Page 84 of My Ex's Best Friend

“I’m glad I get to do this with you.”

21

KIERA

The next few weeks are a blur. Thankfully, the anxiety that I felt when I first found out I was pregnant is gone. It occasionally rears its ugly head when I think about the future. The timeline of the museum project is stretching far more than I expected. The museum is yet to approve the blueprints we sent over, and by the time everything is settled, I'll definitely be showing.

I haven't told anybody yet. I know both Ellie and Tammy are going to be really mad at me when I do tell them, more so when they find out who the father is.

They kept asking me about my trip to Paris with Jake, but I shut them down with some fake, vague details. They probably still think I hate Jake.

"Did you hear?" Bea sits at the edge of my table. "Someone in the office is pregnant."

I almost spit out the orange juice that I've been drinking from my I love coffee mug. Everybody in the office knows how much I love my caffeine. To avoid suspicion, I've resorted to this.

The HR department knows about us, but nobody else does. Jake gave me the option to announce, but I'm scared. I don't want them to think I slept with the boss to get the project.

"Are you okay?" Bea asks, as I clean myself up. Thankfully, she doesn't notice that I've been drinking juice.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," I say. "Who's pregnant?"

Bea shrugs. “I don’t know. One of the HR interns was saying something, but she was let go, so that just fuels more suspicion. I’m fairly sure that it isn’t just a rumor, and I bet it’s going to be someone we least suspect.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t speculate,” I say.

“Do you think it might be Raine?” Bea asks. “She was acting very cagey the other day. But she is the kind of person who would make it her entire personality and scream about it from the rooftops.”

“Probably not her,” I say. “Maybe someone older? Maybe they’re feeling embarrassed about it.”

I feel bad putting the target on somebody else’s back, but if it takes it off mine…Well!

Bea’s eyes widen. “That makes sense.”

"Well, it's only a matter of few months anyway," I say. "Let's just wait for whoever it is to announce it." It's only when I say it out loud that I realize how close I am to being discovered. Because I can't lie about it for much longer.

I can only imagine what people are going to say about me when they find out.

Just then, Jake walks past my desk. He greets me with a, "Hey," nodding as if he wasn't pounding into me just a few hours ago.

I plain ignore him while Bea goes, "Did you need anything, Jake?"

Jake frowns.

I don't want him to know about this rumor.

"No, no. I was just, um, I need you to book me a ticket to Spain for tomorrow."

My heart jolts. He's leaving tomorrow?

"Something came up," Jake continues, looking straight at me. "One of my oldest clients wants to do some acquiring from a reclusive family, and he wants my opinion."

I stay silent.

After Jake leaves, Bea hops off the desk. "Well, I better get those tickets booked."

"Yep," I say. A few moments later, my phone beeps with a text. It's Jake.

I didn't want you to find out this way. I just found out myself.

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