Yours Truly (Billionaires and Brides #2) (16 page)

K
at

M
onday morning rolled around again
, and just like last week, Kat wanted to punch it in the face. Mondays were pure evil.

She sat at her desk, nauseous as hell and wishing she could just go home. Ginger ale was sort of helping, so she was basically main-lining the golden liquid. She needed to tell her stockbroker to buy stock in the ginger ale company, because if she kept drinking it at this rate, the company was set to make a lot of money off her.

She set her cup down and tried to quiet her mind and her stomach. She was hoping to see AJ sometime today. Her mind was made up to tell him about the pregnancy. She was so nervous about it that she wasn’t sure it was just morning sickness that was making her stomach queasy.

Just a few hours and she’d know how AJ felt about her. About their baby.

“I have great news!” Renee announced, hopping up on Kat’s desk with a grin. Kat nearly jumped from her chair with surprise. She had been lost in her own world and hadn’t seen her come up.

“You mean,
I
have great news,” Cass interjected, coming up behind Renee. “It’s my news since I’m the boss.”

“Sure.” Renee rolled her eyes. “Anyway, the project…”

“The project is a go,” Cass finished, talking over Renee and giving her an evil glare. “The project has a green light and full funding.”

“What?” Kat stared at the two of them. She was so tired she felt like she had cement running through her veins. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Cass assured her, grinning widely. “The project has been approved for full funding. I know you’ve been spending time working with the big bosses, and it has totally paid off.”

Kat’s mouth opened and then closed as she couldn’t find any words. She had to wonder if AJ had anything to do with this good news.

“It’s pretty awesome. We’re basically going to save the company,” Renee informed her, crossing her legs and looking smugly pleased with herself.

“What do you mean?” Kat asked. She knew this project would be successful, but she wasn’t sure how it was supposed to save the company. AJ was already doing that.

“You haven’t heard?” Renee looked like a cat in the cream. She loved being the one in the know. “There’s new evidence in the sex scandal around our boss. Apparently, another girl has come forward.”

“Oh, shit.” The words left Kat’s mouth before she even finished processing all the implications.

“No kidding,” Cass agreed. “It’s all over the news. Just when it looked like things were going to settle down and the first one was getting paid, this puts it all back up. Who knows how many other girls are going to come forward now? Especially since it looks like an easy payday.”

Kat’s thoughts went immediately to AJ. She could only imagine the stress that was now on him. Suddenly, telling him about the pregnancy today seemed like a bad idea. He was probably dealing with this latest development.

She didn’t want to cop out of telling him, but at the same time she wanted the news to be a happy thing. Today, with the blow to his business, would not be an appropriate time.

“But, if we get this project going then we can hopefully bring focus back to the business and not the scandal.” Renee had been talking but Kat hadn’t been listening.

“I’ve already contacted a social media guru to help us,” Cass replied. “I think the campaign will be a huge success.”

“That will be so great,” Renee agreed. “Honestly, I’m getting tired of telling people where I work and having them ask if my boss was sexually inappropriate.”

“Considering that I’m your boss, I hope you tell them ‘no,’” Cass replied.

Renee grinned at Cass and fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously. “But Cass, you said we had something special.”

Cass laughed and Kat couldn’t help but join in. She loved working with these two women. She stopped laughing as she realized that she wasn’t sure how either woman would take the news of her pregnancy. Cass would be supportive and helpful. Renee would probably be jealous.

Kat could handle that, but the idea of figuring out maternity leave and how she was going to continue working while pregnant, let alone with a baby, made her want to panic. Forcing herself to relax, she took a deep breath.

“Kat, your phone’s ringing,” Cass said gently, putting a hand on her arm. Her dark eyes were filled with concern. “Are you okay? You still look like you might be sick.”

“I’m fine,” Kat assured her, picking up the phone before Renee could remark on how long she’d been sick.

“Ms. Ryder?” It was AJ’s secretary. “Mr. Jacobson needs to see you right away.”

“Of course. I’ll be right up,” Kat assured the secretary before hanging up. She looked at her two co-workers and shrugged. “Boss man. Got to go.”

“You two seem awful cozy these days,” Renee remarked, sliding off of Kat’s desk.

“It’s just work,” Kat quickly replied. She didn’t mean for it to sound as defensive as it did.

“Whoa, relax,” Cass told her as she held up her hands in submission. “There’s probably nothing wrong. He probably just wants to congratulate you. You worked really hard on this.”

“Yeah...” Kat agreed, glad that her boss just thought she was nervous that she was in trouble.
If only it were that simple
, Kat thought.
I am in trouble. Just not the kind you both think.

Cass nudged Renee with her hip.

“Oh, right. You did a really good job on the project,” Renee added grudgingly. “I’m sure he just wants to tell you that.”

Kat hoped that was what he wanted to tell her. Her mind was already going to dark places. It was incredibly possible that he wanted to call off their relationship. With the new addition to the scandal, she certainly couldn’t blame him.

Kat slowly stood from her desk, moving slowly to keep her stomach down where it belonged. She hoped that her coworkers just thought it was nerves or the last bit of the stomach bug. It wouldn’t be long before someone figured out the truth, though.

The elevator ride upstairs took forever. If he was giving her good news, then maybe this would be a good time to tell him.

“I have good news, Kat,” he would say.

“I have good news, too,” she would reply.

It could work.

She sighed and leaned back against the shiny metal walls. He didn’t seem like the type of person who would ask her to get rid of the baby. That made her feel a little bit better, but she was still nervous as to how he would react.

The elevator doors opened to reveal the expansive lobby leading up the CEO’s office. The secretary stationed outside waved her in with a friendly smile. Kat paused, her hand on the door and heart in her throat. She licked her lips nervously before going in.

“Hi,” she said, entering. He was at his desk, working away on his computer. Deep frown lines covered her face and his jaw looked so tense it could cut steel. The stress was obviously wearing on him.

He looked up and the shadow of a smile crossed his face before disappearing back into a sea of stress. “Kat.”

“You wanted to see me?” She took a step into the room, trying to stay calm and collected.

“I assume you heard?” he replied, still working on the computer.

“The good news or the bad news?” she asked. She hoped she sounded calmer than she felt.

“There’s good news?” He sat back from his computer and pushed his chair away. The smile was long gone from his face.

Kat swallowed hard. “The project is a go.”

“Oh?” AJ ran his hand through his hair, spiking up the tips. “I didn’t know. I’m glad though. It’s a great idea.”

Kat thought about running from the office and hiding under her desk. She wasn’t sure why he had called her up here. If it wasn’t to tell her about her project, then that could only mean he had bad news.

“You didn’t know?” she asked, planting her feet to keep her from bolting.

AJ shook his head. “I’ve been so busy dealing with...” he started, waving to the mess of paperwork on his desk. “I haven’t been able to follow up with the board at all about it.”

“Oh.” Without warning, a little pride filled Kat. Her project had been approved because it was good, not because she was sleeping with the boss. She felt bad that she had to find out this way, but she had pulled it off on her own. “So, what did you want to see me about?”

AJ sighed, and fear replaced all the pride in her belly.

“We have to be more careful about seeing one another,” he said, handing her a photograph from his desk.

She frowned, taking the slippery paper from him. It was black and white and reminded her of something from a spy movie. It took her a moment, but she recognized herself leaving his house with a huge smile on her face. Anyone with two brain cells could imply why she was smiling.

“Where did you get this?” Kat asked, handing back the photograph. Her hand only shook a little bit, but AJ didn’t seem to notice.

“That’s not important.” AJ ripped the photo and dropped it into the trashcan under his desk. “It’s been taken care of.”

Kat nodded. This was the part where he would tell her they were over. “Does this mean that I can’t see you anymore?”

“What? No!” AJ shook his head and nearly jumped over the desk to get to her. He picked up both her hands in his. “I want to be with you. I want to shout it from the rooftops that I’m with you. It’s just...”

“You can’t,” she finished for him. “Because of your partner.”

His shoulders slumped as he nodded. “This isn’t how I want things to be.”

“I understand,” she said quietly, pulling her hands back.

“Kat... If it were just me, I would say to hell with the press. I would stand on the street corner and hand out newspapers saying I was dating you.” AJ’s blue eyes peered into hers. “But, it’s not just me. This company employees thousands of people. Every single one of them is depending on me to keep us out of the muck Paul put us in.”

AJ paused and Kat tried to think, but her thoughts were swirling with only AJ as her anchor. Kat didn’t know how the particular shade of blue of his eyes could enchant her so completely. It probably had to do with that she saw a good man in those eyes. A man she wanted to be with. A man she was falling in love with faster than she ever could have thought possible. He was trying to do the right thing for thousands of people. Who could possibly blame him for wanting her to be a little more careful when those lives were on the line?

“With our stock price plummeting, I can’t afford to keep some of our locations open. If our publicity doesn’t get better, I’m going to have to start letting people go.” AJ sighed. “I hate that I’m going to take people’s livelihoods.”

Kat thought of her own parents. When she was a child, her father had suddenly been let go from the company he had worked at. She still remembered the stress of him searching for a new job while her mother picked up odd jobs that she could do from home in order to keep them in their house.

“I understand, AJ,” Kat said, reaching for one of his hands and squeezing them reassuringly. “I really do. You have to take care of your employees.”

He nodded. “I don’t want to lose you in the process, though. We just need to be more careful. Once this sex scandal blows over, we won’t have to worry as much.”

“Of course,” she agreed, putting her free hand on her belly. She was going to wait to tell him. Today wasn’t the right timing.

“You’re allowed to be angry with me, Kat,” he said. “In fact, I wish you were. It would be easier than having you look at me with those sad eyes.”

“How can I be angry with you when you’re just making sure that families keep food on their tables?” She looked up at him and smiled. “I know you want to be with me, but the situation makes it hard. You’ll just have to find a way to make it up to me.”

“I will, Kat,” he assured her. “This company is my life. I don’t know anything else. I hate what’s happening to it right now. At least he didn’t get either of them pregnant. Who knows how bad that would have been.”

Kat’s heart went through the floor and down to the basement.

“Yeah..” she agreed, her voice cracking.

There was no way she was going to be able to tell him about the pregnancy. Not now.

AJ grinned and wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you,” he whispered, pulling her closer to him. He seemed to be taking solace in her embrace which just made her feel even more guilty. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

Kat pushed her face into his chest, breathing in the scent of him. It was strange, but the smell seemed to settle her stomach. However, it did nothing to ease the ache of guilt.

The beep of the intercom caused them both to pull back.

“Yes?” AJ asked, leaning over his desk and pressing the button.

“The lawyers are here, sir,” his secretary informed him.

Weight settled around his shoulders and the happy light left his beautiful blue eyes. He sighed and stood up straight.

“Congratulations on the project. I’m proud of you,” he said, kissing her cheek gently. “Maybe we can have dinner tomorrow? I’m unfortunately stuck here tonight.”

“Dinner tomorrow would be great,” Kat replied before she could think better of it. She pulled him into another hug. “It’ll be okay.”

She wasn’t sure if she was telling him or herself.

K
at

E
qual parts guilt
and nausea waged inside Kat as she pulled up to the front door of AJ’s home. She thanked the driver and stepped out into the warm sunshine. She was just glad she didn’t have to drive herself. The morning sickness was getting worse and doing anything other than praying to the porcelain god was difficult.

But, she wanted to see AJ. Needed to see AJ. Even though she knew she couldn’t tell him why she was feeling so miserable, at least not just yet, she knew he would do everything in his power to make her feel better. Just being around him made her feel better.

The late July sunshine was disgustingly hot. It was dinner time, yet she felt she might melt under the sun’s rays. It made her feel even more woozy and weak, and she wished she had something more than a few sips of water keeping her up and moving for the day.

“Are you okay?” AJ asked, opening the door. He quickly ushered her inside. The air conditioning felt so much better after the heat.

“I’m fine.” The lie was an easy one. It was one all women say.

“You don’t look fine.” AJ frowned, his eyes going over her from head to toe. “Come have something to drink.”

Kat nodded weakly. She felt miserable. She had thought she was going to be okay in the car, but the sudden heat walking in had sapped what little energy she had. AJ took her arm and gently guided her into the house.

“Are you still not feeling better?” AJ asked, leading her carefully to the kitchen. “Maybe we should take you to a doctor.”

“I’m fine,” she repeated. Maybe if she said it enough times it would be true.

The kitchen tile clicked under her shoes. It was hard to focus on anything, but she did see an open bottle of wine chilling in a bucket. She knew she wouldn’t be able to drink it.

She needed to tell him.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” she blurted out. Her brain was skipping around and the room felt like it was melting. It was much hotter in the kitchen, even though AJ didn’t seem affected by the change in temperature at all. Maybe it was just her.

“Okay.” AJ reached for a glass and filled it with water from the sink.

“I don’t want to tell you, but it’s important,” Kat said, determined to get this out. Her heart was pounding and her knees felt weak. “I don’t want to lie to you.”

“Kat, you really don’t look well,” AJ said, putting his hand to her forehead. Concern filled his chiseled features.

“It’s important,” Kat insisted, brushing his hand away.

“Is there someone else?” AJ asked quietly. His jaw twitched as he waited for her answer.

Kind of
, she thought.
Just not the way you’re thinking.

“No, no,” she assured him, trying her best to smile. “You’re it. You’re the only one. It’s only you.”

Relief found his smile. “Then you don’t have to tell me right now. Let’s just get you sitting and comfortable.”

“It’s important,” Kat replied stubbornly. Why was the room so hot? And spinning. Everything was blurring together and fading to black at the edges. Her knees no longer belonged to her body, and she watched more than felt them buckle.

She couldn’t stop from falling as everything went to a pinpoint of light. She heard AJ’s voice as the world faded into black, but she couldn’t make out his words.