Night Moves (G-Man Series)

by ANDREA SMITH

Case in Point: Darin

  Understand? Great - Let's move on.

  Easton and I had been keeping a low-profile at work. Occasionally, he'd call me into his office, shut the door, spring his horny cock free for a mid-afternoon blow job. I enjoyed it nearly as much as he did. He'd try to get me off as best he could with his fingers, which made it easier to bypass my healing clit.

  He was leaving day after tomorrow for London to conduct his annual State of the Business meeting. I referred to it as his high-powered summit. All the general managers would meet for a round table caucus to go over their current numbers and raise any concerns they had about reaching their sales goals. He'd be in London for most of the week and then traveling to Paris for another meeting of some sort. He said he'd be there for a "few" days. I absolutely wasn't going to press him for more information. I could read his body language fairly well by now.

  The timing was less than perfect. Lacee was due back in after her unpaid hiatus so I was not looking forward to having to interact with her once again.

  I was clearing my desk off right before five o'clock when my cell rang. It was Mom. I hadn't talked to them more than a couple of times while they were cruising.

  "Hey Mom," I greeted. "Are you back? I'm starting to feel like an orphan."

  "Yes, darling. Daddy and I got in earlier this afternoon. It was a great trip but I'm glad to be home I think. We brought you back something, along with lots of pictures. Would you like to come over for dinner this evening?"

  God, I so hated missing an evening with Easton . . . but --

  "Sure, Mom. I'll drive over as soon as I leave the office."

  "Perfect. Just know that we're having Chinese takeout. I'm too tired to cook," she laughed.

  I ended the call and finished clearing my desk. Easton was still on a conference call with Colin. I stood in his doorway until he motioned for me to come in.

  "Colin, we can pick this up later tonight. I've some pressing business to attend to at the moment." (Pause) "Ah, yes, I will. Cheers."

  He looked up at me, smiling. "Colin sends his regards."

  "Oh," I smiled. "Regards right back at him when you talk later."

  "Where shall we go for dinner?" he asked, flashing me his brilliant smile.

  "Well, actually, that's why I stopped in. My parents are back from their cruise and Mom wants me to have dinner with them. Since they're closer to my apartment, I'm probably going to crash at home tonight." I ran my fingers through my hair a bit nervously.

  "I see," he replied. I got the feeling he wasn't pleased but there was no way in hell I was springing him on the folks just yet. I remembered how horrified they'd been hearing Lacee and Easton carry on back in December. They'd freak if they found out the situation had changed and their daughter was now on the receiving end of his lust.

  "You're probably ready for a break from me anyway," I teased. He didn't smile.

  Okay. Maybe not.

  "Have a nice evening," he replied, coolly. "I'll see you in the morning."

  Dismissed.

  He turned his back to me and started pecking away on his laptop. Okay. Whatever. Sometimes Easton Matthews could be a hot mess.

  Dinner with Mom and Dad went well. First off, it was nice to have good 'ole Chinese take-out for a change. Easton and I were constantly eating at some high-priced, gourmet restaurant or his butler was preparing gourmet meals for us in his suite. I'd actually packed on a few pounds I wasn't real happy about. When I had mentioned that to Easton, he'd actually tried to drag my ass out of bed at 4:30 a.m. to work out with him the following morning. Hells-bells, that wasn't happening!

  My parents had brought me an authentic Puka Shell necklace, a gorgeous pair of Birkenstock sandals, and a hand-embroidered silk caftan. I swore it seemed as if they were segueing back to their "hippy" days with the selection they'd purchased for me. Not that I didn't love it all.

  Once we'd finished eating and I'd looked at all of the digital pictures, Daddy asked how things were going at work. For some reason I felt tongue-tied.

  "I got a promotion," I said timidly.

  "That's fantastic," they both said at once.

  "Tell me, Darcy, how did this come about?" My father asked.

  "Well, Lacee was promoted to the Transition Team Leader, so of course, that left her position open for an executive assistant to Easton. He approached me about it, basically saying that he'd personally groom me in operations management.

  "Splendid," my father said, beaming.

  If only he knew . . .

  "Dad, I guess you're former assistant didn't put in for the job for Easton. Why is that?"

  I watched my father squirm not knowing that I knew what I knew.

  "She preferred a transfer to Finance," he said hurriedly. "Since I'm only there periodically as a consultant, there wouldn't have been much for her to do most of the time. She got a promotion as well."

  "I see," I said. "Well, I guess it worked out for all concerned. I probably should be heading home. I've got laundry stacked up." I picked up my handbag digging for my car keys.

  "Darcy, wait a sec," my mom interrupted. "Is there a reason you haven't put a change of address through since you've moved from here?"

  "No, I guess I never saw the need," I replied. "I mean, I don’t have credit card bills or anything. I set my billing up for utilities once I moved into the apartment. What's left?"

  "Well," she said, going over to the kitchen counter where a stack of mail was piled. "We had the mail stopped a few days before we left on the cruise. I noticed there were several things for you when I returned. There's a notice from your dentist that you're over-do for a cleaning, some clothing catalogs and then this postcard from Dr. Billingsley arrived right after we left stating you missed a scheduled appointment and instructions to call their office immediately to set another one up."

  Oh shit! My Depo shot is fucking past due . . .

  "Honey, are you having any female problems? I mean, I know Dr. Billingsley's a gynecologist."

  "Oh no, Mom. Nothing like that. I just missed my annual check-up is all."

  "Well good," she replied, obviously relieved. "Make sure you call your dentist and gynecologist to get this taken care of. It's important you keep up with your preventative treatments."

  No fucking shit!!

  Eli was kicked back in the living room watching some freaking reality show with Cain when I got home.

  "There she is, Cain. I guess she does still live here or at least makes the occasional pit stop."

  "Shut up," I snapped, instantly regretting my mood.

  I went upstairs and immediately started sorting through my clothes hamper in order to start the four loads of laundry it appeared I had. Eli tapped gently on my door.

  "You okay?" he asked softly. "Did you have a fight with Easton?"

  "No, no - nothing like that. My folks are back and I had dinner with them. I'm staying here tonight."

  "Why the mood?"

  "It's probably nothing," I shrugged. "Sorry I was bitchy. Everything's cool."

  Later as I lay alone in my bed, hoping that sleep would overtake me I had a gnawing suspicion that everything was not okay. My instincts were on high alert.

  I was pulling my paper gown tightly around me as Dr. Billingsley instructed me to scoot my tush down closer to the edge of the table, my socked feet firmly planted in the cold, steel stirrups of the exam table.

  Lovely.

  "When was your last period, Darcy?"

  "Uh, before I had my last shot of Depo."

  "Umm hmm," he mumbled, putting the warmed speculum in to "have a peek" as he put it.

  "When did you get the piercing?" he asked, probing around with his instrument.

  "A few weeks ago," I replied, tensing up at the physical intrusion.

  "It looks like it's healing nicely. You understand we can't give you another Depo shot until we get the results of the test back. It'll be just another couple of minutes. I can tell your cervix has thickened up a bit."

/>   What the hell does that mean?

  His nurse tapped on the door and then came in, handing him the test results.

  "You can sit up now," he said, extending his hand to assist me. I was still clutching the paper gown to my breasts, watching his face for some hint of the news.

  He took a seat on his rolling stool and made a notation on my chart.

  "Well, Darcy, I hope congratulations are in order. Both of your tests have come back positive. It appears you're about five to six weeks pregnant."

  "I can't be!" I hissed loudly at him. "Can't you re-run the tests? I mean I wasn't that far past the date in getting my next shot. Certainly there's some 'carryover' time, a buffer period or something, right?"

  "I'm positive you're pregnant. There's no need in re-taking the tests. You'll be delivering a baby in mid to late January. I take it this isn't good news?" He was looking at me with compassion.

  "I don't know what it is," I said, my voice sounding foreign to me. "I'm still in shock, I guess."

  "Well, I'll leave you to get dressed. You should consider your options. You're still in the very early stage of your pregnancy. If you decide to terminate the pregnancy, you should do it soon. The longer you delay, the higher the risk. I'll have my nurse provide you with some informational pamphlets of clinics and counseling centers as well."

  I didn't remember getting dressed or driving back to the apartment. I was in a fog; a thick, confused fog. I'd made a follow-up appointment with the doctor, and was provided a prescription for pre-natal vitamins should I decide to proceed with the pregnancy.

  Oh. My. God. Easton's going to kill me!

  As soon as I got home I ran up to my room and crawled into bed. Eli was still at work. Easton was in London. Thank God. There's no way I could've masked my emotions from him at least for now.

  I picked up my phone and called Lindsey. We'd only talked once since the night Easton had hauled me out of Busbee's. She knew we were still whatever-we-were to each other.

  "Hey, you," she greeted. "It's about damn time you came up for air. Doesn't Easton ever give you a breather?"

  "Lindsey," my voice cracked, "I'm in deep shit."

  Talking to Lindsey had helped like I knew it would. She was truthfully thrilled about the idea of Harper having a cousin.

  "Half-cousin," I'd corrected her.

  "No, we're not doing halves," she argued.

  "Then you think I should keep this baby?"

  She shrieked loudly into the phone, causing me to pull it away from my ear.

  "What the hell? Don't you even consider the alternative, Darcy! I can't believe that thought even crossed your mind!"

  "I'm not sure I'd be a good single parent," I admitted, shrugging. My mind immediately started re-playing scenes from the movie, "Juno."

  Can you hold on a sec Linds? I'm on my hamburger phone.

  "What makes you think Easton won't take responsibility?" Lindsey asked, bringing me back to reality.

  I felt my eyes widen. "Are you serious? Easton's not a proponent of motherhood, trust me. I saw that firsthand in London."

  "Even so, Darcy, you should give him a chance."

  A chance to what? Fucking throttle me?

  "Listen, I need you to promise me, promise me, you won't say a word about this to anyone, including Taz." The words fell like fallen soldiers from my lips.

  "I'll promise on one condition. . . "

  "Which is?" I was mentally flipping my best friend off.

  "No more thoughts about having a - you know . . ."

  She couldn't even bring herself to use the "A" word.

  "No problem. I wasn't considering that anyway, geesh."

  "You weren't?"

  "Hell no! I considered the fact that I'm likely deficient in maternal instincts, but there was never any question of me not having the baby. For Chrissake, I sort've love the arrogant prick, you know?"

  I'd no sooner gotten off the phone with Lindsey then a call came in from Easton. It had to be around 10 p.m. in London.

  "Are you feeling okay?" he asked as soon as I answered.

  Huh?

  "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you feeling okay?" I replied, wondering why he'd greeted me with that to begin with.

  "You went to the doctor today. I was concerned you were ill."

  "How did you know that?" I asked, putting my hand on my hip.

  "The GPS in your car," he replied very matter-of-factly, as if he had every right to stalk me electronically.

  "You're keeping tabs on me via my car?" I didn't even want to see the expression on my face when I asked that. "Sounds like someone with a little too much time on their hands."

  "Answer my question please."

  "I'm fine. I had an appointment with my doctor because it's time for my Depo Provera shot - you know birth control?" I could feel my eyes bugging out as I carefully skirted the truth.

  "Ah, yes, wouldn't do to miss that. Good girl."

  Holy fuck!

  I changed the subject asking how things were going with the summit (as I called it teasingly). He said he was bored and ready to be back in D.C.

  "Really?" I asked him. "I don't understand your sudden love for the States these days, Mr. Matthews," I said flirtatiously.

  "I don't understand it myself," he replied. I could almost feel his smile over the phone. "Someone's got my attention in a death grip, I'm afraid."

  "Yeah. I miss you too, Easy E."

  "I'll see you after Paris, love. Behave yourself and I'll be in touch."

  "By phone or GPS?" I asked, twisting a lock of my hair around my finger.

  "Both," he replied. "Miss you."

  I felt a warm tingle in the pit of my belly after he'd said that to me. The glow stayed with me until I heard Eli come in from work about an hour later.

  What to do about Eli . . .

  The knowledge I was pregnant apparently signaled my body to start acting like it. I'd no sooner got up the following morning to get ready for work, when I made a mad dash to the bathroom to throw up. Three times. Eli heard me and when I came out into the hall with a wet wash cloth dabbing my mouth, he stood there, arms-crossed, leaning against the wall.

  "Stomach flu?" he asked.

  "No - I think those fish sticks I had last night didn't agree with me. I'll be fine."

  "Uh huh," he replied, giving me the once-over.

  Later at work, I was in the middle of going over some figures with Lacee, when the nausea struck me again. I made a mad dash to the restroom and unceremoniously heaved again. Damn! This was going to be a bitch. By afternoon I felt normal again. Hopefully this wouldn't be an everyday thing. Of course that was only wishful thinking. . .

  Like clockwork, every morning I'd throw up before leaving for work and then wave two of the nausea would hit around mid-morning.

  On Friday, I was at my desk, desperately fighting it back with a box of saltine crackers and a can of ginger ale I'd brought from home, when Lacee flitted into my office.

  "Here are the files you requested for the presentation," she said, slapping a pile of thick folders on the corner of my desk. "Christ, you look green. You've been puking around all week here."

  I looked over at her, narrowing my eyes in an attempt to scare her off.

  "Sorry," she said. "It's just that the walls to the restroom down the hall are thin. We've heard you retching in the morning – Oh, my God."

  Her eyes widened as the suspicion as to the cause of my illness sunk in. "Its morning sickness, isn't it? You're pregnant, aren't you?" It was an accusation, not a question.

  "Don't be ridiculous," I lashed back at her. "It's a stomach flu that's been going around. Eli had it first," I lied. There's no way in hell I'd let her know the truth.

  "You'd better hope that's all it is," she murmured, losing some of the haughty attitude. She looked around to make sure no one was out in the hall and then softly closed the door of my office. She came over to the side of the desk, taking a seat.

  Lacee's expression was almost sympath
etic. She looked sincere and compassionate in that moment. It took me a second to wrap my head around that.

  "Listen," she started quietly, "I know you and I got off to a horrible start. I realize now my resentment of you wasn't fair. I mean it wasn't your fault Easton was drawn to you and not to me. I'm so over it, Darcy. During the last couple of weeks I had a lot of time sitting at my apartment to reflect on the past few years of my life and to think about where my future's going to take me. The "faux" relationship I had with Easton was so one-sided, and so unhealthy. I never want to be the person I was with him again. I was drawn to his looks, his power and of course," she continued, a hint of a blush coloring her cheeks, "his sexual prowess."

  I shifted uncomfortably, hoping the wave of nausea I was feeling would subside long enough for Lacee to get to the point.

  "Anyway," she continued, "I don't know the specifics of your relationship with Easton and it's clearly not my business. I'll share with you something I do know and you can take it for what's its worth. Shortly after I was assigned to work for Easton, his ex-fiancée, Bianca Templeton made it a point to contact me. I'm not sure exactly why, other than she'd seen Easton and I out one evening and it turned out to be a very uncomfortable situation." Lacee paused for a moment and I could see a look of pain cross her face. "In fact, it ruined the rest of my night and carried on well into the following morning."

  Oh God! He'd punished her . . .

  "Bianca called me at the office the following day and warned me never to cross Easton. She said he'd single-handedly ruined her reputation and her career. She said it'd been worth it just knowing she'd never have to tolerate his abuse again. She started sobbing over the phone and told me it was too late for their baby, but it wasn't too late for her."

  My head snapped up at Lacee's words. "What did she mean by that?" I asked, interrupting her monologue.

  Lacee looked me directly in the eye and continued. "Apparently Bianca was pregnant with their child. When Easton found out about it he forced her to have an abortion against her will."

  "Whoa, wait a minute." I tried to find the right words. "How could he force that? I mean I get he's a control freak, but even I can't believe he'd carry a woman kicking and screaming into an abortion clinic and hold her down while they performed an abortion against her will."