Boss’s Secret Baby for Christmas

by Black, Natasha L.

  I winced and ducked my head. “Sorry about that,” I mumbled.

  Adam started laughing, and I had no choice but to smile weakly at him. “I’m just glad your guard dog backed down in the end,” he teased. He sobered up after a moment, his eyes serious. “We have a lot to talk about.”

  I nodded slowly. “We have a lot to talk about,” I echoed. But surprisingly enough, I wasn’t as nervous about it as I’d expected to be.

  22

  Adam

  I had hoped and planned to have Mindy come home with me once she was discharged, but to be honest, I had expected her to push back against the idea a little more than she did. I didn’t know what was going on in her head at the moment. With all the hatred I’d been facing from her roommate and anyone else who knew about the pregnancy, I had thought that Mindy herself must be mad at me.

  Even though she had told me about the baby finally, so that I could connect some of the dots, I’d expected there would be some delay before she really accepted me. I expected I’d have to do a little more to get her to trust me again.

  Instead, she seemed ready to go home with me. She seemed ready to let me take care of her. In fact, she was ready enough about it that she was willing to argue with her roommate about it. I couldn’t help but feel a fluttering in my chest. Maybe things were going to somehow work out. Maybe we were going to be able to build something between us. A partnership of sorts.

  I could only hope so. I had sat there awake and thinking for a long time the night before, after Mindy had dropped off to sleep. Watching her there in that hospital bed, looking so fragile and pale, I couldn’t help but want to protect her—and by proxy, our unborn child as well.

  But I wanted more than to just protect her. I wanted her and the baby to be part of my life.

  I only hoped that Mindy would let me have even that. I was worried that the reason she hadn’t told me about the baby was that she didn’t want me to be part of its life. And I knew that if she didn’t want me to be, I would fight her on it every step of the way. As much as I prayed never to see a courtroom again, I’d go there if it meant getting to be a real father to my child.

  But I couldn’t get ahead of myself.

  I was relieved to know that she was at least willing to let me take her home, willing to let me try to show the kind of man I could be. Willing to let me at least start those conversations with her, I hoped.

  It took awhile for the discharge to go through. There was paperwork to be filled out, and then Mindy had to get changed into something a little more street appropriate, with the help of one of the nurses. I was embarrassed about backing down from the duty, but I had only seen her naked once, and I was trying with everything I had to not think about that night right now. Even if that night was the whole reason we were where we were today.

  While I waited, I called Wendell to check in with work and make sure that everything was going alright. It was just a formality, really. Everyone had gotten used to operating without my lead while I was in court with Kelly. This was nothing new.

  I was trying not to think about that either. Just when it felt like things were at least starting to get back on track as far as work was concerned, there was another wrench in it. And that didn’t even take into consideration the HR nightmare I was in for when news of Mindy’s pregnancy broke.

  What were my options, though? It was either lose my job or pretend that Mindy’s baby wasn’t my own. It was either give up my career or give up my child. I couldn’t do the latter, so I had to do the former.

  It hurt to think of my life without Designed by You, but that was a risk I was willing to take if it meant taking care of Mindy and our baby. It would be even more wrong of me to turn my back on her now.

  I also asked Wendell for a favor. If I was going to have Mindy at my place, things were going to have to be just right. I didn’t want her to think I was bringing there because of some ulterior motives. Not to mention that after seeing Risa’s reaction earlier, I knew that she needed to be assured of that as well. She would never let Mindy stay with me if she thought I had other plans in mind.

  After I called Wendell and made sure all was okay in my absence, I texted Risa using the number that Mindy had given me. I didn’t say much, just sent her my address so that she could bring Mindy’s things over there. I didn’t really relish the idea of her having my address, in light of the anger she’d exhibited earlier, but on the other hand, there was security for the building, so what was she really going to do?

  Besides, I could tell she was just trying to look out for Mindy, and I respected that. I probably would have been a little angry as well with the guy who knocked up my best friend if the situations were reversed.

  In any case, I had the feeling that seeing Risa again would put Mindy in better spirits. I could tell that even though she had eventually agreed to go home with me, there was a part of her that had initially wanted to protest. I couldn’t help but think that if I could get her in a better mood, our conversations would go a little more smoothly.

  Besides, it would mean that I could slip away for the afternoon and know that Mindy was still being looked out for. There were a few things I needed to do which I didn’t want to do from my home office where Mindy could overhear. Namely, I needed to make sure that the heads of the company knew about the pregnancy.

  I wasn’t going to let any of this come down on Mindy, of course. When we had made our pact to not talk about that night again, I had promised that I would let her keep her job. If anything, it would be me who was giving up my job. Somehow, we were going to make this work. I wasn’t going to go back on what I had promised her.

  Beyond that, I needed a little more time to think about what I wanted, before I talked to Mindy. I wanted to know what I was asking for. For that, I needed to talk to my lawyer. I knew about the importance of a prenup now, thanks to the whole Kelly debacle, but what would apply to the case of me and Mindy? We weren’t about to get married, but she was about to become a fixed part of my life, in a very big way.

  I felt like an ass to already be thinking of how to protect myself against her. I wanted to trust her. I wanted to believe that no one was ever going to hurt me the way that Kelly had. At the same time, though, I had to be practical. I couldn’t go through what I had gone through with Kelly again. I was just getting out of the mess of court dates and frustration that had colored my life for so long. That meant thinking about my future, even if Mindy and I were only in the very early stages of a relationship.

  If you could even call this a relationship. It still felt as though we barely knew one another.

  After I hung up with Risa, I ordered lunch to be delivered at my place. I didn’t know what Mindy would feel like eating, so I ordered a little of everything. Whatever we didn’t eat, I’d throw in the fridge for later. I’d seen her hospital breakfast and knew that she had to be starving, though. As for myself, I hadn’t eaten since I’d arrived at the hospital the night before. I’d been too worried about Mindy and hadn’t wanted to leave her alone even for a moment, even though the doctors all assured me she was going to be just fine.

  By the time I was done with that, Mindy was ready to go. I helped wheel her down to the parking lot and then helped her into my car. It was quiet on the ride home. I kept trying to think of things to say, but I didn’t know what. I kept glancing nervously over at her, but she was just staring out the window, a pensive look on her face.

  I hoped it was just that she was tired. I couldn’t help but think that things were going to be awkward between us from now on, though. She was pregnant with my child. This was something that neither of us could have planned. And so much for never talking about that Friday night again.

  Suddenly, I frowned. She had been so quick to tell me we weren’t going to talk about that night again. Maybe she wasn’t actually all that attracted to me? Maybe she had only wanted it to be a one-time thing? I glanced over at her again, but her face of course wasn’t giving me any clues.

  I trie
d not to think about it for now. I focused on the drive. In all likelihood, she had just been worried that a repeat performance would cost her her internship. There was no reason to jump to any conclusions. There would be plenty of time for us to talk later.

  When we got to my place, I conscripted Gary, the security man, to help me get Mindy upstairs. The building had an elevator, but Mindy didn’t want to use a wheelchair any more than she had to, and I could tell from her covert wincing that walking wasn’t an option.

  I wondered if she was trying to prove her strength to herself or to me. I really hoped that she wasn’t just trying to prove something to me.

  “We’re expecting lunch and Mindy’s friend Risa as well,” I informed Gary as he and I got Mindy settled on the couch. Gary nodded and made his exit.

  “Oh, we are?” Mindy asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

  “I didn’t know what you would want for lunch, but I figured in light of the hospital breakfast, you were probably starving,” I said, deliberately misunderstanding her question.

  But Mindy wasn’t about to let me get away with that. She narrowed her eyes at me. “If you’re trying to avoid talking to me…” she warned.

  I sighed. “It’s not that I’m trying to avoid it,” I promised her. That was the truth, after all. I was simply trying to delay it, at least for the time being. “I have some things that I need to talk to my lawyer about.”

  Mindy winced. “Are things still bad with your ex?” she asked tentatively.

  I shook my head. “No, all of that with Kelly is done,” I said. I realized a second after I said it that I should have just agreed with her initial guess. As much as I didn’t like the idea of lying to Mindy, maybe this was the kind of situation that called for it.

  Because Mindy’s eyes turned stormy. “Let me guess,” she snapped. “You just want to make sure it’s yours? You’re the only guy I’ve slept with in over two years, you know.”

  I held up both of my hands as she tried to push herself up to leave. “Mindy, wait,” I said, and I think it was the pained note in my voice that actually got her to settle back down on the couch. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. Or, shit, maybe it is. Maybe it’s that I don’t trust anyone. My ex really did a number on me.” I hung my head and stared at my feet, at a loss for what to say.

  Mindy stared at me for a long time. “I don’t like it,” she finally said, her tone a little softer. “I get that your ex hurt you, but I’m not her, and I don’t appreciate you treating me or this baby as though we’re just out for your money or something. I don’t understand why you think that we can’t just talk like adults about this.”

  Before I could answer, there was a knock at the door. I hesitated, not wanting to leave things with Mindy on such rocky territory right before Risa arrived. I didn’t know what to say, though, and I didn’t want to keep Mindy’s friend waiting when she and I were also on such uncertain terms already.

  Lunch and Risa were both at the door. Risa immediately went to her friend’s side while I paid for the food and signed the receipts. The two women were chatting quietly when I came back into the living room, but they both quieted down when they saw me. I had a feeling I knew just what they were talking about, and I hated it. On the other hand, at least Mindy had someone she could talk to about all of this.

  Although I supposed I did as well, now. I had held off telling Wendell as much as I could for as long as I could, but asking him to come over here and prepare the guest room was sure to have piqued his interest. He knew that Mindy and I had slept together, and he had to realize that if she was out of the office because she’d been in an accident and I was out of the office because I was taking care of someone who had been in an accident…

  Well, it just didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. Still, Wendell and I had a very different relationship to one another than Risa and Mindy did, I could tell.

  It was a mostly silent lunch. I tried to think of anything to break the ice, but the frost coming from Risa was more than I could chip my way through in an hour.

  “I’ve got to get to work,” she said apologetically once we were done eating. “But first, you wouldn’t mind if I get a tour of the place, would you? I just want to make sure my girl has everything she needs.”

  “Sure,” I said easily, having expected something like that. “This is the living room of course, and the kitchen’s through here,” I said, leading her around the place.

  Risa’s eyebrows rose when she saw the kitchen. “What, do you never cook?” she asked.

  I blinked and looked around. Sure, the place was clean, but not that clean. Then, I winced, realizing why it must look so clean to her. “I, uh, have a cleaner who comes through every week. Today happens to be the day.”

  Risa snorted, and I couldn’t tell what she thought about that. I cleared my throat and awkwardly continued the tour. “That’s my bedroom through there, and the shared bathroom is in there. And then this is the guest bedroom, where Mindy will be staying.”

  I opened the door, wondering all the while if that was the right way to phrase things. Mindy and I hadn’t had a chance to discuss what the sleeping arrangements would be like while she was there. I didn’t want her to think I was opposed to sharing a bed with her. Neither did I want her to think it was expected, though.

  I looked around the guest bedroom now. I hadn’t had the bed done up in all the time I had been here. It was a Murphy bed, so normally it was folded away and I had a desk in there as a workspace for when I was working from home. Fixing up the place was one of the things that I’d asked Wendell to do. I wanted to make sure that it was done before we arrived there, so that there would be no questions of my intentions.

  The place was simple but adequate. It would work for Mindy’s purposes, for as long as she was there. We wouldn’t know how long that would be until we saw how she was healing up.

  I couldn’t help but look anxiously over at Risa as she inspected the room. I could already tell that if I was going to have any chance with Mindy, I was going to need to win over her best friend as well. I wanted a chance with Mindy, too. More than anything. The sudden feeling was staggering in its intensity.

  Risa nodded once in approval. “Good,” she said. She spun around and went back to Mindy, who looked like she was dozing on the couch. She was clearly worn-out from even the small amount she had done.

  Still, I couldn’t help but feel mildly relieved at the sight of her. There was no way that she and I were going to have any sort of serious conversation now, not with her in that state. I wanted her to be a little more alert for that sort of talk, and I was sure that she must feel the same way.

  Mindy opened her eyes as Risa approached and smiled wearily up at her friend. “Everything up to your high standards?” she teased.

  “It’ll do,” Risa sniffed. She leaned down and gave Mindy a careful hug. “Seriously, though—call if you need anything. I’ll break you out of the ivory tower if I have to.”

  Mindy laughed and then winced at the pain. “Sounds good,” she said. “I’ll see you soon, I promise.”

  After Risa left, I slowly approached Mindy’s side. “You look like you could use a nap,” I said tentatively. “Want me to help you to bed?”

  “Yes please,” Mindy said, holding out her arms so that I could help her up. But instead of helping her to her feet, I scooped her into my arms and carried her into the guest room, laying her gently down in bed and covering her with the soft blankets.

  “Sleep well,” I murmured. Mindy was out almost before the words had left my mouth. I hesitated for a moment and then went over to the desk, glancing back over my shoulder at her before settling in to try to get some work done. I felt kind of weird sitting in the same room as her, working while one of my interns slumbered on the guest bed behind me. I didn’t want to leave the room, though; here, I was close enough to know if anything went wrong.

  Still, with more than half of my focus turned toward her, I was barely concentrating on wha
t I was doing. I felt even less in tune with what I was doing than I had when I was going back and forth with the lawyers over the divorce with Kelly.

  Did that mean something about what I felt for Mindy? I wasn’t ready to think about that yet.

  23

  Mindy

  I hadn’t meant to sleep for nearly eighteen hours, but I had to admit that when I woke up, I felt a lot better than I had when Adam had first brought me to his place. I was still sore, but not as bad as I had been that morning. In fact, I was able to make it out of bed and to the bathroom on my own, which I counted as a serious win.

  When I came out of the bathroom, my body focused on the scent of something delicious cooking. I made my way to the kitchen, sniffing experimentally. God, I was hungry.

  I froze as I walked into the kitchen. It wasn’t just Adam in there. Instead, he, Wendell, and Vera were sitting at the kitchen table. They stopped what they were doing as I walked in. Vera smiled at me, and Wendell nodded a greeting before returning to the design he was working on for a project on his laptop. Adam got up from the table, looking sheepish.

  “We have this big meeting today that I couldn’t miss, but I didn’t want to leave you alone all day either,” he explained nervously. He helped me over to the table and sat me down there before grabbing a plate and dishing out a big brunch of french toast, orange slices, and bacon. The scent of it made my mouth water, but I couldn’t get over how strange it was to be sitting down to brunch in my boss’s house while two of my coworkers worked on something at the same table.

  Not to mention the fact that I still couldn’t figure out what they were doing here if there was some big meeting today. Surely Adam wouldn’t be conducting business out of the kitchen with some of the important clients. I didn’t want to be responsible for us losing business, and I was sure that would happen in that case.