by London Casey
But I didn’t.
Because he was right.
I went to the apartment.
Not my apartment.
The other apartment.
I sat down on the edge of the bed in the dark and it just didn’t feel right without Maya there. I was used to seeing her every day, obviously. But we had a whole other side to our relationship now. Not just boss and secretary. And not even just her being pregnant and me being the guy who got her pregnant.
What was I going to do? Tell her I loved her? Promise her the world? She’d never believe that for a second. And what if that changed after she had the baby? I had no idea what her intentions were either. Once the company was sold, that was it. It was now up to Mr. Pickle and his team of executives to do what they wanted with everyone. Including Maya.
I walked to the kitchen to find something to drink.
An email came through.
It was one in the morning and Mr. Pickle was playing the game. He had a highlighted passage from a financial report from three years ago. It was about a loss the company took on a software deal that went south. I pulled the plug on the deal to make sure we didn’t lose more. To me, it was a smart move. To Mr. Pickle, he only saw a loss.
Which meant I would have to smooth that over with him.
I had another hour or two left in me to work.
Mr. Pickle was not getting the upper hand and the power here.
Fuck him.
Before I responded to the email, I texted Maya.
Need you back here ASAP. Hugs and kisses to family and friends. Back to work. Now.
I leaned against the kitchen sink and started to reply to Mr. Pickle. I would send an informal email to him personally and then have the legal team prepare the fancy worded email to everyone involved.
When Maya didn’t answer me, I called her.
She answered on the last ring.
“Cole?”
Her voice was sexy and sleepy.
I wondered if she was sleeping naked. On her side. Touching her stomach. Her full breasts…
I gritted my teeth. “Did you read my text?”
“No. Sorry. I was-”
“Get some coffee and get back here.”
“What?”
“Am I speaking a different language?”
“Cole, what’s wrong?”
“Look, I gave you some time off, right? I need you back here now. Right now.”
“Right now?”
“Get up, get some coffee, and let’s go. Your car is still there waiting. I’ll text the driver.”
“Cole, can I finish sleeping here? Get some breakfast with my mother?”
“Don’t cross the lines here, Maya. I’m still your boss. Get back here now.”
“Cole…”
“I said now,” I growled.
I hung up the call.
I tossed my phone to the counter and turned around.
What the fuck are you trying to prove right now?
I had no idea…
I just wanted to see Maya.
But I couldn’t love her.
Or maybe it was just too late…
Chapter Thirty-Three
Maya
I printed one more paper and put everything together in a folder.
As I stood up, I yawned and touched my stomach.
The baby was not happy about our lack of sleep.
Neither was I.
My back was starting to hurt. I swore my feet were getting fat too. I felt like I was going to bust out of my shoes. All I wanted to do was take my shoes off, sit down with a container of ice cream… and cry.
Why did I want to cry?
I wasn’t sure. I just had that feeling.
Maybe it was the emotions of going back home and finally telling everyone I was pregnant. Or maybe it was the middle of the night phone call from Cole… Cockhead Cole…
I took a deep breath and walked from my office to Cole’s.
He was on his phone as I entered the office.
He looked at me and held up one finger.
“Listen, Jack, it’s all worked out,” Cole said. “There’s nothing to worry about. Tell everyone to take a fucking breath. Goodbye.”
Cole slammed his phone down and then punched the phone off his desk.
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked to the window.
“What do you want, Maya?”
His tone was mad. Evil.
Cockhead.
“I brought you the paperwork,” I said. “I have everything. I dug around and found emails and whatnot too.”
“You did?” Cole asked as he looked at me.
“Yeah. I figure you can show the line of communication. What was said and when and why. To show that by pulling out of that deal it saved millions instead of wasting it.”
“That’s good,” Cole said. “Maybe you should give up the writing thing and go to law school.”
“Yeah. Maybe.”
I put the folder on his desk.
I waited a few seconds.
“Anything else?” Cole asked.
“Uh… I guess not.” I touched my stomach. “Do you want to talk about anything, Cole? When you left… I thought things were good. You haven’t talked about the baby…”
“We’re working,” he said. “Don’t say that too loud.”
“Right,” I said. “So, what are you doing, Cole? Setting me up to run back home for good?”
“Maya, not now,” he said.
“Of course,” I said. “Anything for you, Cole.”
I turned and made it three steps before a jolt of pain hit the right side of my back. The pain shot down my right leg and my knee bent without me telling it to.
Before I could call for help, my knee hit the floor.
My instinct to protect my belly kicked in and I turned to my right side, so I fell to my shoulder.
I groaned with pain and grabbed for my stomach.
I shut my eyes.
What was happening?
I never saw Cole move so fast in my life.
He scooped me up and carried me out of the office, screaming for someone to get us a car.
The whole thing happened in a blur.
I kept my eyes shut and tried to focus on breathing.
Before I knew it, we were in a car driving to Dr. Haime’s office.
He had called Dr. Haime in advance and he met us at his state-of-the-art office.
Cole carried me to a room where Dr. Haime greeted us without his usual smile and cheery disposition.
That’s when panic set in even more.
I started to shake and couldn’t catch my breath.
“We’re going to check everything, Maya,” Dr. Haime said. “Right now, I need to know what happened and what you’re feeling.”
I described everything the best I could, tears filling my eyes, my body in full blown panic attack mode.
Cole was at my left side and when he finally grabbed my hand and squeezed it, I was able to take a deep breath.
I looked at him and he stared intently at the ultrasound screen.
“Okay,” Dr. Haime said. “Let’s take a look and let’s run some tests here. First things first…”
I blinked away tears and watched the screen as the baby appeared.
The one tiny looking bean was far different now.
I held my breath and when I heard the sound of the baby’s heartbeat, I let out a whimpering cry of relief.
I shut my eyes and tears rolled down my cheeks.
I heard Cole let out a groaning sound.
I looked at him and he nodded.
“Okay, that’s a great thing to hear,” Dr. Haime said. “Let me just keep taking a look here and we’ll get to the bottom of this. I hope this little one isn’t eager to get out and get to work Dad… it’s way too early.”
Dr. Haime winked at Cole.
Cole laughed.
“It was just one side of my body that felt the pain,” I said.
“Okay,�
� Dr. Haime said. “Your job right now, Miss Maya, is to breathe. Do nothing but breathe. And remember, you’re breathing for yourself and the baby.”
Cole crouched down and whispered to me. “Just breathe, love. I told you I would never leave you alone in this.”
I nodded.
And I waited.
Dr. Haime spent the next hour running tests, asking questions, touching and poking at me.
Then he put his hand out and helped me sit up.
His left hand touched my upper back and he helped me to my feet.
I braced myself for pain, but there was none.
He had me walk across the room a few times.
Cole was right at my side, just in case.
The transformation from Cockhead Cole to Elevator Guy and back was intense to experience.
“Okay,” Dr. Haime said. He clapped his hands together. “Everyone good now? Breathing fine? Need a drink?”
“I could use one,” I said with a smile.
“Not yet,” Dr. Haime said. “The baby is healthy. One hundred percent healthy. Size. Heart rate. Growth. You have nothing to worry about there, Maya. Now, as far as this pain goes… the baby is getting bigger and the room is getting smaller. The baby will keep growing and moving. My best guess is you have a pinched nerve or something like that on your right side. I’m sure with some chiropractor care, you could get that worked on, but for the time being, you might just have to deal with it. The pain you felt was nerve pain. Not the baby or anything like that. Okay?”
“So, you’re telling me the baby is already getting on my nerves?” I asked.
Dr. Haime burst into laughter. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”
“And you’re sure?” Cole asked.
“Are you doubting me, Cole?” Dr. Haime asked.
“No, I’m being thorough. This is my… baby…”
“I’m sure,” Dr. Haime said. “And if anything changes, you call me. We meet right here again. Worst case, we meet at the hospital. But that won’t happen until it’s time for this little one to meet us all.” Dr. Haime reached back. “Now, I did something for you two. I know you were on the fence about finding out the sex of the baby last time we talked. I have it written down in this envelope. Do what you want with it.”
I took the small envelope and looked at Cole.
The look in his eyes said so much more than what he did.
He touched my face and took a deep breath.
I nodded.
Why can’t it be like this all the time?
I fell asleep with Cole next to me and woke to an empty bed.
The envelope with the sex of the baby inside and a note from Cole.
You make the call, Maya.
I think the pregnancy was a big enough surprise.
What do you think?
I sat up and bit my bottom lip.
I wanted to tear the envelope open and know.
The nursery still needed so much work.
Cole already told me when I was ready, I could get anything I wanted. I could hire painters, decorators, whatever my heart desired.
That, of course, was before I went back home.
Something happened when we weren’t together.
A woman?
I put the envelope down and exited the bedroom.
I smelled food and then saw Bev in the kitchen.
“Bev?” I asked.
She turned and pointed to her shirt.
Pregnant by my boss. Any other questions?
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Did you see the shirt?” Bev asked. “I had this idea. An entire line of pregnancy shirts. With the craziest sayings. Like… Yes, my tits are big. They’re full of milk. Want a drink? Or maybe… Heart is full of love. Stomach is full of tacos. Womb is full of some random guy’s baby. Oops.”
“Bev,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
“Fine. You win. Cole called me. Told me to be here. Heard you had a scare.”
“Yeah, it was something… Cole called you?”
“He didn’t want you alone. I made you some breakfast.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Cole called her?
I started to think.
Something was going on here.
I needed to get to the office.
But first… food.
Bev made me a plate and refused to give it to me right away.
“Look at the shirt again,” she said. “Tell me what you think.”
“The idea is great,” I said. “Offensive pregnancy shirts. I love it. I’ll buy them all.”
“Yes!” Bev yelled.
“Bev. Go home.”
“I’m not leaving you here alone.”
“I’m going to work,” I said.
“What?”
“I have to see Cole. Something is going on. I’m eating and leaving.”
“I’ll leave with you then.”
“Fine,” I said.
I ate fast, drank fast, and got changed fast.
I took a car to work while Bev took a car back to her apartment to keep working on her offensive pregnancy shirts.
When I got to the office, everyone wanted to know how I was feeling. And why I was there.
I just smiled, nodded, gave a two second story that I was fine, and then hurried to Cole’s office.
He wasn’t there.
But his phone was on his desk, the screen lit up.
I snuck across the floor and saw a text from his brother.
Cody.
The guy who always made the obnoxious fake names.
The text read…
Be there soon, brother. I’ll try not to fuck up too much for you!
I sighed.
That explained a little of what was going on.
Cole was stressed.
The deal with Mr. Pickle.
His brother coming to the city.
His brother he never talked about and always lied about.
I snuck out of Cole’s office and went to mine.
Cole caught me as I stepped into my office.
“Maya, what the hell are you doing here?”
I turned and felt my face turning red. “I’m working.”
“Why?”
“Because my boss is an asshole,” I said.
Cole curled his lip. “You should be resting.”
“As I just said…”
“Right. Your boss is an asshole.” Cole nodded. “There’s a list of stuff I need done. It’s on your desk. Also, for the record, your boss thinks you look really beautiful right now.”
“You know, I could call a lawyer over that comment,” I said.
“Yeah?” Cole asked. “Do it. It’s worth it.”
Cole walked out of my office.
The Jekyll and Hyde game wasn’t fun to play.
But when Cole said I looked beautiful - knowing my feet were swollen, my cheeks were puffy, and my stomach was getting huge - it meant a lot to me.
I touched my stomach.
I needed Bev to make me a shirt.
Hate my boss… having his baby… but I love his cock.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Cole
I stood outside the apartment door and rubbed my jaw.
Fuck it.
I opened the door and slammed it shut behind me.
Maya popped out of the bathroom holding a hairdryer.
“You know, that would only scare me if I was a snowman,” I said.
“What the fuck?” she yelled. “You scared me.”
“Scared you? Seriously?”
“What? You haven’t been over in a…”
“What? One night? You were out of town.”
“And then I came back and you were an asshole.”
I walked closer to her.
She lowered the hairdryer .
Her hair was wet.
She wore an oversized long sleeve shirt and it looked like nothing else.
Her nipples were hard, poking th
rough the shirt.
Her legs looked smooth.
I knew she hated that her feet were swollen, but I thought she looked adorable like that. Walking with her feet slightly turned out. Always a little off balance. Touching her stomach when she walked like her stomach was going to fall off.
Trust me, I noticed it all.
“Did you come here to check up on me?” Maya asked. “Or to yell at me? Or to give me more work? I’m just trying to figure out what kind of mood I need to-”
I reached for her face and kissed her.
That got her to shut up.
At first, it was just a few soft kisses.
A kiss here. A kiss there.
But my hunger was instant for her.
I bent my knees and slid my tongue across her lips.
Maya opened her mouth and sighed.
“Cole…”
I kissed her properly then, tasting her tongue, feeling her groan as she grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me against her.
My right hand moved down and over her left breast. I kneaded her through her shirt. Her breasts were getting more and more full each day.
I moved my hand down again, seeking the bottom of her shirt.
We continued to kiss, teasing each other, which I didn’t mind at the moment.
My fingertips moved beyond the end of her shirt, finding skin.
Her inner thigh was warm and soft.
She slowly parted her legs for me as my hand ran up, seeking her pleasure.
Her pussy was damp when I touched her.
I stopped kissing her and grinned. “Still hate me?”
“No,” she said. “You’re Elevator Guy now. I like him. I like him a lot.”
“What if I tell you you’re bad at your job while I play with your pussy?” I asked.
“Shut up, Cole,” she said. “Just make me come before I regret this.”
I kissed her again and brushed my middle finger against her clit.
She jumped and cried out into my mouth.
I quickly slid my hand around to her ass and picked her up.
I didn’t care if she was pregnant and that her belly made it really hard to carry her.
She tried to wrap her legs around me but couldn’t.
It was slightly awkward but cute as hell.
I hurried her to the bed, placed her down and pushed her shirt up over her stomach.