I sat in my office going through some files on my computer. My PA stood on the opposite side of my desk with a folder for me, and after a minute, I reached for it.

“Anything I need to be concerned about?” I asked, looking up at her with an eyebrow arched.

“No, sir,” she said, looking pleased with herself. “Things are progressing just as predicted. This is the report you wanted.”

I nodded as I took it and opened it to flip through the papers inside. I skimmed them and felt a curl of satisfaction in my chest. The deal we got in Germany was turning out to be a great investment, as I’d thought it would be.

“Keep making the progress reports and bring them to me every couple of weeks for the first three months. After that, we can check at the end of every month. Notify me early if there’s a problem, though.”

“Of course, Mr. Gold,” she said with a nod. “This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. You can trust me to take good care of it.”

I smiled at her as she left. Beth was right, I did trust her with a lot. Not only did I know she was loyal, but she was also good at her job and always brought in the results she promised, as long as nothing unexpected happened.

Once she was gone, I raised my arms up above my head and stretched, then settled back in my seat, slouching low and closing my eyes. A small smile curved my lips without my permission, but I was alone, so I didn’t immediately wipe it off to try and display some professionalism.

“I want to go home,” I sighed.

I found myself thinking about Lexi again. In the two weeks since I’d gotten back, we’d had plenty of time together to enjoy each other’s company. But now with the new deal in place, I couldn’t stay to work at home. I was the boss, but I had a responsibility, to the company, and to the people that worked for me, and my pride would not allow me to let them down because of my selfish desires.

There’s work to be done, the diligent part of me warned. But I was working up a nice daydream of Lexi and I being home together, spending time with Edward and bringing him further out of his shell. I’d seen it myself when he was around her, how he was slowly growing used to her. I was a little worried that it would be a problem when she had to leave because that was probably still happening. But, that could be a year from now. And, I was hoping by then, he’d be too excited about his new baby brother to notice too much.

But I pushed those worries away for the moment. It had been the plan in the beginning when I did find a surrogate, that I would keep her at arm’s length. But then, I never expected Lexi.

She was still young, and she had her whole life ahead of her. But she was unlike any woman I had ever known. Her warmth reminded me just a little of Kora, but she was nothing like my late wife, and I would never mistake the two of them. I’d loved Kora with everything I had, and… I had a feeling that I could grow to love Lexi just as much if I let myself.

I was afraid to. And yet, at the same time, I was excited at the possibility.

There was a knock at my door, and it brought me out of my revelry. I stretched out again, before straightening my back, then placing my hands on top of my desk, and looking toward the door.

“Come in,” I called.

Beth walked back in, but when I didn’t see a file in her hands, I frowned. Usually, if it were just a call or a visitor, she would just tell me over the intercom. Unless it was something too important and privacy was necessary. Her expression was blank as usual, giving me no idea as to what the problem could be.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, feeling the beginning of dread in my chest.

“No, sir,” she said quickly with a shake of her head.

I calmed down a little, then frowned. “It’s something important though, right? Or you wouldn’t have had to come in here just to tell me.”

I was just a little miffed that she’d cut into my fantasy. A fantasy I knew I could have if I could just go home, but my off days were the weekends, and even then, I had to put in a lot of time during the weekdays to finish up, so that I barely got home in time to have dinner and tuck in my son before he went to bed.

“There’s a woman here to see you, sir,” she said.

My eyebrows shot up. “Who?”

I had an idea, though, and even before she confirmed it for me, I was starting to feel excited at the thought of seeing her, as well as confusion as to why she was at my office. She didn’t know where I worked, but my staff did, and the only way she would have arrived here is if Grace had asked my driver to bring her because her authority was right below mine.

Why did she have to see me? Then I started to panic a little, internally. Did something happen at home? With Edward?

“She says her name is Lexi,” Beth said slowly, eyeing me intently. “She also says that she lives with you, and she came here to ask you something important.”

“Please ask her to come in,” I said curtly, doing my best not to give anything away.

I held myself still, forced myself not to move as she left my office, and a moment later came back with Lexi in tow. I raked my eyes over her, looking for whatever could be a problem, but she looked fine, physically. She had her head tucked down, her hands clasped in front of her, fingers twisting nervously, and I narrowed my eyes at them. I was too busy watching her to care about whatever emotion Beth was seeing me display. The moment she left us alone, I jumped up and walked around the desk, stalking over to her until I grabbed her lightly by the tops of her arms.

“Lexi, what is it?” I asked anxiously. “Is there something wrong? Why did you come here?”

She looked up at me and tried to smile at me, but it shook around the edges.

“Can I not come here to see you without something being wrong?” she asked, trying for a light tone and failing.

I took a step back, my hands falling from her, and I buried them in my pockets, then frowned at her as I tried to calm myself down.

“Then did something happen? I wasn’t expecting you to come here. You’ve never even been here before.”

She shrugged. “Grace thought I should come see you. I came in the car with the two guards from that first time I went to the hospital. They let me know where your office would be at the reception desk in the lobby, and the guards got me the clearance to come up.”

I nodded, confirming my theory that it had been Grace’s doing. I would have loved some warning, but it wasn’t like I hated having her here. Then something she said sunk in, and I was frowning in worry again, just barely holding myself back from tackling her in worry.

“The guards that took you to the hospital… is that where you came from?”

I held my breath, letting it out in a gust when she nodded. I couldn’t hold myself back anymore, and I closed the short distance between us to put my arms around her waist, pulling her body closer to mine as if reassuring myself she was fine because I could feel her.

“Did something happen?” I asked.

She bit down on her lip, then reached an arm around her. She pulled something from her back pocket, and I stepped back just far enough so she could unfold it and hold it up for me. I took it from her, frowning at the contents. Then, my hands tightened around the papers to the point that it crinkled, my eyes widened, my mouth gaped, and I was pretty sure I trembled a bit.

“You… y-you’re…” I stammered, unable to let out any words, as my eyes flitted between the paper and Lexi, who was giving me an unsure smile.

“I’m pregnant,” she said quietly. “I’ve been feeling unwell the past several days. You were so busy with work, so I didn’t want to bother you with it. But this morning, Grace told the bodyguards to drive me to the hospital for a checkup, then to bring me here afterward.”

She flattened her lips, her hands clasping in front of her again, fingers twisting and untwisting as she fidgeted in place. I could tell she was anxious, and I wondered why she would be.

“Lexi,” I said, a slow smile growing on my face. “Holy shit. Lexi, you’re pregnant!”

She let out a small, nervous chuckle. “I’m pretty sure I just said that.”

I burst out laughing, in relief, in excitement. Finally! Without thinking, I picked her up and spun her around, and she yelped, then let out giggles of her own. But then I remembered her condition and stopped, putting her down carefully.

“Sorry about that,” I said a little sheepish. “I have to remember to be careful with you from now on. You’re pregnant!”

She snorted. “You don’t have to be so careful with me, and you don’t have to keep saying that.”

But I just laughed some more, feeling so ecstatic, like I could go running down the hallways in the building, and I didn’t care that people would see.

“Let’s celebrate,” I said, giving her a manic grin. “I’m getting off work early; I’m sure everyone will understand.”

“I don’t want to bother you at work, though,” she said, biting down on her lip.

I pecked her cheek and took her arm, pulling her to the door.

“Trust me; you don’t have to worry about that. Just wait, okay?”

I opened the door and stepped out of the office. Everyone on the floor that noticed suddenly looked right at me when I just stood here, grinning like a madman.

“Everyone, I’ve got an announcement to make!” I shouted. I ignored Lexi shushing me from behind. “My girl is pregnant! We’re going to have a baby!”

There was stunned silence for a moment. Plenty of them knew of the story about my wife and that I’d been single ever since. None of them knew about the whole surrogate story, and they didn’t know I was even seeing anyone. Lexi was clutching the back of my shirt as she pressed into my back, cowering behind me. But it only took a moment before everyone was shouting and cheering for us, clapping filling the floor.

I laughed and turned to look at Lexi. I took her by the tops of her arms and gave her a sound kiss on the lips. Then I went back into the office, picked up my things, and left.

“Close the place up for me, Beth,” I called to her, and she nodded quickly at me, grinning wildly as she whooped and clapped with everyone else.

Then I took Lexi’s hand, and we made a run for it. I heard her laughing behind me and felt my heart swell with so much emotion it was suffocating.

Lexi, I am never letting you go.