We went our merry way with my outfit clearly showing what I had done inside his office. I was wearing his shirt and a jacket with the sleeves rolled up along with my heels. Nicholas had his arm draped over my shoulder as we walked to the elevator.
I saw Julia sitting at her desk, a glare directed my way. I stopped right in front of her.
Nicholas leaned down to whisper in my ear, “I was saving the honors for you, my lady.”
Was I a bad person for being happy at those words?
I turned to Julia with a scathing glare to rival her own. “Pack up your things in the next five minutes or security will escort you out of the building. Why? Because you are fired.”
Nicholas chuckled at how excited I was. He tucked me into his side and continued on to the elevator. I felt like I had all the power in the world, being able to fire someone.
Sometimes revenge was sweet.
The next day, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Yeah, I still had Virgil the Babysitter on my tail, but Nicholas and I were back on the same page. Nicholas had joined me in the bathtub the night before, and we managed to talk out our differences while we soaked in the water. He admitted that he should have been more understanding from the start. And I agreed that having Virgil with me was the smart choice.
Nicholas and I were back to our normal, and all was right in the world.
[I love you more than Romeo loves Juliet.]
I giggled at his latest text while Virgil and I walked back towards campus after having lunch at a cafe.
“You two are ridiculous.” Virgil shook his head again.
“Oh, whatever. You’re just jealous.” I grinned over at him and punched his arm. “We need to find you a girl.”
“I do just fine on my own, thank you very much.”
‘Very interesting.’ I raised my eyebrows. “Really? Who? Anybody I know?”
He looked away, pretending he didn’t hear me. Yeah, that wasn’t going to work.
“Come on,” I whined. “You know every single thing about me. Give me some deets.”
“Deets?” He chuckled. “I forget how young you are sometimes.”
“Stop changing the topic. Tell me.”
He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “There is someone I’ve been seeing for a while now, but we agreed to keep it to ourselves.”
Now my curiosity was really piqued. “You have to tell me now. You can’t just leave it there.”
It was obviously someone I did know or he wouldn’t be so hesitant. My mind whirled with images of women around RHI who could be possibilities.
I grimaced as one face entered my head. “Please tell me it’s not that skank, Julia.”
He shook his head and laughed. “Hell no.” He sighed and glanced over again. “Just don’t make a big deal out of it. Okay?”
I nod.
“It’s Sandra.”
I grinned and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. “That’s great! You two are perfect together!”
“Jesus, you said you wouldn’t make a big deal.”
I laughed and released him from my clutches. Sandra was terrific and it made me happy that they liked each other.
I nudged him with my shoulder. “An older woman, huh? Sexy.”
“Fucking hell.” He looked up at the sky. “Why did I tell you this?”
“I’m just teasing you. Calm down.”
“Are you hungry?”
It was a week later, and Nicholas and I were leaving our second doctor’s appointment. The baby was perfect and I was healthy.
“Yes, starving actually,” I told him, leaning against his side in the back of the car.
Nicholas asked John to stop at a restaurant on our way home and we were quickly seated and served our lunch. I took a bite of the steak, wishing there was a way to get some peanut butter on the side without getting weird looks in my direction.
“I think we’re having a boy,” he said.
I smiled over at him across the table. He had barely touched his food, too busy looking through the ultrasound photographs from the doctor.
“What makes you think that?”
He shrugged and popped a fry in his mouth. “He just looks like a boy.”
I shook my head but didn’t tell him my real thoughts. Although I loved our baby, he or she looked more like an alien at this point than anything. But I didn’t want to hurt Nicholas’ feelings.
“Are you saying you would rather have a boy?”
“No!” He looked up at me and shook his head. “I don’t care either way. I only hope they’re healthy.”
There he went… melting my heart again.
“Really? You really don’t have a preference? It’s okay if you want a boy first, you know. It’s alright to admit it.”
“Honestly. Boy or girl. Doesn’t matter to me.”
I dropped it since he sounded pretty adamant. With his views on family and desiring heirs for his fortune, I’d assumed he would prefer having a boy first. But maybe I was wrong.
“Did you call your mother yet?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, but I will tonight.”
“If you don’t, I’m going to.”
He snorted before saying, “I will. I’ll make reservations this weekend.”
When Clara had called me a few days ago to ask if I would accompany her to a ladies’ charity benefit, I’d realized during the conversation she didn’t know yet that I was pregnant. Nicholas told me he hadn’t said anything to them because he was waiting for me to get to the second trimester. I had my doubts about that reasoning and thought it had more to do with him being unwilling to mend his relationship with his father.
I pointed my fork in his direction. “The dinner will be good. You know your mother is going to be ecstatic and so will your father.”
“Yeah, I know.”
I rolled my eyes. It was difficult getting Nicholas to give people the benefit of doubt aside from me. He liked to keep his doubts high and have a lot of them.