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

protest. “There’s no tim—” She quieted down then, when she saw that my intention was only to help her with her zipper.

I pulled it up, and stepped away.

“Thank you.” She blushed.

Damn, I loved it when she did that. So fucking adorable. “Your team’s meeting with Vita500 today?”

“Yup,” she said. “I still have some work on content strategy to round up in the office.” She raised her wrist to check her watch. “Shit, I’m late.” She started to hurry away with the lunch bag.

I caught her arm and pulled her back to me, making sure to hold her gaze. “What about your proposal?” I asked. “You’re not going to present it?”

A somber smile spread across her face. “I have it with me. If I get the chance to, then I will, but if not, I’ll let it go. It’s probably not good anyway.”

“I disagree and as the CEO, my word should mean something to you.”

She faced me fully then, her thumb on the corner of my lips to most probably, wipe lipstick away. “It does,” she said. “But not while we’re at home.”

I was amused. “So my opinions about your work will only be considered when given in the office?”

“Unfortunately, and even then, I will always have the belief that there’s some element of bias involved, so even at work, everything positive from you will be taken with a grain of salt.”

“Wow!” Was all I could say.

She kissed me again. “It’s just one of the many evils of fucking where you eat. See you later sweetheart.” She grabbed her things, and was on her way.

I got ready too, and was soon out of the house after her. Throughout the morning however, I couldn’t help the concern that her work might not get the chance to see the light of day. She had worked so hard on it, and it truly was creative. It made me wonder just how many employees were being stifled in this way.

I didn’t however, want to overstep my bounds in any way that would make her uncomfortable, so I ignored the grievance, and began to make plans for ways to ensure that other employees didn't meet the same dilemma.

Just before lunch however, I received her text message.

‘Our prep for the meeting is complete. Just in time for lunch.’

‘That’s great,’ I replied, and continued on with the performance evaluation report I was looking through.

Soon, another text message arrived. ‘I’m thinking of trying, one last time. I’ll just head over to Henry’s office and give the proposal to him. If he thinks it’s good, then perhaps he can use it as a backup in case the client is still unsatisfied with our current proposal.’

With a sigh, I put the papers down, and leaned back into the chair, rereading the message over, and over again. I could tell this affected her, and it was making it harder for me to turn a blind eye towards it. My gaze went over to her smiling, paint smeared face on the frame before me, my hands encircling her shoulders, and her eyes shut tightly in excitement, as I pressed a kiss to her cheek.

She was my girl… but I was also her boss. I had the responsibility of caring and seeing to her welfare, but the scope of work that came with both responsibilities was blurred. Where could I draw the line, and was it even possible to do so?

I picked up my phone, and sent a message back to her, ‘When do you want to give it to him?’

‘Now, seems the best time, if ever,’ she texted back immediately, as if she had been waiting anxiously for my response. I could imagine her tapping her feet on the floor, her hands wringing with anxiety.

‘Give it to him,’ I texted back. ‘It’s better for him to ignore you, than for you to wish that you had at least given it a shot.’

‘Ok.’

‘Tell me when you have handed it over to him.’

Twenty minutes later, she replied, ‘I just did. He told me to leave it on his desk, and I went on my way.’

I rose to my feet.

‘You were right,’ she texted again. ‘I feel better, knowing that I've pushed the hardest I could, even if he looks at it, or not. Thank you sweetheart. I’m heading out for coffee now with Jeremy. Talk later. X.’

I slipped my arms into my suit jacket, and strolled out of the office.

When I arrived on her floor, I saw that it was quite emptied out for the lunch hour, but there were still a number of employees present. I quietly accepted the greetings as I walked towards Henry’s office.

When I knocked on his door, he seemed shocked to see me. He immediately rose to his feet. “Sir?”

“Please, sit down,” I replied. “I’m just here for a quick courtesy call. I got your recommendation for Raymond Allen as the new Ad Department Head?”

“Yes, sir,” he replied, and took his seat.

My gaze moved and I spotted Leah’s report, seemingly untouched, and atop a messy rack of files on his desk. “You worked with him and McAllister?” I asked.

“Yes, sir,” he answered.

“Tell me about him,’’ I said, and we settled into the conversation.

Leah

The moment I returned from lunch, I had a message waiting for me.

“Henry wants to see you,” I was told.

During the lunch break, I had truly tried to put the report out of my mind, it was time to move on. I didn’t expect any responses whatsoever, but at the sudden request for me, my hands slightly trembled. I headed towards his door, and tried to peek through the glass of his walls, for any inkling into what the summons was about.

All I could see was him seated, focused on his computer screen.

I took a deep breath and knocked on his door.

“Come in,” he said, and the moment he noticed I was there, he straightened. “Leah, I was just thinking about you. You’re an extremely lucky person.”

I was confused. “Um…” I couldn’t find a response to his