Baby Business(17)

He guided her hands to the cool surface at the rounded edge of the table. "Hold on."



"Yessss … " she said. And then he heard those little sounds she made right  before she came. He felt her body tighten around his fingers and was  careful to keep the pressure on until he felt her shake and tremble  around him.



He stood up and braced his hands on the vanity, trying to catch his breath.



She reached for him and he pulled away.



"Donovan?"



"Don't touch me, baby. I want you too badly right now."



She reached between their bodies and took him in her hand. "Let me-"



"Not tonight," he said. "This night is for you. I wanted you to sleep in  my arms knowing how much I want you and how attractive you are to me."



"Thank you," she said.



"You're welcome, baby."





Cassidy never felt as wanted as she did that night in Donovan's arms. He  brought her to orgasm after orgasm, and only took pleasure for himself  when Cassidy finally insisted that she needed to enjoy the sensuality of  his body as well. She fell into an exhausted sleep wrapped in his arms.  Cuddled up against his side with his body pressed to hers she found a  strength and peace that came from him.



But that peace faded at breakfast when she read an article in the  business pages about her son's birth in which she was named as Donovan's  former girlfriend. She read the article twice and learned a little more  about the situation that Donovan was facing at work. The reporter  speculated that either Sam Patterson or Donovan Tolley would be  appointed CEO of Tolley-Patterson at the next board meeting in January.



Cassidy finished her juice while she waited for him to come down from getting ready for work.



She heard the phone ring and a moment later Mrs. Winters came in with the cordless phone. "It's your mother."



"Thank you," Cassidy said, waiting until Mrs. Winters left the room before she lifted the phone. "Hi, Mom."



"Did you see this morning's paper?" her mother asked. It was noisy at  her parents' house. Loud music and the sound of her mother's treadmill  vied for dominance.



"Just now."



"What's going on? Why does this article make it sound as if you and Donovan aren't married?"



"I don't know, Mom. Donovan's still upstairs getting ready."



"Your father is outraged … . I think Adam is going to call the editor of the paper."                       
       
           



       



"Don't let him do that, Mom."



"Why not?"



"Because I wanted to keep the marriage quiet."



"Cassidy … "



"I needed time to adjust to everything and I didn't want there to be any  speculation that Donovan married me because I was pregnant."



"Who cares what anyone has to say?" her mother said.



"Donovan's family."



"They're too full of themselves. It shouldn't matter to you what they think."



"I know, Mom."



Her phone beeped, letting her know there was another call waiting. She  promised to call her mother back as she switched over to the other call.



"Hey, girl, brace yourself before you open up the paper this morning," Emma said.



"I've already seen it." She really should have thought through the  consequences of keeping her marriage to Donovan secret. She'd just  wanted a quiet ceremony and time for them all to adjust to being a  family. How weird was it going to be for Donovan when he realized that  his uncle had lied to protect their secret? She knew that honesty was  one of the cornerstones of Tolley-Patterson. They had a public mission  statement that reiterated that value.



"Okay. So what's up?"



"Um … Remember how I wasn't sure if Donovan was being real with me when he came back and proposed?"



"Yes."



"Well, I asked him to keep quiet about us. I just didn't want Charleston  society to see our wedding as him marrying me for the baby."



"Why not?"



Cassidy wrapped one arm around her waist. "In case he changed his mind."



"Oh, Cassidy."



"I know. This is a mess."



"What's a mess?" Donovan asked. "Van?"



He entered the breakfast room and kissed her on the head. "You okay?"



"Emma, I'll call you back."



She hung up the phone as Donovan poured himself a cup of coffee. How was  he going to react to the article? From their time dating, she knew he  hated for any personal information to make its way into articles about  him.



"There's an article about you and Van in today's paper."



"Just me and Van?" he asked, reaching for the newspaper. She handed him the Business section.



"Yes. It mentions me as your former girlfriend."



"Who mentioned you that way?" he asked, flipping to the article.



"Theo Tolley," Cassidy said. She'd only met Donovan's uncle once, and  from the article she'd learned that he was the interim CEO until the  next board meeting.



"Dammit. It's not the way it might seem to you."



"What's not? Your parents were at the wedding, right? I mean, I know I  wanted to keep it quiet, but I didn't mean that you had to pretend that  we weren't even together."



Donovan skimmed the article and then turned away.



"I'm not pretending we aren't together," he said.



"It's okay," she said. "I suggested we keep things quiet. I just had no  idea how it would feel to read something like this. It makes me feel  like I'm not even a part of our son's life."



"There's a news van in front of the house," Mrs. Winters said, entering the kitchen.



Cassidy didn't like the sound of that. "Where?"



"At the edge of the property."



Cassidy had a feeling that more than the business journalists were  interested in their story. For a society as staid and steeped in  tradition and history as Charleston's was, this was a scandal.  Especially since Donovan's family and hers were like oil and water.



"This is crazy." The last thing she wanted was to have to deal with the  media today. Last night had felt like a real beginning in her  relationship with Donovan.



"I agree," Donovan said. "This is a huge mess."



"Yes, it is. This goes way beyond an article in the business pages. If  anyone does a records search, they're going to know that we are married,  and then your uncle is going to look foolish. I'm not sure what to do. I  should call my father and tell him what's going on."



"Cassidy … "



"I'm sure you'll have a plan for this. But talking to the reporters is something my father is used to doing. He can help."



"Your father can't comment on this. You aren't to say anything to the media. In fact, no one in your family is."



"You're kidding, right?"                       
       
           



       



"No, I'm not. Call your folks right now, tell them to say nothing."



"Donovan."



"What?" he asked, impatiently. She knew he'd probably already moved on  to the next order of business in his head, but no way was she going to  call her parents and tell them what to do.



"We have a problem. I don't take orders, and neither does my family."



"Until we have this sorted out, you both do," he said, walking away.





Donovan's first call was to an old college roommate, Jamie, who worked for the local NBC affiliate in Charleston.



"You are one hot story right now," Jamie said. "The stipulations of your grandfather's will were just leaked."



Donovan stilled. "By who?" he asked, his legendary cold, calm reaction  coming to the fore. He automatically prioritized the situation and knew  getting the media off his back was number one. Talking to Cassidy … oh,  man, that was going to take more time.



"I don't know. I just wanted to give you the heads-up."



"Thanks, Jamie."



"You're welcome. I don't suppose you have a comment … "



"Not right now."



He hung up and called his uncle. Theo was on voice mail, and who could  blame the man. His grandfather's will wasn't the first to have the kind  of stipulation it did, but no one on the board wanted the media or the  world to know about it.



"What is going on?" Cassidy said as she entered his study.



She held Van in her arms, and she looked upset.



Cassidy took a deep breath and released it slowly. Donovan watched her  and realized for the first time that his priorities were wrong. He  didn't care what the board did or what the media knew. He needed to make  this right for Cassidy.