“Do you like it here in New York?” I asked her.
“I do. I really like it. And It’s time for me to start adulting now that I’m having a baby.”
“I can help you financially, Jenna, but in all honesty, I’m not ready to be a father.” I downed my scotch.
“I know you’re not ready to be a father, and I don’t want your money, Lucas. I’m going to get a job. A real job with a company that’s going to pay me a lot of money where I’m going to utilize my talents.”
“But that’s my kid too, and I need to help you out. At least monetary wise.”
“You know, after I found out I was pregnant, I went to an abortion clinic. As I was sitting there on the table waiting for the doctor to come into the room, I really questioned what I was doing. I was taking this child’s life before it even began and that would make me no better than my parents. The day they found out about my genius abilities, they took my life away from me. How could I do that to this baby? I’m going to have someone who’s going to love me regardless. Someone who will still love me even when I make mistakes.”
I gave her a small smile from across the table.
“Listen, Lucas. We’ve already established you’re a selfish person and your work will always come before family.”
“Really, Jenna?” I cocked my head at her.
“Yeah. Remember that conversation we had the night this little one was conceived?” She placed her hand on her belly as a smirk crossed her lips. “Anyway, I kind of like that you don’t want to be involved. A child doesn’t have to have two parents to be raised right. One of them would just end up screwing the kid up.”
“I don’t think that’s true.” I furrowed my brows at her.
“True or not.” She shrugged. “I’m perfectly happy raising this baby alone. Besides, I’m a genius. How hard can it be? Anyway, thanks for dinner and I’m happy we talked and got everything out. I’m in some pain and I’m exhausted so I’m going to head to bed.”
“Okay.” I gave her a small smile. “I’ll clean up. Good night, Jenna. And thanks again for your help. You have no idea how much it means to me.”
“Good night, Lucas. You’re welcome. I’m happy it worked.”
Chapter 12
Lucas
I didn’t know what to think. I knew she was smart based on our conversations, but I had no idea she was on a genius level. This posed a problem for me because she was exactly who I needed to work for me. But I wasn’t sure if that was such a good idea.
After cleaning up from dinner, I decided to go to the club and talk to Danny. Before I left, I went to see if Jenna was awake
“You’re up?” I asked as I poked my head through the door and saw her sitting up in bed watching TV.
“Yeah. I’m just watching a movie. What’s up?”
“I’m going to run out for a while. Are you going to be okay?”
“I’m fine, Lucas.” She smiled. “Go have some fun and celebrate.”
“Can I get you anything before I go?”
“No. I’m good for now.”
“Okay. Good night.”
When I arrived at the club, I found Danny sitting in his office going over receipts.
“Hey, you.” He grinned. “What are you doing here?”
“Just dropped by for a visit. I need to talk to you.”
“Okay. Let’s go grab a drink and sit at my special table.”
I followed him out of his office, and he told one of waitresses to grab two scotches and bring them over to his table.
“What’s going on, man?” he asked as we sat down.
“The coding is done and works perfectly. I’m meeting with Giles Holloway tomorrow to finalize everything.”
“Alright, my man!” He grinned as he held up his hand for a high-five. “How did you do it? Did it just click or what?”
“Actually, I didn’t do it.”
The waitress walked over and set our drinks down in front of us.
“What? What do you mean?” His brows furrowed.
“Jenna figured it out, rewrote the program and gave it to me.” I sipped my drink.
“Jenna? As in your baby momma with the broken foot who’s staying at your penthouse?”
“Yep.”
He let out a laugh. “Dude, what is she a genius or something?”
“Yeah. She is.” I spoke with seriousness.
The laughter from his face fell as he stared at me.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I am. Danny, she has an IQ of 165 and she has two degrees from M.I.T.”
“Damn, bro.” He shook his head. “Then why is she staying with you?”
“Long story short, she doesn’t like being a genius and wants to live a simple life.”
“Genius problems.” He rolled his eyes. “I wish I had those kinds of problems.”
“I told her tonight that I could help her out financially, but I wasn’t ready to be a father.”
“Shit. What did she say?” He kicked back his drink.
“She said she knew and would prefer to raise the baby alone.”
“Do you think she meant it or was she just saying that for your benefit?”
“Nah, she meant it. She’s a very independent woman. But beneath all that independence, she’s broken inside.”
“Well, you know what? Congrats to you for impregnating probably the only woman in the world who doesn’t want you around.” He smiled as he held up his glass.
“Yeah. I got lucky.” I tipped my glass to his. “I’m thinking about offering her a job at the company.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“Because she’s smart and I could use someone like her. Plus, she’d be competition if she were to go to work for another technology company, and I would be stupid to let her do that.”
“I guess. But then she’d be in your life every day. You already said you’re having nothing to do with the kid—wait a minute. Are you falling for her?”
“No.” I frowned. “Of course not. This is purely a business decision.”
“And if she doesn’t want to work for you?”
“I’ll just have to convince her she’d be making a mistake if she didn’t.”
By the time I got home, it was ten-thirty. After changing into a pair of pajama bottoms, I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. When I was finished, I was surprised when I walked out of the bathroom and saw Jenna sitting on the edge of my bed.
“Hey there. I thought you were sleeping.”
“I can’t sleep. Listen, we need to talk.”
“Okay. What’s wrong?” I asked as I walked to my closet.
“I’m incredibly horny.”
I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around and looked at her.
“What?”
“I’m horny, Lucas, and something needs to be done about it. I mean, come on, you’ve already impregnated me so there’s nothing to worry about. Plus, I consider us friends, and you owe me for fixing your coding problem.”