There Will Be Freedom (not mine)

16. The Weapons Manufacturer

JUSTIN POV

My foot bounced up and down irritably on the cold tile floor of the waiting room. I had been here ten minutes and was already about to make a dash for the exit. I hated hospitals. There were germs everywhere and sick people just never went away. This wasn't a good place for me to be. To top it all off, Maddie was late.

This was our first doctor's appointment, and the news still hadn't really sunken in yet. I didn't want to let my mind drift into the fears I was having. I needed to talk to my therapist first before I started to freak out. That was a different appointment for a different day, though. I had to focus on Maddie right now.

Where the hell is she?

Since yesterday, when I was blindsided by the fact that I was now going to be a father, I had suddenly became a new man; a man I couldn't really explain. I had always felt protective of Maddie, but I was now obsessively trying to keep her from harm, especially with her past pregnancy. Everything around became a target for danger. This morning, I carried her down the stairs so she wouldn't trip. I didn't even want her to go to work anymore. I had to ward off all danger.

There was so much that could go wrong, and even though I wasn't really ecstatic about this news, Maddie was. If she wanted a baby, then that's what she was going to get.

I checked my watch again and saw the hands ticking. Thankfully, my phone rang, pulling me away from boredom.

"Bieber," I answered.

"Justin, this is Jane. You have a conference call from Japan. They want to talk about your offer. I have them on hold."

"Shit. I'm at Maddie's doctor's appointment."

"Oh," She squealed, "Is it a boy? Is it a girl? Can you see it? What does it look like? What did the doctor say? Is everything alright? Oh, God. Is she sick? Do you need me to come down there?"

"Jane! Please, let's stay focused. We haven't gone in yet. I'm in the process of buying the largest weapons manufacturing company on the planet and you're going on about baby stuff."

"Sorry. I got carried away. So, they're on hold. Shall I reschedule?"

"Yes. And cancel everything for the rest of the day."

"Will do, Justin. Oh, and the man with the Jackson Pollack wanted to know if you were still interested in buying."

"What's his price?"

"Just over two million."

"What do you think?"

"It's invaluable even if it is overpriced."

"Would Maddie like it?"

"I'm sure she would. It's a beautiful painting."

"Alright. Buy it and have it placed in storage."

"No problem. Tell me everything later."

"Goodbye, Jane." I hung up.

Times were changing for me. Of course, I was thrown a wrench when Maddie announced she was pregnant, but I didn't plan on stopping my life altogether. I was scaling down on my business, so that I could focus on "family work". I couldn't do it all and Bieber Inc. was going to have to be run by someone else.

Of course, I owned the majority of the shares, so I wasn't going anywhere. I just couldn't be at the office like I had been doing. I was neglecting my real work. Jeremy could take over whenever he came back and handle the business aspect of the company since he didn't have anything better to do. I still hadn't really told anyone yet, though. Not even Maddie.