12. Emily
12
EMILY
I stand outside the building where I used to work, my heart pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat. The air is crisp, the kind that cuts through your jacket and makes your breath visible.
I’ve been here before but today is different. Today, I’m not here for a paycheck—I’m here because I have no other choice. I have to find Lucas.
I tried going to his penthouse. I even worked up the nerve to walk up to those gleaming glass doors, my heart in my throat as I approached the doorman.
But the moment I mentioned Lucas’s name, he shut me down, his expression turning from polite indifference to thinly veiled disdain.
He didn’t believe me, of course. The whole encounter left me feeling foolish, like a child trying to claim she knows the king, only to be laughed out of the castle.
So now I’m here, back in this drab, depressing building that I swore I’d never return to. The walls have been painted, the floor looks new, and the smell of coffee and desperation has gone.
My footsteps echo in the lobby as I head for the elevator, trying to ignore the tight knot of anxiety that’s been twisting in my gut since I found out I was pregnant.
I need to talk to Lucas. He deserves to know, and I need to understand what this all means. But first, I have to find him.
It’s like walking into a memory—a bad one. The same walls, the same harsh fluorescent lights, but new carpet underfoot. It’s all too familiar, and yet, everything feels different now.
As I make my way toward the room where I think the party was held, I’m hit by a wave of nausea. It’s been happening more and more lately, and I know it’s not just nerves.
I press a hand to my stomach, willing myself to keep it together. I can’t afford to lose it now, not when I’m so close. Someone has to have his phone number. Or maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll be here somewhere.
I get lost. Of course. I wander the corridors until I see something I recognize. Trying to find my bearings, I push open a set of new doors and find myself back in the call center like I never left.
The office is just as dreary as I remember, filled with the same cubicles and tired-looking employees hunched over their desks. It’s the one part of the building not refurbished.
The only thing that’s changed is me. I don’t belong here anymore—I never did, but now it feels even more out of place. I’m not the same person who used to sit at one of those desks, answering calls and pretending that everything was fine. Now, everything is different. Everything is more complicated.
I spot my former boss almost immediately. Vince is standing by a desk, barking orders at some poor soul who looks like they’d rather be anywhere else.
He hasn’t changed a bit—same haircut, same sharp eyes, same air of superiority that he wears like armor. Only his face is puffy and bruised. There’s a stitched cut over his right eye which is swollen shut. “Greg’s still recovering,” he snaps. “So you make his calls or you leave. Got a problem with that? Didn’t think so.”
He looks up and spots me. “Emily? What are you doing here? You don’t work here anymore.” I see where two of his teeth were knocked out.
“I know,” I reply, keeping my voice calm. “I’m not here for a job. I need Lucas Caprione’s phone number. Do you have it?”
“Why would I have that? He bought the building, he didn’t marry me.”
I force myself to stay calm. “I just need to talk to him,” I say, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice. “It’s important.”
He laughs, a cold, humorless sound. “Get out before I have security throw you out.”
I feel the blood drain from my face, but I don’t back down. I can’t afford to. “Please,” I say, my voice shaking just a little. “I need to talk to him. Do you know anyone who could help me?”
His eyes narrow even further, and for a moment, I think he might actually listen. But then he shakes his head. “You really think you can just walk in here and make demands? Still wearing the same outfit, I notice. I’m guessing you couldn’t find another job. Not surprised, those high and mighty morals of yours don’t work in the real world.”
He grins. “Tell you what. Maybe we should go to my office and work out a way I could help you. Quid pro quo, as they say.”
Panic flares in my chest, but before I can respond, I hear a familiar voice behind me, calm and commanding, cutting through the tension like a knife.
“You’re fired, Vince. Get the fuck out before I rip your fucking head off.”
I turn around, and there he is—Lucas, standing in the doorway, his eyes locked on my former boss. He’s just as I remember him—tall, confident, with an air of authority that makes everyone else in the room fade into the background.
But there’s something different about him today, something that makes my heart skip a beat. He’s here, and he’s not just watching—he’s taking control.
My boss’s face drains of color, his bravado crumbling in an instant. “You can’t just fire me,” he sputters, trying to regain some semblance of control. “Don’t you know who I work for?”
Lucas steps forward, his expression hard as steel. “I know exactly who you work for,” he says, his voice as cold as ice. “And I don’t care. You talk to her like that, you face the consequences. Ten seconds to get out or I beat you so hard your shit turns black.” He glances my way. “Like pepto, right?”
Vince, the man who once held so much power over me, looks completely deflated, like all the air has been sucked out of him. He glares at me one last time, then turns and storms out of the office.
I stand there, stunned, as the reality of what just happened sinks in. Lucas just fired him—like it was nothing. Like he had every right to do it. But how? And why?
I’m still trying to wrap my head around what just happened—how he appeared out of nowhere and fired my boss like it was the easiest thing in the world. But I can’t stop now. I have to tell him about the baby.
“Lucas,” I begin, my voice trembling slightly as I take a step closer to him. The air between us is thick with unspoken tension, and I can feel the weight of the moment pressing down on me. “I need to talk to you. It’s important.”
He turns his gaze toward me, and the intensity in his eyes makes my heart skip a beat. He’s always had this effect on me—making me feel like the only person in the room, the only person who matters. But now, with the weight of what I’m about to say hanging in the air, it’s almost too much to bear.
“I’ve got cameras watching this place,” he says. “Saw how he spoke to you. Something told me to be here today. Guess fate’s on my side. Hold on.”
He turns to the cubicles. “This place is shut down, permanently. I want you all out of here in the next thirty seconds and you’ll get twice your month’s pay as severance. Anyone left in the room after I stop counting gets nothing.”
The place empties faster than I thought possible.
“What is it, Emily?” Lucas asks as the door closes behind the last employee. There’s concern in his eyes, and for a moment, I let myself believe that everything might be okay. “You needed to tell me something, right?”
I take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. “I’m pregnant,” I say, the words tumbling out before I can second-guess myself. “I just found out, and… and it’s yours.”