Baby Benefits Read Free

curdled her stomach. Jewel had been a Messina Diamond’s employee over a year ago. She’d spent her entire, brief employment throwing herself at Derek. It had never occurred to Raina that Derek might have given in to the temptation Jewel presented.
    For years, Raina had worked side by side with Derek and during that time, she’d fallen in love with his strength and loyalty. With his sheer determination to do the right thing by his family and company.
    In all that time, he’d never given her any indication he saw her as a woman. Never glanced at her legs. Never let his touch linger on her hand. Never gazed into her eyes with the slightest hint of sexual curiosity.
    She’d always told herself it was only because she was an employee. She’d comforted herself with the knowledge that he was honorable. That he would never, ever sleep with someone who worked for him.
    To find out now that he’d slept with Jewel felt like a crippling betrayal. Apparently, he wasn’t too honorable to sleep with an employee. No, it was only Raina that he didn’t want.
    Two
    Derek watched Raina from where he sat. She looked nearly as shocked as he felt.
    This infant was his. This tiny sleeping child that he held awkwardly in his arms was the result of his stupidity. His mistake.
    A sort of grim determination settled over him. He was going to make this work. And Raina would help him. They’d been through tougher things than this together.
    “First off, I’m going to need you to clear off my schedule for the next two weeks.”
    Raina’s head snapped up. “Clear off your schedule? Whatever for?”
    Her frown of confusion didn’t faze him. “I need to learn to be a father.”
    “Ignoring for a moment that you can’t possibly learn to be a father in two weeks, there are several things on your schedule that can’t possibly be moved.”
    “Anything that can’t be moved either you or Dex will have to take care of. As for learning to be a father, Dex did it in two weeks. So can I.”
    “That’s absurd. Dex didn’t—”
    “When I left for New York, Dex had no experience with children and even less interest in them. By the time I made it back, he’d bonded with her.” He looked down at the child, searching for some semblance of a bond himself, but at the moment he felt only panic.
    Raina shrugged. “The situation is hardly the same,” she said weakly. “And yes, he certainly did seem smitten, back when he thought she was his daughter, but—”
    “He’s still—” Derek cast around for the right word, but couldn’t find a better one than what she’d used. It seemed to curdle on his tongue. “Smitten. I had to argue with him to let me bring her to work with me today.”
    He couldn’t say why it bothered him so—the way Dex seemed determined to protect Isabella from Derek’s incompetence. He only knew that it did.
    Raina merely frowned. “Why did you bring her to work with you? I thought Dex had hired a nanny?”
    “He did. I’ve given her the next two weeks off.”
    “Why on earth—”
    “Dex didn’t have a nanny at first. That’s probably why he bonded with her so quickly.”
    “Dex had Jewel—or rather Lucy—to help him.”
    “And I have you.”
    Her gaze narrowed and she jumped to her feet. The crumpled ball of paper in her hand crackled as she squeezed it even tighter. “Oh, no, no, no. I am not taking care of this baby for you.”
    “I’m not—”
    But she interrupted him, something she rarely did.
    “You know, I’ve done a lot of crazy things for you over the years.” She marched around his desk to glare at him. “I’ve worked weekends. I’ve missed vacations. I’ve given up holidays. I’ve gone on last-minute business trips where I’ve stayed in crappy hotels and eaten worse food. But this is where I draw the line.”
    Raina’s tirade stunned him into momentary silence. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she resented the work she’d done. But before he could ask, she spun away from him