Chapter Three

Jackson

Jackson evaluated Jane for a moment before speaking. He hated that she was making sense. The only change in the market was the addition of a new player. Jessica Balboa’s Innocence Company was doing something he wasn’t.

“So, you want me to get married and have a baby,” he repeated back. “What if that’s not what I want? I’m not exactly looking to change my ways. I rather like a different model or actress in my bed every other night.”

“And I’m not telling you that you can’t,” Jane replied, standing up straight. “Once you have this set up and people trust you again, you can go back to being the bad-boy billionaire. Until then, you have to be the epitome of fatherly love and trust. And that means no screwing up. I don’t care if it’s in a private setting or not. This is all or nothing. You can’t accidentally slip up with this.”

She pointedly looked at the newspaper. He would have to say goodbye to his fun for a while if he agreed to this. He could understand that. If he had a wife and child, there was no way he could even go to a party where women threw themselves at him.

It would be a difficult change. He wasn’t just reducing the sex he had with random beautiful women. He’d be giving it up.

“And if I don’t do this? If I hire someone else to fix the brand?”

Jane shrugged. “Your sales are down twenty percent this year and dropping. Last year, it was ten. Since the article ran, we’ve had two stores refuse to carry you. You can do the math on how long you have before the board kicks you out.”

She was right. Something had to change. As much as he hated it, the change was going to have to be from him.

Jackson sighed. “And you’re sure? You’re sure that this is the only way to salvage this?”

“We’ve done countless market surveys. Mothers don’t trust you, and thus don’t trust your brand. If you sold condoms, you’d be a billionaire.”

“I am a billionaire,” Jackson corrected her.

Jane shrugged. “For how long? You can’t keep losing sales to the Innocence Company.”

Jackson stood from his desk and stared out the window at the city skyline. It was early summer, which meant that all the women were out in flowery dresses and starting to show skin with the warmer weather. His favorite time of year.

His eyes looked over to the photo on his desk. The black and white photo held a seven-year-old little boy pretending to answer the phone while his father smiled at him from the background. Jackson remembered that day in his father’s office. It was the day that Jackson knew his future was with this company. His future was W&W BabyCo.

W&W had started out as a part-time idea from his father. With his father’s hard work, the company had grown, but it was Jackson who’d made it into a billion dollar enterprise. He’d taken his father’s small diaper company and created a line of baby care items the world couldn’t live without.

Until now.

He was watching his success, and with it his father’s memory, slowly fade. Something had to change.

“You’re sure?” Jackson turned from the frame and looked out the window at the city below.

“Positive,” Jane assured him. “In every test group, showing you as a caring father made people trust your brand again.”

He turned slowly. “And it’ll all be for show?”

Jane shrugged. “If that’s what you want. It has to be believable, though. Mothers have to believe that you’ve left your wanton ways and settled down.”

“That might be harder than it sounds,” Jackson replied. He rather liked his wanton ways. They were a part of who he was. How could he possibly be with only one woman? It sounded like torture.

But losing his company was a worse torture.

“It’s only for a couple years,” Jane reminded him. “Once the public trusts you again, you can go back to your old ways. Albeit, you’ll have to be a little more discreet. As long as the public thinks of you as a caring father, your sales will reflect that.”

Jackson sighed. This wasn’t going to be an easy thing to do. He liked his life. He liked knowing that he could have any woman he wanted. His world revolved around women and his company. He was going to have to give one of them up.

“And the children?” Jackson asked, raising an eyebrow at Jane. “You’re sure just getting a wife won’t do it? I need a kid?”

“You sell diapers, not women’s items. People need to believe that you would use these products yourself, not that you’re just hawking them like a used car salesman. They need to believe you.”

“So the kid is non-negotiable?” He didn’t like the idea of bringing a baby into this world just to make him some money. It felt cheap and underhanded.

“Yes,” Jane replied with a nod. “It’s the key selling point. You need a kid.”

The more he considered the idea of the public trusting him with a baby, the more it made sense. He knew that his actions were hurting the company. He needed to change what the public thought of him. He needed to look like someone who would have a reason to sell diapers and baby supplies. He needed to be a trusted source, not just a supplier.

He also knew that if he was going to bring a child into the world, he was going to be a father to it. The mother could come and go, but the baby would most certainly be his. He would make sure that kid had everything it could ever want.

He looked at the photo again and thought of his own father. The man had been stern but kind. Jackson rather liked the idea of raising a son like his father had raised him. It was something he could get behind. He’d never really envisioned himself a father, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be an amazing one.

Just because he wasn’t good at sticking with women didn’t mean he couldn’t be good at sticking with kids. Kids were special.

“How will we convince my new wife?” he asked Jane. “Marrying me is easy money, but having a baby? That’s a little more complicated.”

“It’s not like you have a hard time convincing women to sleep with you,” Jane replied with a shrug. “It’s not a big step from there.”

She had a point. It was rather ironic, actually. For the past few years, he’d been doing everything he could to prevent having a child. He’d gone out of his way to make sure he didn’t knock up one of his one-night stands looking for an easy meal-ticket in the shape of child support. Now, he was going to have to try for that exact outcome.

He looked at the picture of him and his father again. Jackson could do this. He could find someone that would play the part. And he would love the child. Staying away from women wouldn’t be the end of the world. And if it would save his business, he would do anything.

Time held for a moment, the way it always did right before he made a big decision.

“Okay.” He hated the way his stomach twisted. “I’ll do it. For the company.”

“Excellent, sir,” Jane said with a hard smile. “I have a list of potential brides for you. They’re all in advertising, so they know what to do. I can have the agreement and a pre-nup to you by the end of the day.”

Jackson nodded, feeling like he was being led by the nose to slaughter. This was how stallions felt on their way to become geldings.

“I would recommend choosing someone that you get along well with, so I’ll have you do some interviews first. You need someone bright and bubbly. You should like her and most importantly, the public should like her. She needs to be good with kids, especially babies.”

The phrase, “bright and bubbly” stuck out in Jackson’s mind. Good with kids. He looked away from his desk and directly at Jane.

“You want someone to rival Jessica?” A thought was already turning in his head. “Someone who is sweet and kind, loves kids, and would look good on a billboard?”

Jane nodded. “Not model good. Mother good. She needs to be attractive, but more girl-next-door and less your usual Barbie-doll. The market must believe that she’s a real person.”

Jackson smiled. He already knew the perfect woman for the job. Someone he got along with and was possibly the most cheerful person he’d ever met.

“I won’t need your candidates,” Jackson informed Jane. “I have someone in mind. As long as I can convince her, she’ll be perfect.”

Jane looked at him. “Just give her that smile you gave me earlier and she’ll say yes to anything you ask. I would have married you on the spot if you’d asked me, and I’m already married.”

Jackson grinned. He thought he’d lost his touch with Jane, but he still had it. He really could get to any woman in the world with that smile.