A Billionaire Donor Read online

  “All you had to do was say no,” Jack said as though he’d read Kian’s mind. “All you had to do was what I’m about to do. Pay her an absurd amount of money and make up a contract so that she or the kid will never contact you again.”

  “You can do that?” Kian asked, his voice tight.

  “It’s legal,” Jack said defensively.

  “That’s not what I meant,” he sighed, draining his cup before motioning for another. “I mean, you can live knowing that you have kids out there that you’ll never see, that you’ll never know and who’ll be denied the right to try and know you?”

  Jack shrugged. “That’s not my problem. I didn’t tell her to use my junk to get pregnant.”

  Kian shook his head. “I just don’t know if I can do that.”

  Jack turned to him, his eyes slightly glazed from the alcohol flowing through his veins. “And what if she wants nothing to do with you? What if she doesn’t want you to have anything to do with the kid?”

  Kian hadn’t thought about that. He was silent for a moment as he took another drink. What if she didn’t want him around? After all, she was a successful, intelligent, beautiful woman. If she was having a baby by herself, maybe she didn’t want anyone else around to interfere.

  Groaning, Kian buried his face in his hands. What the hell had he gotten himself into? He’d never meant for things to go so far. Now, he was supposed to take her out. He pushed the empty glass away from him before he massaged his temples.

  “You know, I was pretty good until you came around,” Kian grumbled.

  “You’re just mad because I make sense,” Jack slapped him on the back. “You’ll get over it.”

  Kian shook his head. “I really like her though. Why couldn’t I have run into her before the pregnancy? We must have crossed paths at least once before.”

  Jack scoffed. “Well, last time I checked, life isn’t fair.”

  Kian sighed. He was tired of listening to Jack wallow in his own misery. He clapped the man on the back before he stood. Digging out his phone, he made a quick call before he tossed money down on the bar.

  “I need to head home. Long day tomorrow.”

  “And a date,” Jack reminded him.

  Kian rolled his eyes. “Let it go. I’ll talk to you later.”

  He left the bar with Jack still mumbling in the background. Kian was aware that it was mostly because of the amount that Jack had been drinking that he was being so annoying, but it still didn’t make him any less irritated. Stepping outside, he glanced up and down the street. As he did, a black car pulled up in front of where he stood.

  * * *

  Kian climbed into the back of the car and buckled up. He nodded to the driver before the car began to slide down the streets smoothly. Sighing, he glanced down at his phone, squinting as the letters blurred together for a moment.

  I forgot to give you my address. Have a good night. :)

  It was short and sweet, but knowing that Melanie was thinking about him made him grin. He ran his thumbs over the screen of his phone, unsure of how to reply. FInally, he decided to simply tell her goodnight and that he’d pick her up at eight. The grin wouldn’t leave his lips for the entire ride back home.

  Maybe what he was doing was crazy, but he had to go for it. After all, he hadn’t gotten to where he was now by not taking chances. If things didn’t work out, fine. If they did, then he would be glad he actually went through with this.

  By the time Kian stumbled through his front door, he felt lighter. He kicked off his shoes, tugged his shirt over his head and settled down on the couch. There was no way he was going to make it upstairs, that was for sure. Reaching over to the neatly arranged coffee table, he pulled the remote to him and flipped on the tv. A plan to impress Melanie was already forming in his head as he began to drift off. He just hoped she would like it.

  7

  “That makes no sense.”

  Melanie rolled her eyes. Her sister, Tara, had been over for the last few hours explaining in explicit detail why she was an idiot. Melanie closed her eyes, her fists clenched as she took deep, slow, breaths. For the first time in a long time, she wished there was a drink in her hands.

  “I told you,” Melanie said tightly, “I can’t tell him yet.”

  “He’s going to figure it out eventually.”

  She sighed. “Look, it’s not even a date. We’re just going to hang out, enjoy each other’s company.”

  Tara laughed. “Oh really? Who’s paying for this, hmm?”

  “I’m sure both of us,” Melanie retorted, pushing her sister's feet off of the coffee table so she could walk past her. “You’re beginning to sound like mom.”

  Tara gasped. “Take that back!”

  “Nope,” Melanie called from the kitchen as she dug through the fridge. “It’s the truth and you’re just gonna have to deal with it.”

  She could hear the sound of footsteps entering the kitchen, but she ignored them. Pushing aside various take out boxes, Melanie looked for something to snack on. Cooking had never been her strong suit, but she was sick of meals that went home in boxes and she didn’t feel like listening to her mom grumble if she went over for food.

  “Take out it is, I guess,” she sighed as she went through the takeout menu drawer, shifting dozens of brightly colored flyers out of her way.

  “Melanie, be serious for a minute,” Tara said, tired of waiting for Melanie to acknowledge her. “I can’t understand why you won’t just tell him.”

  Melanie shrugged. She pretended to be engrossed in the lettering of the menus. “I guess I don’t want to scare him off.”

  “That’s stupid. If he runs off because you’re pregnant, then you’re obviously better off without him. If he stays, then you can move forward without having to worry about the future.”

  Melanie didn’t respond as she pulled out her phone. She started typing in the number to a vegetarian place that wasn’t far, Veggie Table. At least they would have some good food that shouldn’t help in making her sick in the morning. Tara sighed, disappearing out of the kitchen.

  With a sigh, Melanie lowered the menu. Okay, so maybe her sister was right, but she wasn’t going to admit that. Tara was the oldest and she’d always bossed Melanie around and told her what to do. Besides, Melanie argued with herself, she wasn’t the one that had to go through this. She bit her lip. Tara would get over it.

  Melanie ran a hand over her belly. It was hard to believe that there was already life growing inside of her, especially when there was no kicking, no rounding of her belly, no physical signs at all, except making her sick. She patted her belly gently.

  “We’ll figure something out.”

  “Tara?” She called as she leaned back to glance into the living room. Tara was sitting on the couch, her feet propped up on the table once more as she stared at the tv. Her mouth was in a straight line, arms folded over her chest and her eyes narrowed at the screen. “Tara!”

  “What?” She responded, barely audible over the sound of applause and laughter.

  “Are you hungry?”

  There was a long pause. Melanie grinned. She knew her sister well enough to know that she was contemplating whether or not to respond, but she was also fighting against her constant need to eat. For once, Melanie was happy to be the one without the high metabolism.

  “What are you ordering?”

  Grinning, Melanie popped into the living room. “Vegetarian. They have a black bean “burger” that’s amazing.”

  Tara shuddered. “Unless they serve steak, I’ll pass. I think I’ll order some Chinese food.”

  Melanie’s stomach rumbled at the mention of Chinese. “No baby,” she said to her belly. “You’re supposed to want healthy, wholesome foods. Not sesame seed chicken and fried rice.”

  “Well, he or she is your child. They were bound to be junk food connoisseurs.”

  Melanie shook her head. She grabbed the Chinese food menu before she settled onto the couch next to her sister. Tara turned down
the tv as they browsed through the different combos. Finally, the decided on what they wanted and Tara called in the order.

  By the time it arrived, they were both ravenous. They ate in relative silence, only laughing or making a comment every once in awhile as they watched a reality tv show. Melanie never cared for the junk, but after she’d already irritated her sister for the night, she wasn’t going to argue with her about it.

  “I’m stuffed,” Tara groaned as she pushed away the takeout box still filled with Lo Mein. “Why did we order so much food?”

  “Our eyes are too big for our stomachs,” Melanie moaned. She reached into her purse, popped an antacid and curled up. “Hey,” she said, making Tara turn at the seriousness in her voice. “I know you don’t think so, but I’m glad that you were trying to give me good advice. Thanks.”

  Tara smiled before she pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry I was so pissed off. Look, it’s your body, your baby, your date. Do what you want to do, but just be careful. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  Melanie grinned. “Thanks, but it’s not a date.”

  “It’s definitely a date.”

  Laughing, Melanie picked up a nearby pillow and launched it at Tara’s head. Her sister was already up and running. She dodged the pillow easily before she disappeared into Melanie’s bathroom.

  Shaking her head, Melanie pulled her phone and bit her lip. She wasn’t sure if she should text him, they’d just seen each other earlier. Lifting her head up, she typed out a quick message and hit the send button before she could change her mind. When he responded, she found herself grinning wide. At that moment, she was absolutely sure that Kian was going to be trouble.

  8

  Kian was supposed to pick Melanie up at eight, but it was already eight-thirty. Traffic was at a crawl. He gripped the wheel a little tighter. The day had been a long one; meetings, disputes to settle, paperwork to take care of, new clients to meet. His head was still reeling. The only thing that had gotten him through the day was the fact that he was meeting up with Melanie tonight.

  He reached for his phone in his pocket. Narrowing his eyes, he began to pat his pockets again. Nothing. His phone was nowhere in sight. Then he remembered. After lunch, he’d plugged the phone up and sat it on his desk so it could charge. He’d been so busy trying to get out of the office that he’d left it there. Kian groaned.

  Hopefully, she wouldn’t think he was blowing her off, he thought as he parked and hopped out of his car. As soon as he reached the inside of his loft, he loosened his tie and shed his gray suit jacket. Kian stepped into the shower. He took a moment to relax underneath the warm spray before he started to dash around again.

  * * *

  Thankfully, he’d written down Melanie’s address that morning. He pushed through a few papers that were now on the coffee table before he found the post it note that it was on. A deep sigh of relief passed through his lips before he left his apartment.

  The traffic had thinned out a bit, but Kian drummed his fingers on the wheel anxiously. At least he was showing up, but he was so late he wondered if she even still wanted to go out with him.

  Finally, Kian spotted her address and pulled into the lot. It was a tall brick building that stood before him, warm light spilling out from the lobby to fall on the sidewalk. Kian made his way inside. As soon as he spotted the bank of elevators, he rode one up to the ninth floor and knocked on her door.

  Kian was nervous. His fingers slipped through his hair as he tried to wait patiently, but it was hard. He’d never been particularly good at talking to women, but what he lacked in natural charm, he made up for in other ways. Or at least he liked to think so.

  The door finally opened making him relax a bit. She was dressed in a pretty yellow dress that complemented her skin and curves. Tall heels made her legs look even longer. As she stood there, she ran a hand over her dark hair that had been pulled up, a single lock brushing her face. As beautiful as she looked, Kian realized that there was something wrong. Her eyes were slightly red, her makeup a bit smudged. Had she been crying?

  “I’m sorry I’m so late.” Kian shuffled from one foot to the other. “I had a meeting run late and it pushed me back for the rest of the day. Then the traffic was terrible, it took me twice as long to get home. On top of all that, I left my phone plugged up at work and had no way to call you. I should have just written your number down…” He paused to take a breath. “I’m sorry, I just realized how much I’m rambling. Long story short, I’m sorry and I would still like to take you out if you want to go with me.”

  For a long while, Kian was unsure of how she was going to react. Finally, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and he watched her features relax. A small smile even tugged on the corners of her red lips.

  “I suppose I can forgive you this time,” she said with a shake of her head. “I don’t know what we can do now though. I mean, you said you’d made plans.”

  * * *

  “Yeah, I did. Of course, the restaurant I wanted to take you to is closed now,” he said as he checked his watch. “I had another idea. You might want to go change first though.”

  Melanie lifted a brow. “What’s wrong with what I have on?”

  “Believe me when I say absolutely nothing. You just might get uncomfortable.”

  She seemed to think it over before she opened the door to her apartment. “Come in. You can help me pick out something new.”

  Kian smiled. “I’d love to.”

  He stepped inside of her apartment while she locked it behind them. Glancing around, he checked out her place. It was a quaint little one bedroom with everything down in orange and cream with hints of red. Kian actually liked the fact that she seemed to adore colorful things. He followed behind her towards her room. The only thing that made him uneasy was how small the place was. How was she going to raise a child in such a tiny place?

  * * *

  “Okay,” Melanie clicked on the light before opening her closet. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

  “Nope,” Kian said with a grin. “That’s part of the fun.”

  She chuckled. “Okay, then help me pick something out.”

  The fall nights were still pretty warm, so Kian helped her pick out another dress (he couldn’t resist seeing her in something that showed off her perfect legs) that was a soft pink and a white sweater to go with it in case it got cold later. A pair of matching pink flats complemented the outfit nicely.

  Melanie shooed him out of the room while she dressed. He made his way to the couch, settling in and sitting down for the first time all day. While he was exhausted, there was excited energy flowing through him that made him almost giddy.

  Kian couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone on a real date. Most of the time, women seemed to want him for what he could offer or what his last name was, but very few ever tried to get to know him beyond that. It was almost a dream meeting someone who didn’t know a thing about him. There were no expectations, no need to put on some kind of act. For once, he could be himself.

  “What do you think?”

  Kian looked up. He was speechless for a moment as he took in the sight of her. The red eyes were gone, replaced with a smile that he felt tempted to place a kiss to. He pushed himself up from the couch.

  “You look beautiful.”

  Melanie seemed embarrassed by his words. She thanked him, grabbed her purse and they walked out of the apartment together. Once he closed her car door, he slid behind the wheel and threw a quick glance her way as she was adjusting the hem of her dress.

  She really was beautiful.

  9

  Melanie had been on the verge of telling Kian exactly what she thought. Staring at her phone, waiting for him to call her, text her, something, she had begun to get angry. It wasn’t anything new, she found, but it still hurt.

  The number of disastrous dates she’d had was one of the contributing factors to her not wanting to date anymore. Meeting weirdos, being stood up, extrem
ely late men, she’d experienced it all. However, she hadn’t expected it from Kian.

  Hadn’t they really hit it off the other day? Or was she just imagining it all? She’d wondered as she paced in the living room, a tight grip on her phone as she wrestled with herself on whether or not to let him have it.

  She had brushed the tears away on her face. After all she’d done to prepare for the day, it was too much to handle emotionally. The morning had been horrible, more sickness and she slept in past noon to give her body time to recover. After that, she’d cleaned her apartment, found her outfit, taken her time getting ready. And for what? To be stood up.

  Melanie’s fingers had already started to type out the text message when there was a knock on her door. She had paused, looking at the door for a long moment before she walked over to look through the peephole. Kian had been standing there, looking nervous.

  She had still fully intended to tell him off, but as the words spilled from his lips she knew he was telling the truth. Melanie realized that it would be pointless to tell him off, he was already beating himself up for being late. Instead, she’d relaxed. For years, she’d been rigid in her planning, timing, schedules, but now she had a little time to enjoy herself and she planned to do so.

  As they drove through the darkened streets, she wondered where he was taking her. Every time she tried to ask he would smile, shake his head and laugh. Melanie stole a look at him.

  He was dressed in a sapphire sweater and dark jeans. His muscles made her want to run a finger up his arm, but she refrained. She smiled at the way he occasionally ran a hand over his hair, pushing it back a bit. Melanie wondered if he noticed that she played with her hair too when she was nervous?