CEO's Pregnant Lover Read online

  CEO’s Pregnant Lover

  By

  Leslie North

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 1

  “HR, Janet speaking. How may I he-”

  “Janet? Trent. I need you to send up a replacement for Pam. Her daughter was injured in an accident, and she just left to go take care of the children and such. I’ve no idea how long she will be gone, so send me someone that you weren’t planning on firing at the end of the week.” Trent said matter-of-factly. He didn’t really care if she fired twenty people each week; if they couldn’t do the job they could find somewhere else to work.

  Janet Marshall worked as the head of HR for Coldwell Enterprises. She was not only a friend, she was the toughest woman Trent had working for him. She was also his second cousin and married to his best friend from college. While Janet didn’t have to work another day in her life, she enjoyed managing people and understood Trent in a way others didn’t. He was as alpha as they came, she’d never met a more dominating, arrogant man until Trent had come along.

  “Oh dear! Which one of Pam’s daughters was hurt?” Janet asked with obvious concern in her voice. Pam had worked for the company for as long as she could remember, first as Trent’s father’s personal assistant, and now for Trent. She was one of the nicest women Janet had ever worked with and she only hoped that her daughter wasn’t too badly hurt.

  “Susan,” Trent replied, thinly hiding his impatience.

  The timing couldn’t be worse as Trent was in the process of acquiring a large production company in Europe and the contracts that had been drawn up by his European office were in chaos. He had been in the process of finalizing his corrections when Pam had announced that she must leave immediately. He needed these contracts fixed today!

  “Oh, no. And she just delivered twins a few months back. That poor woman,” Janet commiserated over the phone. “Don’t worry about it; I have just the girl in mind. She’s only been working here for about six months, but her reviews are excellent.”

  Janet was thinking of the young woman she had hired a little over six months back. Janet had interviewed her and been surprised at how mature she seemed for someone only twenty-four years old. Smiling to herself, she tried to envision how Trent would react to the young woman who wore her hair like a fifty year old, clothing that didn’t fit her body, or compliment her natural coloring, and honestly had no idea of just how attractive she could be. On top of all that, she was the most capable woman Janet had hired in months.

  “Whatever - just send her up after lunch. I’m right in the middle of negotiations for that buyout in Germany, and Pam didn’t have time to make the corrections on the contract yet. I need them by 3 o’clock - if not sooner.”

  “Not to worry. I’ll go tell her now and then send her to lunch. I assume that I can offer her the same benefits and salary that Pam was drawing?”

  “Of course.” Trent started to hang up the phone when he heard Janet call him back. Sighing, he put the phone back to his ear and answered, “What?” Damn it, he had work to do. He didn’t have time to chitchat with Janet; that’s what her husband was for. He’d mention just that fact to Shawn next time he saw him.

  Janet took a breath and thought about keeping this information to herself, but then she decided that Trent would want to know. “Shawn and I went to that symphony fundraiser last night.”

  Trent waited for her to continue, and when she didn’t, he impatiently replied, “And? I assume it was a smashing success and all that.”

  “It was, but that wasn’t my point.”

  “Well, get to it. I have work to do and so do you.”

  “I saw Marco Bresi there.” Janet said in a rush, holding her breath for the explosion she assumed was coming. When nothing happened, she paused, letting Trent digest what she had just told him. Marco Bresi was a very wealthy, and very influential businessman in Europe. He and Trent had a past marked with tragedy and Marco had stayed in Europe for the last three years because of it. Janet had been shocked to see him back in the States, especially in Denver.

  Trent was silent as he let Janet’s words sink in. Serena’s father was back in the states. Trent immediately tamped down on the emotion that threatened to sideline his focus. He hadn’t thought of Serena for several months now, and wanted to keep it that way.

  Serena Bresi had taken the fashion world by storm at the age of sixteen. Three years after that, she had met Trent at a fundraiser in New York City and they had fallen madly in love. At least, Trent thought she had been in love with him as much as he had been with her.

  Their love affair had been the subject of all the social magazines and the paparazzi had hounded them mercilessly. When Trent had taken over Coldwell Enterprises from his father, he had immediately used his many contacts in Europe to expand the company overseas.

  Everything had been going smoothly, or so he thought. Serena had signed a contract with a large fashion house in Milan and had temporarily moved to Italy. Trent had missed her, but had so many things on his plate in the states, that the time had just seemed to slip away.

  Four months later, he had flown to Milan to surprise Serena for the weekend. He had gone straight to her flat, flowers in hand, surprised to find her home in the middle of the afternoon. The surprise had been on him, however, as she had answered the door with the arms of her current lover wrapped intimately around her.

  Trent had been so furious, he had immediately left and returned to the airport. His private jet had been airborne several hours later. Serena had called him repeatedly, but he had ignored her calls. Trent valued honesty and loyalty above all else, and her betrayal had hurt him deeply. He had let it be known to the media, that they had decided to break things off, but were still friends. He’d had no wish to tarnish her reputation in the publics’ eyes.

  When she had called him three weeks later during the middle of the night, he had reached for the phone, unaware that she was on the other end of the line. Having been caught off-guard, he had listened as she tearfully apologized and begged for his help. It seemed that she had just found out she was pregnant and expected Trent to come to her rescue. Trent knew there was no possible way the baby was his since he hadn’t touched Serena for over five months.

  Trent had been repulsed and hung up the phone without replying. Two days later, he received news that Serena had driven her car off a bridge. Her suicide note made it seem that Trent had refused to do the right thing and marry her, and that she couldn’t bear to shame her family by having a child out of wedlock.

  Marco Bresi, Serena’s heartbroken father, had managed to keep the suicide note out of the media, but had vowed to get revenge for Serena’s death. He blamed Trent for causing her death. Trent had thought of telling Marco the truth, but didn’t think that her grief-stricken father was in any position to listen at the time so had kept silent.

  True to his word, Marco had started to go after Trent, keeping their feud to the business world, thus far, but Trent knew that it was only a matter of time before Marco started trying to attack him in his personal life as well. Now that Marco had personally come to Denver, it seemed that time had arrived.

  “Did you speak with him?” Trent asked.

  “He didn’t give us a choice. He made a point of cornering us during the intermission. Trent, there was s
uch hatred in his eyes when he asked about you. I know you and Serena broke up before her death…”

  “Janet, let it go. I told you then, and I’ll tell you the same thing now. What happened between Serena and myself was between us. I will not discuss it and as she’s dead, there really is no point. Marco believes some things that are not true. I’ve tried to correct his thinking, but he doesn’t want to hear it. That is on him.” Trent took a breath and then continued, “Now, we both have work to do. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss with me?”

  Janet wondered if she should just let it go like Trent had commanded, but then pushed forward anyway, “Trent, he asked me to deliver a message to you.”

  Trent clenched his jaw and then looked to the ceiling before asking Janet to continue. Whatever the message was, he assumed it was more threat than anything and part of him felt bad that Janet and her husband had been put in the middle of his and Marco’s feud.

  “Tell me.”

  “He warned me that you were going to get what you deserve and that I should tell you to watch your back very carefully. He also mentioned a company called Global Tech. Does that mean anything to you?”

  Trent cursed softly and quickly pulled his keyboard towards him and pulled up the information on the company they were currently buying out. When he scrolled down through the list of shareholders, he cursed again. How could he have missed something like that? Marco Bresi’s company owned thirty-two percent of the stock. No wonder he was in the states. He must have gotten wind that Coldwell Enterprises was in the process of negotiating a hostile takeover and was already talking with bidders, for when the company was split apart. The current shareholders stood to lose a lot of money when that happened.

  Trent had dealt with Marco trying to derail other business negotiations, and Trent had made it a point to stay away from any company attached to the Bresi family name. He had no wish to harm Marco or his family, and didn’t have time for complications with this current negotiation.

  Pinching the bridge of his nose, he held his breath and then let it go in a rush, “Janet, don’t worry about it. I’ll handle the problem. Get me that assistant.” Trent hung up the phone and then went back to reading the contract in front of him, making marks with a red pen as he went. He would deal with Marco later. Right now, he needed to finish these contract papers.

  Janet shook her head as she said “Goodbye” to a dead line. Trent exasperated her with his ability to be rude without trying. One of these days she hoped he learned to curb his impatience, just a little bit. Shaking her head, she placed the call that would bring Trent’s stand-in assistant to her office and hoped that whatever Marco Bresi was planning would fail before it got off the ground.

  *****

  Trent Coldwell was the CEO of Coldwell Enterprises. If someone were to ask what the company did, the answers would vary. Coldwell Enterprises had many interests, but mainly purchased failing companies and then either sold them off in pieces, or turned them around and made them leaders in their market. They did their job very well.

  At the age of thirty-one, Trent Coldwell was one of Denver’s most eligible bachelors, never lacking for female companionship, but never being seen with the same women for more than a few weeks. The fact that he was richer than Croesus didn’t hurt his eligibility either.

  Trent Coldwell had inherited the company from his father upon his retirement, and had immediately implemented changes. He had successfully taken it from a small regional firm, and created an international mega-company with interests worldwide.

  Not known for his patience, he briefly thought of calling Janet back and making sure that she was sending him someone who knew how to work and wouldn’t burst into tears at the first sign of criticism. He was a perfectionist and expected the same from his employees. He often spoke his mind and had been told by more than one employee that he should take lessons in how to communicate effectively. Trent scoffed at the idea. He communicated fine. He told people what to do and they did it. End of story. He saw no reason to explain his requests as he was the boss and as they worked for him, it shouldn’t matter why he wanted something done. His employees were paid to take care of the job to the best of their ability. Deciding that he would just send the girl away if she were unsuitable, he went back to reading his contract.

  Chapter 2

  Brianna was in the copy room when she heard Pete Newman call her name. Turning, she watched him enter the room and returned his smile easily. Pete was two years her senior and one of the financial analysts for Coldwell Enterprises. She wasn’t exactly sure what his job entailed, but she knew that his information helped the higher ups to determine whether to keep and expand a new company, or just split it into pieces and sell them off to the highest bidder.

  “Hi,” she said with a smile. Brianna was known for her smiles around the office.

  “Hey, HR just called down and Mrs. Marshall wants to see you up in her office, right away.” Pete smiled as he said this, but then frowned when he saw the look of concern enter Brianna’s eyes.

  “Did she say what she needed to see me about?” she inquired, trying to figure out what she might have done wrong. Usually when people were called up to HR, they returned to clean out their desks and pick up their final paycheck.

  “Hey, I wouldn’t worry about it. Maybe she’s going to give you a big promotion,” Pete answered, half-joking.

  Brianna shook her head as she replied, “I haven’t been here long enough for that. Do you think someone told her I was a little late this morning?”

  Pete looked at her and then realized she was really concerned. Placing his hand upon her arm, he gave her a quick squeeze of encouragement as he said, “Don’t worry about it. You do great work around here, there’s no reason to assume it’s something bad.”

  Brianna absently nodded as she stacked the copies together and then stapled them. When Pete saw that she was a little distracted, he attempted to take advantage of the fact, “So, do you want to grab a bite to eat after work tonight? My treat.” He crowded her a little and noticed that the shirt she wore today was just a tiny bit small for her, but it gave him a great vantage point as he leaned to the side and caught a glimpse of bare skin in the vee where her shirt opened.

  Pete had been trying to get Brianna to go out with him since she started working for Coldwell Enterprises, but so far, she had been giving him one excuse after another. She was always friendly and had a smile for him, but that’s where it ended. Every time he asked her out, she gave him the excuse of needing to go see her mother.

  Brianna was a diamond in the rough, and while Pete absolutely hated her clothing choices, he also figured it would keep the bigger sharks away from her. Most of the guys he knew wanted a piece of eye-candy to take around town. Not Pete, he had spotted the potential in Brianna on her first day at Coldwell Enterprises and had been slowly softening her up.

  She kept her hair contained in a matronly bun at the nape of her neck, and what a neck it was. Pete had happened to come upon her one afternoon when she had been twisting her hair back up. It had come partially undone while she sat and ate her lunch outside and he was stunned at the magnificent length of it. It reached to the middle of her back and had streaks of brown and copper blended together in a gorgeous mix. The effect was lost when she had it twisted up, and on first glance, most men would see only a rather ordinary looking woman with plain brown hair.

  Pete knew better. He had begun to notice other things about her as well. She always smelled of strawberries, she didn’t wear makeup, and her clothes were thrift store specials. While they covered the necessary parts, they did nothing to highlight the exquisite body hiding beneath.

  After six months of playing it nice and friendly, he was ready to take their relationship to the next level, if only she would agree.

  Brianna grabbed her papers and left the copy room, not sure why Pete had been crowding her against the table, but letting it go for the moment. She was too worried about why HR wanted to see her.
/>
  Brianna looked up at Pete as he followed her back to her desk, realizing that she hadn’t answered him yet. Shaking her head she replied, “I can’t. I promised my mom I’d come by and see her after work tonight.” She quickly placed the copies into the appropriate folders, glancing at Pete when he didn’t head back to his own work area.

  Pete was getting tired of her excuses. Then it came to him and he nodded; he would work with her excuses and take them off the table, “That’s no problem. We could stop by there before we went to eat.”

  Brianna knew what he was trying to do, the same thing he had been trying to do for the last three months – get her to agree to go on a date with him. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Pete, he was a really nice guy, but her previous relationships had ended badly. Besides, she had enough on her plate taking care of her mom and paying her own bills. She didn’t need the stress of trying to please a guy on top of everything else. Not that she was capable of that particular act if the opinion of her last boyfriend was anything to go by.

  “Pete, thanks for the offer, but I don’t think so.”

  “Brianna, come on. You never go out with us on Friday nights. You say you don’t have a boyfriend right now. I don’t understand what the problem is.” Pete sounded a little exasperated, and she hated the fact that he thought she owed him an explanation. She didn’t.

  Chapter 3

  Brianna stepped back around her desk and headed for the elevator before saying, “Pete, I would prefer we be friends. I don’t have time for anything else. I need to go upstairs, I’ll see you later.” As the elevator door closed, Brianna could see the look of disappointment on Pete’s face but knew he would get over it. She had never known Pete to be lonely for long and she figured he was already chatting up the next name on his list. Smiling, she was proud of herself for standing her ground.

  Just as quickly as her smile had come, it went when she saw the elevator drawing closer to her destination. Brianna wasn’t sure why she had been summoned to Mrs. Marshall’s office. To her knowledge she hadn’t broken any rules in the employee handbook, and she had only been two minutes late this morning. Surely, they wouldn’t fire someone for two minutes?