The Billionaire's Rumor

Chapter 5: The Agreement

Felicity scoffed at Levi. “You want to claim this baby as yours?"

“It's the perfect solution; if I got you pregnant, this would definitely seal the deal and look real."

Felicity shook her head in disgust and slapped him across the face before she could think the better of it.

He placed a hand on his cheek, anger boiled in his blood. “Ow! What the f**k was that for?"

Levi watched her take in a shaky breath, his cheek still hot with her anger. She looked up at him with sharp eyes. “Not that I owe you any explanation, but this is a serious proclamation. I don't even know who the father of this baby is, didn't you hear that?"

“I'm not judging you for taking a trip or two around the block."

“Levi!"

“What?"

“You're not thinking this through at all and you expect me to go along with your little scam? You want to claim to be the father of this baby?"

She was right, this was a serious proclamation and maybe he wasn't thinking as clearly as he should have been. But her being pregnant with a baby claiming to be his would be perfect. “I know what I'm doing Felicity. I beg you to just trust me. This is a lie, yes, but if this works, it doesn't have to hurt either one of us."

Levi noticed the tears that began to drip from those doe eyes. He wasn't sure what to say or do, but he realized he might have been coming on a little too strong and insensitive. “Felicity, I am sorry. You don't have to do this."

She looked up at the ceiling as though it would keep the tears from falling. She wiped what tears spilled with her hands and blew out a breath to regain control of herself. “Do you know why I'm pregnant?"

“You…want a baby?"

“Two years ago, I was a happily married woman. Marco Griffin was everything I wanted in a partner; he was my best friend. We tried for a baby, even went so far as to spend insane amounts of money on invitro. I had actually managed to get pregnant and then the day I lost Marco; I lost the baby too." She sucked in a harsh breath as her lip quivered. “We had frozen his…you get the point. I wanted to try again. My doctor that I've been seeing is actually a personal friend of mine and you know what happened?"

Levi listened intently to her story. It was as devastating as it was unique. “What?"

Her hand trembled as she wiped more tears away, Levi kindly picked up the tissue box on the desk he sat on and held it out to her. “Thank you…" she plucked the soft paper from the box, wiped her eyes and dabbed her nose. “I don't know who the father of this baby is because they had mixed up the…juice with someone else. You really want to claim this baby to get ahead in whatever family drama is on the table?"

Levi hadn't thought about her side that much and what he was asking for just got very real. When he met Felicity, she was just a beautiful woman. He thought he was asking a beautiful woman to just play a part for him. Now he faced a widow who had been wronged and as a result, she was lost and confused.

He couldn't imagine being in her position and the way she looked at him made Levi wish he could give her some kind of answer. But to what? He reached out to Felicity and took her gently by the hand, his eyes meeting hers. “I am so sorry that happened to you. If you want out of this I completely understand; but to be honest, after hearing your story, you deserve something. Your friend at the bakery mentioned you needed to put yourself back out there, maybe this could help."

Levi smiled when she didn't reject his touch as the curiosity emanated from her eyes, “How could this help me?"

“I don't imagine you're looking to be with someone else. But this could be the perfect dry run for you. We will be going out on dates and maybe this could get your toes dipped back into the pool. I don't expect anything. And with what I'm asking, you'll have full access to a penthouse of your choosing. You can even quit your bakery job if you want because I will be making sure you have everything you need. I'll even pay for all the medical care you require during your pregnancy."

Felicity squeezed his hand and a wave of affection for her came over him. “What about my new apartment? Can't I just stay there?" she asked.

“You could, but what you're signing up for, it's better to place you somewhere else. Where the press can't get to you."

“What about the dates you say we'll be going on?"

“You let me worry about that, all the public needs to know is my girl is a mystery and I intend to keep you that way. The pregnancy doesn't have to be announced right away."

She nipped her lip as a smile curved on her lips, “Full access to a penthouse of my choosing?"

“In this building, yes. Whatever groceries you need, someone will bring them. You'll have a cook, a maid, anything else you want. I will handle it all."

“What about my job?"

“I recommend you quit. But I promise, I will pull some strings and you'll have it back after all this if you want it. Just pretend to be my girlfriend for a bit."

“No to the maid, maybe to the cook, and if I'm craving ice cream at three in the morning, you have to go get it for me because you're my 'boyfriend.'"

Levi lifted her hand to his lips, and he placed a gentle kiss to her fingers. “Felicity Griffin, on whatever terms you set, do you accept me as your pretend boyfriend?"

“You have a deal, Levi Bennett."

The sound of a door creaked and Levi suddenly grabbed Felicity and planted his lips on hers in a full, passionate kiss.