The Millionaire's Pregnant Mistress. Michelle Celmer

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СКАЧАТЬ carburetor was terminally ill, but it would be at least three or four months before she had the money saved to replace it. And that was if she did the work herself—which she was pretty sure she could manage given the time to figure it out. She’d blown her entire savings plus a week’s groceries on a gas pump last month. The co-pay for her monthly doctor visits and prenatal vitamins was eating up the rest of her extra cash.

      The downside to residing in a resort town was the astronomical cost of living. If she skipped grocery shopping again on Sunday, that would shave a week off her expenses, but the doctor had already expressed concern that she wasn’t gaining enough weight, and a healthy diet was critical for a healthy pregnancy.

      She’d spent the last few days thinking about Ben’s offer. As far as she could tell, when she’d threatened to leave, he finally realized she was telling the truth. That the pregnancy was an accident and she wasn’t after his money. Though for the life of her, she still didn’t understand why it was so important that he have her living in his house. But when she stopped to think about it, there was no reason why she absolutely shouldn’t live there. She would have her own suite and could come and go as she pleased.

      Everything he’d had to offer sounded pretty good, except for one thing. Despite every other concession he’d made, he still insisted she quit her job.

      Tess couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t had some sort of job. Babysitting, delivering papers, stocking shelves at the party store—anything to earn a little extra spending cash. And later, hard work had been a way out of the hellhole that was her stepdad’s house.

      If she quit working now, what would she do for money? She already felt uncomfortable taking things from Ben. But to be totally dependent on him?

      Frankly, she was scared. What if she gave up her job, then found out he was some kind of creep or weirdo? She’d be stuck, because she seriously doubted anyone would be jumping at the chance to hire a pregnant woman.

      She’d told him to give her a few days to think about it, but she still wasn’t sure what to do.

      She pulled her car into a spot at the back of the employee lot, glanced at her watch, and cursed under her breath. She was ten minutes late.

      Hopping from the car, she bolted for the back entrance. Olivia Montgomery, the owner of the resort, ruled like a foreign dictator, expecting one hundred and ten percent from her employees. Tardiness was not acceptable. And because of her temperamental carburetor, this was Tess’s third time in two weeks.

      Tess shoved her way through the door and headed to the employee locker room behind the kitchen. As she turned the corner, her heart sank when she saw the morning shift manager standing next to her locker waiting for her.

      “I’m sorry I’m late,” she said. “Car trouble.”

      His sour expression was tarter than usual. She was convinced the guy sucked lemons for breakfast. “Mrs. Montgomery would like a word with you.”

      Oh, swell. Getting chewed out by her boss was not her favorite way to start the day.

      She shoved her jacket and purse into her locker and headed for Mrs. Montgomery’s office, where the secretary greeted her with a sympathetic smile. “Go on in, she’s waiting for you.”

      Tess opened the door and stepped inside the lush office. Her boss was on the phone, but gestured to the chair across from her desk, her expression unreadable.

      She spoke for several minutes, then said goodbye to the person on the line, hung up the phone and turned to Tess.

      Tess had learned that the best thing to do in a situation like this was to shelve her pride and take responsibility for her actions. “I’m very sorry for being late. I know it’s unacceptable. I swear it won’t happen again.”

      Her boss very calmly folded her hands atop her desk. “This is the third time in two weeks, Tess.”

      “I know, and I’m sorry.”

      “Well then, you can make it up by working a few extra shifts this week,” she said in that condescending, I’m God and you’re a peon tone. “We have several people out with the flu.”

      Tess was already working over fifty hours a week. She’d been suffering a chronic backache and swollen knees from being on her feet too long, and her bad ankle had been stiff and sore. It also seemed that no matter how many hours she slept, she woke feeling exhausted. But she knew that if she didn’t work the extra hours Mrs. Montgomery would find a reason to fire her. She knew Tess was pregnant, and that in several months she would be eligible for paid maternity leave.

      She’d been looking for a reason to let Tess go.

      And because of that, Tess had been working her tail off at a job that she quite frankly despised, for far less money than she deserved. Didn’t she deserve a break? Hadn’t she earned it?

      She thought about Ben’s enormous house and what it would be like to live there. What it would be like to not have to get up at 5 a.m. and drag herself to work. To stay up late watching movies and eating popcorn. To sleep until noon. How it would feel to relax and enjoy her pregnancy.

      So maybe she wouldn’t have a lot of extra spending money. So what? She was used to getting by on a tight budget.

      But if she did this, that would be it, she would be stuck with Ben for five long months. Although, if she had to be stuck with someone, she could have done a lot worse.

      “Well?” Mrs. Montgomery said tightly, expecting an answer.

      “No,” Tess said. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

      Her boss’s eyes narrowed. “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.”

      That wasn’t true. For the first time in her life, Tess actually did have a choice.

      What it all came down to was, what was best for her child? She grew up with nothing. Ben had everything. She wanted something in between for her baby.

      If she accepted Ben’s offer, the baby would never want for life’s basic necessities, never feel threatened or abused. Her child would go to good schools and get a college education, would have all the opportunities she never had.

      Ben could give them that, if she just had a little faith.

      She still wasn’t one hundred percent sure she could trust him, but she was so sick of feeling achy and tired and overworked. Maybe it was time she took a chance on him, the way he’d taken a chance on her.

      She flashed her boss a smile, feeling that, for the first time in months, maybe she was doing the right thing. “I do have a choice, Mrs. Montgomery. And I choose to quit.”

      Three

      “Benjamin, I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s someone here to see you.”

      Ben looked up from the computer screen to find Mrs. Smith standing in his office doorway. She opened the door wider and behind her stood Tess.

      Her cheeks were pink from the cold and her eyes bright. She was dressed in a denim skirt and a fuzzy olive sweater that was just tight enough to reveal her stomach was no longer flat. She looked good. In spite of himself, he smiled.

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