~ CHAPTER SIXTEEN ~
I had Jack drop me back off at work and was in the process of sneaking back into my office when Malika sidestepped me, holding up a pharmacy bag before dumping the two pregnancy tests inside of it out onto her desk.
She must have snooped around in my office while I was gone!
That was it.
Enough was enough.
Every nerve in my body aligned for a fight, but Malika held up her hand to stop me before I could throw the first dagger. "Don't worry," she said in an overly sweet voice. "Your secrets safe with me."
"Sure it is." I laughed in her face and went to grab up the tests, stuffing them inside my purse before making my way back inside my office.
Malika wasn't that easily deterred though. In true Malika fashion, she was absolutely tickled pink over what was quickly becoming one of the most exhausting weeks of my life. "It is," she said. "There are, however, a few conditions … "
Like I hadn't seen that one coming.
"Like?"
Malika's grin widened. "I'm glad you asked," she said. I watched her dart out of the door, returning few seconds later with a list of demands in hand.
"Keys to the company Audi, six extra sick days a month, and a ten percent raise?" I tore my gaze from the list and laughed in her face. "You've got to be kidding me!"
"Nope, very serious actually," Malika assured me. "Especially about the Audi. I've had my eye on it for awhile."
"Malika..." I groaned and rubbed my temples. "I figured you'd ask for a raise...but this...well it's completely outside the realm of reality. If you really want this stuff, I suggest you bring it up to Peter the next time the two of you are in bed together."
"No can do," Malika said. "We're a month away from getting married. That would be unethical and you know it."
"And this isn't?" I scoffed and shook my head. "Look, why don't you just get back to work before I call the board and have a talk with them about that trip the two of you took to Key West using the company credit card."
Malika looked amused by that. "Oh I'll go … but first … how's this for a headline? 'Senatorial Candidate impregnates his former stepsister'. I think Fox News would be interested in that, don't you?"
I balked at her. "You wouldn't..."
Malika shrugged and made a beeline for the door. "You obviously don't know me very well," she called over her shoulder. "I'm going to be queen of the break room when the ladies over in accounting hear about this one."
"Wait!" I called after her, speaking cautiously. Dammit. She had me between a rock and a hard place and she knew it. "Just...let me see what I can do."
"Sure thing," Malika said, flashing me a smile. "But if I don't have the keys to that Audi in my hand come the weekend, I might not be as understanding."
I rolled my eyes and stood up to close the door behind her, exhaling a deep breath as soon as I was alone again. The rest of the morning passed at a snails pace, and I found it difficult to work as her threat lingered in the forefront of my mind.
Needing a distraction, I grabbed the Greenwell fundraiser seating arrangement from my filing cabinet and went over to their showroom to put the finishing touches on it. Unfortunately for me, I was only there for about twenty minutes when a very unwanted visitor sauntered in.
"Lauren," I greeted, crossing my arms and giving her a look of displeasure.
Lauren held up her hands to indicate that she didn't mean any harm, taking a careful step down the aisle to where I was sitting. She was lucky she was pregnant. I wouldn't have been able to restrain myself from hitting her if she wasn't. "I come in peace," she spoke up, keeping her distance from me. "Your assistant said I'd be able to find you here … "
"And you're here because?" I waved a hand for her to elaborate, standing my ground.
"Look, Chantel, what I did was terrible," Lauren said, cutting right to the chase. "I'm not here to make any excuses. I'm just asking you to hear me out."
I remained quiet and waited for her to continue.
"I know Jack is under the impression that I've never cared about him, but that couldn't be any further from the truth," Lauren admitted, eyeing the floor as though she wanted to become a part of it. "I loved him, but it was always so obvious that he'd never recuperate my feelings." She took a breath and gave me a moment to consider her words before continuing. "So when my father came to me with all these details about what you and Jack had … well … I guess I allowed my resentment to get the better of me."
"You were trying to blackmail him," I stated, pulling back the veil of vagueness she was attempting to hide behind. "That's a little more than ‘allowing your resentment to get the better of you', don't you think?"
"I know … I just … I've never known the kind of bond that you and Jack have. My life has always revolved around keeping my father happy. I never went through a casual dating phase in my early twenties like all my friends did. By then I was already slaving away in the corporate world. So when I met Jack … it was like he just fell right into my lap. He was so perfect. And so out of my league it was insane … "
Lauren trailed off and wrung her hands.
"I'm sorry about your mom," I told her, speaking frankly. I'd Googled her shortly after she came into my office, unearthing details about her mother's battle with breast cancer and her subsequent death. "Really, I am, but does this story have a point? Because last I checked, going though tough times doesn't make treating people badly any more acceptable."
"I know," Lauren said, flicking her gaze up to meet mine. "I guess what I came here to say is that lighting doesn't strike in the same place twice. Not when it comes to meeting your soul mate … or losing a child. And I-I don't know that pain. I can't even begin to imagine it. All I know for sure is that I hope I eventually find a man who looks at me the way Jack looks at you. Which, lets face it, is kind of a stretch given the fact that most of the world now thinks of me as a con artist."
Lauren gave me a sad smile and turned to leave, but I called out for her to wait. "Never say never," I said, nodding at her stomach. She'd been rubbing it ever since she'd entered. "I don't know who your baby's father is, only you do, but I do know that having a child has a way of changing a man. You never know. He might surprise you."
Lauren looked down at her stomach and smiled at some unknown thought. I could see the wheels turning in her head, but I didn't say anything. "It's funny that you say that," she finally spoke up. "You know that guy we bumped into you with the other night?"
I frowned in reflection. "Caleb?"
Lauren nodded. "He's the baby's father," she admitted, biting down on her bottom lip. "He's a smooth talker, that one. We've been friends since we were kids, but I never thought I stood a chance with him. That is until things got a little out of hand at one of his father's charity events a couple months back … "
"Wow," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. "Well I guess that explains the awkwardness at dinner."
Lauren fought a smile. "We debated on telling you guys that we knew each other, but he wimped out on me at the last minute..."
There was something about the way she said that last part that reminded me of the way I so often talked about Jack. We continued making small talk for a while, and I left the Greenwell showroom shortly after she did with the tip that he was probably at our favorite bar drinking himself under the table.
"Hey Chantel!" Seth called out when he saw me enter. "The usual?"
"No thanks," I told him, pushing my way through the crowd towards where Jack was slumped over at the counter. We latched eyes at the exact same moment, and I swallowed down the lump in my throat before taking a seat beside him.
"Easy tiger," I spoke up, prying the glass from his hand before he could swallow back another sip of the warm liquid inside of it. "There's something I need to tell you … "