CEO'S Secret Baby: A Standalone Surprise Pregnancy Romance - Iona Rose (which ebook reader .txt) 📗

His smiling eyes immediately set me at ease in his presence. My first question was simple, “Are all the members of your team present today?”

He paused at the question, no doubt expecting the more generic inquisition about the current account he was handling with the new Vice President. “No, sir,” he replied, his eyes lifting to the ceiling to ponder. “Uh… two members are absent today. Our Project Manager Lisa Palm, and our Junior Copywriter, Leah Peters. They’re usually very prompt and hardworking employees but there’s been a stomach flu going around the office and these two were part of those affected by it. Miss Peters will return, I think tomorrow, and Miss Palm will be back to work on Monday.”

“Alright,” I said, a bit forlorn. How much longer did I truly have to wait to see her?

By the time I left his office, my resolve was to drop by her house after work that day. I wasn’t sure if I'd allow myself to pay her a visit, to at least inform her beforehand of my presence at her workplace, but I wanted to at least see where she lived.

At a quarter past eight that evening, however, I was still in the midst of a two hour long strategy meeting with both the CMO and the new VP. My gaze lingered on the clock as I wondered what the best course of action would be.

I decided then to take it slow. Tomorrow would be good enough and by then, I would be ready to meet her.

My hands wrung with anticipation and nervous excitement. I was cooped up in my office but my mind would make the occasional visit to the woman that had sucked me off like no other ever had, and raked her nails down my back.

I could barely wait for tomorrow to arrive.

Chapter 20

Leah

The sun rose the next morning, and I laid in bed, feeling cheated.

For the first time in my life, I had strayed away from my usual norms. I followed my heart and life had dealt me a severe blow.

No matter how things turned out, except I somehow lost the man through no fault of my own‒ the consequence of creating a child that I didn’t necessarily want or was ready to accept at this point in my life‒ was inescapable.

I had given myself to someone else so completely for the first time, and I was possibly going to come away from it all with pain and regret. I couldn’t believe it.

I didn’t want to move, but my alarm clock had long gone off and I knew that any more time wasted would send me to work late. A job that I most definitely now needed since overnight, my life and world now consisted of two instead of one.

I was scared enough to rise to my feet and head off to the bathroom. The moment I stood before the vanity, my toothbrush in my mouth, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked dejected and distraught.

My eyes were swollen and bloodshot from the lack of sleep, and my face soaked from the tears I’d shed throughout the night.

I’d never imagined I would be a single mother. How my life would take such a sudden and drastic turn, and all on account of a man I would most likely never set my eyes on again.

My fingers found their way to my hair and gripped the curly mass in trepidation.

What am I going to do? I cried in my heart.

I knew despite being saddled with a responsibility that I most definitely wasn’t ready for… I would have this baby.

Tears filled my eyes again, as I moved my toothbrush slowly across my teeth.

How I hated myself right now for being so unlucky… and how I hated him for being absent.

I wiped the tears from my face, finished brushing my teeth, and got into the shower.

As I drove to work, I promised myself there would be no further thought on this, not until the day ended and I returned home. This might be the only way I would be able to keep my sanity because with each passing moment, it felt like I was on the verge of losing it. I had an upcoming campaign and a team to perform in conjunction with. I couldn’t afford to fall apart, especially not now.

The moment I arrived, I headed over to the breakroom in search of a cure for my sleeplessness. I loaded my mug with an unhealthy dose of caffeine and stood in the silence of the room, leaning against a corner with my phone in hand to discourage anyone from speaking to me. I needed this few minutes before the work day began to pull myself together.

It didn’t work.

“Leah!”

I pretended not to hear Jeremy’s overexcited call, but it was impossible to ignore.

“Leah!”

I turned to face him, a smile on my face as he walked towards me, and was a bit stunned by how unusually dressed up he looked. He wore a burgundy suit, complete with a tie and his usually wild, curly hair, cut short and slicked away from his face.

I was confused. “What’s going on?”

He beamed at my observation. “I look good right?”

“Umm, why are you dressed so formally?”

“We have a new boss. In short, this is an entirely new company except we’re keeping our name because we’ll be part of the parent company’s portfolio. Whose name I can’t remember.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The rumors were true.” He tapped my arm. “We’ve been bought up. Didn’t you check your work inbox? Not much has changed though but we do have a new boss. I already mentioned that right? God, I'm so nervous.”

I drained my mug and headed over to the sink to rinse it. “Why are you nervous?”

“Oh, you weren’t here yesterday. Remember what I said about wanting to jump the grandfather? I've changed my mind. My eyes are now on the godfather.”

My headache