The Tycoon's Baby Revelation (The Abbot Sisters Book 1) Read online

  Stepping into her car, she drove down the street to the nearest strip mall. Thankfully, there was an office supply store there that also sold computers. “Perfect!” she whispered, parking her old jalopy.

  Stepping into the store, she looked around, immediately overwhelmed by the number of options. “Just one step at a time,” she whispered to herself.

  “Can I help you?” one of the sales representatives asked as Sloane walked down the row of laptops on display.

  She looked up at the guy, noting his acne and greasy hair as well as his bored expression while his gaze swept over her dime-store clothing.

  Annoyed at being dismissed as unworthy, Sloane squared her shoulders. “I need a computer with…” and she spouted off her requirements, including extra memory, extra fast processing speed, the ability to enable a hot spot internet connection, and a few other extras. Sloane had originally thought to purchase the bare minimum of computers, just enough to get her started, not wanting to spend another person’s money pointlessly. But her instincts took over and Sloane suspected that she’d need the additional processing speed in order to keep up with her new boss.

  “I’ll also need an ultra-light weight tablet that can hold scheduling software and notes with ease.” She’d also need to stock up on office supplies, she thought, but that could wait until after she’d gotten through the tech issues.

  As she spoke, the guy’s shoulders straightened and his eyes lit up. “Yes ma’am!” he replied, and moved over to one of the highest priced laptops and started explaining the features. Once she’d selected a computer, he brought her to the tablet area and went through the same ritual, asking a lot of questions because she simply wasn’t aware of the various options available on a tablet. She figured the only way she was going to learn was to ask, and being shy about her lack of knowledge was pointless. After selecting a tablet, Sloane loaded up her cart with a printer/scanner/fax machine, papers, pens, stapler, and a few other items.

  Then she moved towards the cash register. For the first time since stepping into the store, she hesitated, wondering what the spending limit was on the credit card. The cashier rung everything up, then announced her total. “Yikes!” she whispered, unaware she said it out loud. “I don’t know the limit on this card, so…?” she shrugged.

  The guy looked at her warily, then down at all of the supplies. “I’ll need to see a picture ID,” he warned.

  Sloane understood, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed feeling like a criminal. Whipping out her wallet and ignoring her embarrassed cringe when the pleather spine on her wallet ripped just a bit further, the guy compared her name and picture against the name on the credit card. With a nod, he ran the card through the machine while Sloane waited, her breath caught in her lungs as she anticipated seeing “declined” on the little screen.

  When “approved” popped up onto the register, Sloane let out that breath slowly, shocked that it had actually worked. She’d just spent over five thousand dollars on office equipment and computer stuff! Dear heaven! She’d never in her life spent that much money!

  As Sloane pushed the cart filled with stuff out of the store, she gripped the handle of the metal cart tightly since her knees were about to give out on her. She’d just spent more money than she’d ever made in an entire year! She’d spent more money in one day than…!

  “Can I help you ma’am?” the salesperson called out, running out of the store after her.

  Sloane looked behind her, surprise in her eyes. “Oh, um…thank you!” she whispered, not sure how to handle someone offering to help her. Help? People didn’t really do that, did they? Not in her experience.

  “My pleasure,” he replied, and she noticed his cheeks turn an interesting shade of pink. She didn’t really understand his reaction as she popped the trunk on her car.

  “What’s all of this for?” he asked, lifting the printer, which was the biggest box and sliding it into her trunk. Unfortunately, Sloane had to push the three boxes of clothes out of the way. Storing their clothes in the trunk of her car was the only way she, Rayne, and Pepper could keep them from being stolen while they lived at the shelter.

  “Oh, um…I was just hired by Starke Enterprises,” she explained, not sure if that was appropriate or not. Was her position a secret? Good grief, this was all so confusing!

  The boy’s eyes widened. “Starke? As in Josh Starke?” the guy asked, pausing with the laptop in his hands.

  “Um…yes?” she asked, shrugging slightly. “I don’t know much about the company yet, but…”

  The guy straightened his shoulders, forgetting about the laptop still in his hands. “I’d love to work with that guy! He’s a genius! I mean, seriously a genius!”

  Sloane blinked, not sure how to respond. “Well, um…I suppose that he’s a very smart man.” Although, she had absolutely no idea what the guy actually did for a living other than order her around. Which reminded her, she needed to contact her old boss at the restaurant and let him know that she wouldn’t be in tonight for her shift. She also needed to give Rayne and Pepper a head’s up that she would most likely be working late. She had no idea how long it would take to get all of this stuff set up. Glancing at her watch, she realized that it was after ten o’clock in the morning and she had so much she needed to get done. That list of items he’d given her this morning was long and she wasn’t sure how to get some of the tasks accomplished.

  Taking the laptop from the guy, she stored it carefully into the trunk of her car. “Thank you so much for your help,” she said, glancing at the plastic name tag on his shirt, “Jeff. But I really have a lot to get done. Mr. Starke has a long list of action items for me.” She loaded the rest of the supplies, then straightened. “How about if I take your contact information and, if anything comes up that you might be able to help with, I’ll give you a call?” she offered.

  Jeff flushed with excitement. “That would be awesome!” He pulled out a card and handed it to her. “Anything!” he assured her. “Anything at all!”

  Sloane nodded, stuffing the card into her purse. “Thank you for your help, Jeff,” she repeated and smiled.

  With that, she got back into her car and sighed with relief when the car started up on the first attempt. This morning, she’d had to wiggle some wires under the hood in order to get the engine to turn over. Unfortunately, she wasn’t exactly sure which wire-wiggling had helped, but it had finally started. Her morning ritual was to head out fifteen minutes before she needed to leave, just to get this old clunker started.

  As she drove out of the parking lot of the computer store, she wondered what it would be like to drive that sleek, black Mercedes coup she’d seen in the parking lot this morning. It had been the only other car there, and it looked just as lethal as its owner.

  Since she had the only cell phone between the three of her sisters, Sloane couldn’t easily send her sisters any messages. So instead, she drove back to the shelter and left her sisters’ a message on the bulletin board, letting them know that she’d be late and that she’d gotten the job. Then she’d driven back to the building and started setting things up. Laptop first, then she’d driven back to the store to get a cable so that she could connect to the internet. “Should have figured that one out,” she muttered, hurrying back out of the store.

  It was after ten o’clock that night when she finally finished with everything she thought she could accomplish that day and sent an e-mail to her absent boss, giving him an update.

  By the time she returned to the shelter, she was hungry and exhausted. She thought about stopping somewhere to get something to eat, knowing that the kitchen at the shelter was closed by now. But since she only had about four hundred dollars in her checking account, the amount she’d earned from her fast food job, she was loathe to spend any of it on something as silly as food. So instead, she’d parked the beat up old car in the back of the parking lot of the shelter and headed inside, looking for her sisters.

  She found them curled up on the cots in the
corner, doing homework by the light of the streetlight outside the big window. Sloane’s heart ached, wishing that she was smarter and faster or older so that she could give them what they needed; shelter, food, and security. Soon, she thought to herself as she wove between the other occupied cots in the large, gym area. Soon they would have enough money to find a small apartment. Even a studio would be nice! They wouldn’t have their own bedrooms, but they’d never had that luxury. When her mother had been alive, the three of them had shared a bedroom. But this…a cot in a homeless shelter really was a pretty desperate situation.

  She paused, watching her sisters. Rayne was so determined and focused, looking down at her text book for a long moment before writing something in her notebook. Pepper was just as focused, but she had a stronger memory and didn’t need to write things down as often. Rayne could read faster, but Pepper remembered everything she read. It was pretty amazing that neither of her sisters had gone down the rebellious route, although Rayne was sixteen going on forty while Pepper had just turned fifteen and acted as if she were ready to tackle the world. Love for her sisters hit her hard and deeply. She loved them, and wanted to do more for both of them.

  Even as she watched, Sloane noticed two of the younger men in the room peering over in their direction with a hungry gaze. No way, she thought! Their mother had gotten pregnant every time she’d lowered her guard and trusted a man! There was some sort of weird fertility going on with the women in her family, so no way would Sloane allow some guy to get close to her sisters! The way their luck had been going lately, a guy’s sperm could impregnate one of them from across the room!

  Okay, that was just stupid and proved that she probably should have stopped for some milk on the way home from the Starke offices. A couple of dollars wouldn’t have broken the bank for the three of them.

  But it was past ten o’clock now and all she really wanted was sleep. Eight hours of sleep and a comfortable pair of sneakers, she corrected.

  Rayne must have sensed her presence because she looked up from her textbook and spotted Sloane. A bright smile lit up her pale features, and Sloane could detect the sparkle from her red hair even across the dimly lit room. Rayne nudged Pepper, who looked up as well, beaming when she spotted Sloane. Both girls jumped up from their cots and rushed over to Sloane who met them halfway. The three of them embraced each other, sobbing quietly.

  “You got the job!” Rayne whispered softly because it was quiet time now. “I told you that our luck would change eventually!”

  Sloane hugged them tighter, not wanting to acknowledge anything like good luck for fear that she might jinx it.

  Pepper kissed Sloane’s cheek, hugging her tightly. “I’m so proud of you!” she whispered.

  “We’re going to be okay,” Sloane said, fighting back the tears. Tears hadn’t done anything to save them over the past several months, so they were pointless. A waste of energy!

  “Shut up!” someone yelled.

  All three of them hushed quickly, because any sort of violation of the rules meant that they’d be tossed out onto the street for the night.

  “Come on,” Sloane whispered and the three of them moved to the small corner space they called “home”.

  “Go to sleep,” she whispered. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

  Rayne and Pepper both nodded, looking warily around at the others, afraid to make noise.

  As Sloane stared up at the ceiling that night, she thought about offering up a small prayer of thanks. She might not make it very long with Starke Enterprises, but she’d learn as much as she could along the way! But even as she tried, the prayers wouldn’t come. Sloane felt abandoned, as if God had forgotten about her and her sisters. And all of the people here in this shelter! It wasn’t just the three of them. There were so many people in this world who needed help. So, where was this God that everyone said was such a solace?

  Not here, she thought as she rolled over.

  Chapter 2

  “Why are we here?” Pepper asked, looking up at the stone house.

  Sloane stared up at the adorable house, feeling a pain of disappointment. “I got a note from someone who said they knew of a place to rent that was inexpensive and clean. They also said that this place didn’t need a deposit but…!”

  “Are you the Abbot sisters?” an older woman asked, coming around the corner of the tree-lined driveway.

  Sloane turned around, pushing Pepper and Rayne behind her back. “We’re not trespassing,” she announced, a belligerent tone in her voice. “We were given the wrong address. We’re looking for an apartment to rent and someone told us that this was the place. I’m sorry,” she said to the woman, backing up and herding her sisters towards her car. “We’ll leave. I didn’t mean to intrude.

  The woman smiled and waved her hand, chuckling. “You’re not trespassing, honey,” she said and pulled a set of keys out of her pocket. “You’re in the right place. My boss has been trying to rent this old place out for a while now. You’re the first people to show interest.”

  Sloane looked at her sisters, then up at the stone house. It looked like a rustic, old-style cottage, complete with gables and beautiful windows, landscaping and a solid, wood door. They hadn’t had a door in…months!

  “What is this?” Sloane asked.

  Pepper peered out from behind Sloane. “Looks like a house. But…could it be a mushroom?”

  Sloane and Rayne both gave their baby sister a glare, which she completely ignored as she laughed at her sarcasm. “Sorry, but that was a really stupid question. It’s obviously a house, Sloane.”

  Granted, Pepper was right. “Okay, so why is it for rent?” she asked. “And why for such a low price?”

  The woman chuckled. “Oh, it’s not that big, and it’s not on any of the main streets,” she explained. “I’m Wilma and I’m the housekeeper up at the main house. This used to be the house for the carriage caretaker,” she explained as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Now, keep in mind that the ceilings are low and the kitchen hasn’t been remodeled. There’s no garage so you’ll have to park on the side of the house,” she warned. “But other than that, there are three small bedrooms and two bathrooms. A kitchen and sitting room.”

  The Abbot sisters stepped through the arched, doorway and peered into the front room, looking around with huge eyes. The three of them just stood there, overwhelmed.

  “You’re trying to rent this out for only five hundred dollars?” Rayne whispered, linking her arm with Sloane’s. There was a love seat and two club chairs with end tables and lamps. Checkered curtains covered the small windows in the front room. As they moved further into the cottage, eventually separating to look around, Sloane stepped into the kitchen area, admiring the old fashioned appliances, big sink, and shelves in place of cabinets. The counters had curtains that covered the shelves below and there was a small wooden table with four chairs around it. She clicked the switch and the small room filled with light. The walls were yellow and someone had sewn flowered curtains to match. It was an incredibly cheerful room with lots of space, a big window over the sink, and a bigger one beside the table with a door leading out to a tiny backyard.

  “What do you think?” the housekeeper asked.

  Sloane crossed her arms over her chest, her hands clasping her elbows as she looked around, almost afraid to believe in the possibility of moving into a place like this. Yes, the ceilings were low, but everything was in much better condition than the furniture that they’d lost months ago when their landlord had illegally evicted them. She heard Rayne and Pepper’s feet over her head on the next floor and glanced at the older woman.

  “I don’t…” she wanted to yell out “Yes!” but was afraid. This couldn’t be happening, she thought. She’d just gotten a job, an amazing job that paid better than she’d ever thought possible, two days ago. Now someone was offering her a house? A freaking house? And the rent was only a fraction of what they’d have to pay if they’d found a small apartment in a commercial bu
ilding. The three of them had discussed renting a studio apartment because it was cheaper and it would allow them to get out of the shelter faster. But all of the apartment complexes required a month’s rent as a security deposit, a cleaning fee, and the first month’s rent up front. That was several thousand dollars in this area. Money that they just didn’t have yet. Plus, with her last job at the restaurant, she wasn’t sure that she could earn enough for a full months’ rent on minimum wage, even with Pepper and Rayne working whatever part time jobs they could find.

  “What kind of security deposit is required?” she asked, wary and hesitant.

  The woman waved her hand again. “Oh, don’t worry about that. If anything breaks, just give me a call and I’ll get Dennis out here to fix it. We don’t need a security deposit.”

  No security deposit? That was…unheard of!

  The woman smiled gently. “Why don’t you go look upstairs at the bedrooms and talk it over with your sisters?” she suggested. “I’ll wait outside and I can answer any questions you might have.”

  And with that, the woman let herself out, pulling the heavy door closed behind her with a solid thud.

  Slowly, Sloane walked up the narrow stairs. It was small, but there were three actual bedrooms up here. One was a sort of master bedroom with its own bathroom. The other two bedrooms were only slightly smaller, and they shared a bathroom between them. All three rooms had a full sized bed with blankets and pillows, a nightstand, dresser, and lamp. Nothing else, other than curtains on the small windows, but they were quaint and pretty and…so much better than the cots they’d slept on for the past several months!

  “What’s going on?” she whispered to Rayne and Pepper.

  “I know. This feels weird,” Rayne said, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s almost too good to be true.”