Page 33 of Man Seeking Woman

Chuckling, I smiled. "I'm sorry, I know, my sense of humor sucks sometimes. Seriously, I'm only kidding, I know it's bad, I do."

"Then fix it." Her tone was dry and unamused. There was no emotion on her face as she stood still as a porcelain statue, not even the slightest smile on her lips.

This girl is tough. But I'll break her.

"There isn't much I can do," I said, walking around to the backside of my desk and pressing my hands into the top. "The reporters are going to do what they want. I have no control over what they print. I suggest you get use to it, this might not be the last time you'll see your face in the headlines."

"There has to be something you can do. Pull some strings, make some phone calls, use whatever arsenal you have to make this go away." Running her fingers through her hair, she tipped her chin higher as she said, "You owe me that much, this is all your fault anyway."

"My fault?" Thinning my lids, I let my mouth hang open. "You do realize that if you hadn't freaked out like you did, neither one of us would be in this position. This doesn't just affect you, this isn't good for me either. You think I want to be on the front page for that?"

"Don't you dare try to pin this on me." Pointing at herself, her mouth crinkled. "I didn't do anything wrong. I went thinking you had an actual job for me, but what you wanted was way more than any man should ever ask from some woman they don't know."

Smirking, I let out a light laugh. "I think we both had a hand in last night. You can't put all of this on me, that isn't fair. I know what I asked wasn't exactly what you expected, but a simpleno thank youwould have been just fine."

Letting out a weighted breath, her lids lowered. "Alright, I didn't come here to argue with you about it. I have enough shit going on in my life right now. I'm broke, I can't find a real job, and to top it all off, I'm about to be homeless. I don't need this mess too, I just need you to fucking fix it. Make my life a little easier and make this go away."

Observing her for a moment, my face was stoic as I processed her words. I didn't think she meant to tell me all that, her expression told me it all spilled out on accident. You know the look I'm talking about; the deer in the headlights, my mouth kept moving without me wanting it to kind of look. The look where once that final word tumbles out, they pinch their lips shut and stare at you like they're hoping it was all jibberish.

Taking a step closer, Ella arched her brows high, her eyes opening wide. "Please, there has to be a way."

Raking my fingers through my beard, I tilted my head into my shoulder. I had the perfect answer, one that worked for both of us. All she had to do was say yes and all the drama surrounding this little event would vanish.

"I have an easy solution that can make this all disappear. . ." Letting my voice fade, I peered at her, hoping she could read my mind.

Ella's head angled a hair, her eyes lighting with a flicker of hope. "What is it?" she asked, quickly brushing her hand in the air as she kept speaking. "You know what, I don't care, whatever it is, just do it."

"You're agreeing then?"

"Yes," she said, nodding eagerly. "Make it disappear."

"Perfect, I'll send the papers to you this afternoon."

"Papers? Papers for what? Is it like a discloser that I won't talk to the reporters or something?"

"It'll all be in the paperwork."

"Wait," she said, jerking her head back. "What am I signing papers for?"

"We talked about this already, you're having my baby, it's the easiest way to fix all this."

Throwing out her arms, she shook her head. "No, no, no." Slicing the air with her hand, she shot me an angy glare. "There's no fucking way and that's not what I meant. I meant do something to make this all go away, not make it real."

"Everyone already thinks you're pregnant anyway. Why not give the people what they want?"

"You're delusional, August. I'm not doing that."

"Why not?" I asked, moving to her side. "It would be perfect. You could come stay with me, and I'll take care of everything." Reaching out, I gently touched her arm, softening my expression. "Look, we both need something. You need money and I need a baby. I'm not just doing this for fun, we're in the same situation. If I don't do this, everything I have is gone, all of it."

"August, it's not the same," she said, letting her eyes fall over my face. "You're talking about bringing another life into this world on false pretenses. A baby shouldn't be born like this, it's wrong, it's not fair to the child, it's not fair to me or to you. A baby should be born out of love, not necessity. How could you even think this is the answer?"

"We could make it work. The babywouldbe loved, I would love it and so would you. It wouldn't be born into cold arms and uncaring parents. People have babies all the time and don't plan it. One night stands turn into life long relationships. This would still be better than that, this child would have everything it ever wanted. You could have everything you've ever wanted."

"There's more to life than just money, August." Ella's eyes shot to the floor, her tone questioning. "Besides, you can't give me what I really want."

"Everything revolves around money, it doesn't matter which way you look at it. It's sad, and I know it shouldn't be that way, but it is. You said it yourself, you have nothing, you're about to lose your place, I can make it so you don't have to worry about any of that."

"You can't buy me off like that. You act like this is an easy decision, but it's not."

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