Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
“I cannot believe you have a signed T-shirt from Asher Knight.” Jewell greedily eyeballed May’s graphic tee.
May tugged on the blue cotton tee with Knight Time’s logo on it and admired his curly Sharpie signature. She’d paired the casual tee with a wide, flared white skirt and wedge sandals. It might be her new favorite ’fit. “Would you like me to get you one?”
“Very funny. I would like you to introduce me to that man. Yes, I know he’s married.
And yes, I know he’s fine. It’s not about that.
I am incapable of living this close to a celebrity without having made his acquaintance.
” She tapped her nails on the desk. “We will discuss this further at your quarterly review.”
May chuckled. Asher Knight was indeed fine. But he was also more than that…being in his presence had given her the oddest floating sensation.
He’d strutted over, first saying hello to Ant by giving him a manly hug, and then he’d greeted Xavier with a rough slap to the shoulder.
With May, though, he offered a hand while looking directly into her eyes.
She’d been lost in those deep, dark brown eyes for a solid five seconds.
It hadn’t been desire, not quite. More like awe.
Like standing too close to a humming transformer. Her entire body had felt the vibration.
“May. How have we missed each other? Gorgeous women rarely miss my radar.” He’d said her name like it was sinful and he liked the taste of it in his mouth.
Damn.
It wasn’t love, or lust. It was far more visceral.
“I never should have introduced them.” Xavier, who sat next to her, slid a cocky glance over at May. “She is head over heels for him, and I have no idea how to win her back.”
“I bet.” Jewell slipped a pair of thick-framed glasses onto her nose and then peered down at her iPad. “All right, let’s talk about the app release date and the marketing schedule leading up to it.”
Jewell reviewed the schedule for Zest. Xavier fielded her questions like a pro, even when Jewell expressed concern about how quickly summer would sneak up on them.
May couldn’t help thinking of another “launch” that would occur next summer.
Namely a baby from her uterus. She felt her smile turn sickly as she fast-forwarded through the months.
That due date was sneaking up on them as well.
Eventually, she would have to tell her boss about being pregnant, but the timing hadn’t been right yet.
“You have nothing to worry about. I have it under control.” Xavier was lounging in his chair, legs splayed, hands resting on his thighs. He was the picture of relaxed, which irked May for some reason. “We have plenty of time between now and summer.”
Oh, right. For that reason.
“The infrastructure will be solid by spring. We’ll squash any major bugs by release and then clean up the rest. You’ll have a seamless launch that won’t bottleneck your new clothing drop or your website traffic.”
May and Jewell exchanged looks, silently doubting that he knew enough about the clothing industry to make that guarantee.
“Am I talking nerd?” He swiveled his head from one woman to the other. “Did I lose you?”
“May is fluent in nerd,” Jewell said with a smile. “How are you so certain there’s plenty of time?”
May felt justified hearing Jewell ask that, though in May’s case, she was thinking about something far more personal than a clothing release. She knew too well that Xavier believed there was “plenty of time” to do everything. It had become his dominant personality trait.
“A lot goes into planning a clothing release,” Jewell said.
“And May has a whole other job outside of this app. While I am willing to sacrifice my prime analytics person so that she can lend her expertise on this project, I will also need to work around hiring someone to take over for her in the meantime.” Jewell regarded May warmly. “It’s impossible to replace you, love.”
“I appreciate that.” May offered a guilty smile. In the future, Jewell would also need to work around maternity leave…
“Plenty of time,” Xavier said. His motto.
“Summer’s not as far away as you think,” May snapped at him.
He frowned.
“While you might understand how far away it is from your man logic,” May continued, no longer able to keep her thoughts to herself, “I’m not sure you’re taking into account all of the details the women in this room know intimately.”
He leaned on one elbow toward May. “Even though I’ve never experienced your industry firsthand, I have been through the process of building and selling an app.
” He sent a meaningful glance to Jewell.
“Whether it’s Tipsy or Zest’s fashion app, it’s going to be ready by next summer. You’ll see. I’ve got it under control.”
May’s temper, along with her nostrils, flared.
“We can build in extra time if we need it,” Jewell said. “At this point, we’ve made no promises to anyone outside of this room.”
“No reason why everything can’t be handled in nine months’ time.” Xavier offered a tight smile.
“Less than nine…” Jewell trailed off. Probably because May and Xavier were staring holes through each other. “May? Do you have thoughts?”
Boy, did she. Before she ended up sharing that Xavier was drastically underplaying what needed to happen between now and June, as well as overstating how he had it “under control,” she excused herself.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to let you two work out the timing for the app, and I can chime in after. Too many chefs in the kitchen.” May maintained her smile. Jewell watched her carefully, as if she had a sneaking suspicion that May wasn’t being forthright.
Which, of course, she wasn’t.
“May—” Xavier started.
“If you need my input, I’m right outside the door.
” May eased said door shut, even though she felt like slamming it.
She managed to pace to her desk rather than stomp.
It was possible that the rage simmering along the collar of her autographed T-shirt could be partially blamed on her raging hormones, but she didn’t feel like giving Xavier the benefit of the doubt.
How dare he infer that he had everything under control when he wasn’t the only person involved? And yes, she was thinking about the pregnancy and not the creation of the app. But hadn’t he been talking about the pregnancy too?
Despite promising to be at her desk, she decided she didn’t want to be here.
Xavier and Jewell could conclude their meeting without her help.
She grabbed her purse and shut her office door.
On her way out, she told Sara at the front desk that she would be back in an hour under the guise of taking an early lunch.
“If there’s anything pressing, have Jewell call me. ”
May refused to see this as running away. The break she was taking was more out of self-preservation than anything. Still, she didn’t recall her temper being quite so pointy before being pregnant.
After escaping the office and eating a few tacos, she felt less ragged than before.
By the time she returned to work, Xavier was exiting via the front door of the building. The parking lot was large, but not large enough for her to sneak by him. Even so, she wouldn’t have done that.
“Sara said you went to lunch,” he said as he approached. “I thought you and I were going to lunch.”
“And I thought mansplaining was out of fashion.”
His face pinched, but a confused smile remained. “Did something happen? I thought we had an understanding at Harvest Fest.” He gestured to her T-shirt. “I introduced you to Asher as promised. Although I think I benefited more from that in my bed afterward.”
Fact. She had been ready to go that night. No shame in that game. “We were good. Are. We are good. I just…didn’t like how you acted as if you knew everything in there.”
“I don’t think I know everything.” He squinted against the bright sunshine, which caused attractive crinkles around his gorgeous eyes. Asher, Schmasher. Xavier was so damned hot, it was hard for her to be upset with him. If she’d been upset with him at all.
Now she was questioning if she’d been more hangry than insulted. Plus: pregnant.
“Jewell and I unpacked the nitty-gritty details after you left the meeting. I told her that while I am confident I can deliver by June, I will defer to you on the best release date.”
“Me?”
“You. Jewell already knows I defer to her. You have a say in this too. I was just trying to show strength in front of two very strong, very intimidating women.”
May’s shoulders sagged. “Why are you so good at that?”
“At what?” One hand was holding the strap of a leather laptop bag on his shoulder, so he reached for her hip with the other.
“Disarming me.”
“Not trying to disarm you, May. I’m trying to support you. You can count on me. I realize that your family, for all intents and purposes, is gone. But I’m not gone. I’m right here. And starving, by the way, since someone went to lunch without me.”
He kissed her nose, which proved to disarm her further.
“Now, see, that sweet gesture makes it impossible for me to stay angry with you.”
“That’s a relief. I screw up a lot.” He dipped his head. “How about one for the road? A good one.”
Was there more to talk about? Yes. Did she want to talk about it now? No. What she wanted was to send him off with a kiss and then talk to him later when she was warm and cozy and, preferably, naked. That was when they had their best talks.
And so she kissed him, smoothed his beard, and told him he was nothing but trouble. To which he agreed before walking his fine ass to his Range Rover.
She waltzed into the office feeling lighter than before she’d left. Like the world was a touch brighter. Outside of her office, she encountered Jewell lingering in the doorway, arms folded.
“How was lunch?” her suspicious boss asked.
“Good. How was the meeting?”
“Interesting.” Jewell scanned the cubicles around them before motioning to May to follow her. She led the way into her office, and May took the same chair she’d sat in earlier.
“I consider us friends,” Jewell started.
May shifted in her seat.
“We’re coworkers, of course, and yes, I am in charge of your paycheck.
But I also consider you a friend. I don’t say that to coerce you into agreeing that we’re friends.
If you aren’t feeling it”—Jewell made a chopping motion with one hand—“I can handle the news and will adjust my expectations accordingly.”
May believed her. Jewell was amazing at compartmentalizing, as well as reassessing expectations.
She was also pragmatic and straightforward and confident and smart.
Which led her to believe that Jewell had pieced together the nine-months comment from Xavier with May’s slightly green pallor in the morning.
“I consider us friends,” May told her. “And I know what you’re about to say. While, professionally speaking, I would have preferred to tell you later, I probably should have told you by now.”
“I expected you to talk to me about it, not find out from the guy you’re dating. But I guess those lines are blurred too, now that he is working with us on a project. Here I thought he just went to a wedding with you. You two are more serious than I thought.”
“Well, pregnancy does ramp up the seriousness in a relationship.” As soon as it was out of her mouth, May saw on Jewell’s face that she hadn’t known.
Jewell’s eyebrows climbed her forehead as her mouth dropped open. She was frozen like that for a few blinks before she asked, “You’re pregnant?”
“You— You heard Xavier say nine months in the meeting. I assumed you did the math…” May was mentally kicking herself for blurting that out.
“I admit that number struck me as odd, especially since it was incorrect, but no, I didn’t jump to that conclusion. I knew you two were having a snit of some sort. I was trying to give you space.” Jewell folded her hands on her blotter. “Congratulations?”
May was unable to speak for a moment. Finally, she managed, “What were you talking about if not me being pregnant?”
“After you left, he mentioned you were going to work from home after the app launches. He asked if that was possible. Honestly, May, I was surprised.”
So was she. She hadn’t mentioned working from home to him—ever.
“I felt like he was negotiating on your behalf. Especially since you fled the room, although with new context, I understand why you wanted out of here.”
Forget the pregnancy news she’d accidentally delivered, May was struggling to wrap her head around why Xavier would bring that up. To her boss.
“What I’d planned on telling you was that you should feel comfortable coming to me to ask anything.
And then I was going to say that you don’t need to send in your dude to ask for you.
Whatever the reason is for you wanting to work from home, I’d consider it.
Baby or not. But I would require us to have lunch or a meeting every week so I could have my May Fix. ”
May smiled, flattered.
“I benefit a lot from bouncing things off you! You can’t ghost me.” Jewell smiled back.
“I would never. Rest assured, I do not plan on working from home. Maternity leave, sure, and the occasional laptop-in-bed situation if I am nursing a fussy infant. But permanently relocating to a home office is not on my agenda.”
Then again, none of this was on her agenda. Not the baby or the app or Xavier arranging her life like he’d been hired as her personal assistant.
“That is good news. I’ll add the caveat that once the baby is born, you might change your mind.”
“You’ll be the first to hear about it—from me—if that happens.” May bookmarked her initial shock and frustration. She’d come back to those later, when she confronted Xavier.
“Seriously so happy for you!” Jewell stood and rounded the desk, enveloping May into a tight hug. She held her at arm’s length and said, “I’m taking you to dinner tonight so that we can properly celebrate. Seven o’clock at Lamberto’s?”
How was it that May had just eaten, and the mere mention of the upscale Italian restaurant made her stomach roar? “I can’t say no to that.”
Plus, it would do her well to focus on work, and her friend, and not the fact that Xavier had taken way too many liberties when it came to making decisions for her life.
She’d deal with him after dinner.