Seth didn’t say anything, and his facial expression remained casual.
Jake breathed a silent sigh of relief. Obviously, with Tom McCallan gone the directors believed as he did: the past was the past. It was time to move on.
He caught Seth’s gaze. “Pete Waters doesn’t like the idea of me hiring Mom either. He thinks she’ll be underfoot and that she doesn’t have any real skills. But I had a talk with her this morning. I told her there might be a possibility of a job, but she really had to work.”
Seth winced. “How did she take that?”
“I think she felt becoming chairman of the board was her due, and a job, though interesting, is a step down.” He shook his head. “I’m hoping that going to Paris will make her see she doesn’t want any of it. That she’s useful enough working with her charities.”
“That’ll make the board and Pete happy.”
Jake sighed and sat forward on his chair again. “Speaking of Pete, there’s something else I have to tell you.”
“About Pete?”
“No. About the lawyer I was dating from his office.”
Seth grinned. “The hot redhead.”
Jake grimaced. It was typical of Seth to judge a woman by looks alone. Though he had to admit Seth had hit the nail on the head with his description of Avery. She was hot, and talking to her the night before had made his head spin. Especially, looking at her stomach and knowing that baby was his. Feelings he’d never before felt had grabbed his chest and squeezed until he couldn’t ask the things he should have asked. Like for a DNA test and a good explanation about why she’d kept her pregnancy from him.
“Yes. She’s pregnant.”
Seth’s mouth fell open. “Holy hell. And the baby’s yours?”
“She says it is.”
“No DNA test?”
He wasn’t about to tell his brother he’d turned into a ball of confusion the night before just looking at Avery’s belly. He wasn’t that kind of guy. He might have had a moment of pure emotion but that was only because he’d been surprised. He was back to his usual controlled self now.
“We ran into each other at a coffee shop on Valentine’s Day because neither one of us had a date. She works eighty hours a week. Most of our time together started after nine. It’s very clear she doesn’t go out with many men. Besides, I trust this woman. She wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
And that was the bottom line. He did trust her. Not because she was honest, but because the last thing she’d want was more involvement with him or his life. She’d made that abundantly clear. If this baby wasn’t his, it would have been her joy to tell him that.
“What are you going to do?”
“First, we need a halfway decent custody agreement.”
“What do you think that’s going to cost?”
“She doesn’t want money.”
Seth burst out laughing. “Seriously?”
“She’s a lawyer. She can earn her own. Plus, she made a smart choice when she bought her condo. Her plan is to move back to Pennsylvania where the cost of living is a lot lower than what we have here.” He shrugged. “There’s no price for her. She doesn’t need our money.”
“Mom’s going to have a fit.”
“No kidding. Especially since Avery’s got to be six months along.” He remembered her swollen with his child, and suddenly imagined a little boy that was his. Not just an heir, but someone to teach everything from throwing a spiral to getting what you want in a negotiation. He never thought he’d have a child. Never thought he wanted a child. But he needed an heir, and he wanted to be a dad. If nothing else, he wanted to do better than his father had done with him and Seth. And come hell or high water he intended to be part of this baby’s life.
Seth laughed. “Six months and she only told you now? This just keeps getting better. You should rent an arena and sell tickets for when you tell Mom.”
“Very funny.”
Seth sat back. “I’m going to be an uncle.”
Jake met his brother’s gaze. “I’m going to be a dad.” Confusion swam through him again, tightening his chest with a combination of elation and fear. For as much as he longed to right things with this child, he also realized he could screw up worse than their dad had.
Seth sighed. “It’s official. We’re adults. I got word today on Clark Hargrave buying my share of the investment firm we started. He’s pulled the money together. Once it comes through, I’m out of the investment business.”
“Really?” Jake sat back. “Does that mean you can permanently take over the CEO position I left to become chairman of the board?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“You’ve been doing the job since Dad died, but if you want to leave I could appoint Sabrina.” Both Seth and their baby sister Sabrina had MBAs, but while Seth had started his own company, refusing to work for their dad, Sabrina currently ran a consulting firm for start-ups.
“And ruin her life too?” Seth rose. “I’ll do it, but I’m hiring two assistants and a vice president, so I’m not chained to my desk the way you are.”
“It’s a deal.” Jake rose too, extending his hand to his brother.
Seth shook it. “I think we’re both crazy.”
Considering workload alone, Jake would have agreed with him, except he liked who he was. He had been grateful for the chance to fix the reputation of McCallan, Inc. Now that he had a baby on the way, getting it right was a thousand times more important. He would make his child a part of everything he had—
Unless Avery Novak disappeared. And she just might. They hadn’t gotten anywhere close to agreement the night before, and she was just offbeat enough to think running was the answer.
He couldn’t bribe her.
He didn’t think he could outwit her. They were an even match.
The only thing left was sweet-talking her.
Almost at the door, Seth turned. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll run this pregnancy by George Green.”
Jake’s brow furrowed. “The private investigator?”
“You dated Avery Novak for only three weeks, but you don’t think you need a DNA test. You don’t seem to care that she’s moving to Pennsylvania. Either you’re still half in love with her—”
“I’m not.”
“Or you’re so happy to be having a child you’re not thinking clearly.”
He sighed. “I’m thinking perfectly fine.”
“Let me call George anyway, have him do a bit of research into her past to make sure everything’s okay.”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s just a precaution. Plus, you never know what he’ll find. Maybe there’s something in her past that could help you.”
Jake ran his hand across his mouth. Calling a private investigator to make sure Avery was on the up-and-up was one thing. But digging up dirt, ruining someone’s life to extort