14

Janine

This is a new start for Dash.

As I watch him from the corner of the boardroom, shaking hands with the shareholders of Security by Siegel Inc. who are congratulating him for being their new CEO, my chest swells with pride, a lump forming in my throat as I wrap my hand around it.

I still can’t believe that Dash is now the new company CEO.

He did mention that he had inherited shares of his father’s company but I didn’t think he’d take it over, especially not just a few weeks after the company party. I suppose it’s normal, though, now that his father is gone and he’s no longer on active duty. But was it expected?

My gaze goes over to Billy, who is also receiving hand- shakes and pats on the back from the shareholders in the room, a smile on his face for the first time.

This is a new start for him too. Now he can finally go back to medical school and be the doctor he always wanted to be.

I fold my arms over my chest, leaning against the wall. I guess it’s never too late, after all.

“Speech! Speech!” some of the shareholders begin to chant at Dash with clapping hands.

Billy has just finished his speech so I suppose, now, it’s Dash’s turn.

He goes to the front of the boardroom, wearing a smile and standing with his shoulders back, already looking every bit the top executive in his dark gray coat and pants, pale blue shirt, and navy blue tie.

“I’m not very good with speeches,” he says as he slips his hands into his coat pockets and holds them apart. “I consider myself more a man of action than a man of words.” “Good for you, son,” one of the older shareholders praises.

“I just want to take this opportunity to thank Billy for what he’s done so far.” He stretches his arm towards Billy. “He is the true hero, having brought this company to where it is now and helping to improve countless lives.”

The room erupts into applause.

“And I want to thank you all for your support,” Dash goes on, shifting his weight on the other leg. “And I hope that you will continue to support me as I work to make my father’s company even more successful. I am well aware that it is not an easy task. Fighting in a war may well have been easier.”

A few shareholders chuckle.

“But I will do my best not to let anyone down. I will leave no man behind.”

Again, the room erupts into applause. I lift my hands, clapping as well.

“Oh, and one more thing.” Dash scratches the corner of his mouth. “I would like to thank and introduce to you all my wife, Janine Siegel.”

I hold my breath.

“Come here, Janine.” Dash stretches out his arm to me. Reluctantly, I move to the front, wringing my hands, aware that all eyes are on me.

“I may run the company but she’s the boss at home so I have to make sure I thank her properly or I might get a burned dinner,” Dash jokes.

Laughter fills the room.

“Very funny,” I tell Dash as I stand next to him.

He places his arm around me as he continues to address the crowd. “Without my wife, I would not be where I am today.”

The members of the crowd clap again, this time for me.

I try not to blush, smiling nervously.

“Do you want to say something?” Dash asks me.

I clasp my hands together, glancing at Billy. “I just wish Billy the best of luck and…” I look at the shareholders. “I hope you’ll understand if my husband doesn’t hold late night meetings with you because he’s probably holding them with me.”

They laugh.

Dash rubs my arm then whispers in my ear. “Listen to you. You’re playing the part of the CEO’s wife perfectly already.”

It does seem I have another part to play.

“Oh, he didn’t whisper anything important,” I tell the people who are still looking at us, waving my hand dismissively. “Just…”

I pause, suddenly feeling short of breath. I grab Dash’s arm, wobbling as a wave of dizziness and nausea washes over me.

“Janine?” Dash gives me a concerned look.

I look away, my hand sliding down his arm as I fall on my knees, clutching my stomach as I throw up on the carpet.

“Janine!”

* * *

“I’m alright, Dash,” I tell him in the backseat of the car minutes later, the spell of nausea and dizziness already over. “You don’t have to bring me to the hospital.”

“But I am,” he says, his arm around me. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’ve been waking up in the middle of the night to vomit.”

I blink, eyes wide. He noticed? “That only happened twice,” I tell him, looking out the window.

“And what about that time when you threw up at the company party, hmm? That makes three times in a week.”

I shake my head, burying my face in my hands. “I can’t believe I’ve made such a mess of myself again.”

“That doesn’t matter.” He grabs my hand. “What matters is your health. I want to make sure that you’re alright.”

“Fine.” I sit back.

The truth is I’ve been curious about what’s going on with my body too. I’m thinking it’s just stress but what if it’s something more? What if I have some rare disease? Or what if I have cancer like my mother? It’s not just the vomiting, after all. I’ve been feeling more tired than usual, too, and my breasts seem tender.

I push away the thought, inwardly shaking my head. I’m sure it’s nothing serious.

Please let it be nothing serious.

* * *

“This is serious,” Dr. Janet Liu says as she looks at the papers on her desk, the results of my tests from the past hour.

I hold my breath, gripping Dash’s hand that’s on my thigh tighter.

What? What is wrong with me?

“Seriously amazing,” Dr. Liu says as she puts her hands on top of the papers, smiling.

My eyebrows furrow. What?

“Congratulations! You are pregnant, Mrs. Siegel,” she announces with a wider smile. “You and your husband are having a baby.”

Both my hands go over my mouth as I gasp.

“Are you serious?” Dash asks the question I’ve been thinking.

“Yes, I am.” Dr. Liu hands him the papers on her desk. “Your wife is close to five weeks pregnant.”

Five weeks?

Dash goes through the papers, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“This is amazing news.” Then he turns to me, hugging me. “Did you hear that? We’re having a baby!”

I just nod, my vocal chords not functioning yet, probably because my heart is doing somersaults in my chest, which has transformed into a balloon of joy, and my veins are buzzing with excitement.

I’m having a baby.

“That would naturally explain why you’re feeling nauseous and tired,” Dr. Liu says, sitting back in her chair. “You’re experiencing morning sickness and I’m sorry to tell you but you might experience it for a few more weeks.”

“It’s okay,” I say, finally managing to speak.

I don’t care. In fact, right now, nothing else matters but the baby that’s growing inside me. Not my fake marriage or the fact that I am now a CEO’s wife. I’m not even worried about my mother right now. I can’t experience anything but this ocean of joy.

I may have embarked on this road for Mom, but now that I’m pregnant, I realize it’s what I’ve been wanting. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.

Mom was right. No one can quite complete your life like a child.

I place my hand over my belly, tears of pure joy leaking out of my eyes.

I’m going to be a mother.