Seven Days Secret Baby_A Second Chance Romance Page 3

  I looked up the address on Annie’s cellphone, mine was still locked in my apartment. I couldn’t wait to see the look on Ryan’s face when I handed over the arrears and demanded he unlock the place. Maybe I’d even buy the building out from under him.

  I shook my head. I wasn’t rich yet. I had to go to Millstone Manor on the outskirts of the city first. Google Street View only took me up to a wrought iron set of gates, a driveway heading up a hill on the other side. I’d have to wait and see what it looked like when I got there.

  The next morning a cab beeped outside. I woke up to the noise and looked out of the kitchen window to see the cabbie pressing all the buttons at once, hoping someone would let him in. I hit the intercom before remembering Annie’s was as out of order as mine. Bare wires and no sound.

  I ran downstairs in Annie’s spare dressing gown, opening the door to blindingly bright morning light. “Jodie Harris?” the cabbie asked.

  “Yes, why?”

  “I was booked to take you to Millstone Manor. You ready?”

  “Not quite. Who booked you?”

  “Umm.” He looked down at his phone. “Richard Senior.”

  “Give me two minutes.”

  I ran back upstairs and got dressed, yelling a goodbye to Annie through her bedroom door as I headed out again.

  It took forty minutes to reach Millstone Manor. The gates slid open as we pulled up, allowing the cab to drive straight through and start a slow procession along an avenue of cherry trees. Beyond them a long lawn stretched away into the distance on either side. To the far left I could see a lake, a group of deer drinking at the edge. “Nice place,” the cabbie said. “Yours?”

  “Just visiting,” I replied as the house came into view.

  It wasn't just a nice place. It was a huge place. Four tall columns holding up the roof along the front edge, white stone, enormous windows, countless chimneys. How many windows? I could count ten just on the ground floor, five either side of the double doors. The doors themselves were at the top of a set of broad white steps. In front of that was a swoop of gravel where the cab came to a halt. “What do I owe you?” I asked, feeling my empty pockets and remembering I’d been told to leave everything behind. All I had was the key to the apartment block.

  “All paid for,” he said, watching as I climbed out.

  As he drove away the front door of the mansion opened and a procession of people appeared. At the front of them was a woman who looked like she was in charge. She was tall and imposing, reminding me a little of my gym teacher from my first school.

  “Good morning, Jodie,” she said. “Welcome to Millstone Manor.”

  “Thank you,” I replied, letting her guide me up the steps to the line of people waiting for me.

  “This is Terrance. He’s Mr Stempel’s bodyguard. This is Michael, his driver. Jacqueline will be your personal maid while you’re here and Carl will cook your meals for you. I’m Gwyneth Bonner, Mr Stempel’s secretary.”

  I shook one hand after another, trying desperately to remember the names she’d just thrown at me. “And who is Mr Stempel?” I asked.

  “You’ll be meeting him very shortly. If you’d like to wait in his office. This way.”

  She led me inside. The entrance hall was so big, my footsteps echoed back to me. I was surrounded by statues on plinths, huge paintings on the walls adding to the atmosphere of wealth. Down a corridor on the left, Gwyneth led me towards an open door, motioning for me to enter.

  “Take a seat, he’ll be here soon. When he arrives, address him as Sir. Only speak when spoken to and whatever you do, don’t turn your back on him.”

  She shut the door, leaving me inside. I thought I was alone but then I noticed a man in overalls cleaning a stain off the wall by the desk. “Hi,” I said, nodding to him.

  “Morning,” he replied.

  He was scraping delicately at the wallpaper with what looked like a scalpel.

  “What happened?”

  “A Scotch on the rocks by the smell of it.” He glanced up at me. “Mr Stempel throws things when he’s angry.”

  I went to say something else but as I did so, the door burst open and an enormous man leapt into the room. “You haven’t got that sorted yet!” he yelled at the workman. “What the hell am I paying you for?” His eyes had already moved past. Without even looking at me he pointed in my direction whilst marching over to his chair. “Who the hell are you?”

  FOUR - NICK

  I wanted to make sure I made the right first impression. Shouting at her worked. It put her on the back foot, made sure she knew who was boss.

  “Sir,” Gwyneth said as I sank into my chair. “This is Jodie, your guest for the week.” She mouthed silently, “Remember the training. Be nice.”

  I looked at Jodie Examining her closely, I liked what I saw. The light from the window was illuminating a nervous face that would look so good screaming my name. She was mashing her fingers together in her lap, trying to keep those nerves under control.

  Her skirt rested just above her knee with her leg crossed like that. They were nice legs too. I’d only ever seen her in the museum uniform and was pleasantly surprised by how much better she looked out of it. Hair framing her face just the right way.

  How would those lips look with my cock shoved between them? I bet they’d look good. Could she tell what I was thinking? I lost myself in her eyes for a moment, unable to think of anything at all until I heard Gwyneth cough.

  I looked up at her lingering in the doorway, seeing the expression on her face. I knew what it meant at once. I had to be nice, had to get Jodie onside, make sure she didn’t give the game away when Tomlinson showed up.

  I thought back to the notes I’d run through. I had to appear like a decent human being. I relaxed my body language, trying to appear welcoming. I even managed a smile. “This man’s working hard,” I said, pointing down at the workman as he continued to scrape at the wall. “Give him a bonus, Gwyneth.”

  “Yes, Sir,” she replied, taking a note on her pad. “Anything else?”

  “Get Jodie new clothes. These won’t do. She needs to look poorer. Find her something. And take Tony for a coffee will you? I need to speak to our guest.”

  “Of course, Sir.”

  The two of them left, closing the door and leaving me alone with Jodie. At once I felt like a tiger with cornered prey. She wasn’t just here for me to sleep with. She was here to help prove to Tomlinson that I was a philanthropist just like him.

  “Do you know why you’re here?” I asked, leaning back in my chair and taking another chance to run my eyes over her.

  “No, Sir.”

  The way she said it made my cock twitch. She was so desperate to please already and she’d only just arrived. I could have so much fun with her if she continued to act like this.

  “You are to obey my instructions for the next week. At some point during this week, I have a meeting and you are instrumental in ensuring the success of that meeting. Do you understand?”

  “Not really, Sir.”

  “It’s perfectly simple. You must act as if you dote on me, as if I have been looking after you for years. It is very important you don’t let the mask slip. As far as the world is concerned, I am your mentor and I am dragging you out of poverty. You tell no one what I have told you today. If anyone asks you anything, you just compliment me like your life depends on it.

  “You talk about how much I am helping you, what a good job I’m doing. You do not leave without my permission. You do nothing without my say so. When the meeting is over, you get paid a million pounds and go on your way with your new found fortune and never will our paths cross again. Is that clear enough?”

  “What’s to stop me walking away now?”

  “You signed the contract. Walk away and I sue you for everything you’ve got.”

  “I can live with that. I haven’t got anything.”

  “I could also make sure you never work again. That museum job of yours, gone. A word in the right e
ar and I could have the funding withdrawn from the whole place. Would you like seeing it boarded up and vandalized?”

  “Stop. Don’t talk like that.” She took a deep breath before adding, “All right but nothing illegal.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Promise me you won’t ask me to do anything illegal.”

  “I guarantee it. Now the small talk is over the next thing is to change those clothes. Where is she? Gwyneth!”

  The door opened a second later and my secretary ran in with a pile of clothes in her arms. “I found these in the maid’s quarters. Will they do?”

  “What are they?”

  “Torn jeans and this blouse is fraying at the edges. It’s also starting to fade.”

  “Perfect. Leave them there.”

  She placed them on the edge of the desk before retreating. The door closed and again I was alone with Jodie. I looked at her in silence for a minute. “Get undressed.”

  “Sorry, what?”

  “Enough with the questions. You are here to obey me and that starts now. Stand up, remove your skirt and that top. Put those jeans and that blouse on. No excuses, no arguing. Get up, get changed. You want the money. I need someone who can do as she’s told. Stand up.”

  She did so, her fingers still mashing together as she squirmed on the spot.

  “Take off that top.”

  She looked as if she was going to argue and there followed a battle of the eyes. She tried to stare me down but failed miserably. With shaking hands, she pulled her top over her head and I visibly relaxed when it happened. The battle was over. I’d won just like I knew I would.

  I stared at her chest, her ill fitting bra struggling to contain those pale globes of flesh, the skin turning red in the time it took her to grab the blouse, her embarrassment visible. I enjoyed her discomfort.

  She glared at me as she did the buttons up but that didn’t matter. She could glare all she liked. What mattered was she’d done as she was told.

  “Now the skirt,” I said, keeping the emotion out of my voice. I was hard as rock by the time she started unzipping the side of the skirt. She let it drop to the floor and it fell heavily, one more step to making her mine.

  She grabbed the jeans at once but in the time it took her to step into them, I had the view I wanted. Lacy panties that made my throat dry with need. It was definitely going to be a fun week. I would make my billions and she would get her money. I’d also fuck her. There was no doubt about that. The only question was whether to do it before or after my meeting with Tomlinson.

  “This way,” I said, getting to my feet, not caring if she saw how hard I was. She’d signed the contract. Non disclosure meant I could do or say anything and she would tell no one about it if she wanted to keep her money. She looked like she needed it too.

  She also looked like she needed a decent meal, that pale skin, the way she seemed weak on her feet as she walked into the corridor. I’d soon fix that. I needed her to have energy for the things I was going to do to her.

  “Upstairs,” I said, watching her walk in front of me. The jeans were a little too small for her and that meant I had a perfect view of her ass when she ascended the stairs. It was so smackable. That was the only way I could describe it. Built for spanking.

  She was just so different to the women I’d slept with before. For one thing she was seemingly indifferent to the display of wealth around her.

  She was beautiful too. The shyness when she stripped. I had no doubt she was a virgin.

  As we reached the second floor, I found myself thinking about how she’d looked out of her clothes, the all too brief flashes of her skin before she’d dressed in the clothes that made her look poorer.

  It was all about appearances after all. I couldn’t sell myself as helping a poor girl if she looked rich.

  But was it too obvious? Would Tomlinson think I was doing this deliberately. It was a careful balancing act and I needed to get it right. I’d have to think about it for a while.

  I opened her bedroom door and motioned for her to enter. “You may occupy yourself until this door is unlocked,” I said, slamming it shut before she could say anything else.

  She didn’t know it but I couldn’t spend any longer with her. Just seeing the bed behind her made me want to throw her onto it, peel those jeans off her, spank that ass of hers until she screamed.

  It was too soon to do that. She was still settling into the role I’d given her. Move too quickly and she might run out the door and I wouldn’t have much time to find someone else willing to do this. It had taken long enough to find her and get the paperwork signed off. It needed to be her and that meant I needed to be careful not to fuck her until the time was right.

  With her safely locked away I could get on with the rest of the working day. I returned to the office to a ringing phone. “Gates,” I said into it as he started whining. “I thought you were going to fix my computer. I don’t care where you are. What palace? Always with the excuses aren’t you? Tell Her Majesty you need to fix my copy of Word before she knights you.”

  I caught sight of the photo of Jodie on the desk, the only one Gwyneth had neglected to remove. I picked it up and looked at it. “Never mind,” I said into the phone, staring at her image. “Get to it when you can.”

  Hanging up I continued to examine the photo. “You’ll be mine,” I said quietly, thinking of her upstairs. She might not want me yet but she would. It was only a matter of time.

  FIVE - JODIE

  One day over. A humiliating day that involved me stripping in front of the man I had a crush on. He seemed indifferent to the sight of my body, his face revealing no emotion at all. I tried not to feel disappointed.

  One day closer to a million pounds. I’d worked for it though. No one could deny that. When he told me to undress fear rose up inside me. What scared me wasn’t doing it, it was that I wanted to do it.

  From the minute he’d burst into the office, I wanted him. It was a purely animal instinct that I had no control over. I had taken one look at the hulk of man storming into his office and all I wanted to do was please him.

  It didn’t help that he was smoking hot. So much hotter than from a distance in the museum, snatched glances didn't do him justice. That chiseled jaw, the stubble, the mess of dark hair that said he didn’t have time to care about brushing it. The suit that was molded to him like it was part of his skin.

  He talked and I melted. I tried to fight my desire as he spoke but when he told me to undress, I almost ripped off all my clothes and threw myself at him. I managed to keep control of myself somehow.

  I had to change quickly because I had felt his eyes burning into my skin. Could he tell my nipples were hard? Did he notice how wet I’d suddenly become out of nowhere? He said nothing about my body though. I guessed he didn't care, it was just his way of humiliating me, making me earn my money.

  I was glad when he left me upstairs, afraid that if I spent any longer with him, I might just melt into a puddle on the floor. He locked me in though and my day went from the heights of excitement and tension to sheer tedium. Locked in like his prisoner, not his guest.

  The bedroom contained a four poster bed with silk sheets and pillows so soft I found my fingers running over them as I continued to examine the space around me. A bookcase stuffed full, a window overlooking the drive far below. An armchair that looked hundreds of years old, too fragile for me to risk sitting in. There was also a dressing table and a door that led through to a beautiful bathroom.

  I read for hours then ran a bath but it was still only three in the afternoon. No food appeared and no one came to let me out. By the time I climbed into bed that evening I decided I had definitely earned my money for the day. I was hungry, bored, and unable to stop thinking about what might be inside that suit of his.

  Six days to go and then I’d be away from here. I’d be able to think straight again. Something about this house and its opulence had turned my head. Something about him had bypassed my brain and gone
straight to my core, made me want his babies, lots of his babies.

  It didn’t help that I’d never had sex before. The last couple of years I’d started to think about it more and more but I always told myself my first would be with the right person, not just anyone. Was he the right person? He only wanted me for a week.

  It was academic anyway because I was just here to make him look good. It was obvious from what he’d said. I didn’t know the details but I could put enough pieces of the puzzle together to work the rest out. He had some business deal that needed a woman involved in some way.

  He’d probably lied and told some rival firm that he had a daughter or a niece or something similar and my job was to fill the role until the deal went through. Once it was over, so was I. I’d be on my way with my million and I wasn’t to contact him again. There was no point even trying to get attached to him, not with only six days to go.

  I went to sleep hungry and woke to the sound of my bedroom door unlocking. For the first few seconds I panicked, thinking it was Ryan coming to evict me. Then I sat up and blinked, frowning as I tried to remember where I was. It came back to me as the door opened.

  I expected to see Mr Stempel out there but instead it was one of the people I’d been introduced to yesterday. The maid. What was her name again?

  “Good morning,” she said, passing me almost identical clothes to those I’d been given the previous day. “Would you like to come down for breakfast?”

  “God, yes,” I said, suddenly realising just how starving I was. It had been almost twenty-four hours since I’d eaten anything.

  “I’ll wait out here while you dress.”

  I shouted out to her, “Will Mr Stempel be joining me for breakfast?”

  “He’s already eaten.”

  I tried not to feel disappointed. I wasn’t here to keep him company. I was here to help this business deal go through. He had no reason to spend any more time with me than was strictly necessary. Didn’t stop me wanting him though.

  The dining room was enormous and I took up one tiny corner of the huge table that stretched so far I could do cartwheels on it if I wanted. The maid brought me a plate of bacon and eggs and I dug into them whilst she headed back to the kitchen. “What am I supposed to do with myself?” I asked her as she went.