shocked to hear herself say it. Without even realizing it, she had fallen in love with him.

  He smiled. “I love you too. You have given meaning to my life. I didn’t know what I was missing till you showed me. I will always be there for you, Zoe. For you and our baby.”

  Zoe hugged him tightly. With him close by, anything seemed possible.

  Chapter12

  Zoe carefully adjusted her dress and tried to look as calm and professional as possible as she walked into the law office of Smith & Besson. “Hello, I have an appointment with Lorraine,” she told the receptionist.

  The receptionist took her name and asked her to sit in the reception area. Zoe was trying to look composed, though she felt anything but. She was desperate to get this job, more for the sense of being employed rather than just the money, although that would come in handy as well. Her morning sickness was plaguing her as well. She did her best to project an aura of being in total control.

  A well-dressed woman was walking toward her. “Zoe? I’m Lorraine. Please come this way.”

  Zoe followed her to a conference room. Lorraine was one of the senior partners and she was desperate to impress her.

  “So, Zoe, tell me about yourself,” said Lorraine with a warm smile once they were seated. Zoe wasn’t fooled by the warmth. She knew she was constantly being evaluated. Fortunately, she had rehearsed her spiel and launched into a confident narrative of what she had done so far.

  At the end, Lorraine nodded and said, “That is very impressive, but Gladys told me that you no longer have a job. Can you tell me why that is?”

  Zoe decided to be upfront. “The official reason is that I was retrenched, but I was informed on good authority that someone influenced the partners to let me go.”

  Lorraine raised an eyebrow. “Really? And do you know who that is?”

  Zoe nodded. “Edward de Winter.”

  “Well, he’s a powerful man,” said Lorraine. “And I can know that he has enough power to do that. But what has he got against you?”

  “It’s a long story. The thing i … I’m pregnant.” Zoe blushed as she said this.

  Lorraine looked surprised. “Edward de Winter got you pregnant?”

  “No!” Zoe was horrified at the thought of it. “His son got me pregnant.”

  “Michael? Well, he’s extremely handsome.” Lorraine smiled. “And quite a playboy. So what’s Edward’s problem?”

  “He think having a child out of wedlock with a black woman is not going to reflect well on the family.”

  “Really?” Lorraine looked displeased. “I know he is a ruthless bastard, but I didn’t know he was racist as well.”

  Zoe nodded. “He wanted me to have an abortion. When I refused, he went nuts on me.”

  Lorraine pursed her lips. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that. If you do join us, we have an interesting case that I’m sure you’d like to work on.”

  The conversation drifted to other areas, and Lorraine grilled her about all aspects of her job. Finally, she said, “You are very suitable for this post. But I must warn you, we only have a vacancy for a paralegal. Is that something you’d be willing to take?”

  “Sure,” said Zoe. “I’m prepared to take a step down if it means getting back into the work force.”

  “Excellent.” Lorraine smiled. “Can you start next Monday?”

  “Of course,” said Zoe. They shook hands and ironed out the fine details. The salary that she would be getting was quite a bit lower than what she was paid earlier, but as Zoe reminded herself, it was better than nothing.

  The sun was shining brightly when she stepped out. Zoe felt a lot better. She decided to call Michael to tell him.

  “Congratulations!” he said warmly.

  “Thank you. It is nice to get some good news for a change.”

  “I have an idea. To celebrate, let’s meet up for dinner.”

  “A date?” Zoe teased.

  “It won’t be just us.”

  “Oh, really? Who else will be joining us?”

  “My father.”

  Zoe stopped walking. “Are you serious?”

  “We need to face him once and for all,” said Michael firmly. “I’m going to tell him in no uncertain terms that we are together and we will be raising this child together.”

  “I don’t know, Michael,” said Zoe hesitantly.

  “Don’t tell me, after spending all this time telling me that I need to grow a pair, that you’re getting cold feet about facing my father?” He was clearly enjoying himself.

  “Well, we both know what he’s capable of,” said Zoe defensively.

  “It won’t be easy, but he needs to accept how things are,” said Michael.

  “Okay,” said Zoe, still uncertain. “When are we going to do this?”

  “Tonight,” said Michael. “I’ll call him and let him know.”

  Zoe agreed despite having deep misgivings. She knew they had to stand up to him. All the same, she wondered if this was the best way to tackle a man like Edward de Winter. On the other hand, was there actually a good way to handle like him?

  Her nervousness increased as she rang the bell to Michael’s apartment. He beckoned her in and she glanced nervously around. Edward hadn’t turned up and for a moment Zoe hoped that he had cancelled.

  “He’s coming,” said Michael, as if he was reading her mind. “He said he’ll be a little late.”

  “Oh.” Zoe tried to keep a neutral face.

  “Some wine?”

  She looked at him incredulously. “I’m pregnant!” she spluttered. “I can’t have alcohol. As much as it would help, I’ll have to settle for water.”

  Michael was sipping wine and Zoe on water when the doorbell rang. Michael opened the door and Edward stepped into the room. Zoe felt an instant chill. He looked at her with cold, dark eyes, a cruel, sarcastic grin on his face.

  “It looks as if my son is not content with getting some hussy from the ghetto pregnant,” he observed. “He seems to want to shack up with her as well.”

  Zoe bit her tongue. She was determined not to allow this man to get to her.

  Michael looked at his father coldly. “I was hoping we would be able to have a civilized conversation.”

  Edward threw up his hands in mock defeat. “But of course. Someone must try to maintain a modicum of civilization in the present context.” He looked around, a jovial smile on his face, although his eyes glittered with anger. “How are you doing, my beloved son? You are well, I hope, after you decided to commit hara-kiri and announce your misadventures to the world.”

  “I had to do what was right,” said Michael quietly.

  “If you had bothered to do what was right, you wouldn’t be in this mess in the place.” A flash of anger crossed Edward’s face. “If you had an iota of gratitude for all that I was doing for you—all I had done for you—you wouldn’t have spat in my face by undoing all that I was trying to do.”

  “I know you would find this difficult to understand, Dad, but it isn’t all about you,” said Michael. He looked pale but his voice was steady.

  “Of course not,” snapped Edward. “It was about you. I have been grooming you for greatness all your life. It wasn’t easy, given your complete lack of any identifiable skill. But I managed. The best schools. A generous donation to get you into an Ivy League university. A plum position in my company. In a little time, you would have made VP, then CEO. I could have made you a senator where you could have furthered our business interests.”

  “All that is very admirable, Mr. de Winter,” said Zoe. “And those are still possible. Everyone makes mi
stakes. Having a baby doesn’t mean he can’t do those things.”

  Edward looked at her with contempt. “You’re right. Getting a girl pregnant out of wedlock is quite common, sadly. What is reprehensible is that he had managed to do it with someone not of his own race.”

  “That is absurd, Mr. de Winter,” said Zoe, managing to keep calm. She was not going to fall for his race-baiting tactics again. “We have a black president. There are plenty of interracial families. We don’t live in the Jim Crow era anymore.”

  “It is not about era,” snarled Edward. “Michael has a duty—one day to take his place at the helm of his company. And after that? Will it pass to his fat-lipped, dark skinned kid? I will not have a damn monkey besmirching the family name.”

  There was a stunned silence. Zoe saw that Michael had flushed red with anger and put a hand on his arms to keep him calm. “This kid—our kid—is not a monkey. I’m sorry you have such racist, bigoted views, Mr. de Winter. We hoped you would be willing to be a part of this child’s life, but I don’t know if that’s possible anymore.”

  Edward looked astonished. “Be a grandfather to a child who, if it’s a boy, will in all probability become a rapist and drug dealer, or if it’s a girl, become a hooker—that is, unless she finds some right white man to get her pregnant in which case she’ll be set for the rest of her life, like her mommy.”

  “You are a hateful, vicious man,” said Zoe.

  “That’s because I have reason to be!” shouted Edward. “My family means everything to me. I didn’t work this hard and make all the sacrifices I had to in order to see it fall into the hands of a race of murderers, robbers, and drug addicts.”

  Michael said, “That’s enough. I know what you think of black people. It’s one of the reasons I have lost all regard for you. We didn’t call you here to listen to your disgusting views. We called you here to tell you, in no uncertain terms, that we are having this baby and we are going to raise the child together as one family.”

  Edward stared at him, incensed. “Then let me tell you, in no uncertain terms. I gave you everything and I will take everything from you. Since you have seen fit to show me such little respect and gratitude, you will discover what it is like to have me against you. Your money, your job, your possessions, even your social standing—you have them all, thanks to me and you will lose them all if you don’t come to your senses.”

  Zoe said, “That is an awful, vindictive thing to do to your own son.”

  Edward smiled nastily at her. “Concerned that the flow of cash is going to stop? You know what I’m capable of doing.”

  “Did you feel good, putting an honest worker out of her job?” Zoe looked at him disdainfully.

  “There is nothing honest about you,” snarled Edward. “You have ensnared my son and you’re trying to pollute my family with your filthy genes.”

  “There was a time that I was afraid of you, of losing what I have,” said Michael. “But there are more important things than material possessions. I need to be a man. And I need to be there for my family. You can have your job and your money. And I am telling you this—you will never know your grandson. We will not let such a terrible human being anywhere near the child. Good luck finding someone else to take my place.” He looked at his father disdainfully.

  “Have you taken leave of your senses?” screamed Edward. “Everything you have, everything you could have—you are going to let it all go for a fucking nigger?”

  Michael lunged towards his father and Zoe thought he was going to hit him. But he seized him by the shoulders and dragged him towards the door. “Get out,” he said. “You are no longer welcome here.” He shoved Edward out of the room.

  Edward turned to look at his son and his face twisted in rage. “I will show you and that black bitch what I can do. You’ll be sorry.”

  Michael slammed the door in his face.

  The Final Chapter

  There was a tense silence. Zoe took a deep breath. She had been afraid that things wouldn’t go well, but it had turned out even worse than she had imagined.

  “Wow, that didn’t turn out well,” she remarked.

  Michael shrugged. “He’s just mad, that’s all. I don’t think he’ll actually go through with it.”

  Zoe wasn’t so sure. She had never met a man as cold and ruthless as Edward. The next day she discovered her fears were well founded.

  Michael called her and said, “Can we meet for lunch?”

  Instinctively, she knew something was wrong. “Sure,” she said.

  They met at a local café. Michael looked shocked and Zoe squeezed his hand as they sat down. “He’s taken everything,” he said. “My credit cards, the trust fund. I went to work today to find he’s barred me from entering the building.”

  He looked down and Zoe struggled to find something to say. “Look,” she said. “I know I’ve been going on at you to be a father for our baby. But you will end up losing everything. If you want to do what your father says and have nothing to do with us, I’d understand.”

  Michael shook his head. “I’ve spent my entire life being afraid of my father. No more. He’s not going to stop me from doing what is right.”

  Zoe looked at him and realized how much he had grown as a person. “So what are you going to do now? Do you need some cash?”

  “No. I have some money stashed away so I can manage for a while longer. I also have some shares in the company. Maybe I can sell them for some money. What I need to do is find a job.”

  “I know how that feels,” said Zoe sympathetically.

  She wondered what else Edward would do to try and harm them. Michael spent most of the weekend with her, but his father cast an ominous shadow over all their activities.

  Zoe had her first day at work to worry about as well. She was desperate to make a good impression and turned up bright and early. Lorraine welcomed her warmly.

  “Nervous on your first day?”

  “A little,” admitted Zoe.

  “Well, we are a friendly bunch, so you’ll fit right in.”

  It turned out to be true. Everyone was polite and cordial and Zoe’s nervousness soon dissipated. After she had met everyone and was given a general introduction the place, Lorraine called to her office.

  “This case is going to be of great interest to you,” she said with a smile.

  Zoe was curious. “What is it about?”

  Lorraine pulled out a fat file and gave it to her. “This matter is highly confidential, but I know we can trust you.”

  Zoe perused the contents of the file and her eyebrows shot up. “A takeover bid?”

  “Edward de Winter has screwed over a lot of people, including his own relatives,” explained Lorraine. “His control of his company is tenuous at best, and a group of major shareholders are launching a takeover bid.”

  Zoe smiled. “It couldn’t happen to a nicer man.”

  Lorraine nodded. “I know enough about him to know that he’s a fine piece of work. But the suit has run into a major hurdle. They are a bit short of the number of shares they need to complete the takeover.”

  “Wow, what are they going to do?”

  “Well, first they need to ensure that all the paperwork is in order to make the bid. No conflict of interests, anti-competition laws, that sort of thing.”

  “I’ll get on it,” said Zoe.

  The file contained a lot of information that Zoe found very interesting. She spoke to Michael as soon as she got home. After explaining about the file, she said, “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

  Michael was silent for a moment. Finally he said, “We were estranged. Susan stood up to my father. As you imagine, that didn’t turn out well. Dad cut her off and sighed over everything to me. Susan hasn’t talked to me since.”

  Zoe digested this information. “Now she’s leading a takeover bid for the company.”

  Michael laughed. “Well, good for her. I hope she succeeds.”

  Zoe found working on that file particularly inte
resting. But as she worked on it, she realized that the numbers still didn’t add up. The takeover group didn’t have enough shares to take complete control. They had courted several shareholders, but many were fearful of crossing a man like Edward. As the days passed, Zoe realized that their bid was going to fall desperately short.

  Having carefully thought about it, she made an important decision. She called Michael on evening and said, “Can you come over? There is someone I’d like you to meet.”

  Michael was intrigued. “Who?”

  “Come and see for yourself.”

  When Michael walked in through the door, he did a double take.

  “Hello, Michael,” said a tall, beautiful woman.

  “Susan!” exclaimed Michael. “What are you doing here?”

  “Zoe called me and told me what has been happening with you. Besides, do I need a reason to see my baby brother?” They embraced warmly.

  After Michael and she had caught up on the all the news, he said, “I hear you’re trying to take over the company.”

  “Dad has screwed a lot of people over when he wrested control of the company,” explained Susan. “In fact, I wouldn’t have any shares at all if Grandma hadn’t left some to me in her will.”

  “I thought Dad was right,” admitted Michael. “I can see I was wrong now. I’m glad you’re going to take control of things.”

  “Except we are five thousand voting shares short,” said Susan grimly. “Everyone hates Dad, but no one is willing to go up against him.”

  Michael smiled. “I may be able to help you with that.”

  ***

  There was a murmur when they all walked into the boardroom meeting the next week. Edward looked at his son and the familiar sardonic smile came on his face. He looked amused.

  “I have no idea what you’re doing here. I gave the security strict instruction that you were not to be permitted inside. And I don’t think your sister will be able to help you.”

  “It’s not your company anymore.” Michael flung the document that he, Zoe, and Susan had prepared onto the table. “It’s ours.”