“Well, son, I just told Jerry to start tomorrow as you heard. It wouldn’t be fair of me to go back on my word now, would it?” He gave me the answer I knew I’d get.
Great, I was going to be a father! But in a couple of hours, I would be officially jobless and now homeless.
Good one, Mike!
“Of course, sorry for asking, sir.”
I stood to walk out, needed to figure my life out.
“Of course, son. Even though your job with me is now over, I’m sure my son would like a chauffeur of his own. He has a child on the way, and I know he’ll be looking for someone to take Callie to all her appointments and so forth. I’d ask Niall, if you still want a job, that is,” he responded with a smirk.
The thought of asking for any kind of favor from Niall made my skin crawl, but if it was the only option of seeing my child grow up, then I’d have to harden the fuck up and take one on the chin.
“Thanks, sir,” I said and walked out.
As Patty didn’t need me for a couple of hours, I made my way to the mansion to discuss with Callie about becoming their chauffeur. I wasn’t sure how she’d react, but I saw it as our best and basically only option.
Callie agreed and said she’d talk to Niall and make sure it happened. She seemed quite excited about it, actually, which, in turn, fueled my adrenaline. But then I remembered that Niall would be my boss, and my excitement soon dwindled away again.
Niall agreed. I have no idea how she did it, but he came to my room while I was packing and told me I had the job. I was gracious and thanked him, but when he left, I wanted to throttle the smug bastard. He was over the moon I’d be working for him. Even though we were friends once, he still treated me like the hired help I was. I knew I wasn’t his equal, so he probably had a right to look down on me, but I guess I thought maybe as we grew older, he’d grow up and see that financial status doesn’t make you any more of a man.
By that time, Niall was raking the money in. He hadn’t followed in his father’s footsteps to become an entrepreneur. Instead, he started his own finance company, and it was doing exceptionally well. The only reason it made me happy was because I knew Callie and our baby would want for nothing.
I started working for them the next day, and I mainly drove Niall to O’Connell Finance and then went back to the mansion and did whatever Callie needed. I was glad I’d be attending appointments with her for our baby as I was able to hear firsthand how everything was going before Niall did.
For this simple fact, I was eternally thankful.
Every day was the same.
I’d drive Niall to work, then come back to their new mansion and spend the day with Callie. We never acted on our chemistry. Callie was many things, but a cheater was not one of them. Not since she was married, anyway.
It was now toward the middle of her pregnancy, and the doctor said she could find out the sex of the baby. I was over the moon, I wanted to know if we were having a boy or a girl. She said Niall didn’t want to know, so it would be our little secret. Something just for us to know about our child, and no one else would.
I didn’t go into the appointment with her. We thought it’d be too obvious, and I probably wouldn’t be able to contain my excitement. So, I waited in the car. It felt like forever waiting for Callie to come out of the doctor’s office. I was so impatient that I got out of the car and started pacing up and down the path. Actually, I was beginning to get worried as every possibility was running through my mind.
Maybe something was wrong, and that’s why it was taking so long?
Eventually, I decided I was going inside, so I started walking up the stairs toward the doctor’s office, and just as I went to open the door, Callie came out. I looked up at her, and she was crying. A sinking feeling ran straight through me.
Something was wrong.
I knew it.
I walked up to her, and she cuddled into my side as we walked back down the stairs toward the car.
“Callie?” I asked as she cried into her hands.
She looked up at me, and she was choking the words out, but I couldn’t understand her. I held her at arm’s length bracing myself for the impending doom, which I knew was about to strike.
“Callie, sweetheart, talk to me,” I said, and I pulled her hands away from her face. She was crying, but she was also smiling. That confused me completely.
“Callie,” I exclaimed loudly.
“We’re having a boy, Mike,” she said, and she hugged me tightly.
“Wait! Then why are you upset?” I asked, still waiting for the bad news to hit me.
“I’m not upset. I’m so happy, I can’t stop crying,” she said, and I exhaled on a laugh.