The Billionaire's Christmas Baby: A Holiday Single Dad Romance
The Billionaire’s Christmas Baby
Sandi Lynn
Sandi Lynn Romance, LLC
Contents
The Billionaire’s Christmas Baby
Mission Statement
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Books by Sandi Lynn
About the Author
The Billionaire’s Christmas Baby
New York Times, USA Today & Wall Street Journal
Bestselling Author
Sandi Lynn
The Billionaire’s Christmas Baby
Copyright © 2020 Sandi Lynn Romance, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Mission Statement
Sandi Lynn Romance
Providing readers with romance novels that will whisk them away
to another world and from the daily grind of life – one book at a time.
Chapter 1
Julian
“Excuse me, Mr. Cambridge?” My secretary, Liz, popped her head through the door of the conference room.
I glared at her. The same glare that frightened everyone who worked for me.
“Didn’t I tell you that under no circumstances am I to be interrupted?” I snapped at her.
“You received a delivery,” she spoke with an irritated tone in her voice.
“A delivery? Seriously? Why the hell are you interrupting me for a delivery?” My voice raised and echoed throughout the conference room.
She hastily pushed open the door and walked in carrying what looked like a baby car seat and a large bag over her shoulder.
“Here’s your delivery,” she said as she shoved the car seat into me and hooked the bag over my shoulder. “There’s a letter inside.” She turned on her heels and headed towards the door. “By the way, I quit.” She turned her head and looked at me before walking out of the room.
I stood there in shock as everyone in the conference room stared at me with a look of horror on their faces. Looking down, I swallowed hard when I saw a tiny child sleeping. My heart began to race, and I started to sweat. Was this some kind of fucking joke?
“Mr. Cambridge?” One of my associates cautiously spoke.
“We will continue this meeting another time. Go back to your offices until I get this mess straightened out.”
Everyone gathered their files and quickly left the conference room. I set the car seat on the table and stared at the child who was bundled up in a light pink blanket with white daisies all over it. Liz said there was a letter inside, so I carefully removed the blanket and found a white envelope with my name on it tucked next to the child. Opening it, I pulled out the letter that sat inside.
Julian,
I’m sure you don’t remember me, or maybe you do. It doesn’t really matter, anyway. I want you to meet Ella Rae Cambridge, your daughter. She’s six months old. You’ll find her birth certificate inside her diaper bag. I found out I was pregnant two months after our weekend together in Montauk. I didn’t bother telling you because I knew you wouldn’t believe me, and we didn’t exactly end on good terms. When I found out I was pregnant, I was scared and considered giving her up. But the more she grew inside me, the more I grew to love her. But now, it’s too much and I can’t do it. I can’t be a mother to her. I tried. I really did. This was the hardest decision I ever had to make, but I know in my heart it’s the right one. You have the right to know you have a daughter, and I’m trusting you to take care of her and raise her right. Please tell our daughter I love her and I’m doing what’s best for her.
Take care,
Rebecca
The sweat that engulfed me heightened. I loosened my tie and unbuttoned the top button of my shirt. I had no words for what I’d just read, and I didn’t believe one word of it.
“Hey, Julian.” The door opened and my partner and best friend, Kevin, walked in. “What the hell is going on? Everyone is buzz—Oh, what the hell is that?” He pointed to the car seat.
“What do you think it is?” I snapped as I rubbed the back of my neck.
He walked over to the table and looked inside.
“Um..there’s a baby in there. Whose baby is that?” he asked in shock.
“Read for yourself.” I handed him the letter and paced around the room.
“Your kid?” He laughed. “This is your kid?”
“No. That is not my kid!” I pointed to the car seat.
“Rebecca says it is. Wait. Who the hell is Rebecca?”
“She’s the one I spent the weekend in Montauk with last year. Remember?” I pointed to the scar on my forehead.
“Oh shit. She’s this baby’s mother?”
“Apparently.”
“And you’re her father?”
“I’m not that baby’s father. It could be one of a million guys Rebecca slept with before and after me, and she’s just pinning it on me.” I rubbed my forehead.
“Well, Rebecca says you are, and she left her in your care. Do you even know how to take care of a kid?”
“What the fuck do you think?” I snapped.
“Don’t yell at me, Julian. Until you get a paternity test, you really have no choice. Besides, you have nothing to worry about, Roz can take care of her until you get this straightened out.”
“Roz is off for the next three weeks. She went home to take care of her sick father.”
“Shit. That’s right.”
Suddenly, the baby let out a soft cry. Then a louder cry emerged.
“Do something!” I shouted at Kevin.
“What the hell do you want me to do. She’s your kid.”
I pushed the button on the intercom and summoned Kevin’s secretary, Claire.
“Claire. Conference room two, NOW!” I shouted.
Within seconds, she came running in.
“You wanted—”
“Do something about this.” I pointed to the baby.
“Aw.” She walked over to the car seat, unbuckled it and picked the baby up. “What’s her name?”
“Ella,” I spoke as the baby’s cries softened.
“Whose baby is she?” she asked.
“According to this letter, she’s Julian’s kid,” Kevin spoke.
“For the last time, she’s not my kid! This is just some kind of scam.”
“She feels wet,” Claire said as she reached in the diaper bag and pulled out a diaper. “Spread her blanket out so I can change her.”
“You’re going to change her on my conference room table?!” I snapped.
“Yes. I’m not putting her on the floor. You best come over here, Mr. Cambridge, and watch if yo
u’re going to be taking her home.”
“I’m not taking that baby home with me. Are you crazy?”
“Then what are you going to do with her?”
“You take her home. I’ll—I’ll give you a raise to compensate for your time.”
“Sorry, Mr. Cambridge. I’m not taking her home with me. I already have three kids at home.”
“And what’s one more, really?”
After changing Ella’s diaper, Claire picked her up and tried to hand her over to me. I quickly backed away as I put my hands up.
“I don’t do kids or babies.”
Claire set Ella back in her car seat and dug through the diaper bag.
“There’s formula, bottles, diapers, some clothes and instructions,” Claire spoke. “You’re a smart man, Mr. Cambridge. You can figure this out.”
“I want you to call child services or whatever and get them down here now,” I spoke. “Until then, she’s your problem, Claire. I’ll be in my office.”
I walked out of the conference room as I straightened my tie and headed to my office. Not only did I have to deal with this kid situation, I had to figure out what to do now that Liz quit. Shaking my head, I slammed my office door shut and took a seat behind my desk. Leaning back in my chair, I sighed as I rubbed my face with my hands.
Georgia
I stepped off the bus and smiled as I looked up and the lightly falling flakes softly hit my face. After a two-day bus trip, I was finally in New York City, a place I’d always wanted to visit at the holidays. Wheeling my suitcase behind me, I walked the block and a half to the hostel where I was staying. I was lucky because they only had one private room available.
When I stepped inside the room, I set my bag down and looked around. There was a twin bed, a tiny area with a small stove, sink, microwave and a mini fridge. It wasn’t bad, and I’d stayed in worse. The price was good, and I could afford it for at least two weeks, which really wasn’t long enough for me to decide whether New York was the place where I belonged. But I knew I’d find a temporary job where I would earn money to stay longer if I wanted to.
I walked down to the Starbucks that was around the block from the hostel. After standing in a long line and ordering a tall white mocha, I took it over to a small table, grabbed my phone from my purse and started looking for a job. After finding a couple places that wanted help, I finished my coffee and headed back out onto the streets of New York City.
The day was a dead end as far as the job search went. The few places that were hiring ended up filling the positions before I’d even gotten there.
Chapter 2
Julian
“According to this letter, Rebecca claims you are the baby’s father, and your name is on the birth certificate,” Ms. Connors, the social worker spoke. “For now, Ella is your responsibility, Mr. Cambridge, until you can prove otherwise. Judging that Cambridge International is your company and by that two thousand dollar suit you’re wearing, I know you can hire a nanny to take care of your daughter.”
“That is not the point!” I shouted. “I cannot nor do I want to take care of that child! For fuck sakes, aren’t you supposed to be protecting the children? Isn’t that what you do?”
“I don’t believe Ella is in danger in your care. Now, I will visit your home in about a week to assess further and we can discuss what you want to do then. For now, take your daughter home and give her the attention she deserves.”
“I don’t know the first thing about taking care of a baby!”
She headed to the door, placed her hand on the handle and turned her head towards me.
“It’ll come naturally to you, Mr. Cambridge. I’ll be in touch,” she spoke as she walked out the door.
“Claire, get in here NOW!” I spewed over the intercom. As soon as the door opened, I pointed to Ella who was sitting and screaming in her car seat. “Take her out of here and deal with her. I’ll collect her before I leave. Did you call the temp agency?”
“I did. They’re sending someone over first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Good. Her primary job is going to be taking care of that kid.”
Claire shot me a look as she picked up the car seat and took it out of my office.
“Don’t look at me like that again!” I shouted.
It was seven o’clock when I finished with my last meeting. Grabbing my coat and my briefcase, I walked out of my office and headed down the hall towards the elevator.
“Excuse me, Mr. Cambridge!” I heard Claire shout.
Turning around, I saw her standing there with the car seat and diaper bag.
“You’re forgetting something.”
Sighing, I walked over to her, and she handed me the car seat and the diaper bag.
“Good luck.”
“I have a good mind to fire you.” I shot her a look as the doors to the elevator opened and I stepped inside.
Hailing a cab outside my office building, I set the car seat inside and climbed in. The driver was staring at me through the rearview mirror and wasn’t moving.
“What? Why the hell are you just sitting here?”
“I’m waiting for you to strap the car seat in.”
“How the hell do you do that?”
He looked at me like I was crazy. “What do you mean? Have you never done it before?”
“No, I haven’t. This kid was unexpectedly dropped off today.”
He sighed as he climbed out, opened the door and securely strapped the car seat in.
“There. Nice and secure. She’s a cute kid. She yours?”
“Her mother claims she’s mine, but I have my doubts.”
His brows furrowed at me before pulling away from the curb. When I arrived at my building, I took the baby and the diaper bag and stepped through the large glass double doors.
“Good evening, Mr. Cambridge,” Louis, the doorman, spoke. “Mr. Cambridge?”
“Don’t even ask, Louis,” I said as I headed to the elevators.
“May I offer you some help with your things?”
“No need.” I sighed.
Stepping inside my apartment, I set the car seat and the diaper bag down and turned on the lights. Taking off my suit coat, I threw it over the couch and poured myself a scotch. As I was staring out at the spectacular view of the city, Ella started to cry. Shit. I’d forgotten I left her in the foyer. Setting my drink down, I walked over, grabbed the car seat and took it over to the couch.
“Shh,” I said as I rocked the car seat back and forth. “Shh.”
Her cries became earth shattering, and I didn’t know what to do.
“Listen, kid. This is not how we do things here. I know you probably want your mother, but she left you and she’s not coming back.”
Her screams became deafening as I tried to shove the pacifier in her mouth, and it wasn’t working. After rubbing my face with my hands, I unbuckled her and carefully took her out, holding her up and staring her straight in the eyes. Suddenly, the room became silent.
“Is this all you wanted? You just want someone to hold you?”
She stared back at me, almost as if she understood what I’d said. I cradled her in my arm and took her over to the window. I watched her as she stared out at the brightly lit city. She liked it and I couldn’t blame her. I did too. The snow was lightly falling as it laid a blanket over the city. Thanksgiving was in a couple of days and it was early to be seeing snow. As I was holding her, I felt a rumble in her diaper.
“Oh God. Please no,” I said.
Sure enough, the most horrific smell came from her. Shit. I grabbed her blanket and spread it on the couch. Laying her down, I unsnapped her sleeper and carefully opened her diaper. When I saw what was in it, I immediately closed it back up.
“How is that possible, kid?”
She looked at me as she sucked on her finger and kicked her legs. Reaching into the diaper bag, I pulled out a pack of baby wipes and searched for the diapers. There was one left way down at the bottom of the bag.
/> “You have got to be kidding me.”
After I took her diaper off and cleaned her up without throwing up, I put the new diaper on her only to discover I put it on backwards. Shaking my head, I snapped her pajamas, put her in the car seat and bundled her in the blanket.
“Looks like we need to take a trip to the store.”
I grabbed the car seat, stepped inside the elevator and took it down to the lobby.
“Do you need a cab, Mr. Cambridge?” Louis asked.
“Yes. Actually, I do.”
Louis held the door open for me as I stepped outside and immediately got me a cab. After setting the car seat in and climbing in, I noticed it was the same cab driver who drove me home.
“You again,” I said.
“Don’t forget to strap her in this time.”
Rolling my eyes, I strapped the car seat down.
“Happy now?” I cocked my head at him.
“Yes. Where you headed?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Somewhere that sells diapers.”
“There’s a Target around the block. You’ll find everything you need there.”
He pulled up to the curb and I asked him to wait.
“There will be a generous tip for you if you wait right here for me.”
“Sure, man. I’ll wait.”
“Thanks.”
I’d thought about leaving the baby in the cab while I ran in to get some diapers, but something inside me told me not to. Walking into the store, I grabbed a basket and set the car seat inside. Looking at the signs above the aisles, I finally found the one with the baby products. As I was looking at the diapers, the choices overwhelmed me, and I didn’t know what to get. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I walked away from the basket and called Kevin.