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.