Intimate Negotiations--A workplace surprise pregnancy romance

by Nicki Night

  The two returned to silence and finished preparing the few items they had for breakfast. The frittatas were tasty and all they had to wash down the food was water and coffee. When they were done, Ethan made some calls to see about being able to get back to Long Island. He took a few of those calls in his room behind closed doors. Zoe wondered if he was speaking to a lady friend.

  Unfortunately, a way home did not reveal itself. The roadways were still shut down, the trains weren’t running yet and authorities were still assessing the damage. Cars were stuck in water along some of the major highways and downed lines made traveling through water dangerous. A number of people across the area had suffered electric shocks.

  “What now?” Zoe asked once they’d cleaned up after breakfast.

  “Movie?” Ethan took his coffee and plopped on the couch. He pointed the remote at the television.

  “Or I could beat you in another game of cards.”

  “Ha!” Ethan threw his head back. “This time, I’ll teach you a few games.”

  “Bring it on.”

  He grabbed the deck of cards and showed her a new game that he and his siblings used to play, a game where players had to constantly call each other’s bluffs.

  “All right,” he began. “It’s called BS.”

  Zoe raised a brow and tilted her head to the side. “BS. As in bull—”

  “Yep,” Ethan interjected. “When you suspect your opponent of bluffing, you have to call out BS.”

  “Did your parents know you were playing this?”

  “My grandmother taught it to us!”

  Zoe laughed hard. “I like your grandma.”

  They played the game for the next hour or so and by the time they stopped for lunch, Zoe’s belly hurt from laughing so much. Once she got the hang of the game, she bluffed a lot and Ethan called her out on her bluffing just as much.

  At one point, he turned up the television and they got updates on the aftermath of the weather before picking another movie to watch.

  He called a few local restaurants to see if any were open for them to order dinner. Fortunately a few were, and they ordered his favorite Asian takeout.

  After spending the past twenty-four hours together in close quarters, the atmosphere between them had settled into a more comfortable existence. Zoe felt it in her posture. Ethan’s feet rested on the ottoman in front of him. She folded her feet under her as she picked fresh popcorn from a bowl. They flowed between laughter and conversation with ease. Subjects that they’d been careful not to broach before became a familiar part of their dialogue. Zoe felt like she and Ethan had been old friends for years—almost.

  He looked at her and cocked his head sideways.

  Her hand paused midway as she was bringing a piece of popcorn to her mouth. “What?” she asked.

  “So, why don’t you have a boyfriend?”

  Zoe shrugged. “I can’t blame it all on men. I haven’t always made a good girlfriend.”

  Ethan reared his head back. “What makes you say that?”

  “It’s what I’ve been told,” she said, matter-of-fact. “More than once.”

  His eyes widened. “Wow.”

  She waved dismissively. “That doesn’t bother me.” She laughed. “Well, not anymore.” She handed him the popcorn. He took the bowl and dug in. “I’ve been accused of acting—” she made air quotes “—like a man.” She sniffed. “One said I was too ambitious because I paid more attention to my career and not enough to him. I guess that summed up what most of them felt and honestly, I just didn’t know what to do with that. My career means a lot to me. I spend a lot of time focusing on it and then there’s my family.”

  Zoe stopped talking. She wasn’t ready to talk intimately about her family with Ethan. He didn’t need to know about her family’s battle with Shena’s mental illness.

  “Seems like selfishness on their part.”

  “Eh. Sometimes it was hard for me to balance both. I worked really hard on my past jobs to earn my bosses’ respect and set myself up for potential promotions. Whenever I didn’t get a promotion, it made me work harder to prove myself for the next time. In the process, my relationships suffered. I didn’t mean for it to happen that way.”

  “You didn’t have the right men.”

  Zoe looked at him curiously.

  “They should have been supporting you and celebrating your determination instead of getting upset about you working hard to get somewhere.”

  That was how she felt, too, but she remained quiet. Ethan was the first man who had ever said anything like that to her. The others just complained about how little they got from her.

  “In my opinion,” he went on, “it’s obvious that they were threatened by your potential.”

  “I guess.” She tilted her head, thankful for his apparent appreciation of her ambition.

  “I bet you weren’t as bad a girlfriend as you thought.”

  His deep gaze made something shift inside of her. She swallowed and smiled. “Thanks, Ethan. I’ll remember that.”

  “Their loss. Lucky me,” he said, taking the empty bowl to the island. He came to sit near her on the couch.

  “How are you lucky?”

  “Your boss’s failure to give you the chance you deserve is what led you to our company. You’re definitely an asset—hardworking, brilliant, savvy, full of great ideas and you deliver. It’s why I hired you. Someone would have to be blind not to see what you bring to the table.”

  A smile slowly spread across her face. Zoe felt her cheeks warm. It was almost as if he’d said he loved her. Her previous boss had never complimented her or praised her work. Not once. “Thank you, Ethan.”

  “I mean that.”

  The lights flickered and she yelped. “What was that?”

  Ethan huffed and jumped up from the couch. “I hope it’s not what I think it is.”

  The lights flickered again. She folded her knees to her chest, praying that the power wouldn’t go completely out.

  Suddenly they heard a thud and everything went black.

  Twelve

  The only light in the apartment came from the dim evening sky. Soon, all they would have was the moonlight.

  Ethan called Maintenance, who explained that flooding in the basement was causing sporadic outages in the building and the backup generator couldn’t keep up. The only active lighting was the emergency lighting in the hallways.

  Ethan had bought a loft in this particular building because of the older charm and larger room sizes, but it also meant it didn’t have some of the latest technologies like newer structures did. The technician assured Ethan that help was on the way and that they would be working diligently to restore power to the building. This also meant they couldn’t use the elevator, so they were stuck inside the building unless they wanted to walk up and down several flights of stairs. Until then, he and Zoe would have to remain in the dark.

  Ethan groaned as he ended the call. He looked at his phone. Since he’d spent most of his time watching movies, playing cards and talking with Zoe, he still had pretty good battery life. He relayed the info from Maintenance to Zoe.

  “Wow! What else could go wrong?”

  “Hey, shh! Don’t say that.”

  “You’re right. Or the universe will show me what else could go wrong. My bad.” She laughed.

  “How’s the battery in your phone?” he asked.

  “Pretty good. Yours?”

  “About eighty percent.”

  “I have my portable charger in my handbag, too. Do you have one here?”

  “I don’t.” He huffed.

  “What about candles? Do you have any around?”

  Ethan pressed his lips together and thought for a moment. “I might.” He’d used this place for entertaining plenty of women; he was bound to have a few candles inside a drawer somewhere.
He checked the kitchen and linen closets and came back with a few. He lined them up on the kitchen island and pulled out a lighter.

  “No!” Zoe held her hands up. “We still have a bit of sunlight. Let’s wait until we really need them.”

  Ethan was grateful to still have her company. “See. Smart lady.”

  “Oh, Ethan,” she said in an exaggerated tone. “Flattery will get you everywhere.” They laughed, easing the intensity of the moment.

  Ethan sat back down on the couch. The shadows and light from the descending sun cast her face in a mysterious glow. She looked even more beautiful.

  “Where do you see yourself going after Blackwell?” he asked.

  “Hmm.” Zoe put her hand on her chin. “I’m hoping to be here for a while and learn as much as I can from you and your family. I’d love to make it to the C-suite one day.”

  They talked until the only light in the apartment came from a sliver of moonlight through the window and a few sporadically placed candles. Circumstances had created a romantic atmosphere that Ethan hadn’t anticipated.

  He fought to keep his focus on their conversation, but his attention kept drifting to her perfect silhouette. A time or two, perhaps three, they brushed against one another, unable to properly gauge their distance in the dim light. Each time, Ethan felt currents strong enough to light the room with his own fire surge along the places that she touched.

  They talked and talked, familiarizing themselves with one another’s life, getting comfortable in each other’s presence. He asked question after question, eager to know things about Zoe that he hadn’t known before. In spite of the inconvenience of the weather, he was secretly thankful for the time he was spending with her. It couldn’t amount to much, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.

  “What about you, Ethan? Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” Zoe asked, tilting her head.

  She’d brought the conversation back to that. “I did.” Ethan sighed. “Like you, I’ve been accused of putting too much of my time and energy into work. We started working on the company’s expansion a while back, way before we actually put any of our plans into action. I was working long days, spending weekends with my dad and the rest of the team strategizing and mapping things out. One afternoon, I decided I wanted to surprise my girlfriend and take her out, spend some time with her. I pulled up to her place and there was a man standing on her front steps. She opened the door, he swept her into his arms, kissed her and carried her inside. He used his foot to close the door.”

  “Oh! Ethan. I’m so sorry. What did you do?”

  “I sat in the car fuming for a few moments before I realized that what we had was over long before that day. I got out of my car and used my key to get into her house. I followed their sounds toward her bedroom. The door was wide open. She obviously wasn’t expecting me. I calmly walked in and said hello. She screamed. The two of them jumped out of the bed, covering their naked bodies with the sheets. It was obvious they hadn’t wasted any time. Clothes were tossed across the floor from the door to the bed. I held up her key, placed it on the table next to her bed and walked out.”

  Zoe’s eyes stretched wide. Her hand covered her mouth. “What did they do?”

  “Nothing. They just watched me with their mouths wide open. I closed the front door, got in my car and went back to work.”

  “Oh my goodness, Ethan. That’s terrible.”

  “Like I said, it was over way before it was officially over. The end was inevitable, so I wasn’t totally surprised to see she had moved on to someone else. By the way, they’re married now. Ha!”

  “Whoa!”

  Darkness had fully arrived, swallowing up the tense silence they fell into. Zoe reached over and touched Ethan’s arm. “I’m so sorry about that. You’re a catch. There’s a woman out there that will appreciate the hardworking man that you are.”

  Ethan felt the electricity from her touch. He looked at her. “Of course,” he said confidently. A smile eased across his lips and he took in her beauty; the candle’s flickering light shimmered in her eyes. She looked radiant under the moonlight.

  He imagined that the woman Zoe spoke of would be a lot like her. Despite all common sense, for a moment, he wished it could be her.

  Her lips were perfect. Inviting. Ethan recalled the softness from their kiss. He wanted to kiss her again. The curve from her chin to her neck was the sexiest angle he’d ever set his eyes on. He recalled her confidence, and silly things like the fact that she could change tires. He didn’t know many women like Zoe. The fact that it seemed like she didn’t need a man at all intrigued him all the more.

  She swallowed, and Ethan watched her neck shift in the soft light. Every maneuver came across as sensual. Her hand was still on his arm. He covered it with his hand. Electric sparks radiated in his palm.

  Ethan took that hand and before he knew what he was doing, he kissed it. He found himself leaning toward her, and she drew closer to him. He felt controlled by an outside force, unable to resist the pull. She seemed compelled by the same force. His breath came in a rush.

  They closed the space between them and paused once they were close enough to almost touch. They were still for a brief moment. Ethan contemplated the feel of her lips. He shouldn’t. He wanted to. So badly. He fought the good fight against his will and lost.

  Zoe reached out with her free hand and touched his face, pulling him closer. Closing the gap. Her caress ignited a fire that reasonable thoughts and common sense could not quench. Their lips connected.

  Hers were so soft. Sweet but also salty from the popcorn. Perfect. Fireworks exploded in his head, danced and then consumed them both. The kiss was hot, deep, passionate and breathtaking. She moved closer and held his face with both her hands. Ethan wrapped his arms around her, pressing their bodies together.

  The fire licked at them, sparking a hunger that refused to be doused. Their hands roamed every part of the other’s body. All the restraint Ethan had exercised in her presence since the day he’d set eyes on her crumbled like a house made of cards. Desire scorched a hot path through him, and he felt his temperature rise. If he could trust his sense of touch, her body was blazing as much as his.

  He couldn’t get enough. He pulled his mouth from Zoe’s long enough to take a breath, lacing her face with loving pecks before taking her lips fully again. They shifted positions, never truly disconnecting from each other, her body stretching out under his, her hands furiously exploring any area she could reach.

  Ethan was careful not to apply too much pressure as he held himself over her. He could feel his erection strain against his sweats, pressing against her. Aware of how his desire surged over him, he reluctantly ended the kiss.

  Several beats ticked by as the hastened rhythm of their thumping hearts slowed. Their chests rose and fell in the same declining tempo.

  Ethan stared into her eyes. He could see the rawness of her longing. Zoe licked her kiss-swollen lips and he wanted to feel them again but resisted. He pushed himself up and sat back on the couch and tried to catch his breath. He fought to remove himself from her the way magnets fought to connect.

  Zoe sat up beside him. She took his hand in hers, breathing just as hard. Neither of them spoke. Together they sat there in the dark.

  What had he just done?

  Thirteen

  Forget butterflies, something deeper fluttered in Zoe’s stomach. Ethan—no, her boss had just kissed the breath out of her and all she could think about was kissing him again and again. She could see the inquiries behind his eyes. She knew that, like her, he was pondering what they’d just done.

  She had just kissed her boss—again! She should have felt worse about it but didn’t. It felt too good. Zoe felt like she was floating when his lips touched hers. She couldn’t stop thinking about it after. Her mind had told her not to do it, but with one touch of his hand, she couldn’t resist. She wanted more. Much more.
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  She put her hand back on his face, knowing he would understand the gesture as an invitation. He looked into her eyes and nodded. The air in her lungs swirled. She was breathless at the mere thought of tasting his lips once again. Hunger rose in her, and their lips met again. The same urgency flared again, an all-consuming, desperate fire.

  Caresses turned into tugs and pulls. Longing blazed a hot trail from her center up to her chest. Ethan pulled back from their intense kiss and stared into her eyes again as if seeking more permission. She gave it to him by rising up to kiss him.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he said, breaking the kiss again to catch some air. “Tell me if you want me to stop.” He spoke without taking his lips off of hers.

  She kissed him back, meeting his increased tension with her own.

  “Should I stop?” he asked, his voice a breathless whisper. “Tell me to stop.” He kissed her deeply, and she moaned. “I will if you want me to. Tell me what you want,” he said hoarsely, and Zoe felt the rumble of his voice in her belly.

  “You,” she said without fully breaking their kiss. He gave her an intense look, and she nodded. “I want you, Ethan. If you’ll have me.”

  “I want you, Zoe, as long as it’s all right with you.”

  “Yes.” Her voice was soft and filled with desire even to her own ears.

  Zoe didn’t want to think about him being her boss. She didn’t want to think about what tomorrow would bring. She no longer cared about not being at home. All that mattered in that moment was being with Ethan. Their attraction for one another was obvious and had been for quite a while. Since they’d arrived at his place the evening before, the chemistry between them had turned into smoke rising, becoming more dense as the hours passed. Now it practically suffocated them. It couldn’t be ignored. Denying it hadn’t worked.

  Zoe had dreamed of this. They were two experienced, grown, consenting adults. She decided not to expect much after this night. It would be their one night together.