Intimate Negotiations--A workplace surprise pregnancy romance

by Nicki Night

  With her sister dominating her thoughts, it helped Zoe not to focus on his good looks. She didn’t have to try hard to concentrate in his presence this morning. And the mention of his lavish lifestyle helped her determine that aside from work, their realities were really far apart. There wasn’t much they could possibly have in common. She needed to remember that.

  Six

  Ethan tapped the steering wheel to the beat of an old-school R & B song on the radio. He couldn’t help but smile as he made his way toward Zoe’s house to pick her up.

  She’d called to inform him that she’d woken up to a flat tire and would be late getting to the investment conference they were scheduled to attend in downtown Brooklyn. Immediately, Ethan had offered to pick her up along the way. He called his other two branch managers and asked if they wanted to carpool, as well, but they were already on the road. At least he’d attempted to both make Zoe feel comfortable and quiet any potential whispers about the two of them riding in together.

  Ethan pulled up to her town house and texted her to let her know he’d arrived. Minutes later, she emerged from her door in a well-fitting gray skirt suit, yellow blouse and matching pumps.

  He loved her sense of style. She always managed a professional yet sexy appearance with a touch of something unexpected. He hadn’t seen many people pair colors the way she had, and that gray and yellow made her glow. He watched her intently until she pulled the passenger door open. He was glad he’d chosen to drive one of his sportier cars.

  “Morning!” Zoe’s voice rang in his ear like a melody.

  “Morning.” Ethan smiled and waited until she was buckled in before pulling off.

  “Thanks so much for offering me a ride. I didn’t want to put you out of your way, but it seemed to be the only option for me to avoid getting there late.” She sighed. “At first, I was going to just change the tire but realized my rim was bent really bad. I guess that pothole I hit on my way home from my mother’s house last night did more damage than I expected.”

  Ethan’s brow furrowed when she mentioned changing the tire. He didn’t want to come across as a jerk that didn’t expect women to be able to do the same things as men. He thought about his words before speaking. “I like that you change tires.” That was the truth. He was intrigued.

  “Change tires, change oil. It takes a few major skills to be a girl these days.”

  “Impressive.” Ethan raised a brow and trained his eyes on the road. He liked Zoe even more.

  “My mom made sure of it. She wanted her girls to be okay living independently.”

  “Smart tree makes for a smart apple.”

  “Did you just call me an apple?”

  “I think I did just call you an apple.” The sound of their laughter filled the car. Ethan enjoyed her humor and decided he could listen to her laugh all day.

  “What other interesting skills do you have?” Once the words left his lips, he realized they could seem rather suggestive.

  Zoe looked over at him. He could feel the heat of her watching him.

  “Okay. That didn’t sound right but you have to know I had the purest of intentions,” he said after several moments passed.

  She grinned at him. “It’s a good thing I know you’re a gentleman.”

  “Glad my reputation preceded that comment,” he said dryly.

  “To answer your question, I own a great drill set, know how to shoot... What else? Oh! My sister and I spent a few years doing karate. The community center offered free classes for the youth in our neighborhood. We were the only girls. Somehow my mom found pink karate uniforms and insisted that our instructor allow us to wear them.”

  “Wow. So you can fight, shoot and fix cars? If I had a type I think that would be it—a pink-gi-wearing, karate-fighting, gun-toting, car-fixing, hole-drilling apple.”

  Zoe laughed hard. Ethan imagined that if beauty had a sound, her laugh would be it.

  “Where did you learn to shoot?”

  “My uncle lived deep in the country down in South Carolina. He hunted, and taught us when my sister and I went down during the summer. What about you? What are your special skills?”

  Zoe’s question sounded as suggestive as his had. Ethan swallowed before responding. His mind veered into naughty territory and he had to rein his thoughts in. Though he couldn’t act on it, he couldn’t deny her effect on him.

  He finally answered, “I collect cars. It’s one of my hobbies. My parents said I’ve been obsessed with them since I was a kid. You know those little Matchbox cars and Hot Wheels? Yeah, I had hundreds of them growing up. Every birthday, every Christmas, all I asked for was more cars. I had special cases for them and everything. My mom said that by the time I was three, I was calling out the makes and models on the cars that passed us on the highway. I even memorized license plate numbers.”

  “Seriously! Wow. How many cars do you own?”

  “Five.”

  Zoe’s eyes bulged. “Five? What kinds? Makes and models!” she added.

  “This one,” he said, referencing the top-of-the-line BMW coupe they rode in. “My convertible is an Aston Martin, the Bentley is an SUV, the Silverado is my pickup.” Ethan noticed Zoe nod knowingly as she counted on her fingers. “Then there’s my favorite baby, the coal-black 1969 Mustang.” He was sure his pride was evident as he described his last vehicle.

  “No kidding? Mustangs are my favorite. 1969? Ah! That must be a beauty.”

  “You like old cars?”

  “Love them! You restored it yourself?”

  Ethan would have driven the Mustang had he known she would have loved that one. But he often reserved that for special drives. “Yep. But I probably spend more time cleaning it than driving it. I only take her out on special occasions.”

  “Okay. What else?” she asked. Her voice was melodic.

  “What else what?” Ethan asked.

  “What else don’t I know about you?”

  Zoe obviously didn’t know her effect on him but he couldn’t possibly say that. “I did a little karate when I was a kid, too. Nothing major. My dad, brothers and I are big golfers. Other than that, you can say I’m pretty adventurous.”

  “Oh? What kinds of adventures?”

  “Anything that gets the adrenaline flowing and makes the heart pump a little faster. You know, like fast cars and things like skydiving and four-wheeling.”

  Zoe smiled. “Skydiving and four-wheeling sounds like fun. The height of my adrenaline-rush ventures would probably include the big roller coasters at Six Flags. Oh, I did go zip-lining once. That made my stomach do flips but I liked it.” She chuckled and shook her head.

  Ethan was enjoying their conversation. He wanted to hear more. Communicating had come easy for the two of them from the start. He hadn’t expected that ease to transfer into playful banter but was glad it had. For once, he wasn’t annoyed at the dense rush-hour traffic crawling across the Belt Parkway. He could have stayed in the car laughing and getting to know Zoe all day.

  The more she talked about herself, the more intrigued he became. They talked about everything from their backgrounds to work to dreams to politics. Zoe had strong opinions on the latter. They debated current events and shared their favorite shows to binge watch. Ethan was a fan of older shows like Law & Order and Criminal Minds. Zoe could tolerate those but was a bigger fan of newer series like the ones on Netflix.

  It took well over an hour and a half to reach the hotel where the conference was being held. Had it not been for the heavy traffic, they could have made it there in a half hour. New York had its own brand of rush hour painted with impatience, colorful language from angry drivers, aggressive maneuvers and obnoxious horn blowing. Despite the long drive, Ethan felt like they’d arrived too soon. His time of having Zoe all to himself was over. Suddenly he looked forward to the evening drive. Traffic would be just as bad, if not worse, but having Zoe
in the car with him would make it all worthwhile.

  By the time they arrived, they’d bonded. Ethan couldn’t lie. He liked Zoe—a lot. She was incredibly sexy, and he was definitely attracted to her. But she was his employee, which made her off-limits. The most they could be was good friends.

  He wished he had met her under different circumstances. Everything about her was refreshing—her conversation, wit, intelligence, style—everything. And the fact that she could change a tire and loved Mustangs gave her bonus points. He hadn’t met a woman quite like her before.

  There was an undercurrent of strength, resilience and grit about Zoe that he found captivating. That had been missing in the women he’d dated before. Ethan hadn’t known how attractive those qualities were until now.

  He maneuvered the car into the parking garage under the hotel where the conference was being held. There was a lot more to Zoe than what met the eye. It was all nicely arranged in a beautiful, smart, feminine package. He would have to exercise some special restraint to focus throughout this conference. His curiosity had been seriously piqued.

  Once the car was handed over to a valet, they headed for the elevator. Reaching for the call button at the same time, their hands brushed one another’s. Both paused and smiled awkwardly.

  Something electrifying generated from the area her hand had touched and traveled up the length of his entire arm. Ethan swallowed hard and cleared his throat. He knew he hadn’t imagined that feeling and wondered if Zoe felt the same thing.

  It was going to be a long day.

  Seven

  As Zoe and Ethan approached the registration table inside the luxury hotel, she tried to shake off the heat that still lingered from being so close to him during their car ride. And that car of his... She’d never been inside a vehicle with that magnitude of luxury. She’d been super proud of her sporty Acura. It was an upgrade for her and had all the premium features. But Ethan’s BMW was made for driving.

  She loved cars. Despite the potholes that New Yorkers knew all too well, their ride today had been extremely smooth. At times she could have been convinced that the vehicle hadn’t actually touched the road. The seats had enveloped her in soft leather. The music had filled the interior with a crispness that had made her feel like the singers could have been sitting in the back seat.

  Reflecting on their conversation, Zoe didn’t know why she felt so comfortable chatting it up with Ethan. He was so easy to talk to—and fun. She enjoyed his sense of humor, and the way he tapped into hers carried their jokes even further.

  They checked in, received their badges and were directed to the great ballroom for breakfast before the conference started. Ethan led them to a table with a sign that displayed their company name. She looked up and smiled when she saw the Blackwell Wealth Management logo flash across the large screens flanking the small stage and podium. She was proud that Blackwell had been one of the sponsors at the conference.

  Zoe found a seat and put down her bag. She spotted Jasmine, waved and pointed toward their reserved table. She looked around for Ethan, but he seemed to have disappeared.

  The room buzzed with energy. Well-dressed finance professionals from all across the metropolitan area were in attendance. Zoe spotted a few familiar faces as she made her way toward the buffet. She hadn’t made many friends in the industry, so she didn’t go out of her way to say hello to anyone she recognized. She’d greet them once they were in closer proximity. Her old boss, Seth, popped into her mind and she hope she didn’t see him. She stepped into the buffet line and picked up a plate.

  “Look who we have here.”

  At the sound of Seth’s voice, all the warmth she’d settled into on her ride to the conference dissipated instantly. Zoe closed her eyes, held her plate with both hands and breathed deeply. She wished she hadn’t thought of him and blamed herself for conjuring up his presence. Slowly, she turned around. He was immediately behind her in line. Way too close for her liking.

  “Seth.” She nodded coolly.

  “How’s the new gig?” His eyes washed over her from head to toe.

  “Great. It’s great.” She offered a tight smile and turned to focus on the eggs and bacon she put on her plate.

  “Glad to hear it.”

  Zoe decided to choose her selections quickly so she could get back to her table and as far from Seth as possible. “Good seeing you,” she lied evenly.

  “Yeah. It’s good seeing you, too.” He stepped uncomfortably close to her. His tone made her look his way. A sly smile eased across his face. Was he trying to flirt with her or intimidate her? “Tell me, did you file that complaint because you didn’t get the promotion?”

  Zoe just blinked a few times before narrowing her eyes at him. Anger crept up her spine. She filed the complaint because of his inappropriate behavior but it wasn’t taken seriously. Seth’s behavior persisted. After getting passed over for the second promotion she knew that leaving the company would be inevitable.

  Seth reared his head back and dismissed her concern with a wave. “I’m not mad. You were upset. I get it.” He stepped in even closer, eliminating any space between them. Zoe stepped back. He smirked. “Maybe if you had been a bit more—” he seemed to search for a word “—friendlier with me, one of those promotions could have been yours.”

  She gritted her teeth, whipped around and walked away. It was the best she could do without causing a scene.

  “We should have lunch one day,” he said to her retreating back. She kept walking.

  She marched back to the table with steam rising inside of her. She saw that more of the Blackwell team had arrived and she willed herself to calm down. She greeted Bill and Carter, who were standing nearby holding court with Ethan and a few others from Blackwell’s headquarters. They greeted her warmly.

  She could have sworn she saw Carter pass Ethan a quick look. She couldn’t read it but wondered what was behind it. Did it have something to do with her? She shook off that thought. They were brothers. It could have been anything.

  Zoe headed to the Blackwell table and took her seat. She began to dig into her breakfast but found she’d lost her appetite.

  “I’m not sure if you heard me,” Seth said, startling her. She hadn’t realized that he had walked up behind her. “I’d like to do...lunch sometime soon. I hope you’re not harboring any hard feelings about, you know, from our work together.”

  This guy was unbelievable. Zoe pulled in her bottom lip before rising slowly. “Seth.” She wanted to tell him to leave her alone but chose other words instead. “No.” She forced a smile. “No hard feelings. In fact, I should thank you. Standing in the way of me getting ahead actually helped me to spread my wings. Now I have a dream job with amazing people, making so much more money. So don’t worry. I’m doing just fine. And no, I don’t think we should do lunch. Thank you!” She tilted her head and gave him a satisfied smile.

  Seth opened his mouth but didn’t speak. He recovered quickly. “Fine. That’s great.”

  She folded her arms and tilted her head, almost daring him to say more.

  “Well. How about instead of lunch, dinner would be even better?” He lowered his voice. “I’ve always been attracted to—” he quickly looked around, then drew closer, forcing her to move back “—women like you.”

  Zoe’s eyebrows furrowed. “Women like me?”

  Seth’s slick smile returned. “Yeah. You know, from the other side of the fence, the tracks, whatever. You women of color got sass and I like it. What do you say? We don’t work together anymore. It can’t hurt.”

  Zoe felt like her temperature had risen by ten degrees in that singular moment. She pointed her finger close to his nose and opened her mouth to douse him with some of the sass he liked so much.

  “Ethan Blackwell, of Blackwell Wealth Management.” Ethan broke into that moment like a whip. He held his hand out to Seth. “And you are?” He carefu
lly placed his hand on Zoe’s lower back.

  Zoe closed her mouth, thankful for his sharp interruption. How had he known she needed someone to step in at just that time?

  For a brief second, Seth just looked at him. “Ah. Seth Sanders.” He took his eyes off Ethan for a moment, looked at Zoe, then back at Ethan. “Um. Good to meet you.” He didn’t bother to say what company he worked for. “See you around, Zoe.” His departure was swift.

  Zoe huffed, crossed her arms again and shook her head.

  “Old boyfriend?”

  “Ugh! No. Former jerk of a boss from my last job. Part of the reason I left.”

  “Lucky me. I should have thanked him instead of running him off. Does he know what he lost?” Ethan picked up one of the water glasses on the table and sipped it.

  Zoe let her arms drop to her sides. “I doubt it. It’s hard for him to see around his own ego.”

  “Oh. One of those. You okay now?”

  “Thanks for bailing me out of that.”

  “You looked like you were about to blow. Between the pursed lips and the finger you almost poked his eye out with, I knew he wasn’t a welcome guest. I hope I wasn’t being too forward by placing my hand on your back. I wasn’t trying to be inappropriate. I just wanted to help.”

  “No. I’m fine, and thanks again.”

  “Anytime.”

  He picked up another glass of ice water and handed it to Zoe. “It’s the strongest drink I can muster at this time of the morning.”

  That made her smile. “Thanks.” She took the glass and drank. It helped cool her down. Ethan didn’t know it but coming to her rescue in the smooth way he had scored with her in a big way. She could still feel the imprint of his hand where he’d touched her back. It tingled deliciously.

  An older gentleman with perfectly cropped gray hair, stark blue eyes, a strong jaw and perfect posture took to the podium in what Zoe determined to be an expensive blue custom-made suit. Turned out, he was the CEO of one of the largest global investment banking firms and on the boards of some major companies, according to his bio inside the conference pamphlet. He was a true Wall Street man who looked every bit of the part.