The Baby Bump

by Tara Wylde

  Her sharp gaze bounces back and forth from my face to Cassie’s. Her mouth clenches like a sphincter muscle. Clearly my ploy to cover up what Cassie and I have truly been doing in her office worked. Lynette was way too busy being scandalized by our little make-out session to even consider that we’d broken into her computer.

  Several long seconds pass before Lynette draws herself up to her full height and puffs out her chest. “This is a work environment.” She hurls the words at us. “Not a bordello. How dare you treat my office as such?”

  It’s a good thing she didn’t spend more time in the hallway. Cassie and I were on the verge of losing all control. A couple more seconds and Lynette would have really been treated to an eyeful.

  The older woman’s gaze zeros in on Cassie’s. “Ms. Mayers. I expect better behavior from you.”

  The flush my kisses brought to Cassie’s face darkens. Her body goes taut beneath my hands.

  “From me!” Cassie yells. “What about him?” She jabs her thumbnail into my chest. I wince.

  “He’s a man.” Lynette’s matter-of-fact tone indicates that the fact I have a penis means all my actions are instantly explainable and excusable. Cassie said that Northwest has a serious problem with misogyny, but I didn’t expect it from another woman. “Ms. Mayers, you should know that I’m seriously considering reporting your behavior to your boss. I’m certain he’ll be very disappointed to learn about this little episode.”

  “Oh, for crying out loud.” Cassie starts to move off my lap, but I hold her in place. Partly because I’m using her sweet ass to hide both my erection and the roll of papers I’m stealing, but mostly because I like the way she feels.

  “You had better report me too,” I say.

  Lynette’s eyes widen and meet mine. “What?”

  “There are two of us here. If Cassie’s behaving badly, then so am I. Therefore, you’d better report both of us.” I keep my tone even.

  “But Ms. Mayers should know better.”

  I float a brow. “And I shouldn’t? For your information, I’m the one that started this little make-out session. Up until I pulled her down in my lap, Cassie was a model of professional behavior. Northwest should have a dozen more people just like her on staff. If they did, they might start making money, rather than watching it drain away.”

  I let my last words hang in the air and watch Lynette closely, curious to see if she shows even the slightest sign of guilt. She doesn’t.

  Instead she swallows and glares at both of us. “Fine,” she finally huffs. “I won’t report either one of you. This time. But if I catch you acting like randy teenagers again …” She leaves the threat empty. “Now why are you here?”

  “You mean, aside from making out?” I say innocently.

  Lynette isn’t amused.

  “Yes,” she snaps.

  “I had some documentation I needed to drop off. Just some tax papers I didn’t have time to turn in before I started flying.” I nod to a small stack of papers on the corner of Lynette’s desk. “That’s them right there.”

  “Very well.” Lynette picks up the papers and swiftly sorts through them. “I’ll get these filed right away.” She turns her distinctly disapproving eyes onto Cassie. “And you’re here because?”

  “My paycheck,” Cassie snarls. My hand, still buried under the brick red T-shirt she’s wearing, feels the angry flush that warms her smooth, silky skin. While I admire her spirit and spunk, I’m glad all that furious energy isn’t directed at me. “The past two weren’t deposited into my checking account. I’d like to know why.”

  “I see.” Rather than walking around to the side of desk Cassie and I are on, Lynette leans across it and slides her laptop across the desktop, opens it, clicks on a few keys. “According to my records, both of your checks were deposited on time into your account.”

  Cassie and I exchange looks.

  “Are you sure?” I ask. “Check the account numbers. Maybe Cassie’s checks were deposited into someone else’s account.”

  Lynette makes a show of looking at her records a second time. “It was deposited into the same account we always deposit your checks into. If the money isn’t there, the bank must have made a mistake. You’ll have to take it up with them.”

  Cassie’s thin body vibrates beneath my hands.

  “I have checked with my bank,” she says through tightly clenched teeth. “They’ve assured me that neither check is in my account and that since none of their other accounts show a surplus of funds, the mistake must be on this end.”

  I wonder if Cassie had actually checked with the bank, or if she was using what we learned from our illicit peek at the payroll files. Either way, I’m proud of the way she’s handling herself.

  “The only thing I can do is cancel both of those checks. Then, I can deposit two more into your account for you.”

  “And how long will that take?” Cassie asks.

  “A full pay period.”

  Cassie’s fingers curl into fists. I’m surprised she doesn’t leap off my lap and start beating the snot out of Lynette. “Two weeks! How’m I supposed to survive for two more weeks without any money?”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Mayers, but it’s company policy.”

  “Well, company policy sucks,” Cassie shouts. “I have bills I need to pay but can’t because you screwed the pooch when it came to my checks.”

  “You’re going to simply have to find a way to make things work out.” Lynette closes the laptop. “It shouldn’t be too difficult. You spend most of your time in an airplane, flying around on the company’s dime. Since we cover all of your expenses while you’re working, I can’t imagine you have many bills while you’re home. This company is in financial trouble. We can’t afford to write a check each time someone claims that there’s a problem. We have to investigate.”

  “Fuck you.” Cassie jerks free of my grip and leaps to her feet. I scramble to mine and wrap an arm around her waist, preventing her from launching herself across the desk and scratching out Lynette’s cold eyes. “I work hard for that money. I expect it to be there. And I know why the company is floundering, if—”

  Uh oh. I can’t have Cassie blurting out what we’ve learned about Lynette, not until we know what we’re going to do with the information.

  “Cassie, honey.” I tug her close to my side. “How ‘bout we take off for a little while and calm down?”

  Cassie turns on me. “You want me to calm down? Then make that bitch give me my money.”

  “I understand.” I place a palm on either side of Cassie’s face, holding her in place so I can look deeply into her eyes. “But you’re getting too worked up to accomplish anything. Let’s get you out of here. Once you’ve calmed down and are thinking rationally again, we can come back here and talk to someone a little higher up on the food chain than ole Lynette here is. I bet they’ll get things sorted out right away.”

  “Fine,” Cassie relents. “But I wouldn’t count on me calming down until I have the money this company owes me.”

  “Fair enough.” I nudge her to the door.

  She starts walking to it, but a split second before she crosses over the threshold and into the hallway, she skids to a stop and angles a final, angry glare at Lynette. “I’m not going to let this matter drop, and I’m not afraid to throw you to the wolves if that’s what it takes.”

  With that parting word, Cassie strides out of the room.

  Holding my arm in such a way that it at least partly obscures the bulges pushing against the front of my pants, I follow at a slighter slower pace. As I leave the office, I shoot Lynette one final glance. “For the record, I agree with every word she said. If I were you, I’d watch my back.”

  Ronan

  “Bitch, bitch, bitch.”

  Cassie keeps up the chant the entire time it takes us to exit the building and reach the parking lot. I’m surprised to see that even though the parking lot is less than a quarter full and there are plenty of spaces, Cassie parked her battered red B
uick in the space next to my pickup truck.

  She might not be willing to admit it just yet, she might have gone so far as to try breaking up with me, but there’s some force that’s greater than both of us that keeps pushing us together.

  “And you!” Cassie spins on her heel and slugs me, hard, in the upper arm. “How dare you get all male on me in there and tell me what to do?”

  “Hey.” I rub the place where her knuckles connected to my bicep. There’s no doubt in my mind that the blow left a mark. “That hurt.”

  “Good,” Cassie huffs. “Serves you right for acting like a dick.”

  “I didn’t act like a dick,” I protest, hurt and a little angry that once again she’s lumping me into the same category as the jerks she usually associates with. “I was more than happy to let you go toe to toe with Lynette. Hell, every time she called you Ms. Mayers in that holier-than-thou voice, I was hoping you’d slug her.”

  “And yet you dragged me out of that room before I could.”

  “No, I didn’t. First, you walked out all by yourself so you weren’t dragged anywhere.”

  “Maybe not literally dragged,” Cassie sputters, “but that was the intention.”

  “Wrong,” I say. “I wanted to get you out of there before you told her that we know what she’s been doing and how we found out. Trust me, the first hint that we’d looked at her computer and Lynette would have called the police so fast our heads would have spun. Then she’d erase all the data.”

  “Oh.” Cassie’s shoulders sag. Seeing all of the fight literally drain out of her breaks my heart.

  Unable to stop myself, I reach over and pull her into my arms. “Hey, it’s not so bad.”

  “Yes it is. As much as I try to save money, I spend it almost as fast as I make it.” Cassie buries her face in my shoulder. “I have about a hundred and fifty left in my checking account and a whole pile of bills that need to be paid. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  I run my hands over her hair, trying to soothe her with my touch.

  Every inch of my being wants to write her a check that has all sorts of zeros and tell her that her money problems are over once and for all. But I can’t. Cassie thinks I’m a pilot who is nearly as cash strapped as she is. Writing a big check would blow my cover in an instant, and until I figure out exactly what’s going on at Northwest, I’m not willing to do that.

  Still, I can’t ignore Cassie’s situation.

  Decision made, I cup Cassie’s shoulders and gently move her away from me and closer to her car.

  “Stay here for just a second.” Unable to resist, I run my index finger along her smooth, soft cheek, wiping away her tears. “I’ll be right back. And stop worrying, everything is going to be okay. You’ll see.”

  Ronan

  I jog to my truck and hit the open button on the key fob. The horn beeps and the lights flash, signaling that it’s unlocked.

  I jerk the door open and use it to shield my body as I drag the rolled-up printout papers out of the waistband of my jeans. Lynette’s office is positioned so that she has a good view of the parking lot, and there’s no doubt in my mind that she’s standing at her window right now, watching Cassie’s and my every move.

  I stow the papers under the driver’s seat before opening the console and rummaging through it.

  A minute later I’m back at Cassie’s side. She’s staring down at a lone dandelion that’s growing out of a crack in the asphalt. That little plant and Cassie have a lot in common, I realize. They’re both tough, resilient, determined, and more vulnerable than they appear.

  “Here.” I extend my arm, offering Cassie the small, folded-up piece of paper I’m holding in my hand. “Take this.”

  Shooting me a quizzical glance, Cassie accepts the slip of paper. She unfolds it and gasps.

  “Ronan! I can’t,” she shakes her head. “I’m sorry, this is very sweet of you, but I can’t possibly accept this.”

  She tries to return the check, but I fold her fingers back over it.

  “Yes, you can, and you will.” I tell her. “The way I see it, you don’t have much of a choice.”

  “But it’s your money. Surely, you need it.”

  I shrug. “It’s just what I was paid for the time we were flying. I haven’t had time to make any massive life changes since Northwest hired me, so what I have saved up from before starting here is still enough for me.”

  Cassie looks at the check in her hand. Her expression tells me everything I need to know about the internal war she’s fighting between desperately needing the money and wanting to maintain her independence.

  The need for money wins out. Cassie slides the check into her pocket.

  “I promise, I’ll repay every single penny, plus interest, as soon as my paychecks hit the bank.”

  I smile at her. “I trust you.”

  Cassie tips her head to one side and studies me with hooded eyes. After a second, she takes a deep breath. “In the meantime…” she mutters.

  She reaches out with both hand and grabs the front of my Def Leppard T-shirt. Catching me totally unaware, she spins us around until I’m caught between her and her Buick.

  Before I have a chance to catch my breath, Cassie wedges her hips between my thighs, tangles her fingers in my hair, and drags my head down until our mouths hover with just a fraction of an inch between them. “Thank you,” she whispers.

  The Texas sun has warmed the Buick’s steel hood so much that the heat seeps through the seat of my jeans and sears my ass, but that’s nothing compared to the heat of Cassie’s kiss.

  She draws the tip of her tongue slowly across my lower lip, exploring every bump and curve along the way. My knees tremble and I moan. She takes advantage of the opportunity to let her tongue continue its lazy exploration, this time probing the deepest recess of my mouth. It brushes against nerves and erogenous zones I didn’t even know existed.

  Blood roars past my ears as it takes the shortest and quickest route south. It pools in my groin, pounding through my cock, which strains against my fly.

  My hands slide up and down Cassie’s back as her own fingers slide away from the back of my head and trail down my arms. She hooks the tips in the waist of my jeans, the soft skin brushing against a thin sliver of my own skin, the unexpectedness of it startling me so much my hips buck and I grind my cock against her core.

  Cassie’s moan and the way she shimmies her hips against mine make me lose my mind.

  I grab her ass. Hiking her up a little higher. Settling her more firmly against my aching cock.

  “Yo!” The sound of someone yelling penetrates my thoughts. I pull away from Cassie’s mouth and look over her shoulder.

  Twenty feet away, a man with salt and pepper hair and a mile-wide grin flashes me a thumbs up.

  “Look, man, I think this is the best entertainment this place has ever seen,” he yells. “But someone’s going to complain, so the two of you better go and get a room before things get too out of hand. Okay?”

  Cassie

  My knees are so watery, I barely make it to the Buick’s driver’s side door, and once I’m there, I nearly drop the keys … twice.

  Desperate to put some distance between myself and Ronan, I barely notice the ovenlike heat inside the car as I slide the key into the ignition and give it a crank.

  The engine grumbles, the dashboard lights flicker, and then nothing.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter as I prepare to give the key another twist. “I can’t take this right now.”

  The same thing happens. I draw a deep breath and fight the urge to give the car a good hard slap on the dashboard. The Buick is old, but I’ve taken good care of it and it’s never given me any problems, so why now?

  “Hey.” Ronan moves to stand next to the window and gestures for me to roll it down.

  I follow his instructions and try not to think about how our current positions put his cock, which I’ve just been rubbing all over, right at eye level. I tighten my fi
ngers around the steering wheel with the hopes that it will stop me from reaching out the window and running them down the length of Ronan’s package.

  What is it about the guy that turns me into some sort of horny teenager every time he’s around?

  “Pop the hood and I’ll try to figure out what’s wrong,” Ronan says.

  “You know how to fix cars?” I lean forward and grab the hood release lever.

  “Hey, I’m not just a pretty face,” Ronan calls over his shoulder. “I have dual degrees in both aero-engineering and aero-mechanics.”

  That surprises me. Most of the pilots I know have some knowledge about how to maintain a plane but don’t have anything close to a formal education on the subject.

  I lean my head out the open window. “But this is a Buick, not a plane.”

  “Stop trying to split hairs.” Ronan leans over the engine block. “Crank the engine.”

  This time the engine gives one sad little cough before going silent.

  “It sounds like it’s getting worse.”

  “Yeah.” Ronan closes the hood and returns to my window. A strip of something that looks like rubber hangs in his hands. “Your alternator belt is shot.”

  I frown. “I know about the alternator.” I knew the car has one but don’t have a clue about what it does. “I didn’t know it used a belt.”

  Ronan lifts the shredded belt for me to see. “This belt helps the alternator generate the electricity needed to start your car. It’s not a big deal, and it’s something I can fix, but I don’t carry spare belts with me so we’ll have to go to an auto parts store first.”

  “Um…” I glance at my watch. “How long is it going to take?”

  “Once I have a spare belt, it’ll only take me twenty minutes or so to put it on and have your car up and running.” Ronan cocks his head to one side. “Got a hot date or something?”