Chapter Two
Kaitlyn
The phone on her desk cried shrilly.
She jumped, her right hand launching the pen she’d been twirling into the air until it clattered on the ground. Kaitlyn forced herself to swallow the sudden excess saliva in her mouth before she eyed the phone as it rang again.
A nervous flutter of her arms only served as a reminder of how wet her armpits were, the stress sweat soaking through both layers she was wearing. Stuffing toilet paper in them hadn’t helped either, and only served to create a disgusting mess she’d removed twenty minutes later.
It was a miracle that she was still hydrated, though drinking water was the one thing she’d managed to do during the day. It certainly wasn’t work. Her computer was on and she was seated in front of the screen, but that was about as far as it went. She hadn’t even typed in her password.
The phone shrieked again. Why were the rings such harsh tones? Whoever had come up with the standard telephone ring deserved a lot more hate than they were getting. Cell phones with programmable tones were the best. Even the default ringtone on modern versions was less painful on the ears.
Snatching it off the receiver before it could blare its tune yet again she spoke slowly, trying to modulate her voice so she didn’t sound stressed. “Kaitlyn Harver.”
“Kaitlyn, it’s Janice.”
Janice was Aric’s secretary. Oh no. Had he found out? Did he know? She bit her lip, terrified that somehow she’d done something to give it away. But what? How could he know? It wasn’t possible. This had to be something else.
“Hello, Janice. What can I do for you?”
“Aric wants you in his office. Now.”
The line went dead. Kaitlyn hissed at it. Janice was a bitch. Everyone knew that, except for Aric it seemed. He was oblivious to her and how she treated everyone else as if they were below her, just because she worked for Aric. Every workplace had drama though, even this one.
Standing up, she felt suddenly nauseous. The bathroom was calling, and Aric was just going to have to wait. Kaitlyn tried not to dart across the space between her office and the door, but it was tough as her stomach rebelled.
It was only a few weeks in. How was this possible? It had to be unrelated to her newfound status, didn’t it? There was just so much she didn’t know. Panic rose up and she barely got the door closed behind her in time.
This was bad. So, so bad.
She exited the washroom a few minutes later, stopping by a coworker’s desk for a piece of gum before heading down the hallway that led to Aric’s office. Janice didn’t say a word as she approached, blatantly ignoring her.
Fine. Kaitlyn did the same thing and just waltzed on past the snooty secretary. Hopefully Aric was in the middle of something and would be pissed that Kaitlyn wasn’t stopped.
As her fingers closed around the knob, panic set in and she struggled to force it open. There was no turning back now. She had to go in to find out what it was he wanted.
She’d not seen him since the night it had happened, going to great lengths to avoid him. The embarrassment of her actions burned fresh even now, three weeks later. One stupid decision had nearly ruined her career, and now it had changed her life dramatically. It would never be the same.
Kaitlyn knew she didn’t have to keep the child. There were plenty of services that could help her if she chose to go that route, but from the very moment her suspicious mind had told her to pee on a stick, she’d known neither were an option for her. This was going to be her child, and she was going to raise it. End of story. Anyone who told her otherwise, up to and including Aric, could go fu—
“Come in.”
Looking down, she realized her hand was still gripping the door. It must have been shaking so bad he thought she was knocking. Fresh heat infused her cheeks as she stepped into his office.
Seeing him there, sitting tall and proper at his desk, brown hair perfectly styled in modern fashion—short on the sides and pushed off to one side with product to keep it in place—she was struck by a sudden onslaught of guilt. She’d known for a full twelve hours now and hadn’t told Aric about it. He deserved to know. After all, it was half his fault.
She couldn’t tell him though. Didn’t want to tell him. It was the right thing to do, but the complications of informing her boss that she was having his child were more than she was prepared to handle. Plus, he was such an absentee boss that she figured he would just be the same as a father. Kaitlyn couldn’t have that sort of figure be a constant in her child’s life.
Her child’s life.
That line once again brought home to Kaitlyn just what it was she was dealing with. A child. A living human being was growing inside of her. It was crazy to think about.
“You wanted to see me, Aric?” she said, feeling meek and small as she always did around him.
Everything about Aric was big. His desk was a large, solid looking thing made of rich-grained wood stained a dark cherry color. The bookcases that lined the side walls of the rectangular office stretched up twelve feet to the high ceiling. Even the chairs for guests were massive, the back of it curving up and over her head, making her feel like some sort of comic villain when she sat in it.
“Kaitlyn, good to see you. I won’t waste your time, since I’m sure you’re busy.” He grinned, perfect teeth a reminder of just one of the reasons she’d made a pass at him that night.
“I have a moment. What’s going on?”
“Pack your bags. We’re going to the United States to close a deal there. A big one.”
She was too stunned to speak. A business trip. To the United States. Together?
“You…you want me on your team?”
Aric’s smile grew wider, his cheeks dimpling slightly in a manner that made her female bits come alive. Sexy with just the right amount of cute underneath the hard-cut exterior. Gods he could be a ladykiller if he wanted, though rumor had it he didn’t have a steady stream of female companionship.
“You are my team,” he stated. “Just the two of us. We’ve got this.”
“Uh-huh.” She was trying to ignore the way the colors at the edge of her vision were starting to blur together. The world wasn’t spinning. She had to hold firm. “When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow. What do you say?”