Having The Billionaire's Baby

Irene wriggled in her chair, then folded her hands in her lap. ‘I would feel—I would feel uncomfortable. I would feel bought even if not for the usual reasons.’Murad Fullbuster eyed the ceiling. ‘Give ’em all back to me, then. I’m sure I could find someone who’d appreciate them.’‘That would be more appropriate,’ she mused, ‘but there’s something else. To be perfectly honest, I would feel a certain amount of chagrin that you don’t consider the real me good enough.’‘It’s not that,’ he said through his teeth. ‘I just don’t want you to feel like Cinderella. OK, yes—’ he raised his hand ‘—I also need the other side to take you seriously, therefore a slightly more sophisticated aura would be a help.’Irene chewed her lip. Part of her would like to decline, she decided. There was plenty about Murad Fullbuster that rubbed her up the wrong way—sheer arrogance, for one thing. How pleasant would it be to turn the tables on him, though? To prove to him she would not be an embarrassment to him,

AT FIVE minutes to six that evening, Irene barrelled into the foyer of Fullbuster House with her hair and scarf flying and a variety of shopping bags hanging from her arms.She looked around breathlessly for the penthouse buzzer and was intercepted by the commissionaire. She gave him her name and told him who she needed to see. He looked doubtful for a moment but led her to the penthouse lift—he had the grace to look apologetic when her name was received in the affirmative and the lift doors opened on cue.‘Thirty-fifth floor is what you need, ma’am. Have a good evening!’Irene pressed thirty-five and prepared to part company with her stomach— she didn’t like lifts, but this one turned out to be painless. And on the thirty-fifth floor it opened directly into Murad Fullbuster’s penthouse.It wasn’t Murad who greeted her, however, it was a man of about forty who said pleasantly, ‘Miss Josephine, I believe? I’m Murad’s domestic co-ordinator, Jake Frost. I’m afraid he’s running a few minu

‘My parents did have a nest egg that came to me,’ she told him. ‘After—’ she stopped for a moment and swallowed ‘—after the accident they died in, my Mother Superior was appointed my trustee. My school fees were paid out of it, and my university expenses et cetera, and there was enough left for me to buy a terrace house, so I’m actually a woman of some substance even if I don’t have a car!’ She turned to him with a cheery grin.But Murad Fullbuster noticed the added sparkle to her eyes behind her glasses, tears, he suspected, and felt a spark of pity for this orphan.He said only, though, ‘Good on you! Is this it?’ He pulled the Bentley up outside a row of terrace houses in the inner suburb of Spring Josephine.‘Yes. Thank you very much for this. I suppose I’ll see you again at…’ Irene glanced at him enquiringly ‘…well, the cocktail party tomorrow afternoon?’‘Yes.’ He paused. ‘What have you got on tomorrow morning? I just thought you might be interested in the state-of-the-art confer

Simon reached for a folder. ‘Fullbuster Grey faxed through a confidentiality clause. I’ve had our lawyer have a look at it and he sees no problems, but it means that anything you learn during these negotiations has to stay confidential.’ He handed her a pen.Irene signed the document with a flourish. ‘Of course.’‘And they faxed through the programme of engagements you’ll be required to attend.’ He pushed another piece of paper across the desk to her.‘Cocktail party tonight, lunch tomorrow at the Sovereign Islands, then a three-day break until a golf day at Sanctuary Cove, a day out on a boat on the river, a day at the races and finally a dinner dance—Sovereign Island again,’ Irene read and ticked off her fingers.Simon looked a question at her.‘I have seen this—Mrs Paxton went through it with me. I was just going through the outfits we got for each occasion,’ she explained and added, ‘I think I’m going to enjoy the three-day break after tomorrow’s lunch. But what’s at Sovereign Isl

‘I—’ she began tentatively. ‘That is…look—’ she gestured frustratedly ‘—it must be a “girl” thing. I mean, it must be the one area where I really don’t know what I’m doing.’ She paused and gathered composure. ‘I couldn’t help wondering if I’d ended up looking completely wrong,’ she told him tentatively.‘No. The opposite.’Irene gazed at him wordlessly for a long moment. She’d never thought much about men’s tailoring before and was not to know his suit was made from the finest wool/cashmere blend, but anyone could see it fitted perfectly. The smooth charcoal-grey fabric was beautifully stitched along the lapels and he wore a white shirt with a broad stone stripe and a tie with tiny emerald hexagon motifs. Gold cufflinks glinted at his wrists.His shoes simply looked as if they had cost a fortune. And add to the whole his dark good looks…Talk about stealing the show, she thought suddenly. Murad Fullbuster could be the one to do it. So why wasn’t he married? Why had he eluded it until