It was the worst possible thing that I could have heard in that moment. Everything went black and I was out.
***
It took me more than a few moments of consciousness to figure out that I was lying in a hospital bed next to my father. I looked over at him, and he seemed to be awake, so in a very raspy voice, I tried to get his attention. “Dad, are you there?”
He turned over to look at me, I could tell he needed a lot of effort to do that. He gave a terribly weak smile, then spoke “Would you look at us? We should just let Brian take over the family restaurant.”
I gave a weak laugh, we were both a sight for sore eyes. “I’m pregnant, Dad.” His eyes opened wide, and he seemed to be in shock. I gave him another smile, telling him I was happy I was going to give him a grandson. He tried to speak, but he suddenly went into a spasm of coughs. He started to have trouble breathing and I gathered up all my strength to sit up and start shouting for a nurse. Just then he mustered all the energy he had to say one last thing, “Take care of my grandkid. Explore the world.” Then he deeply breathed out, and that was it. Dad was gone. Brian and Patricia had just shown up from outside, as they had drove me after I passed out back at the restaurant. When they realized what was happening, they started to cry. I was crying too. It was one of the worsts days of my life, as you can imagine.
“Teresa, may I speak with you?” Dr. Mitchell had entered the room. He looked concerned, and now that Dad was gone, I couldn’t begin to imagine what bad news he had to tell me now.
I looked at my Dad’s body. I didn’t want to leave his side just yet. “Can this wait, Doctor?” I asked, thinking whatever it was could wait.
“I’m afraid not, Teresa. Please come with me, this will only take a moment.” Dr. Mitchell turned and exited the room. It was obvious this was terribly urgent and confidential, so I got up and followed him with the little energy I had.
“What is it, Doctor?” I asked after finding him out in the hallway waiting for me.
“Teresa, I didn’t want to say this in front of the others, but I have to let you know that the baby is fine. You had a very substantial fall this afternoon, and I want you to know that we did all the necessary checks, and everything seems fine. However, I highly recommend you take it easy. With the pregnancy, and your father, and the business, the stress might get to you. You need a break from this. You need to relax, or you are going to have complications with this pregnancy. Do you understand?”
Dr. Mitchell came over with his wife to the diner every other Tuesday and Thursday. He meant well as he spoke, and passed on his condolences as he left. I leaned against the wall, trying to take it all in. My mind was racing, and my tears were still falling. I felt heavy, and my weak body felt like it couldn’t handle anything at the moment. I hadn’t thought about the baby’s condition since I came to, and after what had just transpired, all I could think about was being with my dad on his deathbed. I had thought about the phone call and the news that made me pass out, and now the doctor was reminding me that I had this pregnancy to worry about. Thank goodness Dr. Mitchell didn’t ask who the father was. I had managed to keep all of this a secret up until now. I didn’t need the entire population of this little town knowing that I was carrying a bastard child. I had to find a way out. My father’s last words echoed my mother’s last wish. I needed to get away or I would lose my mind, or worse, my child. I made up my mind in that moment that I would leave town after Dad’s affairs were wrapped up. I was going to build a new life for me and my unborn child.
Chapter 10
Everyone was in the diner. Brian had come up with the idea of having everyone over after the burial to honor the memory of my Dad’s legacy, so everyone came. It had been a long while since the diner had been this full. None of the faces were unfamiliar, but everyone preferred coming in on their own days, at their own time, according to their own frequency. This was a rare moment in which they all had to come over at once.
Brian wanted me to take it easy and rest a little, knowing I had just come out of the hospital but I couldn’t rest, we were at a full capacity. I had to help out.
“Order up!” it sounded so peculiar, hearing Brian say it and I felt like it was further confirmation that I had to leave this place.
I immediately stood up and tugged on my uniform. I hadn’t gotten around to ordering any new uniforms, life had simply been too fast paced for me, and now I feared my baby bump might start to show. I wouldn’t be needing that new uniform anymore, so I brushed the thought to the back of my head. This was technically my last working day at Baxter’s Family Restaurant.
I grabbed the two plates out of the window, where Brian stood behind with a worried look on his face. I wondered how he would take the news when I told him I was leaving, but I quickly brushed it to the back of my head, one problem at a time. Brian had recreated Dad’s Masterpiece Meatloaf for the day’s special board, and the sample I had was pretty close to Dad’s recipe. I told Brian that my Dad would be proud, and it wasn’t just to flatter him, it was pretty honest. I turned around with the plates in-hand and headed to the table.
It was Dr. Mitchell, and he was with his wife. The glare he gave me suggested that he disapproved of me working in my current condition, but the look Mrs. Mitchell gave me suggested he hadn’t acknowledged the doctor-patient confidentiality I thought we had entirely.
“Here’s your order,” I said as I placed the plates in front of them. “Enjoy your meal, this was Dad’s special!” I gave them a smile, and quickly started to make my way back.
“Teresa!” the voice that called me stopped me in my tracks. I turned to where the voice had come from and saw who it was. It had come from table seven, the Martin’s favorite table in the Restaurant, and for the first time in years, they had shown up with Gavin. I gulped, nervous, and made my way to their table.
“Hello everyone,” I greeted them all. “How may I help you guys?”
“Oh we’ve already made our orders. I think Gavin here is just a little bit impatient and wants to talk to you,” Phyllis said, giving me a knowing smile. I looked at Gavin, and all he could say was, “Guilty as charged.” With a cool smile. I could not believe how insensitive this guy could be in such a situation. Why was he back in town? Was it for the funeral?
“Oh, okay. I’ll have to see you a little later, I’m kind of busy right now.” I said, gesturing to the entire restaurant.
“Oh, sure. No problem, I’m around until tomorrow and I just felt that we should catch up. I am staying with my parents and I figured I could see you later on. My condolences, by the way.” He offered.
“Thanks. I’m sure we can figure something out.” I said, and practically ran away. It must have been the hormones again, or the fact that my father had just been buried, or the fact that this was my last day at a restaurant I had spent my entire life at, and that I didn’t even know where I was going and what I was going to do when I got there, or the fact that I was a single mother and my baby daddy was in the restaurant and wanted to ‘hang out’ later, but I ended up in the bathroom stall crying for a long time.
***
“Why do you have so many tattoos?” I asked.
It was later in the day and my hormones and emotions had calmed down. Okay, they hadn’t really calmed down, but they were flaring up in an entirely different way now. I was back home, and Gavin was with me.
“I don’t know, I got one when I was younger and I went into a sort of phase and ended up getting a lot more,” he replied, but the way he suddenly looked away while talking made me feel like he was holding something back. A secret about his past maybe.
“Thanks for helping me close up the restaurant and everything. It’s been a really a long day,” I said, forking at the meat loaf I had taken home from the restaurant, courtesy of yours truly, Brian.
“Don’t worry about it, it’s not like I had anything better to do with my time.” Gavin said. His choice of words offended me a little, it made me feel like I was something he does w
hen his bored, not because he was compelled to. We hadn’t communicated at all since our last encounter, and now the air was thick with unspoken words. I hadn’t told him about the baby yet, I didn’t know how to and I didn’t even know if I wanted to tell him. I had a lot of decisions to make about the baby and where we were going to end up, but I felt like if I told him, he would throw himself at us and I would find myself right in the middle of a life I was unsure of. I had to find my own footing first, maybe then I would feel comfortable telling him.
I was in an awkward place as things were. I was suffering from the post-funeral syndrome, where everyone was gone and now it had just had to be you and your thoughts of your lost loved one. I couldn’t bear to be alone in that moment, and so Gavin’s next words were golden. “Listen, if you don’t want to be alone tonight, I can hang around. My flights tomorrow and I won’t get in your way at all, I could even sleep on the couch.”
“I would love that.” I said quickly, looking him straight in the eyes. I hoped I didn’t come off as needy, but I really couldn’t bear to be alone just yet. I needed some company. “I mean, if it isn’t a bother to you.” I added, looking away.
“Of course it isn’t,” he said, moving closer to me. “I know you must really be hurting right now and it isn’t good for you to be alone.” We readjusted our sitting positions and I found myself with my head on his lap.
The feelings I started to experience made me feel rather guilty, as we made small talk, all I could think about was how amazing our sexual encounter had actually been. I had never felt the way Gavin made me feel that night, never in my entire life. If anything could distract me from my thoughts right now, it would be his touch, but I felt self-conscious having buried my father only hours earlier, and the baby in my womb would add to my worries, but don’t pregnant people have sex in safe positions? I would have to limit him to a few positions, tell him I wasn’t feeling well. Why was I thinking like this? What if he wasn’t even feeling the same way?
“I’ve really missed you,” he said, stroking my hair, and I immediately knew he felt the same way. This time I would make the first move. I got up from his chest and pressed my lips against his, and the heat immediately ignited just as it had before.
We were groping at each other furiously and shedding clothes at record speed. In no time, we were naked and wrapped around each other, desperate to be joined together, unable and unwilling to slow down to savor the moment. He used his mouth to nip at me and kiss his way down my body until he found my swollen clit, lashing me with his tongue until I was drowning him in my juices as an orgasm pounded through me, leaving me hoarse from my cries of ecstasy.
Then he rose up between my still trembling thighs, his face still glistening with my honey, and impaled me with his cock in one smooth stroke, tearing a gasp from me. Like animals we rutted, my fingernails scoring his back and buttocks, and his fingers digging into my hips as he thrust into me. He filled me so completely with every thrust, stretching me around his thick base that I was pushed immediately to the brink of another earth shattering orgasm. Simultaneously we screamed out our release, and collapsed in exhaustion, his weight pressing me into the cushions of my couch, and we slept that way, holding each other the rest of the night.
Chapter 11
As I stood outside the boardroom, an overwhelming rush came over me. What was I doing here? How could I ever think, as an older, pregnant, single woman, that I could try to enter the world of Corporate America after all of these years, and without any kind of experience? And why did I choose New York to enter this life, instead of gradually moving up from the small hometown I had loved? My sink or swim attitude had done this to me. I had to stand beside my choices. I had done my best to prepare, but the days leading up to this meeting were not forgiving enough for me to learn an entirely new career. I had to go with what I had, and that was unnerving.
Could I throw them off of my lack of experience by dressing and acting the part? It was worth a shot, right? I had spent the last few days looking for the perfect outfit and accessories for this meeting. I wasn’t sure that I had gotten it right. Just then, I caught my reflection in the window beside me. I had to admit that I did dress the part. I could pass as a businesswoman. I stood there wearing a navy-blue hand-me-down Chanel suit from my sister. The tailoring of the suit made it fit me in a way that made me think the seamstress had a vision of my curves when designing it. Even my sister couldn’t deny having to part with it after seeing me try it on. I had paired the outfit with my classic nude pumps, which I consider my “Power Shoes,” giving me a few more inches and making me feel more powerful. All in all, my appearance was the one thing I was confident about. Time had been pretty good to me, and my looks.
The large door to my fate was right in front of me. The hallway was freezing, and it was not helping me to call down as I tried to get all of the butterflies out of my stomach. It was pure torture. What were these people going to say when they find out that the only experience on my resume was working as a waitress for my father at the family restaurant? Over the years waiting tables, I had spent countless hours daydreaming about what it would be like to be a businesswoman working in an office. Here I was, at the beginning of the road in my daydream, and I was terrified.
I thought about the comfort of the restaurant, and how I had stayed to help with the family business, because it was safe and comfortable… and what I knew best. I was far from my hometown of Muleshoe, Texas, and the culture of the big city was extremely overwhelming. After all of the years of staying in my hometown, I thought about how I had stayed because I knew deep down that my father enjoyed spending our work days together, as did I. I always wanted to be there for him, but I had never imagined what it would be like when he wasn’t there for me. Now here I was, alone, trying to find the career I was determined to have.
These executives are going to eat me alive. I had to get my shit together. I had no choice, but to go through with this interview and hope for the best. With Dad’s passing, and the selling of his business, this was my chance, my chance to make something of myself. It was the chance to stop wondering, and just do it. It all had to start somewhere, and it was going to start with this meeting, in this boardroom.
The chill from the eighth-floor air conditioning vent blew heavily on my neck, offering a feeling of relief as my sweat started to dry. I had to go in. I looked at my watch, 9 o’clock on the dot. They would be expecting me. I tugged my jacket down to relieve the garment of any slightly wrinkles, and grabbed the door handle. I’ve got this, I thought. It’s now or never.
Entering the room, which was even colder than the hallway, I gazed around, not prepared for what was in-store. Around the table sat a handful of people, all younger than me, and definitely dressed better than me. The gaze of their eyes on me as I stood there, had me wonder if they could see the fear in my face. It was hard to imagine them as executives, as some of them could have been young enough to be a kid of mine, in another life. What had I gotten myself into? The ridicule I was preparing myself to accept was keeping me from being completely aware of my surroundings.
It was then that I saw a dark figure in the corner of the room, looking out the window, with his hands in his pockets. It was difficult to see the details of his features, as he stood in the shadow. His stature said it all though. He stood much taller than the average man: and he stood proud. He gazed out on the city, and even with his back to the group, he gave off the feeling of having power over everyone in his presence. As he heard the door close behind me, he turned, and I realized… it was him. It was Gavin.
Chapter 12
After the interview, which I have to say that I rocked, Gavin asked me to wait for him outside. After a few short moments he joined me in the hallway, took my arm, and we walked to the lobby. He explained to me that he had arranged for the interview as a way to entice me to move to New York.
“I arranged the interview”, he said, “but it's up to the board whether they want to hire you or not. I d
idn't want you to feel like you got the position based on our relationship, and if you are hired, you won't be working directly for me.”
“I wasn't aware that we had a relationship.” I said.
“That's what I'm trying to tell you Teresa, I want to be part of your life.”
“It's not just about us,” I said, “it's more complicated than that.”
“What could possibly make it more complicated?” He said. “I love you Teresa, I have for a very long time and I know it's probably a shock to you, but all I've ever wanted was you, a life together, and hopefully a family. I have everything, success, money, a home, but it all means nothing to me if I don't have you to share it with.”
I couldn’t hide the emotion that his words evoked in me, they gave me hope that I wasn't going to be alone, that I could have love, a career, and a family. Did he really mean all of this though? There was only one way to find out, so with a tear sliding down my cheek, I looked up at him and said the words that I was scared to death would send him running in the other direction. “Gavin, I'm pregnant.”
The shock on his face almost sent me bolting away, but I held my breath, waiting for him to process the information that had just been dropped on him out of the blue. Slowly, the look on his face transformed to something more hopeful.
“You're sure?” He whispered
I nodded, unable to speak, and afraid to look at him, “Since the first time we were together.”
Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, his face lit with a joyful smile, and he slid his arms around me, “I'm going to be a father!” He exclaimed quietly.
Seal'd to Her: A Billionaire Second Chance Romance Page 19