“Considering that I’m your boss, I hope you tell them ‘no,’” Cass replied.
Renee grinned at Cass and fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously. “But Cass, you said we had something special.”
Cass laughed and Kat couldn’t help but join in. She loved working with these two women. She stopped laughing as she realized that she wasn’t sure how either woman would take the news of her pregnancy. Cass would be supportive and helpful. Renee would probably be jealous.
Kat could handle that, but the idea of figuring out maternity leave and how she was going to continue working while pregnant, let alone with a baby, made her want to panic. Forcing herself to relax, she took a deep breath.
“Kat, your phone’s ringing,” Cass said gently, putting a hand on her arm. Her dark eyes were filled with concern. “Are you okay? You still look like you might be sick.”
“I’m fine,” Kat assured her, picking up the phone before Renee could remark on how long she’d been sick.
“Ms. Ryder?” It was AJ’s secretary. “Mr. Jacobson needs to see you right away.”
“Of course. I’ll be right up,” Kat assured the secretary before hanging up. She looked at her two co-workers and shrugged. “Boss man. Got to go.”
“You two seem awful cozy these days,” Renee remarked, sliding off of Kat’s desk.
“It’s just work,” Kat quickly replied. She didn’t mean for it to sound as defensive as it did.
“Whoa, relax,” Cass told her as she held up her hands in submission. “There’s probably nothing wrong. He probably just wants to congratulate you. You worked really hard on this.”
“Yeah...” Kat agreed, glad that her boss just thought she was nervous that she was in trouble. If only it were that simple, Kat thought. I am in trouble. Just not the kind you both think.
Cass nudged Renee with her hip.
“Oh, right. You did a really good job on the project,” Renee added grudgingly. “I’m sure he just wants to tell you that.”
Kat hoped that was what he wanted to tell her. Her mind was already going to dark places. It was incredibly possible that he wanted to call off their relationship. With the new addition to the scandal, she certainly couldn’t blame him.
Kat slowly stood from her desk, moving slowly to keep her stomach down where it belonged. She hoped that her coworkers just thought it was nerves or the last bit of the stomach bug. It wouldn’t be long before someone figured out the truth, though.
The elevator ride upstairs took forever. If he was giving her good news, then maybe this would be a good time to tell him.
“I have good news, Kat,” he would say.
“I have good news, too,” she would reply.
It could work.
She sighed and leaned back against the shiny metal walls. He didn’t seem like the type of person who would ask her to get rid of the baby. That made her feel a little bit better, but she was still nervous as to how he would react.
The elevator doors opened to reveal the expansive lobby leading up the CEO’s office. The secretary stationed outside waved her in with a friendly smile. Kat paused, her hand on the door and heart in her throat. She licked her lips nervously before going in.
“Hi,” she said, entering. He was at his desk, working away on his computer. Deep frown lines covered her face and his jaw looked so tense it could cut steel. The stress was obviously wearing on him.
He looked up and the shadow of a smile crossed his face before disappearing back into a sea of stress. “Kat.”
“You wanted to see me?” She took a step into the room, trying to stay calm and collected.
“I assume you heard?” he replied, still working on the computer.
“The good news or the bad news?” she asked. She hoped she sounded calmer than she felt.
“There’s good news?” He sat back from his computer and pushed his chair away. The smile was long gone from his face.
Kat swallowed hard. “The project is a go.”
“Oh?” AJ ran his hand through his hair, spiking up the tips. “I didn’t know. I’m glad though. It’s a great idea.”
Kat thought about running from the office and hiding under her desk. She wasn’t sure why he had called her up here. If it wasn’t to tell her about her project, then that could only mean he had bad news.
“You didn’t know?” she asked, planting her feet to keep her from bolting.
AJ shook his head. “I’ve been so busy dealing with...” he started, waving to the mess of paperwork on his desk. “I haven’t been able to follow up with the board at all about it.”
“Oh.” Without warning, a little pride filled Kat. Her project had been approved because it was good, not because she was sleeping with the boss. She felt bad that she had to find out this way, but she had pulled it off on her own. “So, what did you want to see me about?”