Billionaire's Secret Baby

Chapter One

Chapter One

Cohen

Good financial news never failed to stir something deep in my soul. Money always moved me in ways nothing else could.

Whistling a happy tune as I sauntered down the hallway after leaving my office, I winked at one of the maids as she pushed her cart, coming my way. “Mornin’ Miss Sara. Hope you’re having a lovely day.”

“The same to you, Mr. Nash.” Her smile – sweet and genuine – told me that she liked her job at Whispers Resort and Spa.

Pride filled me. I did not doubt that our employees felt comfortable, safe, and happy with their jobs at the resort my brothers and I had built from the ground up. So, I thought I might let her in on something. “I’m on my way to meet with my brothers. If things go right, everyone will be getting a raise.”

Her dark eyes brightened as a smile curved her plump lips. “Really, sir?”

“Really.” We’d made a fantastic profit in the last quarter, and we always shared the wealth with those who’d helped us make it. “Your next paycheck should be a bit higher.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Nash.” She hugged herself as if she’d gotten chill bumps. “I can’t tell you how much I love working here. You’re the best bosses anyone could ever ask for.”

“Aww, thanks.” Flattery far from offended me. “See you later, Miss Sara.”

“See you later, sir.”

Shoving my hands into the pockets of my Tom Ford slacks, I caught my reflection in a decorative mirror that hung on the wall. Me, in a three-piece suit. Who would’ve guessed?

Not many years had passed since my brothers and I had left our hometown of Houston, Texas, to come to Austin and build our dream.

I wore jeans and t-shirts back then. Since opening the resort, we’d all upped our fashion game. These days, our work uniforms consisted of expensive suits and ties. We wanted to make sure we made a statement that our resort was just as luxurious as our advertisements claimed. And that statement started with us.

I’d never looked better. Unfortunately, it was wasted on the women at the resort. Before we’d even begun the hiring process, Baldwyn, the eldest of us all, had sat me down to inform me that I wasn’t to touch any of the women we hired to work at the resort.

I would’ve been offended had I not been sure that he was right for having the sit-down chat with me. I’d left my first few jobs after having short relationships with co-workers. The last job in Houston was managing a small hotel where I’d secretly begun dating three of the employees. I knew we’d be leaving soon, and I’d thought, what the hell? And I went for it.

So, I’d had my last hurrah and was ready to become a good owner with solid moral fiber — at least while I was at work. My free time was my own time, and I did whatever I damn well pleased.

I did keep it discreet, though. Baldwyn had also warned me not to bring any scandal to our resort. He was right to tell me that too. For some reason, scandals had never bothered me. I didn’t care what other people thought — never had. But I wasn’t in this alone anymore. The resort wasn’t just mine. It belonged to all five of us, so I had to learn to care what people thought, and I’d had to learn how to turn my s****l prowess down a few notches.

“This is so exciting, Momma!” I heard a little girl say, her high voice filled with enthusiasm as she stepped off the elevator. “Our room’s so beautiful! I can’t believe this is real life. Can you?”

The woman who came out of the elevator behind the kid stole my complete attention. “I can believe this is real life, honey. And I’m glad I picked you to share this amazing trip with.” She flipped her head to one side, her long blonde ponytail resting across one shoulder.

I know her.

Striding through the lobby with a few people meandering around in it, I couldn’t take my eyes off the woman. She was only about five-six or so in height, and her build was pretty average. She had normal curves for a woman in her mid-twenties — which is what I gauged her to be.

Wearing a comfortable pink jogging ensemble and white running shoes, I figured she was about to go for a run on our state-of-the-art jogging trail that went all the way around the resorts’ grounds.

When I pulled my eyes off her to look at the kid whose hand she took, I saw she was dressed in the exact same outfit as her mother. She was her spitting image, only the kid had long dark hair in a ponytail that hung down to the middle of her back.

They made their way to the double glass doors at the lobby’s entrance as I kept moving toward them. The woman looked over her shoulder before walking out, and our eyes met.

After a fleeting spark lit up her golden eyes, she dropped her head and hurried to get out the door. But my memory had finally caught up with me. “Ember?” I called out. “Ember Wilson, is that you?”

She froze in place, her eyes on the floor. But the golden eyes of the little girl whose hand she held turned to find mine. “Who are you, mister?”

“I’m Cohen Nash.” Reaching out, I placed my hand on Ember’s shoulder to see if I could get her to look at me. “Did I startle you, Ember?”

Finally, she lifted her head and shook it. “No. I just wasn’t sure I knew you, is all.” She looked me up and down. “The suit threw me, Cohen.”

Running my hand over the lapel of the suit jacket, I chuckled. “Oh, yeah. I forgot what I had on for a moment.” Standing in the doorway, we were in the way of some others who were trying to get outside. “Come with me for a minute so we can catch up.”

Nodding, she held firmly to the little girl’s hand. “Sure.”

Walking beside her, I led the way to the breakfast room so we could sit down. “What has you in Austin at my resort, Ember?”

She stopped, her eyes huge. “Your resort?”

“Well, my brothers and I own it. So, what has you here?” I took her elbow, gently urging her to keep moving.

She came along slowly. “I was given this trip to the resort by the company I work for. It’s in the oilfield industry. I work away from home a lot and wanted to bring my daughter. But you own this place, huh?”

“Yeah.” I could feel the tension in her body even though I had only touched her elbow. I had no idea why she would be so tense with me. “You okay, Ember?”

Jerking her head to look at me, she gasped, “Yes! Why’re you asking me that? I’m fine, Cohen.” The tension mounted.

So, I tried to take it down a notch or two. “No reason.” Leading them into the breakfast room, I gestured to the juice bar. I thought Ember could’ve used a stiff drink to help her relax a bit. But with the kid around, I thought that might be in bad taste. “You guys want some juice? I like the mango-pineapple the best.”

“I bet I would like that too,” the little girl said as she pulled her hand out of her mother’s and went to the machine with the yellowish juice flowing inside of it. “Mom, do you want a cup too?”

“No.” Ember sat down at one of the small tables.

I took the seat across from her. “So, how’re things back home? Your sister doing okay?” I’d dated her older sister for a few months. Like all of my relationships, it hadn’t worked out.

“Ashe is married now. She’s been married for the last four years. She’s got two kids, and she’s really happy.” Ember looked at her kid, who came our way with a cup full to the brim with juice. “You be careful not to spill that.”

“I will.” The little girl sat down with us. “You know my Aunt Ashe too?”

“They used to date,” Ember told her.

“Oh.” She sipped the juice. “Hey, this is good! Thanks for telling me about it.” After another sip, she asked, “Why’d you break up? If I was her, I wouldn’t have broken up with you. You’re um, well, very um, well, I guess the word is hot.” She blushed. “I mean, handsome.”

“Thank you. You’re a very pretty little girl yourself. I bet you have to beat the boys off with a stick,” I said with a chuckle.

“You’re funny,” she said, then took another sip.

“Drink your juice, honey. We’ve got to get to our run, you know.” Ember ran her hand through her daughter’s ponytail, and I saw her hand shaking as she did it.

I couldn’t figure out why Ember hadn’t told her kid how we used to date too. The fact was that Ember was the only girl who’d ever dumped me. She couldn’t get over the fact that I’d dated her sister first.

It wasn’t like I went from one sister to the other. Half a year had passed between the time I dated Ashe and the time Ember and I ran into each other at a local mall and ended up in bed together later that night.

It didn’t end there either. I liked Ember. She and I laughed at the same things. We liked the same kind of music — hard rock — and we liked the same food, too.

I’d taken her out to eat at her favorite restaurant, Red Lobster, on our first date. It was the annual Lobsterfest, and she’d pigged out. I loved the fact that she ate as much as she wanted without worrying about what I might think.

Ember could be herself with me, and I could be myself with her. Unfortunately, she broke things off after only a week of seeing each other. And we’d seen each other every single one of those seven days — we’d ended up in bed each one of those seven nights too.

Even though it had only lasted a week, it hurt and was confusing when she said we couldn’t see each other anymore. She kept saying how her family would be so mad at her for seeing someone her sister had dated and that her sister would hate her. She couldn’t lose or alienate her whole family over a guy like me — a man-w***e.

I had to admit that when she’d called me that, it had stung like crazy. Not that I could protest since I was exactly what she’d dubbed me — even though I hated the term.

I suppose I still am one, though.

“How long will you be staying, Ember?” Even though she didn’t seem to be nearly as comfortable with me as she’d once been, I had the feeling that if she and I could spend some time together, we’d hit it off again. And the idea made things stir inside of me that I hadn’t felt since I’d seen her last — some seven years ago.

“Two nights is all. Tonight and tomorrow. It’s a quick trip. I’ve gotta get back to work on Monday.”

“What sort of work is it that you do?”

“Mommy works inside a little travel trailer with lots of gadgets that help her find out about the mud the oil rig is pulling up out of the hole. And she can tell if there’s any gas in the mud too. She’s a mud-logger. And they say if you see the mud-logger running out of their trailer and away from the rig, then you should run too because it’s about to blow up.”

“Wow.” I couldn’t believe little Ember Wilson would have a job like that. “That sounds very dangerous.”

“It’s not,” Ember said with a tight jaw. “I use the mud samples to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’ve never had one blow out on me yet.” She tapped her knuckles on the wooden table. “Knock on wood.”

Still, it sounded as if she didn’t get to spend much time at home with her kid. “So, you stay in the trailer on the rig site — or whatever they call it.”

“Yes.” She nodded. “We work twelve-hour shifts, my partner and me. I take the nights, and Roger takes the days. There’re bunks in the back of the trailer for us to sleep in, and there’s a little bathroom and kitchen too.”

“She’s been gone as long as a month sometimes,” the little girl said. “I miss her a lot. But I stay with my grammy and gramps, so it’s not too bad.”

Ember had yet to formally introduce me to her daughter, so I took it upon myself to find out her name. “Your mom hasn’t told me your name yet, kiddo.”

“Oh, it’s Madison Michelle Wilson, Mr. Nash.”

Wilson? Hmm, it seems Ember didn’t marry the girl’s father.

“Call me Cohen. Your mom and I are old friends, and I hope to get to spend some time with you both while you’re here.”

“Well, we’ve gotta get to that run now.” Ember stood, reaching out for Madison’s hand. “Come on, honey.”

“See you guys later then.”

“I hope so,” Madison called out over her shoulder as her mother nearly sprinted out of the breakfast room.

I hope so, too — but the way Ember’s acting doesn’t bode well for that to happen.