Faking Ms. Right (Dirty Martini Running Club, #1)(72)

Her desk was neat and tidy, as usual. There wasn’t anything sitting out, so I checked in the drawers. I didn’t see anything in the first two, but when I opened the third, a folder caught my eye. The label said Shepherd Calloway Donor Contract.

Donor contract? That was odd. Was it a charitable thing? I donated money to a number of organizations, but those didn’t require contracts.

I flipped open the folder. It was indeed a legal document, and I was named multiple times just on the first page. And so were Everly’s sister and sister-in-law.

Picking it up, I read it more carefully. A sick feeling grew in the pit of my stomach as I realized what this was. It was a sperm donor agreement—a contract for me to become the biological father of Everly’s sister’s potential child.

There were provisions for giving me photos and updates on the child, as well as the option for me to opt out of any and all contact. I could have the records sealed for complete anonymity if I chose. It spelled out my responsibilities, which amounted to nothing more than providing up to five ejaculatory samples for the purposes of fertilizing Annie’s eggs in a lab. No financial support or parental duties were expected.

I took the contract into my office and tossed it onto my desk. This must have been why Everly had agreed to my proposal. She wanted leverage so she could ask me to be her sister’s sperm donor.

Why hadn’t she told me? Was she waiting to spring it on me after her end of the bargain was fulfilled?

I’d dated a lot of women who’d only been with me for my money—because they wanted something from me. But I’d thought Everly was different. She didn’t want my money.

But she did want something a lot more personal.

As I stared at the folder lying on my desk, I wished it had been money. Because this hurt a hell of a lot more.





30





Everly





After a rough start to the day, I was feeling a lot better. I guess Shepherd had been right, I did need to stay home. I’d spent most of the morning in bed, and Richard had brought me some chicken soup for lunch. I didn’t want to get him sick, so I’d shooed him out of the room right away. I’d taken a long nap this afternoon and woke up feeling refreshed.

I didn’t want to spread my germs around the house, so I stayed in the bedroom. Now that I had some energy again, I was restless. I sat in bed, idly searching Netflix for something to watch, wondering when Shepherd was going to get home.

I settled in with a cooking show. It sounded like someone was home, but I couldn’t tell if it was Shepherd or his dad. I hoped it was Shepherd. He’d texted me throughout the day to check up on me—which was so sweet; I knew how busy he was—but I hadn’t talked to him since this morning. I missed him.

He peeked in the door and I smiled, reaching for the remote to turn off the TV.

“Hey. I’m glad you’re home.”

“How are you feeling?”

“So much better. I’m still coughing but not as much as this morning.”

“Good.” He came in and set down a stack of paperwork. There was something about his body language that bothered me. Why wasn’t he looking me in the eyes?

“How was work?” I asked.

“Busy.”

“Is everything okay?”

Without a word, he went to the stack of paperwork he’d set down and pulled out a folder. He tossed it on the bed. “No.”

The coldness in his voice made my shoulders tense and a knot of worry uncurled in my stomach. I reached for the folder and before my fingers touched it, I realized what it was.

Oh no.

“I was looking in your desk to see if you had hard copies of the sales reports. I found that.”

I flipped it open, then closed again. The donor contract. “I wasn’t going to give this to you.”

“Then why do you have it?”

I took a deep breath. “Annie and Miranda want to have a baby, and they hoped I could get you to be their sperm donor. I told them I’d ask but it’s not like I promised them anything.”

“Well, thank fuck for that,” he snapped. “Although they seemed confident enough to have this contract drafted.”

“They just wanted to be prepared. And I told you, I wasn’t going to give it to you.”

“Then I’ll ask again. Why do you have it?”

“Well, originally I was going to, but I decided I couldn’t. I don’t want them to ask you at all. I felt wrong about it, and I told them so last night.”

He looked away. “So up until last night, you were still planning to go through with it.”

“No, not up until last night. I decided a while ago that I couldn’t. Actually, I had mixed feelings about it from the start, but then you asked me to move in and I thought—”

“You thought you’d do me a favor and get a favor in return.”

I stared at him for a beat. “Shepherd, this was your idea. You asked me to pose as your girlfriend and move in with you. It’s not like I wormed my way into your house.”

“But you had an ulterior motive that you kept from me.”

“That isn’t something you can just ask your boss. Hey, Mr. Calloway, it’s been great working for you, and sure I’ll upend my entire life to help you get rid of your gold-digging harpy of an ex-girlfriend. Oh, and by the way, can you be the sperm donor for my sister’s genetically perfect baby? Thanks, I’ll see you at work in the morning.”