She focused on work, getting through meetings and contributing to her cases. She made it through most of her day, but when five o’clock came around, she knew that she wasn’t going to make it until her usual quitting time around eight or nine o’clock. She forced herself to work at least until six. But by that point, she was about to jump out of her skin. She felt like she was hiding a secret, which in an odd way, she was.
By six that evening, even though most of the other associates were still working, she packed up and left the office, not looking back and keeping her head held high. She had to get out of there, her curiosity and panic were starting to choke her.
Back at her apartment, she slipped the plastic stick out of the box and read the directions. She needed to pee on the stick? That’s all? Just pee on the stick.
Peeing on the stick just…it felt too simple!
Walking into her bathroom, she followed the instructions, then set the plastic stick gingerly on the countertop. Watching. Waiting.
Ever so slowly, the stick turned blue with a plus sign.
Breathing became difficult and her fingers shook as she hurriedly texted Naya and Ella, begging them to come over, now!
Twenty minutes later, they were in her living room, one with a box of pizza, Ella with a bottle of wine and Naya with her carton of milk, plus several different flavors of ice cream. “What’s wrong?” they asked as they sat down across from Cassy. They could tell that she was upset, but not sure why.
Cassy tried to explain, but the words wouldn’t come. So instead, she opened her hands, revealing the plastic stick showing the blue plus sign.
Ella and Naya stared. “Does that mean what I think it means?” Naya asked carefully.
Cassy nodded.
“You’re pregnant?” Ella asked in awe.
Again, Cassy nodded.
There was silence for a long time. Finally, Naya asked the question all three were thinking. “Are you going to keep the pregnancy?”
Cassy had been sort of thinking about that all day long. In the abstract, she hadn’t been able to come up with a solution. No answer made sense. But with the reality, with the knowledge that she truly was pregnant, she knew that she couldn’t abort the baby.
“Yes. I’m going to keep the baby.”
Slowly, they nodded their heads and Cassy almost laughed. She could see both of them struggling to figure out how to help. “You’ll be awesome aunts,” she teased.
Naya rolled her eyes, patting her swollen belly while Ella grinned, relieved that Cassy was okay.
“Yeah, we are!” Ella laughed, diving across the coffee table and hugging Cassy fiercely. “You’re going to be an awesome mother!”
Naya moved a bit more slowly as she sat next to Cassy wrapping her arms around both of her friends. “We’re going to have fun with this! Just think about how big your boobs are going to get when this pregnancy really gets going! We’re going to have teasing material for years!”
Cassy groaned at the possibility of her breasts getting even larger. “They are going to be bad,” she groaned.
She looked at the pizza box. “Okay, Ella, you drink the wine but I get your pizza,” she teased.
They dove into the cheesy pizza and brainstormed the possible issues Cassy would face. “What are your co-workers going to say?” Ella asked.
The pizza stuck in her throat as she contemplated that question. “That’s going to be a problem,” she mumbled, setting her pizza down.
Ella shook her head. “Why should it be a problem?”
Cassy sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Remember that scandal last summer when that American senator had an affair with his intern?”
“Yeah. So what?”
“He was our client. There have been too many scandals and my firm hates sex scandals.”
Naya rolled her eyes. “I’d bet that the managing partners have several skeletons in their closets,” she mumbled.
“No doubt,” Cassy replied, thinking hard. “But it is still going to be an issue. Maybe I should just find another job?”
Ella shook her head, her feminist stubbornness rising up. “No. You’ll have trouble finding a job while pregnant. It isn’t right, but that’s the world we live in.” She paused, tilting her head to the left slightly. A moment later, she sat up a bit straighter and smiled. “You should just pretend to be married.”
Cassy paused with pizza halfway to her mouth. The idea was so…perfect…she had to think it through. “Pretend to be married?” she echoed.
Naya leaned forward, nodding her head. “That’s actually brilliant,” she said, her enthusiasm growing as the three of them blinked at each other, obviously considering the idea carefully. “Yes, an engagement is a wonderful idea.” She sipped her milk as she quickly thought through all of the issues. “You’ll have to start off with a boyfriend first though. Send yourself flowers… No, better yet, we’ll send you flowers. That way, no one can track anything back to you.” Cassy and Ella nodded eagerly.
Ella took up the story. “And then in a few weeks, you show up with an engagement ring. A few weeks after that, show up Monday morning with a wedding ring. Tell everyone that your new husband didn’t want to wait and you guys just took off to Scotland over the weekend for a quick wedding.”
Naya shook her head. “No. Not Scotland. Your firm would frown even on that, from what you’ve told me.” She tapped her chin, contemplating the problem. “You should say you got married in Paris. Nowhere close by. And it has to be some place where people can’t check too easily.”
Naya nodded in agreement. “And what’s your new ‘husband’s’ career? It has to be something good. Something that will keep him traveling. Remember that movie with Jennifer Aniston? She faked an engagement and then her boss wanted to meet the guy. It was a mess after that.”
Ella agreed, really getting into the spirit now. “No, you don’t want any problems with a fake marriage needing a real husband.”
“Good point,” Cassy said, gobbling down another piece of pizza. “Okay, another issue. I don’t have the money for a diamond ring.”
“Fake husband, fake wedding, and a fake diamond,” Ella announced with an air of authority. “Just get yourself a decent sized cubic zirconia and pass it off as a diamond. Really, how many people can tell the difference between fake and real these days?”
“Get a good fake,” Naya agreed, “and you’re golden. Not too big though. You don’t want people looking too closely.”
Ella nodded. “Yep. Just something tasteful and simple. And if it is a bit on the small side, then the others won’t think that your new hubbie is worth getting to know.”
“Half a carat,” Naya decided. “Nothing larger, because Ella is right, they’ll want to meet any guy who can afford a bigger ring. Nothing too small though.”
“Because they won’t respect you for marrying anyone they think is beneath them,” Ella sneered and shook her head. “Nothing embellished. Just a simple solitaire.”
Cassy nodded her head, taking mental notes while she ate. She couldn’t seem to get enough! Of course, she hadn’t eaten anything all day. And she’d thrown up her meal yesterday and today, so she wasn’t worried about the calories. She should probably be worried about the lack of nutrition, but she’d eat better tomorrow. Now that she knew she was pregnant, she’d have to be more careful.
“Daisies,” Ella announced. “Don’t send roses. They draw too much attention. But Daisies are pretty, happy, and would send the right message.”
“But pink roses after you come back with a diamond ring on your finger.”
“With a note that says, ‘Thanks for saying yes’ and nothing else. Not even a name.”
Ella disagreed. “No. You need to name him. No mystery. Your fiancé is a writer like me. He travels, looking for good stories.”
“A free-lance writer,” Naya argued. “No one associated with Ella’s newspaper. And we can come up with different articles that he could write.”
“What else?” Cassy
asked, taking another slice of pizza.
“Doctor. You need to see a doctor.”
“I already have a doctor and she isn’t close by my office.”
“Good! That means less chance of anyone running into you for your checkups.”
“Right. What else?”
The three women looked at each other, then burst out laughing. “This is going to be so much fun!” Ella exclaimed.
Cassy wasn’t so sure. She put the slice of pizza down, leaning back and laying her hand on her stomach. “I don’t think it has sunk in yet,” she admitted.
They smiled, each of them thinking about the future. Ella and Naya high fived each other. “We’re going to be aunts!”
Chapter 10
Three weeks later, Cassy beamed as she walked to the front desk. Another bouquet of daisies had been delivered and she almost laughed at how well everyone in the office was taking her romance and engagement. Her ring finger sparkled as she picked up the bouquet. She thanked the receptionist and carried the flowers back to her desk. That was three bouquets in three weeks. That was probably enough. She’d gotten ‘engaged’ last weekend and she’d secretly found an obstetrician. So far, the pregnancy was progressing well. She was starting to really get excited! In two more weeks, she’d take the weekend off and have her fake wedding, then come back with a wedding ring on her finger. Everything was going perfectly!
Once again, she thanked her lucky stars for having such great friends. She never would have come up with a plan like this on her own. And she would have been terrified to face it alone. Ella and Naya were already shopping for baby clothes and bringing her fruit to make sure she was eating well. They also stopped by for lunch occasionally, to make sure she was eating during the day, which she tended to skip in the past when she got too busy. They were both taking this “aunt” thing to heart.
“Ms. Flemming, I need to see you in conference room six,” Darren announced and walked away.
Cassy looked up from her computer, and immediately started shaking. Conference room six? No!
She couldn’t go in there. That was the conference room where…she’d met him!
When she looked around, noting that the open area outside of her office was buzzing with normal activity. Nothing had changed. Her co-workers were working as if everything was normal.
She was just being paranoid. Nasir wasn’t here. He didn’t have time to be here! The man had a country to run!
And even if he were here, he wouldn’t request her help. The only reason he’d requested her legal advice in Zurich was because she’d refused to meet with him socially in London. He hadn’t actually needed legal assistance in Zurich, she suspected. It had probably just been his ploy to get her alone, away from her comfort zone so that he could…
She refused to think about those nights in his arms. She might not be able to stop her dreams from taking her there at night while she slept, but she could definitely stop her mind from wandering down that dangerous path during daylight hours.
“So, you’re engaged!” Darren began as soon as she walked into the conference room. “Does that mean you think you can slow down around here?” he demanded.
Cassy’s eyes snapped up to his angry ones. He’d been ignoring her for the past few weeks as the flowers had come in, benignly displayed on the corner of her desk. She’d heard him grumbling the other day when she’d come in with the engagement ring on her finger, but he hadn’t said anything about it to her face.
Apparently, he couldn’t hold back forever and his normal nasty personality was resurfacing.
Squaring her shoulders, she smiled as politely as she could manage under the circumstances. “I’m sorry, but have I missed a deadline lately?” she asked, keeping her tone relaxed and trying to hide the trembling anger in her body. She couldn’t lose her job. Not now!
He shook his head. “No, just the opposite. I was just wondering why it took you so long to get up here though,” he grumbled and slammed the door shut. “Tell me about your fiancé,” he demanded.
“Mike?” she asked, thinking of the name they’d come up with. “What do you want to know?”
Darren shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t know. We have a few minutes until the client arrives. I’m just curious as to what kind of a guy managed to get your attention.”
Cassy didn’t like the direction this conversation was going, but she wasn’t going to let Darren intimidate her. She was finished being bullied by this man. As a mother, she couldn’t take it any longer. “He’s a very nice man,” Cassy said carefully. “A journalist. He’s in Toronto at the moment.”
“Ms. Flemming!” a booming voice echoed behind her.
Cassy jumped and looked behind her, stunned when she saw Nasir enter the room. His eyes were on fire and she’d never felt the kind of anger that passed between them.
After weeks without him, his presence felt like a blow. He was so handsome, so raw and amazing. All she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms. And then punch him for deserting her in such a cruel manner.
She had to remind herself of his callous, humiliating desertion – with just a note! - and ignore the excitement that almost overwhelmed her. This man was not good for her. He was fickle and abrupt and he’d hurt her deeply when he’d left her. Yes, he might be an amazing lover, but what did she know? She didn’t have a whole lot to compare him to.
Besides, what was he doing here? And why did he have to look so incredibly good?
She’d forgotten how tall he was, how alluringly attractive. His harsh features were tight at the moment, the skin across his cheekbones taut with his anger. “Leave us,” he snapped, still staring at Cassy.
She immediately started for the doorway, wondering why he was here and why Darren had dragged her up here when Nasir wanted to speak privately with him.
“Not you!” he growled, still glaring at her. Without taking his eyes off her, Nasir snapped, “Mr. Bursow, I need a private word with my legal counsel. Now!”
Cassy could feel Darren’s eyes on her back, but she couldn’t do anything to ease the man’s jealousy. She was too focused on Nasir right at the moment, not sure why he was here.
And her secret! Oh no! Her pregnancy! He couldn’t find out about the baby! That would be a disaster!
As the door closed with a soft click, Cassy forced her eyes to look up into Nasir’s. She wasn’t sure what to say. How did one greet a past lover? One that had hurt her so badly, she still hadn’t recovered seven weeks later?
Professionalism! She pulled herself together and squared her shoulders. “You have a legal issue?” she asked, trying to look like she wasn’t about to faint from fear. And desire. Despite his callous treatment of her the last time they’d been together, he still had the ability to make her body quake with awareness.
His eyes moved over her figure, lingering on her breasts before moving downwards. When he saw her ring, she could feel his anger increase. In two strides, his hand grabbed her wrist, ignoring her attempts to pull away. “You’re engaged?”
Cassy gulped. It was one thing to lie to her co-workers. They were mere acquaintances. But lying to Nasir? That was harder.
Fighting past the lump in her throat, she struggled to say the word. She had to, Cassy reminded herself. This man was not good for her. “Yes.”
Nasir stared at her, his fury choking him. For weeks, he’d been searching for her. She hadn’t responded to the note he’d left, ignored all of his calls, and, even when he managed to find time to actually fly here to London to talk to her, find out why she was ignoring him, she hadn’t been home.
Looking at her now, he could see the lie in her gorgeous eyes. Something wasn’t right. She was still achingly beautiful. Even though she’d ignored all of his attempts to contact her, he still wanted her.
Never had a woman run from him. Was that why he was so drawn to her?
He didn’t want there to be more. He wanted her to simply be a challenge. His interest, his obsession with thi
s woman was merely the hunter in him tracking down his prey.
He snorted as he glanced down at the ridiculous ring on her finger. “Not much of a man if he gives you fake diamonds for your engagement ring,” he growled, still clutching her wrist in his hand.
He resisted the need to pull her closer, to feel her soft curves press against him. He could swear her breasts were larger, softer than he’d remembered. Everything about her was softer, he thought. And even more beautiful. Her eyes had a sparkle to them that he didn’t remember, but he’d been so entranced by her the last time, he most likely hadn’t been thinking properly.
“What’s his name?” Nasir demanded, even though every instinct inside him wanted to hunt the man down and crush him.
“Mike.”
Even the sound of her soft, lilting voice tightened his body, made him want to strip that hideous suit off and spread her out on the conference room table so that he could explore her incredible curves. She was lush in ways that other women had forgotten. They starved themselves, wanting their bones to poke out, their stomachs to be flat.
Women weren’t supposed to be bony! They were supposed to be soft, to be strong yes, but soft and curvaceous. Like Cassy.
For weeks, he’d been calling her, trying to contact her. He’d resisted contacting her through work out of respect for her privacy. But when she’d still refused to take his calls on her cell phone, he’d finally cleared his schedule and flown here to find her.
Only to discover that she’d discarded him and had not only moved on to the next man in her life, but was engaged!
Damn her for betraying him! Didn’t she understand how rare their connection was? Or was she so used to men falling at her feet that she needed to move on quickly, to master the next man?
Unexpectedly Expecting the Sheik's Baby (The Ladies of The Burling School Book 6) Page 13