Strictly Baby Business

Tall. Pretty.

Brown hair. Green eyes. Proper.

Glaring.

There stood Sebastian Coleman, disgusted with himself for resorting to…

This.

He stared at the woman in front of him for a moment before he scanned the inside of the crummy little apartment, and then he looked at her again.

“Are you lost?” Peyton asked, since people like him didn’t belong in places like this.

However, the mystery guy merely glared at her before pushing past her and walking into her little place. Anger coursed through Peyton.

“Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but this is my place. You have no right to just walk in here like you own it.”

Sebastian simply took a seat on her couch, staying silent and motioning for her to join him on the chair across from him.

“Sit!” he barked, and Peyton glared, crossing her arms on her chest, shaking her head no.

He rolled his eyes.

“I’ll explain when you sit down,” he said, frustrated.

Peyton squinted questioningly at him.

Silence reigned in the room for a minute before Peyton sat, rolling her eyes.

“Who are you and why are you here?” she asked. I’m not in the mood for this.

This guy looked way too fancy to be in this part of town, and Peyton got the feeling he wanted something from her.

“I’m here to make a deal,” he replied, intertwining his fingers in a businesslike way.

Peyton started to question her sanity for not kicking him out.

“And you are?”

Now it was his turn to give her a questioning look.

“You don’t know who I am?”

She shook her head and he fought off a smile.

“Sebastian Coleman. Now, about that deal.”

“A deal?”

He nodded, glaring at her for interrupting his little speech.

“I’ve been watching you for a while now, and I want to make a deal with you.”

Peyton raised an eyebrow at him and waited for him to continue. He spoke in a businesslike tone.

“I need something from you, and by the looks of it,” he glanced around the room in disgust, “you need what I have to offer.”

Before Peyton could say anything about how blatantly rude he was, he continued speaking.

“It’s simple, really. I’ll get you pregnant, and then we have to get married. You have the child and after one year of marriage we go our separate ways and I give you $1.5 million.”

Shock took over Peyton’s features as she glared at him.

“Is this some kind of joke? I am not a hooker! No. No way! You were literally just rude and glaring at me, making it clear that you don’t like my little place.”

He rolled his eyes as if to say that she was being overdramatic while he waited for her to stop ranting.

“It’s very important that you say yes. Think about it like this; you won’t have to live in a shoebox or work like a slave the way you do now.”

She glared at him, shaking her head in disbelief.

“You’re rich. Why don’t you go pay a prostitute? Why me?”

Extremely offended, she stood up and walked behind the small kitchen counter.

He stood up and followed her, standing in front of her, authority and power radiating from him, a storm swirling in his green eyes.

“Because I’m not sleeping with some prostitute, let alone having her carry my child.”

A sigh fell from Peyton’s lips. A million dollars was a lot of money, a lot, and she really could use it.

“So, if I say yes—and I’m not,” she added quickly when she saw his eyes fill with hope, “if I say yes, and we do this whole thing, get divorced and go our separate ways, and I get my money. What happens to our child then?”

As if it was the simplest thing ever, Sebastian let out a snort before answering, “They stay with me.”

Disbelief crossed Peyton’s face as she shook her head.

“No, they’ll stay with both of us on different days.”

Sebastian wanted to object but knew that he really did need her to agree, or else he would lose everything.

So, with a long, overdramatic sigh, he agreed with a nod and awaited Peyton’s next words. He had done his research all the way to where she had studied; anything before that was untraceable. Almost like she’d simply appeared one day and decided to be the smartest person at her university. There was no trace of any family at all, or she had been born, or anything; therefore, the fact that she also needed money made her the perfect choice.

Sebastian had followed her around for many weeks and found that she recycled, had two jobs where she dealt with annoying people, and that she wouldn’t hurt a fly. The fact that she always stared longingly at a lady who had a husband and child or was pregnant told him that she was a perfect choice.

He could see the wheels turning in her head as she considered his offer. He didn’t really care to elaborate too much.

Then again, she didn’t need to know everything.

“Only one year, right?” She spoke with uncertainty clear in her voice, watching him with wary eyes.

He nodded.

“One year and we’ll both happily go our separate ways.”

With her emotions all over the place, she agreed with a simple, “Okay.”

Sebastian found himself smiling widely at her answer and took out his phone from his suit pocket, telling Mike to leave and fetch him first thing in the morning.

“All right, let’s get to it. The sooner the better.” Peyton’s eyes widened in realization at what he’d just said.

“Now?”

Sebastian nodded with a shrug.

“Yes, I promise you may take a moment to gawk at my gorgeous body.”

Peyton’s mouth fell open as Sebastian led her to the only room he could see, which happened to be hers.

“And remember, this is strictly baby business,” he said, already thinking of the fit she was going to throw when he gave her the contract to sign.

Oh well, she’d already agreed and he’d recorded it.