A Chance at Love

by Leanne Summers

  For now Nathan just needed to keep the peace and not shake the status quo. He was newly promoted, he needed to show that he appreciated the new position and all of the perks that came with it, one of which was his own personal assistant.

  He plastered on his most welcoming smile, the one he used when working with the more skittish clientele, and turned to Patrick. “Great, I’m glad you’ve gotten all settled in. I have a list of appointments I need you to put on my calendar.” He pulled out a worn notebook and passed it over to Patrick. “I don’t have much in the way of paperwork I’m afraid, but I’m sure that that will change as I start to get new accounts to manage.” He grinned at Patrick.

  Patrick nodded with wide eyes. “Thank you, I’ll get right on it.” He immediately turned and hurried out the door.

  Nathan sighed and buried his face in his hands. They didn’t have to be best friends, but shit, if Patrick kept acting like a spooked animal this was going to be a long few months.

  CHAPTER 5 - PATRICK

  PATRICK WAS BEYOND terrified of messing up.

  When he had walking into the office and saw that Nathan was going to be his new boss, he almost turned around and walked right out. Sleeping with coworkers was never a good idea. Sleeping with his boss was an even worse one.

  Well, it’s not like Patrick knew that Nathan was going to be his boss at the time, but still. The fact was that he had seen his boss naked, he had been fucked by his boss, and nothing could change that. Patrick could barely look him in the eye.

  Nathan wasn’t outright hostile, but Patrick knew that the alpha didn’t particularly want him there and Patrick really couldn’t blame him. It certainly made for an awkward situation that Patrick didn’t really want to explain to his new coworkers.

  They barely talked other than for Nathan to explain something if he had a particularly difficult task for Patrick to do, which was honestly for the best. Even though Patrick was mildly uncomfortable, he just couldn’t shake the attraction that still lingered between himself and Nathan.

  Patrick knew what Nathan looked like naked, he knew what sounds Nathan made when he was about to come. Those weren’t things that were easy to forget, and sometimes Patrick found himself thinking about Nathan in those ways at the most inappropriate times.

  Sometimes Patrick would have sworn that he saw Nathan looking back, but Patrick shook it off. Nathan didn’t even particularly like Patrick, much less think of him like that. Their one night together had been a mistake.

  The work was easy and Patrick had caught on quickly. He mostly made client appointments for Nathan and took care of the more menial paperwork. Sometimes he had to arrange reservations for dinner or a fancy lunch if Nathan was meeting with one of the more prominent account holders, but other than that, over the next month or so, everything fell into an uneasy sort of routine.

  Other than the seeming cold war scenario that existed between himself and Nathan, Patrick really did enjoy his job. The work was interesting, if a bit repetitive, and he did get along well with his coworkers other than Nathan. Emmett in particular quickly became a good friend.

  The other omega, with his soft words and gentle demeanor, showed Patrick around the building and how to do some of the basic tasks. They ended up getting lunch together most days, and Emmett showed Patrick all of the best places to eat within walking range of the office.

  Patrick traded his quiet camaraderie with Emmett for the rambunctious interrogation from Tyler in the evening when he got home. He should be annoyed, and probably would be at some point, but his best friend-slash-roommate’s never ending enthusiasm for all things law never ceased to amuse him.

  “Did you know that Harrison and Maddox was the first firm on this coast to hire omega lawyers?” Tyler asked as he sprawled on the couch, surrounded by his textbooks. “They hired their first omega in 1999, over five years before the next firm to do so.” He sighed wistfully and looked at the document he had open on his laptop. “You’re so lucky to work there.”

  Patrick snorted and picked at the rice in his bowl. His stomach had been really upset these past few days so he was trying to stick to bland foods. It wasn’t really working all that well, but at least he didn’t have to rush to the bathroom over the smell of salted rice. “It’s just a job.” He muttered. “It’s not anything special.”

  “Nothing special?” Tyler exclaimed and turned around to face Patrick, clearly ready to expand upon the apparently many virtues of Harrison and Maddox. When he caught sight of Patrick, his face visibly fell. “Oh no.” Tyler said softly, and got up to go sit in the chair across from Patrick. “You’re still sick aren’t you?”

  It wasn’t really a question. Patrick was pretty sure that, at this point, his face was nearly tinged green.

  The sickness had come on Friday and Patrick had just managed to muddle through the day with request trips to the restroom down the hall. He had hoped that he would get over whatever this stomach bug this was over the weekend, but every day that passed had only served to make him feel more nauseous.

  “You’re not going to go in tomorrow, are you?” Tyler said, his tone carrying a note of warning, as if he was going to try to fight Patrick if Patrick was planning to go in. Well, Tyler was just going to have to deal with it. It was Patrick’s decision to make.

  “I have to.” Patrick said mournfully, looking down at his barely touched bowl of rice.

  “No you don’t.” Tyler said forcefully. “Call in sick, it’s fine. That’s what they give you time off for after all.”

  “Tyler.” Patrick groaned. “I just started working there. Do you know how bad it looks if I call out now? It’s going to look like I’m not committed to my job.”

  “Well it’s going to look a whole lot worse if you puke on your boss.” Tyler muttered, but sighed and looked away. “It’s your decision but don’t say that I never warned you.”

  Patrick just shrugged and went to clean out his still mostly full bowl. “That’s just life. I have to deal with it.”

  Maybe if he went to sleep now, the few extra hours would be enough to get his body to cooperate, at least enough for Patrick to get through the day.

  —

  Patrick had been wrong, so very wrong.

  He should have listened to Tyler, he thought woozily as he propped his head up on his hand looked at the screen. The letters seemed to blur before him, and he sighed as he went to lay his head down on the desk.

  It was just a few more hours left. Maybe if he just rested his eyes for a moment the nausea would fade enough that he could actually make it through the rest of the day.

  His hand hit something hard and Patrick heard a startled noise from across from him, and he looked up to see Nathan holding the empty glass that Patrick had been drinking from earlier. Shit, he must have knocked in over.

  He hadn’t seen Nathan since last Friday, so of course he would come by just as Patrick did something stupid.

  “Patrick? Are you okay?” There was worry evident in Nathan’s tone, and Patrick tried to shrug it off. He didn’t need pity from his boss who would barely give him the time of day for the most part.

  “I’m fine.” Patrick grumbled. “I just need a bit more coffee to get me through.”

  Nathan let out a stifled laugh. “Maybe you shouldn’t party quite so hard then.”

  The words weren’t mean, more teasing, but Patrick still felt his blood grow cold. Nathan just thought that he was hungover. His boss really thought that Patrick would go out to some crazy party and neglect his job like that. Well, the way that they had met had not given Nathan the best impression, that’s for sure.

  Patrick didn’t say anything, he knew that any words that left his mouth right now were libel to be ones that he would regret. He just stood up, but the second that his butt left the chair, he was overcome with a bout of nausea, and he couldn’t help but collapse backwards.

  Nathan immediately rushed forward. “Patrick!” He exclaimed, one hand hovering nervously over Patrick’s arm like he
wanted to touch but wasn’t sure if he was allowed. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m just a bit sick.” Patrick muttered. “It’s nothing.”

  “It’s not nothing.” Nathan insisted. Patrick’s eyes had fallen shut, but he was sure that the alpha’s eyes would be wide with concern if Patrick could bring himself to look. “You need to get to the doctor.”

  “I’ll go after work.” Patrick said, his throat feeling like sandpaper.

  “You’ll go now.” Nathan said firmly. “Shit, can you even drive like this?”

  “I take the bus.” Patrick muttered and forced his eyes back open.

  When he had once again adjusted to the light, he was met with Nathan looking at him with an absolutely horrified expression on his face. “The bus?” Nathan repeated and shook his head. “No, I can drive you.”

  Patrick shook his head. “No you have work to do.” He tried to get up again but there was a firm hand on his shoulder keeping him back in the chair.

  “It’s just paperwork, I can finish it up at home.” Nathan dismissed Patrick then fixed him with a firm stare. “There’s something wrong Patrick, just let me help you.”

  The final words were almost pleading, and Patrick found that he didn’t have the strength in him to argue anymore. He needed to go to the doctor, and it really would be easier to be driven than to take the bus and hope that he was awake enough to get off at the right stop.

  Patrick wasn’t exactly sure how he made it out to Nathan’s car, but he wasn’t really going to question it. He knew that he shouldn’t have skipped breakfast, well, and lunch, but he had been so afraid that he was just going to vomit up whatever he at that he hadn’t wanted to risk it.

  It was just one bad decision in an entire weekend’s worth of bad decisions.

  It didn’t take long before they pulled up to an imposing looking brick building. “This doesn’t look like the same-day clinic.” Patrick muttered.

  “It’s not.” Nathan said calmly as he helped Patrick out of the vehicle. “It’s my personal doctor.”

  Patrick turned to him in anger. That wasn’t what they had discussed, but Nathan just stared at him impassively.

  “He’s one of the best doctor’s in the area, not to mention that he’s fully covered by your new insurance. Whatever’s wrong with you, he’ll definitely figure it out.”

  “It’s just a stomach bug.” Patrick muttered under his breath, but let Nathan lead him into the waiting room.

  Nathan settled him into a chair and then disappeared for a moment. He reappeared quickly with a clipboard full of paperwork. “Here, sorry.” Nathan said softly as he handed the clipboard to Patrick. “You’re a new patient so you’ll have to fill this out.”

  Patrick grumbled softly but did as he was told. He did paperwork all day, what was a little more?

  “Why do you care so much anyway?” Patrick muttered as he neared the bottom of the form. “You don’t even like me.”

  “What?” Nathan looked over at Patrick, an obviously confused expression on his face. “Where did you ever get the impression that I didn’t like you?”

  “You never talk to me outside of the necessities or to give me another task.” Patrick said under his breath. “I wasn’t expecting anything, I just…” Patrick let his voice trail off.

  The whole situation had just been weird. He hadn’t expected to get special attention, but at the same time he hadn’t expected Nathan to be so cold with him either.

  “No!” Nathan exclaimed, just a touch too loud. “You’ve been great, beyond great actually, I just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable and I thought that you would want space after….” Nathan’s voice trailed off and his eyes flicked over to where the receptionist was pretending not to be listening to their conversation.

  Nathan closed his mouth, which drew into a straight line. “We’ll talk about this more later.”

  Patrick didn’t have the energy to protest, nor did he particularly want some bored and nosy receptionist to hear every little thing about his work and his personal life.

  That was a weird revelation. Patrick had thought that Nathan had disliked him, or at least resented him, from their brief interactions.

  Maybe he had read the alpha wrong.

  If he was giving Patrick space Patrick could have easily have misread that as Nathan acting cold towards him. After all, Nathan had dropped everything at the drop of a hat to drive Patrick to the doctor entirely of his own will.

  After this entire ordeal was over, they would need to take some time to talk, somewhere private without the oversight of nosey older omegas.

  It turns out that Patrick didn’t have to wait very long. No sooner had he returned the clipboard to the now bored-looking receptionist than a tall beta opened the door. “Patrick Reilly?” She called, and Patrick immediately stood up.

  “I’ll wait here.” Nathan said softly.

  Patrick almost opened his mouth to ask Nathan to come with him, Patrick hated doctors, but it would be kind of weird to take his boss into the actual examination room with him, so he just nodded and followed the nurse back into the office.

  They went through the usual exams. The nurse took Patrick’s blood pressure and took his temperature, then had him stand on a scale and measured his height.

  She wrote everything down on a clipboard that she carried around with her. She didn’t try to make small talk, for which Patrick was grateful.

  The smell of antiseptic was clinging and it made him feel claustrophobic. Patrick already wasn’t feeling so great, and he didn’t really want to talk more than he had to.

  “I’m just going to need you to pee in this cup, and then we’ll have Doctor Young right in. The bathroom is the second door to your left.” The nurse smiled gently at Patrick, who just sighed and made his way out of the examination room to do his business.

  The wait to get taken into the back wasn’t particularly long, but after Patrick got back to the examination room, it felt like quite a while before there was a soft knock on the door and a short omega man slipped in.

  “Good afternoon, I’m Doctor Young.” He smiled softly at Patrick. “So you came in for stomach problems?”

  “Yes.” Patrick said, and grimaced. “I haven’t really been able to keep more than rice down these past few days.”

  “That’s what I suspected.” Dr. Young said, and Patrick barely had the energy to register just how weird the words were. “Our preliminary tests cleared everything up. Luckily for you, you won’t have to be here vey long.” He paused and his smile grew wider. “Congratulations, you’re expecting.”

  “Expecting what?” Patrick said blankly. He must have misheard the doctor, there was no way he could have said…

  “You’re pregnant.” The doctor said clearly and Patrick’s mind went blank.

  No. No.

  Patrick couldn’t be pregnant. He was still so young and just at the start of his career. He wasn’t ready to be a parent yet, he didn’t even know what he would do with a kid.

  Goodness, his apartment was so small. It was only two bedrooms, and they were split between him and Tyler. He would have to move out and…

  Oh. The father. There was only one person Patrick had slept with in the past year and he happened to be sitting out in the lobby, waiting for Patrick to come out.

  Patrick’s nausea from before immediately returned and he started to look around the room for a trash can. He was going to be sick. He wasn’t ready for a child, he couldn’t do this.

  His heart was racing a mile a minute and Patrick took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. He was pretty sure that stress was bad for the baby but his body just didn’t want to respond.

  Patrick was able to keep himself from hyperventilating, but only barely.

  “I know it’s a lot to process right now.” Dr. Young said kindly. “We can set up another appointment to discuss more of the specifics if you want.”

  Patrick just nodded blankly. He had absolutely no clue what he was going to do. />
  Dr. Young just kept talking about prenatal vitamins, but all the words that he was saying just kept going over Patrick’s head.

  He was pregnant. In about eight months he was going to have a living, breathing, baby.

  Patrick had always wanted a family, but not like this. He had wanted a family when he was older, settled down, married to an alpha that wanted kids just as much as he did.

  Patrick barely knew anything about Nathan, he had no clue how the alpha was going to react.

  Nathan was continually surprising him today so Patrick didn’t know what to expect.

  He let himself be herded back out into the lobby with a hand full of pregnancy pamphlets and a heart full of trepidation.

  Nathan stood up when he saw Patrick exit the door. “I know you don’t have to tell me.” Nathan said hesitantly. “But are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Patrick had to hold back a snort. Sure, he was okay, at least for one meaning of the word. He technically was fine, he wasn’t sick or injured, he was just pregnant.

  Nathan didn’t look convinced, but he followed Patrick out of the office without a fuss.

  When they passed the door, Patrick turned to Nathan. “Can we go somewhere private? We need to talk.” He said softly.

  Nathan’s face contorted with worry and Patrick had to clamp down the innate urge to soothe him.

  “It’s nothing bad, we just need to talk.” Patrick said gently, and he couldn’t help how his grip tightened on the pamphlets in his hand.

  “We can go back to the office? Or my place?” Nathan said hesitantly. “It’s just down the road.”

  Patrick had to bite back a harsh laugh. He knew, he recognized the buildings from that fateful night over a month ago.

  “Your place is fine.” Patrick said softly. There wasn’t really another choice. If they went back to the office, someone could overhear them. If they went back to Patrick’s place, Tyler was bound to be around and Patrick wanted to tell his best friend on his own terms.