meeting, one he didn’t recognize. Everything else on the calendar was familiar but this one…
He looked back at the previous month and, sure enough, the same exact meeting was there, but not on the same day. He clicked on the various meetings around that one, recognizing all of them, but not that one. Again, he flipped to the previous month and…sure enough, that exact same meeting was there.
Leaning back in his chair, his eyes narrowed on the meeting notation. “TOM in town.” Tom? Who the hell was Tom? He flipped through the company’s client list and came up with several clients named Tom or Thomas, but as far as he knew, these clients hadn’t ever come for a visit. Most of their clients were advised over the phone or via computer. Because his business was far flung, it wasn’t possible for his team of investors to meet with each of their clients face to face on a regular basis.
So, who the hell was Tom?
A burning acidic anger streaked through his stomach at the thought of this Tom person touching Sloane! Clicking through, he realized that he came to town every damn month! Who was he? And why did he only visit Sloane once a month?
Wait.
Once a month.
The term echoed through his thoughts.
Josh clicked again. Tom hadn’t visited recently. Not since the first night that he’d been with Sloane.
That made him feel better briefly, but that phrase kept swirling through his mind.
Once a month.
When it came to him, Josh leapt to his feet, then he almost fell to the floor. She had someone…or something…visit once a month? He slumped back down in Sloane’s chair, his mind reeling. But not this month!
Once a month. No! Pregnant? Was Sloane pregnant?
But…he always used protection! And Sloane had mentioned something about getting on birth control. His stomach tightened. But one thought glowed. A baby!
Damn, Sloane would look so beautiful pregnant! And she’d be the most amazing mother!
A baby! Could she be pregnant? They’d both been so careful, but condoms weren’t one hundred percent effective. And some of their nights together had been pretty…impatient. In fact, most of their times together, at least the first time each night, was a bit frantic. Okay, maybe a more than “a bit” frantic.
Josh rubbed the back of his neck. If she was pregnant, was she feeling okay? Was she sick? He knew that most women suffered from morning sickness during pregnancy and he didn’t like the idea of her being sick. Not even if it was natural and normal. Just the thought of her dealing with morning sickness made him feel nauseous and uncomfortable.
A baby!
Was she scared? He remembered her telling him about her father. Wait, how had she referred to the man? “A sperm donor”, because he’d gotten Sloane’s mother pregnant, then vanished, never to be heard of again.
How could he have done that? He’d just created a life! Josh wanted to hunt the man down and do him bodily harm. Kids needed fathers and, if Sloane were pregnant, then he damn well was going to be there for their child! Every day, he’d be there! And he’d be there for Sloane as well. She’d never have to worry about money. Never! Okay, so he knew that she was pretty well set financially already. He’d invested her money in the best stocks and funds and ensured that she and her sisters would never have to worry about money. But he wanted more for his child. He wanted more for Sloane! He wanted…!
Josh thought back to his initial hope, that she’d let him pamper her.
His child was going to be spoiled, he thought with a tiny smile. But not too spoiled! No, he couldn’t let their children become spoiled brats. They were a bane to society. His children, their kids, would be responsible! Not spoiled.
Josh closed his eyes, trying to figure out how to give his children every advantage and yet, not raise spoiled children. It was a mystery that he wasn’t fully prepared to figure out just yet.
“I need to find out if she’s actually pregnant,” he muttered out loud.
Standing up, he headed for his office, intending to grab his car keys and go find Sloane, demand to know if she was pregnant. Then he froze. “Security,” he grumbled, turning around and moving back to the desk. He locked down her computer, and gathered the files from her desk, bringing them back to his office where he locked them away in his desk. With everything secure, he grabbed