Chapter 17
Stella
I awoke, covered in a throw blanket, with the towel still on me. It was three a.m., and I couldn’t believe I’d fallen asleep while Miles was giving me a massage. That was a lie. He had me so relaxed that I couldn’t help it. The way his strong hands moved across my back and how his fingers dug into me was total bliss.
I got up, put on a nightshirt, pulled back the covers, and fell back asleep.
The following morning, I flew out of bed and ran into the bathroom.
“Oh, come on,” I said. “What the hell is going on?”
I heard footsteps behind me. Miles took hold of my hair and held it back.
“I see it’s not a good morning. It appears you have the flu.”
“I guess so.” I vomited one more time and was humiliated that he saw me like this.
He grabbed a tissue and handed it to me. Wiping my mouth, I threw the tissue in the toilet, flushed, and stood up.
“You need to get back in bed. Is there anything I can get you?” he asked.
“No. I’ll be okay. I feel better now.”
“I’ll have Dora make you some toast,” he said, walking out of the room.
Putting on my robe, I went into the kitchen.
“Good morning, Stella,” Dora said. “Your toast will be right up. Can I make you a cup of coffee or tea?”
“I’ll have some peppermint tea. Thank you, Dora.”
I sat at the island next to Miles while he ate his scrambled eggs and read the news on his phone.
“Thanks for the massage last night. I really enjoyed it.”
“You’re welcome. You were out pretty fast.”
“You relaxed me to the point of no return.” I smirked.
The corners of his mouth lifted into a handsome smile. “Anytime you need a massage, just ask. I have to get to the office. I’ll see you tonight.” He left the kitchen.
Dora set my toast and tea down in front of me.
“I have to get to the grocery store before it gets busy. Is there anything else you want me to pick up for you?” she asked.
“No. I’m fine. Thanks, Dora.”
I picked up my phone and took a bite of my toast. Looking at the date, something occurred to me. Opening my period app showed that I should have already started. Suddenly, my belly twisted, and I felt sick again. My heart started racing as I began to sweat.
“Nope. I’m not pregnant.” I shook my head. “I’m sick. I have the flu, and that’s why I’m late.” I tried to convince myself, but somehow I knew better.
I immediately called Jordyn.
“Hey, you,” she answered. “I’m on my way into a meeting. Can I call you back?”
“I think I’m pregnant,” I blurted out.
“Stella, are you serious?”
“My period was due two weeks ago.”
“And you’re just now figuring that out?” she asked.
“It’s been crazy here finishing up my other classes, starting my new ones, getting married, and moving into the penthouse. I honestly didn’t think about it. Besides, remember how my pills were screwed up?”
“Yeah, I remember. Shit. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ll go get a pregnancy test and find out. Please pray for me that it’s negative.”
“I’m praying hard. I just got to my meeting. I’ll call you later.”
After I showered and dressed, I stepped out of the building and walked two blocks to the drug store. Standing in the aisle, looking at the different pregnancy tests, I placed my hand on my belly as the feeling of nausea intensified. I grabbed the Clearblue box with two test sticks inside. One test stick spelled out the words pregnant and not pregnant, while the other was a plus or minus sign for double accuracy. At least that’s what the box said. Taking a deep breath, I walked up to the counter, paid, and returned to the penthouse. Going into the bathroom, I took the test sticks out of the box. I could feel my body trembling at the possibility I could be pregnant. After peeing on the sticks, I set them down, washed my hands, set the time on my phone, and sat on the floor against the bathtub, hugging my knees.
“Oh! Stella, I didn’t know you were home,” Dora walked into the bathroom with a stack of towels, looked at the sticks on the counter, and stared at me.
“I didn’t know you were here, either.”
“I was in the laundry room doing laundry. Are you okay?” She put the towels away in the cabinet.
“I don’t know yet.” Tears filled my eyes.
“Oh, sweetie.” She sat on the floor and placed her arm around me. “It’ll be okay.” She hugged me as I placed my head on her shoulder.
“No, it won’t. Miles doesn’t like kids under the age of ten. He said he never wants children.”
“He also never wanted a wife, and now look,” she said.
“You know it’s not a real marriage, Dora. He only married me to get his company.”
The timer on my phone went off, and I felt like I was going to be sick. This could possibly be my biggest life-changing event, and I wasn’t ready to face it. I slowly got up from the floor and stared at the two test sticks. One said “Pregnant,” and the other displayed a dark blue plus sign.
“Oh, God.” I cupped my hand over my mouth as tears streamed down my face.
“Oh, Stella. It’ll be okay.” Dora hugged me. “Look at me.” She broke our embrace and held my shoulders. “I haven’t known you very long, but I already know what a strong woman you are. Miles, on the other hand, needs some therapy.” She smirked.
I let out a light laugh.
“You, my darling, will not be alone in this. I will help you in any way I can. You’re having a baby.” She smiled. “Nothing else in this world is God’s greatest gift. You were blessed. Remember that.”
“I know. How am I going to tell Miles? He’s going to be so pissed. This changes everything, Dora.”
“He may be a little upset at first, but he’ll come to terms with it. He seems to be handling the marriage just fine.”
“Right.” I shook my head. “He doesn’t even let me sleep in his bed after sex.”
“Well, he’s an idiot. The last thing you need is stress. It’s not good for you or the baby. You have eleven months left of this so-called marriage, and the baby will be born in what—seven months?”
“I don’t know how far along I am.”
“Doesn’t matter. It will be before your marriage contract is up. He has no choice but to be a father to that child. I’ll get rid of the evidence for you.” She scooped up the test sticks and the box and took them with her.
After we sat on the bed and talked a while longer, she left for the day. I didn’t know how the hell I was going to tell him I was pregnant with his baby. First, I needed to call my OB/GYN and get in as soon as possible. Picking up my phone, I called the office.
“Dr. Gregario’s office. Belinda speaking. How can I help you?”
“Hi, Belinda. This is Stella Harper. I need to make an appointment.”
“And what will you be coming in for?”
“I just took a pregnancy test, and it’s positive. Actually, I took two.”
“Congratulations, Stella. Let me see when I can get you an appointment. Dr. Gregario had a cancellation for this Friday at one o’clock. Will that work?”
“Friday at one is fine. Thank you.”
“Great. You’re all set, and we’ll see you Friday.”
* * *
Miles
I’d just returned from a meeting and sat behind my desk. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I texted Stella to see how she was feeling.
“How are you feeling?”
“A little better.”
“I hope you’re resting.”
“I’m doing homework that’s due tomorrow. So yeah, I’m resting.”
“I wouldn’t call that resting, Stella. But I understand that you need to finish your homework. I’ll be a little late tonight. I have a dinner meeting at six o’clock.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later.”
My office door opened, and Uncle Ben walked in.
“I haven’t seen you the past couple of days,” he said, taking a seat in front of my desk.
“I’ve been busy working.”
“The Schmidt deal fell through,” he said.
“What? Why?” I spoke with anger.
“They didn’t like our terms.”
“What are you talking about? Peter was fine with the terms at our last meeting.”
“I changed them. I didn’t feel the terms were right.”
I sat there with a stern look, shaking my head. “Those terms were fine.” I pointed at him. “What the fuck are you doing, Uncle Ben?”
“I’m overseeing this company and making sure we don’t make deals that will cost us money. The Schmidt deal would have cost us.”
“Only for the first six months. Do you not look at the bigger picture?”
“I do look at the bigger picture, and the bigger picture was telling me it was not a good investment.” He stood up. “I just wanted to let you know. If you have a problem with it, tell the boss. Oh, wait. That’s me. Too bad if you don’t like it. I make the final decisions around here.”
He walked out of my office. Picking up a pen, I threw it across the room.
“Fuck!” I shouted.
The door opened, and Isla walked in. “Are you okay?”
“No!” I shouted. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout at you. That man.” I shook my finger. “Eleven months can’t come fast enough.”
“Is that all you can think about?” she asked.
“Uh, yeah.” I narrowed my eyes. “What else would I be thinking about?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps your wife and how the divorce will affect her?” Her brow arched.
“Stella is a strong woman. She’ll be fine.”
“If you so, boss.” She turned, walked out of my office, and shut the door.
I met Leonard Hathaway and his brother, Jacob, at Daniel. It was a good business meeting, and I was more than happy to help his company.
“I’ll be in touch.” I shook both their hands.
I was supposed to run every proposal and deal by my uncle, but he wasn’t getting his hands on this one.