Bridesmaid for Hire

by Chance Carter

  “Okay. You need my advice?”

  He cocked his head at me curiously and I shook my head.

  “Your blessing.”

  His face indicated he’d figured out what I was going to say next.

  “It’s about her, isn’t it?”

  He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low, venomous tone that made me jerk back in surprise.

  “Mona?”

  “Yeah, it’s about her,” I admitted, ignoring my natural urge to deny it. “I want to be with her.”

  “Oh, you do?”

  He threw his hands in the air in frustration, the movement sudden enough to make me jerk back with surprise. “I thought you promised me nothing was going to happen with the two of you.”

  I pressed my hands together, trying to center myself.

  “Yeah, I did, and I’m sorry I lied to you,” I said as I met his gaze steadily. “But things change. Things changed between us.”

  “When did this start? Was it London?” he asked me angrily. “I knew something was different, but I didn’t want to make assumptions, not when you told me on the fucking phone that nothing was going to happen.”

  “Yeah, it started in London,” I admitted firmly. “We slept together, and we kept doing it when we came back.”

  “I’m surprised you were able to keep it quiet for so long.”

  “We wanted to make sure it was sustainable,” I replied, choosing my words carefully.

  “Oh, same as it was with Jeannie?” he shot back. “You do remember what happened with her, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do,” I assured him, “but it’s different.”

  “Yeah, I don’t see how it is.” he spat, getting to his feet and pacing back and forth. “Because to me, it looks like you just fucked your secretary again, after promising me you wouldn’t.”

  “I know, I know.”

  I ran my hands over my face, hiding briefly before I dove back into it.

  I wasn’t used to arguing with Neil. We usually found ourselves on the same team, and being set against him was awkward and uncomfortable.

  “So what’s different this time?” he demanded, regarding me with incredulity. “Explain it to me, because I can’t figure it out.”

  “Jeannie wanted something more than I could give her,” I explained, as calmly as I could. “You know I wasn’t looking for that with her. That’s why she got obsessed, because she thought I was.”

  “And you’re looking for that now? With Mona?” Neil raised his eyebrows.

  “I know how it sounds,” I admitted.

  “Yeah, you should,” he shot back, sharply. “Do you remember we had to practically bribe her to convince her not to file a harassment suit against us? Do you remember? Because I sure as fuck do. Do you have any idea how bad it could be if Mona decides she wants to pull the same thing?”

  “She isn’t going to, Neil, I promise.”

  I tried to assure him, but I knew I wasn’t being as forthright as I needed to be.

  “And how exactly are you so sure of that? We had to get a restraining order against Jeannie, lest you forget. I had a hard enough time keeping that out of the papers. If you try and pull this shit again-”

  “I’m not pulling any shit,” I finally snapped back at him. “I’m…I’m in love with her, alright?”

  The words hung in the air between us, heavy and thick with meaning. Neil stared at me for a moment, his mouth hanging slightly open.

  “Are you kidding me?” he asked, and I wasn’t sure if it was resignation or indignation in his voice.

  “No, I’m not,” I replied, shaking my head.

  I was as surprised as he was at the words coming out of my mouth. I hadn’t even thought about that before now, but there it was. I’d said it aloud, and it felt right. Of course I was in love with her.

  I swallowed and got to my feet so I could look Neil in the eye.

  “I want to be with her, Neil, and I’m doing you the favor of letting you know before someone else does, okay? We’re together now. That’s the end of it.”

  “Holy shit, Oliver.”

  He shook his head and took a seat, as though he couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth.

  “You’re sure you are in love with her?”

  “I think so.” I nodded, then swiftly corrected myself. “I know so.”

  “Fuck.” He shook his head. “Well… I can’t do much to stop you then, can I?”

  “Nope,” I agreed, and he looked to the wedding band on his finger.

  He’d been married for what felt like forever now, and I wondered if he was thinking back to when he had first fallen for Jennifer, how certain he’d been.

  He sighed heavily.

  “Get out of here,” he said, waving his hand. “Out! I need some time to think.”

  “About what?”

  “About how we’re going to spin this in the press.”

  He looked up at me out of the corner of his eye and I could see the beginnings of a grin appearing on his lips.

  “Thanks, Neil,” I said, and I knew that was all that needed to be said on the matter.

  I headed down the corridor and back into the elevator. If it hadn’t been full of people, I would have pulled a freeze-frame air-punch, because all of this felt unreal.

  I made my way back to my office and glanced at the door that divided Mona’s office from mine, smiling fondly.

  Now that Neil was out of the way, there was nothing keeping us from being together for real, at last.

  Chapter 23

  Mona

  I sat in my living room, staring at the package I’d picked up from the drugstore a few minutes earlier. I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this. It felt ridiculous. It felt impossible. It felt so unlikely, but there was no getting out from under the fact that my period was several days late when, normally, I was as regular as they came. That could only mean one thing.

  I tried to calm myself. There were lots of reasons my period could be running late. It could be hormonal, or it could be that I’d been stressed lately and not getting as much sleep or food as I perhaps should have been. It could have been any of those things, and yet, ever since I’d got the idea in my head, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was, in fact, pregnant.

  It was the kind of story they deliver as a cautionary tale to people getting into the business. Recent graduate who doesn’t know any better lands a low-level job at a prestigious firm. She hooks up with the boss, multiple times. She lets herself fall for him, despite telling herself over and over again that there’s nothing serious going on between them. She gets pregnant and has to give up her career for the baby she will undoubtedly raise by herself.

  Ugh, it all felt like such a mess, and I couldn’t believe I’d allowed myself to wander so blindly into this predicament.

  When I arrived home, Katya was there, dawdling around before she headed off for her shift for the day. She eyed me with suspicion, and it was clear she could see there was something wrong.

  “What’s up?” she demanded, and I looked up at her with my finest, innocent expression.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, look at you.”

  She waved her hand in my general direction.

  “You look like hell.”

  “Well, thanks,” I teased, my voice a little shaky.

  She was right. If anyone got up close to me, they could see the bags under my eyes from all those nights spent tossing and turning in my bed and the rumpled state of my clothes. I’d failed to keep on top of my cleaning because it had just seemed like way too much, on top of everything else. But the way I looked was the last thing on my mind.

  “You know what I mean.”

  She took a step forward, examining me.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Don’t you have a shift to get to?” I pointed out, hoping she would take the hint, but she had never been good at that.

  “I can be a little late,” she said. “Seriously, is there
something you want to talk about?”

  I’d opened and closed my mouth, trying to form the words, but I just couldn’t do it. What would I say to her? That she was right about Oliver, that I ended up with nothing but a broken heart to show for my troubles, and now maybe a baby too?

  “Oh, honey.”

  She leaned over and gave me a quick hug.

  “If you don’t want to talk about it now, how about when I get back from work? I’ll bring us some beers and we can relax and catch up.”

  “No beers,” I replied quickly. “Uh, thanks, but I think I’m going to get an early night tonight, so I won’t be up when you get back.”

  “Okay.” She looked me up and down again. “But try and relax, right? Actually, get some rest. You’ve been spending far too much time at work lately.”

  “I guess,” I offered weakly in response.

  “Though, with good reason, huh?”

  She nudged me playfully, and I managed a half smile. It seemed to be good enough for her.

  “Okay,” she announced. “I’m out of here, but I’ll see you soon.”

  She pecked a quick kiss on my cheek and ducked out the door. I crumpled to the floor as soon as she was gone. It felt as though my legs had been ripped out from beneath me, my entire body just giving in to gravity.

  I couldn’t handle this. I couldn’t handle any of it. I hated feeling this way, so helpless and pathetic. I spent my whole life building myself up to be this powerful, in-control woman. Now, here I was, sitting on the floor of my apartment, trying to psyche myself into taking a pregnancy test. I was lying to my roommate about how heartbroken hooking up with my boss had left me because I was still too stubborn to let her know she was right.

  I felt tears begin to fill my eyes and dashed them away angrily with the back of my hand. No, I didn’t get to feel sorry for myself like that. I was a grown woman with a life and decisions I had to make, and besides, I didn’t even know for sure if I was pregnant yet.

  I knew one thing, though, and that was even if I turned out not to be pregnant, I would still have to deal with the fact Oliver was seeing his other women. I was just one in a rotation, a meaningless distraction that he could smuggle into work, right underneath everyone’s noses.

  No wonder he wanted to keep things quiet. If he’d let me talk about it openly, it might have gotten back to one of the fancy women who he actually took out on dates.

  I could see why he wouldn’t want to fuck that up. He would probably go on to settle down with a woman like that, and I’d be nothing more than a notch on his belt, one of his secretaries who he’d fucked because he could.

  Maybe I’d be the one desperately calling his new assistant, warning her of him while she did her best not to let her incredulity show through the phone. How many had there been before me and Jeannie? Were we both just part of a long line of women who had worked for Oliver who he liked to lord his power over and fuck?

  The thought made me physically ill – unless it was just morning sickness. Fuck.

  I grabbed the bag that contained all the stuff I’d picked up from the drugstore. I didn’t want to look too obvious, so I picked up some other items too. Overturning the paper bag, some q-tips, tampons, and the big, pinkish box containing the pregnancy test fell out onto my lap.

  I brushed everything else aside and picked up the box. I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes, forcing myself to my feet and making my way to the bathroom slowly, as though I could somehow put this off if I just prolonged the inevitable.

  I stepped into the bathroom, took a deep breath, and did what I had to do. I perched myself on the edge of the tub and stared intently at the small strip of plastic in my hands, the one that would determine what my future was going to look like.

  I had never even thought about having a baby before this. I was pretty sure I wanted kids, but I didn’t know if I wanted them now, and I knew for certain I didn’t want to be raising them without knowing their father was at least going to be a part of their life, even if he wasn’t with me.

  With Oliver so invested in the business and all the women he had in his orbit, why would he bother doing more than the bare minimum when it came to this child? But maybe…

  As I waited for the pregnancy test to declare my fate, one way or the other, I allowed my mind to wander a little bit. What if it was different? What if we were actually… together? Would he want this baby?

  He was so much older than me. Surely, if he’d wanted to settle down, he would have done it by now. Nothing I could do was going to change that, but maybe he’d just been waiting for the right time and the right person. Maybe he would want the baby. It was possible, wasn’t it?

  I flipped the pregnancy test back and forth in my hand. The sound it made as it slapped against my hand distracted me a little. I tilted my head back and stared at the ceiling, the bright light burning my eyes and blurring my vision. I didn’t want to see the results. Did I want it to be negative or would I be disappointed that I wasn’t having Oliver’s baby.

  We’d been so careful. We’d never once not used a condom, and I couldn’t remember ever feeling it break. If I had, I would have picked up the morning after pill. He’d always been insistent on using protection. If this had happened, it was just a fluke.

  It would be different if I didn't cared for him so much. I could have dealt with it myself. But I did care for him, desperately and deeply. There was no getting away from that. I had fallen for him. It was impossible not to.

  I reminded myself that he didn’t feel the same way. If he did, he wouldn’t be going out with those women, all those appointments laid out his schedule. It was a miracle he had time for it all.

  How long before he grew tired of me? Weeks, months? And what then? Would I be fired? Would he keep me on and force me to go back to being his assistant?

  The thought of that was brutal after what we’d shared. I’d have to just put aside all the memories of the time we’d spent together, and pretend none of it had mattered to me.

  I looked down at the pregnancy test in my hand and inhaled deeply through my nose as I waited for my eyes to focus. And when they did, my heart skipped and dropped at the same time.

  I was pregnant.

  Chapter 24

  Oliver

  “Dinner?” she said looking up at me with exhaustion in her face.

  “Yeah, dinner,” I replied with a grin. “Why not?”

  “I’m pretty tired,” she sighed, turning away. “I think I could do with a night to myself.”

  “Please, I’ve barely seen you the last couple of weeks,” I protested. “It’ll be fun, I promise.”

  She looked up at me, brow furrowed.

  “Why?” she demanded.

  I cocked an eyebrow at her.

  “Do I have to have a reason?”

  “I thought we were keeping this quiet,” she reminded me, waving her hand between the two of us. “Just between us.”

  “Well, there hasn’t been a whole lot between us the last month,” I pointed out, trying my best not to sound like an asshole but fearing I’d failed. “I want a chance to remedy that.”

  “Sure you’re not busy?” she shot back, and there was an edge to her voice that told me there was something to the question that I was missing out on.

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” I nodded. “I’ll book us a table somewhere quiet. I’ll have you back to your place by ten. I promise.”

  She paused for a moment, eyeing me slowly. Then she shrugged.

  “Yeah, sure, why not,” she finally responded. “Shall we go straight from work?”

  “Um, maybe not.” I shook my head “Not sure if I want the whole office seeing us together.”

  “Of course,” she muttered under her breath. “Whatever. Just send me the address.”

  “Perfect,” I said happily, and she finally managed a smile back in my direction. “I can’t wait.”

  I went to place a hand on her waist and steal a quick kiss before we went back to work, but she turned
and headed through the door before I had a chance.

  I frowned. I had no idea what was going on with her, but it was beginning to get under my skin. It had started a couple of weeks before like someone had flicked a switch that turned off the passion we had been feeling up to that point.

  I wanted to catch her, to tell her she didn’t have to be like this, and that we could actually be open and public about what was happening between the two of us, but I didn’t want to dump all that on her before she was ready. Besides, it was a big deal, and I was a man for spectacle. This dinner would be the perfect time to let her know my intentions and tell her I was ready to announce our relationship to the entire world.

  The thought made my heart flip with excitement. Even though she’d been distant, I knew my feelings for her were more potent than ever, and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen when we came out publicly.

  Neil knew, of course, and while it had taken him a little while beyond that initial meeting to come to terms with things, he supported Mona and me. I had asked him not to drop hints to her about it, so I could break the news myself, and he had kept his mouth shut. That didn’t absolve me from the odd, teasing comment from him every once in a while, but I didn’t mind. I liked being reminded of Mona, of what we shared, even if things had cooled a little recently.

  Maybe she was just getting frustrated with our arrangement to keep things under wraps. If she felt the same way I did, she was anxious to get on with a real and lasting relationship. I found myself thinking about taking that road trip she had always wanted to take for her honeymoon, meeting my family and her’s, going to dinner with Jennifer and Neil, and laughing together over a bottle of wine, my hand on her leg beneath the table.

  I busied myself with work during the day and booked a table at a cool Italian bistro across town for later that evening. I’d been there plenty of times before. It was the kind of place I would bring my family when they were in town, a place you brought people you weren’t trying to impress because you didn’t have to.

  It was a perfect place to reveal what I had done over the last couple of weeks. I wanted to blurt it out to her, just to get it out there, but I knew that wasn’t going to work. I wanted to show her how much she meant to me, that I wanted everyone to know we were together, once and for all.