Baby By Accident(24)
He sighed. “She’s been sick for weeks.”
“She?”
“My employee,” he said with sharp inflection. He wanted to stamp out the tiny hint of interest in his sister’s voice immediately. For the last several years, his whole family had been yapping at him to settle down, to find a wife, to give his momma what she most dearly wanted—his babies. In fact, at his last visit only months ago, his momma had assured him with a grave face she would never be fully happy until she held his child in her arms.
His gut flipped completely over. He would be an abysmal failure as a father.
“What are this employee’s symptoms?”
His brain began to pound with the possibility. Bam. Bam. Bam—his heart took on the beat. He tried to push the pounding, the bam-bam-bam, the clutch in his gut all away.
This couldn’t be. No.
He was only thirty-one and he was having too much fun. The tabloid tales were, of course, ridiculous, pure exaggeration. Sure, he enjoyed the ladies, why shouldn’t he? But the number of women in the photos ending up in his bed were few. He’d certainly had his share of relationships, but he’d never been promiscuous. In fact, he was fairly careful and thoughtful before embarking on a sexual relationship.
Except for that one night.
His gut twirled, his heart slammed, his head exploded.
“Vico?”
“She said it’s the flu,” he choked.
“No flu goes on for weeks and weeks,” Chi said. “Has she gone to the doctor?”
“Si. She told me the diagnosis was the flu.”
“You’ve discussed this with her? How interesting.”
“She’s an important part of my staff. It was reasonable to discuss this with her.” Reasonable wasn’t what he felt right now. A slick line of sweat ran down his back.
“Tell me her symptoms.”
“White as a ghost. Trouble with her balance. I believe quite a bit of nausea, if all the rumors running around are true.” As soon as he rattled off the list, his gut roared, the clutch of concern turning into ripe reality.
“I’ll bet she’s pregnant.”
The final words, words already forming in his brain, sent a blast of adrenaline up his spine. He shot out of his chair and his hand tightened on the phone. Grasping for anything, any excuse, he instinctively rejected the new realization hardening like a stone in his stomach. “Not a chance.”
“Are you sure?” Chi’s voice became avid with interest. “How would you know?”
Unprotected sex. Almost three months ago.
“Vico?”
His head went dizzy and for a moment, he thought he might faint.
“I’ve got to go,” he muttered and clicked the phone off.
The phone lines in Naples were going to explode. But he couldn’t think about that right now. Not now.
Pregnant. Pregnant.
Lise Helton pregnant.
He took in a deep breath. His brain snapped into gear. If this was true, it was probably her fiancé’s. Her ex-fiancé’s.
Probably.
Which would explain the tears his PA saw when she’d delivered a report to Lise’s office and caught Ms. Helton unaware. When Sally had mentioned it to him, with a worried look, he’d thought the guilt roiling inside him would surely scream to life and gorge on his remaining conscience. It had and still did. Along with another unnamed emotion roiling and burning in his gut. The one he had no intention of defining or describing. Or confronting.
Crying over the man she’d loved and lost. Because of him.
He prowled to the window and stared down blankly at the traffic.
Lise Helton pregnant?
His mind boggled. And rejected.
No, not that cool, contained woman. Not his CFO, who was preternaturally organized to the point of obsession. Not Lise Helton of the endless lists, with such annoying attention to every last detail she drove him mad.
Not her.
She must be on some kind of birth control. He’d taken it for granted when he’d thought about not using a condom. He’d consoled himself with the knowledge. Excused himself from the guilt. Almost.
Also, if she was actually pregnant and she didn’t want the baby, she would have the cold nerves of steel to get rid of it. Wouldn’t she?
Get rid of the baby? Potentially my baby?
The thought splintered his soul into a million pieces. Before he could catch the pieces and put them back into order, Vico found himself stalking down the hallway towards her office. The place she’d made clear was off limits to him. Her PA glanced over and gave him a tentative smile which turned into a look of astonishment when he strode past her and right to the damned woman’s closed door without a by-your-leave.
To hell with it.
This was his office. His territory, not hers. Her sensibilities be damned.