A Baby For The CEO

An Eventful Encounter.

It's been a couple of days since my "meeting" with the jerk Ian Wolf. He had the audacity to investigate my life, find my financial shortcomings, and of course take advantage of them to make me an outrageous proposal.

"Who in their right mind asks a complete stranger to have a child? I think that man is out of his mind."

"Brooke, remember to bring Mr. Ruiz's blood pressure medication."

I blink and snap out of my tirade when my superior, Luisa, speaks to me.

"Right away!"

I took the corresponding medication and placed one of the pills in one of the small glasses. With that, I head to Mr. Ruiz's room, who as usual is sitting in his chair in front of the window reading one of his favorite books.

"Mr. Ruiz, it's time for your medicine."

He sets aside the book and sighs. "One of these days I'm going to go on strike against those damn medications."

I can't help but smile at his words. "You can't do that, if you do, you'll get me into trouble, and you wouldn't want that, would you?"

I hand him the glass, and he takes it reluctantly before grabbing his nearest water bottle.

"Just for you, Brooke. Just for you."

He takes it and drinks from his water. "See how difficult it is." He clicks his tongue.

"If you want, we can go for a walk, it's a very nice day. Some sunlight would do you good."

"I'm not a plant that needs sunlight," I laugh at his remark.

"No, but it would do you good to get some sun for a change."

He shakes his head, and I know that insisting is a waste of time. Mr. Ruiz is like a grumpy child. And when something gets into his head, there's nothing that will change his mind.

I leave the room and focus on finishing my shift at the nursing home. The place is top-notch, and the pay is good, the problem is me with my financial difficulties.

The crazy proposal from Ian Wolf comes back to my mind, and I curse myself a thousand times for thinking of something so absurd.

"Brooke, they need you in room 30A."

I nod to my superior and attend to my work, which is the only thing that will get me ahead.

—

I'm on my way to the bus stop while enjoying the cool weather of the city. My shift ended without incident, and now I'm exhausted. I just want to get home, take a bath, eat something, rest until I have to go back to work.

I check the time and know that I can make it to the stop on time and not have to wait another forty minutes for another one to show up. I look up and curse as I see the bus coming around the next corner.

There's not much I can do, just run. I hasten my pace, and I'm so absorbed that I didn't notice the light until it's too late. The car horn makes me jump back, causing me to fall as the car brakes suddenly.

People around murmur, and others approach. The car door opens; from it, a man gets out hurriedly.

"Are you okay?"

His question is quick, and at the same time, I can sense the hint of anger in his voice.

"Yes, yes. Of course, I am," I murmur as I stare at him intently.

His blue eyes study me and scan for any serious injuries then he helps me up.

"I'm fine, just have a couple of scratches."

I rush to say as people move away seeing that there's no blood.

"How could you cross without looking?" he scolds.

"I'm sorry, really, I just thought I could catch the bus, and..."

My words die when he walks away after picking up the bus passengers.

"Damn it!" I say without thinking.

I try to walk away.

"Wait, I need your name and some contact information."

As he speaks, he reaches into his jacket, takes out a card, and hands it to me. I take it out of politeness.

"My name is Brooke, and I'm fine."

"Brooke."

He repeats, and a charming smile tugs at his lips.

"Well, Brooke, my name is Bratt, and since you're okay, it's a pleasure to meet you."

I nod somewhat calmer, and though it may seem crazy, amused by this man's words.

"Tell me, Brooke, where do you want to go? What can I do for you?"

"You don't have to do anything."

I point to the side. "Do you see the bus stop?" he nods following my indication "I have to take one in..." I check my watch "thirty minutes."

"I insist, I wouldn't feel right leaving you like this."

We move to the side, and I step onto the curb. I chuckle to myself because he surely runs when I tell him where I live.

"Let's see. My way is in the opposite direction to yours, and I appreciate your attention since I was the reckless one."

He nods, and I walk away.

"At least tell me where I can find you? I mean, to know that you're okay."

That gets a smile out of me. "Good trick."

"Come on, don't leave me like this."

I stop for a second and look at him.

"If you need anything from me, I work in the Northwest. The wing of the nursing home."

He seems satisfied when I give him the information and gives me a pleased smile.

I can't deny that, even though I was scared, Bratt seems like an attractive man. I waited for the bus in better spirits, and when I arrived at my apartment, I stopped abruptly outside it, feeling the pressure drop and my hands trembling.

The door to my apartment is slightly opened. I look around and don't see a soul. I take a deep breath and gather the courage to enter.

"Come on, Brooke, you're not a coward."

I tell myself, stealing myself. Then I push open the door and when I enter, I see that the situation is worse than I imagined. My apartment is empty. Literally all my things have been taken. I entered with trembling steps, and in the living room, they only left the rug.

Tears fill my eyes as I see that all my effort has gone to waste. The only person capable of doing something like this is Jacob Hernandez. I fall to my knees in the middle of the living room, in front of a note. I pick it up and wipe my tears before opening it.

"You still owe us money."

I curse a thousand times for having noticed Marcos. He only used me to have a roof over his head, and when he realized I was in trouble, what did he do? He robbed a drug dealer, and now I'm responsible for paying off that damn debt.

A knock on the door startles me, and seeing Mr. Sandoval, I refrain from sighing. I wipe away my tears and stand up.

"Mr. Sandoval, I need to be alone right now. I suppose you don't know what happened?"

He shakes his head, but it's obvious he's not saying something out of fear.

"I understand," he looks around, "but I need to give you this."

I furrow my brow when he hands me an envelope.

I take it and open the envelope. As I read the letter, I feel like the ground is being pulled out from under me.

"This is an eviction notice?" I whisper.

He nods. "The building has a new owner, and they've sent eviction orders to everyone who's not up to date."

"But I promise to pay what I owe," I say, on the verge of losing it.

"It's been several months, Brooke. You have this week to vacate the apartment."

With that, he leaves, leaving me even more distressed.

I close the door and slide down until my butt meets the floor. And that's where I collapse and let out everything I feel right now.

Now what am I supposed to do? I don't know how long I stayed there. I feel numb, angry, and at the same time, I want to stay here, hidden and not see anyone.

I wipe my cheeks and take a deep breath. There's no time to cry; I've never been a woman who laments. I don't have time for that. I crawl on all fours to my bag, stand up, and walk to my room, where only the bed and my personal belongings are scattered with my clothes.

"At least my panties weren't useful to them," I mutter, sniffing.

I reluctantly throw my bag on the bed, and it falls to the floor, spilling its contents.

Frustrated, I approach to pick up the contents and start lifting them. My bag is like Hermione's bag because of everything I carry. Among everything, there's the folder with my information that Ian Wolf found about me.

I pick it up to realize there's a second folder. Curiously, I sit on the edge of the bed and open it.

"What do I have to lose by reading it?" I whisper. "It's not like I'm going to accept."

Ian Wolf is the kind of man with delusions of superiority, who only thinks about himself and for himself.

I look around and sigh. People like Ian have had everything easy in life. I can't imagine the great Ian Wolf going to a food bank because he doesn't have money and his alcoholic father has been gone for a week, leaving him in a crappy apartment while trying to survive. Only to end up lost in alcohol and having to hide to avoid being a victim of an abusive father.

I shudder when memories invade me and quickly push them away. I focus on the document in front of me. I know it's crazy to just take a look. But I can't deny that curiosity gets the better of me. With every written sentence I read, it feels like I'm opening Pandora's box.