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The Baby Proposal
Rebecca Winters
“What I’m proposing is that we try to get you pregnant as quickly as possible.”
“And if I don’t conceive?” Andrea challenged. Gabe’s cold-blooded approach to something this sacred angered her.
“We’ll deal with that when the time comes.”
He was too shrewd an entrepreneur not to leave himself a loophole. Oh, Gabe—you’re so transparent. He might just as well have pushed her off a cliff. A heart could only take so much….
What happens when you suddenly discover your happy twosome is about to be turned into a…family?
Do you panic?
Do you laugh?
Do you cry?
Or…do you get married?
The answer is all of the above—and plenty more!
Share the laughter and the tears as these unsuspecting couples are plunged into parenthood! Whether it’s a baby on the way or the creation of a brand-new instant family, these men and women have no choice but to be
When parenthood takes you by surprise!
Look out for more books in this miniseries—coming soon in Harlequin Romance
!
The Baby Proposal
Rebecca Winters
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ONE
“OY GEVEH!” Saul Karsh muttered before lighting the end of his cigar, the kind for which the Club Macanudo on the upper east side of Manhattan was famous. “You’re mishega!”
“Actually, I’ve never been more sane,” Gabe Corbin countered. He should have sold his company two years earlier. “Aside from Sam Poon who’s already acting CEO, you’re the first person I’ve told in case you want to buy me out. That gives you five days before I approach anyone else.”
“What’s the hurry? You’re only thirty-six!”
“In my case that’s already too old.”
When Saul could see that Gabe wasn’t about to enlighten him, he took a few more puffs on his cigar before he spoke. “If you’re selling a billion-dollar company that’s been operating in the black for years and is growing every day, then your reason must be personal.” A hint of alarm entered his eyes. “You’re not dying are you?”
“Of a disease? No.” Gabe finished off the rest of his drink. “Send your people around tomorrow if you want to see the books. Phil Rosen’s my chief accountant. He’ll show you everything.
“Try to make a decision before Monday. By then I’ll be gone and you’ll be dealing with Sam.”
Saul, the CEO of Karsh Technologies Inc., dealt in twenty-first century computers used for medical research and the Space program. The acquisition of Corbin’s Business PC’s would give him another playing field altogether, one he’d wanted for quite a while if Gabe’s source was right.
Saul was tough and aggressive, but Gabe knew of his reputation for fair business ethics. Of the five American entrepreneurs in the country who could buy Gabe out, he trusted Saul to be good to the employees and keep the company going in the right direction.
They stared at each other. Finally Saul muttered, “Stan Abrams and his team will be there at nine to take a look.”
Those were the words Gabe had been waiting to hear. “Excellent.” He put two twenty-dollar bills on the table and stood up. “It’s nice seeing you again, Saul.” He shook the older man’s hand. “I hope we’ll be doing business together.”
“Gabe? I have a son who isn’t much younger than you. If he were contemplating anything this enormous, I’d be worried. Are you absolutely positive you know what you’re doing?”
The man’s concern went a long way to prove to Gabe that Saul had been the right man to approach. “I know what I’m doing.”
He left a bemused Saul sitting there puffing on his cigar. After exiting the bar, he climbed into the waiting limo.
“Benny? Take me back to the office.”
“Yes, sir.”
Now that Gabe had a probable buyer, there was work to be done. He rang Phil and Sam on his cell phone and asked them to come back to the office as soon as they’d finished dinner. In all probability they’d be working until midnight.
The process of divesting himself of the international business Gabe had built over the last fourteen years was a complicated one. But with Saul’s people coming in the morning, Gabe could see light at the end of the tunnel, thank God.
As Gabe stood in the lobby waiting for an elevator to take him to the floor of his office, Bret Weyland, his North American sales manager, emerged from another one. For once Andrea Bauer wasn’t with him. That was a surprise considering Bret had intimated he and Gabe’s attractive chief software engineer, had been living together for the last three or four months.
Gabe could rarely find Andrea alone because Bret was always right there exhibiting a proprietorial interest in her that bordered on the possessive. It was a miracle Bret got any work done, or Andrea for that matter. But amazingly enough they did. Gabe had no room to complain.
He nodded to Bret. “Where’s your other half tonight?”
“Cooking dinner at our apartment.”
A vision of the two of them together behind closed doors doing anything and everything besides eating food disturbed him a great deal more than it should have. He wasn’t walking away from his company any too soon.
“Lucky you.” Gabe stepped on the elevator.
Bret flashed him a quick smile. “You’re right about that,” he said as the doors closed.
It was a good thing their conversation had been cut short. Gabe had come within a hair’s breadth of wiping that smug expression off the younger man’s face.
At 9:30 a.m. Andrea hurried through the office to her boss’s suite. His secretary looked up when she saw her. “Hi, Andrea. What can I do for you?”
“Is Mr. Corbin here?”
“Yes. He was already in when I arrived.”
“Good. I need to talk to him right away.”
“Just a minute and I’ll see if he’s free now.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
After the appointment with her gynecologist yesterday afternoon, Andrea knew what she had to do. There was no sense putting off the inevitable any longer.
“He says to go right in.”
“Thanks, Karen.”
She rushed into his private office. “Please forgive me for barging in like this when I know how full your schedule is.”
His penetrating gaze swept over her. “Since when did you ever need to apologize for talking to me? You look upset, Andrea. Sit down and tell me what’s wrong.”
He talked to her in such a confiding tone, she did his bidding. “I saw my doctor yesterday and it looks like my endometriosis is coming back so I—”
“What did you say you have?”
“Endometriosis.” Andrea disliked revealing something so personal about herself, but there was no way to avoid it now “It’s a disease that seems to be the plague of the modern woman. Something to do with stress.”
Her boss sat forward in his swivel chair eyeing her soberly. “Is this the reason you’ve had to take three personal leaves since coming to work for me?”
He’d been keeping track? How embarrassing! Yet he was being so kind, she found herself blurting the details.
“Yes. I’ve had six laparoscopies to be exact, the first one when I was in high school and the second in college. The third happened after I’d gone to work for Stover Electronics. That was before I interviewed for the position with your company.”
She wouldn’t have wished the emotional and physical pain of her disease on her worst enemy.
“I’m sorry, Andrea. I had no idea.” His intelligent eyes shone with compassion. “What’s the cure?”
“A hysterectomy. I’ve decided to have one as soon as possible. That’s why I’m here. To arrange for the time off.”
“You’re only twenty-eight!” he exclaimed without addressing the main issue. “That’s too young.” He sounded as if he truly cared and Andrea found herself struggling not to break down in tears.
“Not in my condition. It happens to women during the childbearing years. I’ve been battling it since I was seventeen, but enough’s enough. The doctor says I should plan on a six-week recovery period before coming back to work. I realize that’s a long time to be gone, but I know Darrell won’t let you down. He’s a wizard.”
Her boss grimaced. “There’s nothing else to be done before you’re robbed of the chance to ever carry a child?”
“Yes,” she murmured reluctantly. “Get pregnant right away before it grows back again worse than before, but that isn’t a possibility.”
“Why not?” he demanded.
She had to admit it shocked her he kept firing questions of such a personal nature when all she was asking for was the time off to undergo the surgery.
Six months ago Andrea’s degree in computer engineering, plus her work record at Stover’s, had landed her a job at Corbin PC’s. In the last four months she’d been serving as chief engineer of software which meant working part of every day with Gabe.
Even so, theirs had remained a professional relationship in the sense that he never pried into her personal life, and she knew next to nothing about his.
But she shouldn’t have forgotten the driving force of his personality, or his native curiosity about life. Both traits had propelled him to heights even those in the world of high finance marveled over.
“This must be so difficult for you. Can you have children?” He prodded.
She shuddered.
Infertile. The dreaded word.
Being unable to conceive was another fear of hers. Maybe something was so wrong with her female reproductive system, her eggs weren’t good. Unfortunately she would never have a chance to find out now.
“I have no idea,” she answered at last. “I’ve never been married.”
“But that hasn’t precluded you from living with a man. I understand you and Bret have been liv—”
“The office gossip is wrong!” She cut him off.
What a fool she’d been to date Bret Weyland in the first place. As head of Corbin’s North American sales, he spent a lot of time working with Gabe, too. That was the only reason she’d gone out with him, to prove to herself Gabe didn’t mean anything to her. Unfortunately everything had backfired and she’d hurt Bret in the process.
“That’s odd,” Gabe’s deep voice came back. “Bret intimated just the opposite when we saw each other in the lobby last night.”
Andrea let out an angry gasp. “Then he lied. I broke up with him over a month ago!”
“He’s one of my top people. Why would he fabricate something like that?” her boss persisted.
She tossed her head back, causing her honey-blond hair to brush her shoulders. “Why does anyone when they’re in pain? Look—if you must know, I’ve never slept with a man, let alone lived with one.”
His pewter-gray eyes narrowed in disbelief. The lashes fringing them were as black as his curly hair. With such a proud nose, and jaws that needed shaving often, there had to be a generous portion of Southern European blood flowing through his veins.
“I don’t know why that’s such a surprise,” she remarked when he didn’t say anything. “There are lots of women who want a wedding ring on their finger first. However the joke’s on me. I saved myself for marriage to my own detriment.”
She heard the slight tremor in her voice and shot to her feet, mortified he might have detected it. Now was the time to say what needed to be said and get out of there before she broke down sobbing.
“My doctor has an opening in his surgery schedule next week. I’ll work with Darrell today and tomorrow so he’s prepared to take over. In six weeks you’ll find he’s the perfect person to replace me.”
