Her Swedish Billionaire's Baby: A BWWM Pregnancy Romance For Adults (9 page)

Was Bjorn her next
target? If so, she was in for the surprise of her life.

The next day he asked
Inga to book him a flight to California and find him an excellent
family lawyer.

*****

Alison insisted that
Samara move in with her in an off campus apartment that was
nevertheless a short walk from UCLA. It was pretty dingy, and the
only thing it had going for it was the location. However, that detail
meant that they were paying a much higher rate than a studio
apartment of that size would normally attract.

Samara didn’t
mind; with two of them working and Alison earning quite a bit extra
in tips from the bar she was working at, they would manage. Alison
even got a rescue dog from the shelter and they named him Bear. The
campus medical cover was good for maternity care as well so she was
covered there. Life was good.

*****

“
A
father’s rights in California on child custody cases and every
other aspect of divorce and family law are identical to that of the
mother,” Kenneth Demerle, the family law attorney Inga had
acquired for him said. Bjorn looked up in surprise. He had heard
different.

“
Are
you surprised? Did you think your paternal rights as a father were
less important?

“
You
might have thought that because I am sure you have spoken to at least
one person who has told you fathers get screwed in California family
court. While the person may not have been that blunt, I hear this all
the time from prospective clients who call me. Fathers tell me that
they have heard dads do not get the same treatment in family court as
mothers or that father’s rights in California is often trampled
upon,” Demerle said.

“
And
they are not?” Bjorn asked.

“
Paternity
actions are not a doom and gloom scenario for dads like you. Just
because you are a father in California, and especially if you are the
breadwinner, does not mean you get the short end of the stick when it
comes to seeing your children, and paying or receiving support. There
are things you can do to protect yourself and it’s important
that you know what your rights are as a father in California with all
of these issues is,” Kennedy said as he leaned forward in his
seat, following Bjorn’s progress as he paced around his office.

“
And
what about establishing paternity? Can we do that when she’s
still pregnant? If it's mine, I want it born into
my
custody.”

Kennedy sighed and
shook his head, “California law favors joint legal custody for
parents. It explicitly prefers parents to share in the
decision-making process related to the child. Joint legal custody in
California is all about share and share alike. It is about sharing
information related to the child and making decisions mutually as
opposed to one parent making important decisions in a child’s
life. Joint legal custody includes decisions and sharing of
information about a child’s health, safety, education and
general welfare.”

“
And
there is no changing that? No loopholes?” Bjorn asked.

“
An
unborn child obviously cannot be anywhere other than the mother’s
womb so child custody and parenting time don’t apply until the
child is born. However, an unborn child can be the subject of a child
support order. California law states that child support obligations
can start even before the child is born.

“
For
a father like you, the most important thing is to stay involved in
the process and if the mother excludes you from it then that is what
I’m here for. If she does go ahead and exclude you, then it’s
a point in your favor. However, the judge is likely to rule for
mediation in this case and that is the best case scenario for us
because then we can negotiate with the mother’s attorney to
obtain custody of the child. You say she’s likely after money?”

“
Yes.”

“
Are
you willing to…compensate…her for giving you full
custody.”

Bjorn was silent for
a while, staring out the window. Then he turned to look at Demerle.

“
Yes
I am,” he said.

*****

“
Oh
my God you’ll never guess what happened!”, Amy burst into
the apartment scaring Samara half to death when she was trying to
research pregnancy on the internet.

“
God
Amy, don’t
do
that!”
she screamed, heart going a mile a minute.
Amy ignored the
screaming, “You won’t guess whose in town.”

“
I..who?”
Samara gave up and asked.

“
Bjorn
Fredriksen!” Amy screamed. Samara winced taking a step back.

“
What
do you mean he’s here?”

“
I
mean he’s
here
!”
Amy said.

“
Okay…I
got that. How do you even know?”

“
I
was having lunch with my dad at Nobu and he told me about it. He said
he ran into Bjorn at the country club; they discussed golf and stock
prices and surprise surprise. Me! Apparently I’m suddenly
interesting to Bjorn. Hmm, I wonder why. Could it be because of who
I’m friends with?”

“
But…I
didn’t tell him about you,”, Samara protested.

“
Oh
yeah coz a guy like Bjorn doesn’t have the resources to check
up on you? You think you were going to tell him you’re having
his baby and he wouldn’t do a background check on you?”

Samara shrugged, “I
didn’t…really think. Not about any of this I guess.”

“
Yep.
You sure didn’t,” Amy said.

“
Hey!”

“
What?
I’m just being real…telling it like it is. Don’t
hate the player, hate the game.”

Samara snorted in
derision, “Whatever girl. Do you think he’s here for me?”

The last part was
said quietly, like she didn’t even want to put that out there
in the universe in case it wasn’t true.

“
I
think he’s definitely going to deal with you and your
situation. That’s what these rich types do. They deal with
stuff. Usually not personally but I guess…”

“
I
like the way you say ‘these rich types’ like you aren’t
one of them.”

“
Hey,
you asked me a question I gave you an answer. Now what are you going
to do with it?”

The next day she
opened her door to find a process server requesting her presence for
a paternity test.

*****

Alison was against
playing along, but she agreed to come along, just so ‘this
Bjorn guy’ as she called him didn’t think that Samara was
completely alone, with no one to defend her.

An unfamiliar white
gentleman was waiting for them. He introduced himself as Kennedy
Demerle, Bjorn’s lawyer and he was here to see that everything
was done on the up and up. He inquired if Samara had a lawyer of her
own.

She
answered in the negative and looked away as the lawyer’s
expression made her feel like quite the fool. She wanted to ask him
where Bjorn was and why he hadn’t just
asked
her to do the test instead of making it seem like some sort of
criminal endeavor. Instead she led the way into the clinic, walking
ahead of her sister and the lawyer. She wondered where Bjorn’s
DNA was supposed to come from but when the doctor asked for it,
Demerle had it ready in form of a piece of hair.

*****

Bel Air DNA
Diagnostic Center

Eyeing
the papers, he didn’t want to look but he felt himself bend
down to pick them up anyways. Snorting as he skimmed over the intro
and moved to the next page. Numbers etched into three different
columns, having no clue what they meant but on top of the columns
read. Mother, Child and Alleged father.

Some
of the numbers matched up between the child and father columns which
began to panic him. He chewed on his bottom lip still standing in the
empty dust and cigarette smelling room. Finally getting to the bottom
it wrote out.

The alleged
father, Bjorn Fredriksen is not excluded as the Biological father of
the child above. The probability of paternity is resulted in 99.999%.

Bjorn called Demerle
to let him know he was ready to begin the process of obtaining
custody.

*****

“
We
filed a motion to serve notice by publication three weeks ago, after
Mr. Fredriksen learned of the news,” Kennedy Demerle said as
she stepped away from Judge Rees’s bench. It was hard to
remember that she was half blind, sometimes, because she moved around
the courtroom like she owned it. Samara admired that. Not that she
would ever admit it aloud—Demerle was also a bit of a toolbox,
sometimes—but she wished a little that, if she ever lost her
vision, she’d keep her moved like Jagger.

She considers
mentioning that to Alison, but Alison was sitting all straight-backed
and nervous next to her, no sign of levity anywhere on her face.

Okay then.

“
Since
that time,” Demerle continued, his hands resting lightly on the
sides of the podium, “there has been no contact between Mr.
Fredriksen and Ms. Khaled. A paternity test carried out has proved
that the child is his however.” He paused for a moment, then
shook his head. “Due to the unsavory circumstances surrounding
Ms. Khaled and therefore her suitability to bring up my client’s
child and also due to my client’s superior circumstances, we
ask that the defendant grant full custody to my client.”

“
Thank
you,” Judge Rees said. Her eyes stay on the affidavit of
publication, though, and Samara felt her heart rate jump up past
normal. There’s no
real
reason
to be nervous, no verifiable excuse for the fact that she felt a
little like she might throw up all over her own shoes. But reason had
leapt out the car window around the time they’d pulled into the
parking lot in front of the Union County Courthouse. Suddenly, with
the big limestone building looming over them and Alison’s Honda
Civic humming like a washing machine instead of a car, Samara had
realized exactly how much rode on this one stupid motion hearing.

Well,
not stupid. The hearing stood in the way of her kid actually
becoming
her kid, so, you know, not stupid.

Judge Rees kept
looking at the stupid affidavit. Samara shifted, uneasy, and her
elbow knocked Alison’s. Not on purpose, but because the seats
were narrow and the armrests were even worse. Alison glanced over,
the worry etched on her face like the relief on a statue, and Samara
wet her lips.

She wanted to say a
thousand things right in that second. She wanted Bjorn to explain to
her what he meant by ‘unsavory circumstances’. She wanted
him to stop treating her like a criminal. She wanted to say something
that would stop her sister from blowing her fuse like she seemed on
the verge of doing. But instead, all she could do was open her lips
and breathe.

Alison breathed too,
and somehow, their hands found each other. Just for a second, a
squeeze instead of a hold, and Samara convinced herself that her
heart calmed from the touch.

It’s a lie,
sure, but a comforting one.

Finally,
miraculously, the judge glanced up from the paperwork. “Miss
Drew?” she asked.

Their lawyer rose
from her chair, unbuttoning her jacket as she moved. Only she could
pull off the blood red skirt with the cropped jacket. Well, she and
maybe Amy. Samara decided she should ask her friend if she owned that
outfit.

“
Your
honor?” Drew asked after a couple seconds.

The judge removed her
glasses. “Do you wish to present evidence or argument on the
defendant’s motion to award sole custody?”

“
I
don’t have any evidence other than what the defendant
presented,” Drew answered with a shrug. “I mean, nobody
knows who this guy is or what his intentions are. We don’t even
know where he plans to raise the child as a foreign national but
yeah, he wants full custody. The court should take that into
consideration.”

Judge Rees nodded
again, all the way through the sound of the squeaky vinyl chair at
counsel table and Drew’s pen scratching on paper. Then, there
was nothing but steady breathing in the silence.

When the judge wet
her lips, it was slow and careful, about as deliberate a gesture as
Samara’s ever seen. She glanced at the affidavit again, then
back across the courtroom. Samara wondered for a second what she was
looking at, but she dispels the mystery when she asked, “Samara?”

Samara,
for her part, jerked in her chair. She had spent the whole hearing,
if you could call appearances and then the presentation of an
affidavit a
hearing
,
silent and still, her eyes focused on the pad of paper in front of
her and her toes nudging at the floor. The last three or four days
had really been a lesson in just how quiet she could be when she was
scared out of her mind, because she had lurked around the house like
a ghost, slump-shouldered and silent.

Two
or three times, Alison had tried to coax some kind of response out of
her, but Samara never budged, expertly avoiding the no-man’s-land
of an unwanted conversation. At least, she’d managed until two
days ago, when Alison had headed to her usual night shift and left
her and Amy alone with a massive bowl of popcorn and the first season
of
Game of Thrones
.

“
I’m
not even going to pretend it’s appropriate for a pregnant
woman,” she’d complained on her way out the door, “but
I’m also not going to pretend I could stop you.”