Love Me, Mr Billionaire

The sound of Piper's frantic cries roused Maxine from her sleep, jolting her into consciousness. She let out a groan as she struggled to free herself from Cassian's embrace, pulling the sheets aside and climbing out of their cozy bed to tend to her infant daughter. It seemed as though Piper was having a horrible night on a regular basis for the past year. They were all feeling the consequences of the continual nights of disturbed sleep; Cassian had woken her up thrice already that night. She took the wailing infant out of her bed and yawned, holding her close as she began to rock her in the hopes that she would lull her back to sleep before awakening Cassian. But it was too late; she could hear her husband stirring and making his way over to join her. He kissed the back of her neck tenderly and put his hands on her shoulders. They had retired their team of night nannies after they had Piper. Cassian did not like having them around after work hours, especially in their bedroom as Piper slept with them in her little cot. He wanted more time with their baby as during the day, he was filed away at his office trying to close million dollar deals. Closing these deals required a lot of mental and physical energy that saw him completely enervated by the end of the day. But not too much that he could not bond with his children. His family came first. And as his little ones were in the hands of nannies during the day, they were his and his alone during the wee hours. “Hello,” he whispered, drawing her back into his chest and mirroring her body's swaying motions with his own as he slipped his hands down her arms to her waist. “She's okay with me,” Maxine muttered, “You shouldn't have gotten up, Cass.” She smiled. “You'll miss out on all your beauty sleep.” “The bed's cold without you,” he said. “She's having another rough night, huh? Awwww, poor Piper.” Maxine sighed deeply. “Poor us. You've been up with her thrice and this is the second time I'm getting up to hold her. Nothing appears to satisfy her for very long. I simply don't know what else I can do for her, Cass. She really enjoys crying, you know. Maybe she's having nightmares, or hungry. But I've fed her.” She was mildly surprised by the exhaustion and defeat in her voice. Cassian encircled her tightly in his arms. “Every time you have to wake up, wake me up too. We are a team, remember? You have to take care of her and Elijah all day, and yesterday night you were really out of it.” “Cass, it's my day off. I can sleep during the day and leave the kids with their nannies. You can't afford to waste any moment because you have work in the morning. Think of your meeting with Delacroix. How easy will it be for him to take advantage of you if you're sleep deprived.” “I'm fine,” he offered. “And Delacroix is trash so there's nothing he can do.” He grinned. “Do you know how many all nighters I pulled in business school and was still high functioning?” “But...” Cassian said, “You know something, Max? It's almost time for me to get up for work. He drew her in closer and raised his eyebrows suggestively. “I can't really go back to bed now, can I? Unless you plan to make it worth my time...” Maxine threw her head back and laughed. “You're so not getting any for that.” His eyes widened. “No, please, I was just messing with you.” With a slurpy kiss left on her cheek, he released her waist and retreated. “I'm going to go shower, and then I'll bring her downstairs and have the chef whip up something for her so that you can get back to sleep.” “You're the freaking CEO. You shouldn't have to go in so early,” She mumbled. “I know, baby,” He said. “Delacroix has just been on my ass these days.” Ronald Delacroix was Cassian's long term frenemy and the bane of his existence. He was the CEO of Delacroix & Montgomery, an estate management firm ranked number 3 in the country. Delacroix was too greedy and wanted to become the first in the States and that was how he patnered with Ellington & Alvarsson, Cassian's billion dollar pharmaceutical and biotech company. What these companies had in common and how they were going to help each other, Maxine was not really sure. All she knew was that her husband had made a deal with the devil himself. Several minutes later, Cassian emerged from the bathroom and headed to their huge walk in closet. His dark hair was damp and a white towel was wound dangerously low around his waist. Maxine found herself staring at her beautiful husband and thought of how good he looked despite the years that had passed between them. They had met when she was a 21 year old English and literary studies major. He had been 25 and had just started working at his father's company. He had been sweet and kind and gentle with her unlike the jerky jock she has dated throughout highschool. He had also introduced her to a world she didn't know existed and 5 years after meeting each other for the first time, he had proposed to her at a private resort in France and they had gotten married four months after that. Four years and two kids later, Maxine was an assistant professor at her Alma mater and Cassian had taken over his dad's position after he retired. “Like what you see,” Cassian teased as he threw on a white shirt over black slacks. “Yes, please,” Maxine said, a tired smile on her face. He shook his head and moved towards her. “Come here, my little love,” he said as he took Piper out of her hands. He leaned in and gently pressed his lips to his wife's own. “Go back to bed, okay. I'll try to be brief with Delacroix so that I can be home early. I'll see you then.” “Thank you,” she said as she climbed back into bed and snuggled back into the pillows that smelled like lavender and her husband's Baccarat Rouge. She was asleep, deep and dreamless, in an instant.