by Mia Ford
I looked back at my father and shook my head, glad to see that he was behind us on this. I glanced over at Jordan who was standing to the side with his arms crossed in front of him. He looked at me and nodded, giving me the thumbs up. Everyone was on the same page with this, and I was putting my foot down. I was pretty sure every single person in that office knew that when we made a statement like that, we were not playing around. Business was business and in this case, it was affecting the flow of our work. Not to mention the fact that it was upsetting my beautiful girlfriend who was carrying our precious little baby. I didn’t care if I had to fire my own secretary, I would do it. Hopefully, though, since everyone knew how serious we were, we would have no other problems with this issue. I stepped down off the stool and turned to Tiffany who was covering her face and shaking her head. She looked at me and smiled, leaning in and kissing me softly.
“You are my hero,” she laughed, holding onto my jacket. “Now I just have to make sure none of them kill me in my sleep.”
“I think you will be safe.” I laughed. “And don’t ever hold something like that back again. You had to know there was no way I would ever let you go all the way to San Diego.”
“I hope that changed your mind about California,” John said when he leaned over.
“Yes.” She laughed. “Thank you so much, John. It really means a lot to have everyone’s support.”
“Alright.” he clapped his hands. “Let’s get through this hump day misery and get back to our homes so we can relax. I’m ready for some relaxation and a nice warm fire.”
“Hump day,” she whispered, raising her eyebrows. “We got it right.”
“We sure as hell did,” I said, laughing and tickling her waist.
The rest of the day went by quickly, with Tiffany back to messaging and texting erotically with me. I even got a sexy titty picture from her when she excused herself to the restroom. Everything seemed to be back in working order. All there was left to do was start looking toward the future.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Tiffany
My phone rang and I picked it up, saying hello instead of my normal greeting because the call was coming from inside of the office. I was surprised to hear John’s voice on the other end asking me to come to his office. I hung up the phone and walked out of my room, winking at Jason as I passed. When I got to the door, I knocked, smiling as I leaned around the corner. He motioned for me to come in and I did, closing the door behind me. I walked over and sat down in the chairs opposite his desk, placing my hands on my knees and raising my eyebrows. I wasn’t sure what he wanted, but he had a pretty serious expression on his face.
“I wanted to see if you had any more problems with the staff since Wednesday when we made our announcement,” he said, smiling.
“Ha.” I rolled my eyes and relaxed. “No, quite the opposite actually. People are going out of their way to be nice to me. I think they think I am keeping points or have some secret roster. It’s almost hilarious watching the worst offenders scrambling around when I walk into the office. Sometimes, they even chime good morning in tune with each other. Half the time, I don’t even know what to say, so I just smile awkwardly.”
“I’m not sure which is worse.” He grimaced. “I was never a fan of that one person who was damn sunshine all the time. That’s probably why my office is filled with condescending assholes. I won’t hire the sunshine and daisies employee because I know I’ll kill them on one bad Monday morning.”
“Well, I’d rather deal with sunshine because the fake ‘hello’ is so much easier to handle than people constantly talking trash about me behind my back,” I said. “It really hurt my feelings because I thought I’d tried really hard to be a good person, and still, no one wanted to give me the time of day. It was almost depressing at some points. But I don’t have to tell you that. I was the one ready to jump on a plane and fly across the country to get away from it. I really do appreciate everything you guys have done. You have treated me like family, no matter how awkward the situation got. I never what having a family was like until I came here to work and met everyone. You stuck by me even when I wasn’t technically family anymore. My own family can’t even stick by me, and we share the same DNA. Sometimes, I think the world is absolutely hopeless, and then, I come to work and remember it's not hopelessness, it’s sarcasm and it originates from my office.”
We both laughed loudly as people scurried past the windows, realizing I was in with the boss. They really had been almost nauseating with how nice they were being to me. I had never seen a group of people react like that to their bosses. I had never seen any of the guys ever come down hard on anyone, so I wasn’t sure where the fear came from, but I was definitely thankful I didn’t have to deal with the crap anymore.
“Well,” John said leaning back in his chair. “I don’t want thanks. You just make sure you take care of yourself and provide me a grandson or a kick ass granddaughter to be the heir of the company. God knows I’m not sure either of my boys will quite get the hang of it.”
We glanced out the window and watched as Jason and Jordan play fought as they walked by the window. Freezing halfway past and looking over at us slowly before running off. John shook his head and threw his hands up in the air while I laughed hysterically at how ridiculous those boys could be, and that was perfect timing for the conversation we were having.
“I’ll do my best, but I’m pretty sure with Banks blood coursing through its blood, this baby will come out crunching numbers and putting up marketing schemes,” I said, chuckling. “Or we’ll get a dud, and they will do cartwheels out, and we’ll have a new generation of Banks circus performers.”
“I got enough of those already,” John grumbled with a smile.
We talked another few minutes about nothing important, and I excused myself from his office. Slowly, I meandered through the hall until I reached the break room where I went over and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Jordan turned from the coffee maker and smiled at me. It had been the first time we had been alone since I had gone to talk to him at his apartment. It was nice seeing him and being able to have a comfortable conversation without the fear that we were going to break out in a screaming match. I walked over and wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tightly, feeling his muscles tense at first but then relax into it. I pulled back and stepped backward, looking up at his blushed cheeks. I had never known Jordan to get embarrassed, but it looked like my hug sent him right over the top. I laughed to myself trying not to embarrass him further and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket on the table. I was starting to feel like all I did was eat, even though it was only tiny portions at a time. My pants still fit the same, and I didn’t really notice anything different when I looked at myself in the mirror, but I knew it would be coming soon enough. In just a few months I would be carrying a basketball around in front of me, something I was oddly excited about.
“How are you?” He seemed genuinely interested for the first time in a very long time.
“Honestly?” I looked at him and smiled. “I’m doing amazing. I feel so much better now that you guys have worked things out. Everyone has stopped treating me like the woman with the red letter on her chest, and I’m really super happy with Jason. I really thought there for a second that my best course of action was to go to San Diego and have this baby on my own. I was scared, but everything worked out just like I wanted. And I am so happy you and I can talk like this.”
“I’m really glad that you found someone like my brother,” he said smiling. “Or exactly my brother to be specific.”
“Why?”
“I have known both of you for a really long time, and I can’t think of anyone more perfect for you than Jason,” he said, nodding his head. “Even me.”
“Thank you,” I said with a bright smile. I leaned in and hugged him again, relieved that he had moved past the hurt and the anger. It had only been a few days, but I knew if he could come this far in that short amount of time
, we were all going to have an amazing relationship. This was the family I had always wanted and never thought I would have. Sure, I missed my brother, but we talked on a regular basis, and he was extremely supportive of my life. This, though, this was even better, having everyone I needed right there.
“Thanks, man,” Jason said walking around the corner. “That was probably the nicest thing you’ve said about me your whole life.”
“He heard me,” Jordan whispered. I laughed and pulled away watching as the two brothers embraced. I loved the fact that they had been able to move past all of this, and they even seemed to be closer than they were when I had first came into the picture. Even Jordan had seemed to change, and I just couldn’t get over how down to earth they acted toward each other.
“You still hit like a girl,” Jordan whispered as Jason pulled back.
“I don’t know, man,” he said, walking over to me. “That’s a pretty tough girl. I distinctly remember blood spilling from your mouth and nose.”
“I bleed easily,” Jordan replied. “Besides, I was smiling the whole time, so it couldn’t have hurt that bad.”
“Didn’t you end up getting like two stitches?” I had to throw in my two cents.
“Where did you hear that? Damn office drama. I’m going to fire someone.” He laughed.
“They can’t pick on me anymore, so they chose a new target,” I replied. “Better you than me, any day. Instead, I get the hoard of creepy smiling zombies every day. I am waiting for them to start leaving gifts on my desk, so I don’t have to buy my own snacks every day.”
We all laughed, and I looked at Jason as he slid his hands gently around my waist. He pulled me in close, his eyes sparkling, and pressed his lips deeply against mine. I let out a deep breath as his lips glided sweetly across mine. He kissed the corners of my mouth, my cheeks, and both of my eyes before pulling back and looking deep into my eyes. I loved this man so much, it was insane. It hadn’t been very long, but we had decided to take our relationship into turbo mode, sex, baby, and love all in the span of a month. If it had been anyone else, I would have been freaking out, but Jason had stolen my heart a long time ago, and I hadn’t realized it until our first kiss. He was the man I was meant to be with. I had just taken the long route to get there.
Jason pulled me in for a hug and squeezed me tightly, his face pushed into my neck. I could feel him taking deep breaths of my perfume as I stood there holding tightly to him. I looked up at Jordan who was looking at us adoringly. He smiled and took a deep breath, diverting his eyes to the drink in his hands.
“So,” he said, stretching. “When are you two fools going to get married?”
Jason lifted his head and leaned back, kissing me on the nose before letting go. He turned toward Jordan and smiled, looking back at me as he stuck his hand in his pocket. I watched him pull a small box wrapped in a red bow from his pants, and I looked up at him in confusion.
“Speaking of,” he said turning toward me and walking over to the door. “Can I have everyone’s attention? Everyone, please come to the break room immediately.”
He walked back over to me and watched as everyone funneled into the break room. Once the place was full, he turned back toward me and smiled. Slowly he bent down on one knee and opened the ring box. I put my hands over my mouth and gasped as he cleared his throat.
“Tiffany, you are the most amazing, the bravest, the strongest, and the sweetest woman I have ever met. You are carrying the only other thing in this world that could match the importance of you. I could not go another day without knowing you were going to be with me for the rest of my days,” he said, gazing up at me. “Will you do the honor of accepting my hand in marriage?”
I threw my head back and laughed, completely and utterly surprised by the whole thing. I nodded my head, answering yes, and walked forward as he stood up and took the giant stone from the box. He slid the ring across my finger and pulled me in close, pressing his lips firmly against mine. It was the perfect day. I had pulled my family back together, and now, I was going to get to spend my life with the man I loved. Everything had worked out just as I thought it would. Absolutely perfect.
Epilogue
Jason
“Jason,” Tiffany said, slapping me in the chest and raising me from a dead sleep. I jumped up on the bed and looked around, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. My breathing calmed, and Tiffany switched on the light. She was standing on the floor, bent over holding her very large belly.
She was officially three days past her due date and that baby had seemed like it was perfectly content with just hanging out inside of her. We’d moved into my SoHo apartment, not wanting to share the same house that she’d had with Jordan, but had ended up going to the Greek District to avoid the stairs at my place. I was terrified she was going to fall down the stairs while I was at work, and though she fought me on it, being stubborn as hell, we moved over to her old place and had Mona staying in the spare room while I was at work. My father had said she wasn’t allowed to work when she reached 38 weeks, so she had been sulking and waddling around the house, trying to keep herself busy. She was probably the most adorable pregnant woman I had ever seen.
“Baby,” she said in a panic.
“Yes, sweetie, what do you need?”
“No! Baby. I got up to get something to eat and my water broke.” She pointed at her soaking wet clothes.
“Oh.” I ran over and grabbed her bag. “Let’s get you changed really fast.”
She nodded her head, and I helped her pull on some dry clothes before making our way out to the car. She breathed deeply, the contractions hitting her hard. I reached over and grasped her hand, laughing as she forced a kind of terrifying smile. I whipped through the streets and pulled in front of the hospital. As soon as I got out, I helped her out of the car, grabbing a wheelchair and pushing her into the front. The nurses sent us directly upstairs to the maternity ward, and before we knew it, she was lying on the bed in a hospital gown and with a monitor strapped across her big, round belly. I could see the baby kicking, pushing on her skin like something from a horror movie.
The doctor came in and checked her, looking surprised and then running from the room. I watched the monitor and grasped her hand as another wave of contractions moved over her. She breathed in and out just like the class she went to taught her, groaning as the contraction hit its peak. She was in so much pain, but she held tightly to her beliefs, refusing the epidural they offered her. When the doctor came back, he was dressed in a coat and was wearing gloves, the nurses scurrying along behind him.
“It looks like this baby is ready to get moving,” he said with a laugh.
They lowered the bed, and she scooted forward, sweat beading on her forehead. I held her hand while the doctor told her to keep breathing and not to push just yet. The nurse watched the monitor as the spikes began to rise, looking over at the doctor and nodding. He moved forward on his stool and reached his hands below her gown.
“Okay, when I say so, I want you to bear down and push,” he instructed.
Tiffany shook her head and breathed deeply, feeling her belly begin to contract. As the waves moved up on the screen, the nurse nodded again and the doctor took his position. I leaned down and pressed my head against her forehead and whispered “I love you” into her ear.
“Now,” the doctor said.
Tiffany grabbed tightly to my hand and held her breath as she pushed down hard. She screamed out as the doctor put his hand back in the air to signal her to stop.
“Okay,” he said. “The shoulders are out, one more good push, and you will be a new mother.”
She looked at me with tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. I kissed her lips and nodded my head, waiting for the doctor’s orders. As soon as he said push, she began, and after a few short seconds, he lifted a beautiful baby boy into the air. The baby began to cry immediately, and they rested him on her chest, cleaning out his airways and cutting his cord. Tears filled my eyes as we
huddled together, just the three of us.
“I love you,” I said, crying.
“I love you, too,” she replied through laughter and tears. “I am thinking Justin is a perfect name.”
“I love it.” I watched the nurses take him and start doing their weighing and blood work.
They cleaned up the baby, wrapped him in a warm blanket, and handed him to me as they finished up with Tiffany. I walked out of the delivery room and down the hall where my mother, father, and Jordan were all waiting nervously. They looked up as I rounded the corner, and my mother burst into tears, looking down at the sweet blond-haired boy in my arms. He looked just like Tiffany, and even Jordan joked about making sure I was the father. My family took turns holding him before I could take him back to the room. It was late at night, so they kissed us both and went home, promising to come back the next day to give Tiffany love and see Justin again.
By the time I got back, they had moved Tiffany to her room where she was patiently waiting for me to return. I put Justin in her arms and stood back, completely in awe of the two of them. The nurse had her feed the baby before she could finally rest, leaving him to fall asleep in my arms. I looked down at his little cheeks and back up Tiffany, who had fallen asleep right away. I leaned back in the chair in the room and soaked it up, knowing that life wouldn’t be this simple again for a very long time. Justin cooed and smacked his lips, looking up at me as I held him close. The nurse turned the lights down low, and I rocked Justin slowly until his eyes closed and he slept quietly in my arms. At that moment, I couldn’t help thinking about how lucky I was. I was sitting here with a healthy baby, a healthy wife, and the best life I could have ever dreamed. Justin was even more beautiful than I could have imagined, and I couldn’t believe how much you could love someone. My heart was bursting, looking down at his absolutely perfect little body. He had been made with love and brought into the world to two parents who couldn’t have been more excited to have him join the family. Even his Uncle Jordan teared up while holding him, which is something you didn’t see often. Life was perfect. The silence of the hospital was peaceful, but holding him like this, I didn’t want to fall asleep and miss a thing. Instead, I hummed a nursery rhyme to him and waited for his mom to wake up again. She had been through hell, so I wanted to make sure she got enough rest.