Page 42 of Secrets, Scandals and Baby Shoes

On the inside, though, she was struggling. Hard. She missed Elliot so much that her heart almost physically hurt. She’d cried over him more than a few times, even though she kept telling herself to put him out of her mind. Clearly, he didn’t care about her, or he wouldn’t have left the company like that. He would at least have reached out to her since then, which he hadn’t.

Lucy missed his strategic input on her decisions. She missed his unique way of looking at things and the way he always challenged her to be sure she’d found the right way forward. She missed sitting with him on the couch, watching movies with his arm around her shoulders or her head on his lap. She missed dinners at his side and long walks hand in hand. She missed the way he looked at her like she was the only person who mattered and the way he kissed her until her knees were weak. She missed everything.

As if her emotional heartbreak wasn’t enough, Lucy had been feeling sick, too. She’d been tired, easily frustrated, and sick to her stomach a few times. It was mostly the stress of running a company by herself, she knew, but Lucy wished her body wouldn’t let her down now. Being the sole CEO had driven her to spend long hours in the office, often arriving in the early morning and leaving only after it was dark out. If she had a few days of rest, perhaps she would feel better again, but rest seemed a distant possibility with the amount of work she now had.

Brooke helped, but an assistant was nothing like a partner.

Despite her inner turmoil, Lucy ran the meeting with her executives with ease. They discussed recent developments, such as Lucy’s suggested creative changes and the introduction of a tiered payment system for app benefits, and then went on to future plans. Halfway through the meeting, Lucy’s head began to hurt, but she pushed through.

As soon as she was finished with the executives, it was time to meet Monica about the Pura Vida partnership. Lucy’s team had prepared some promotional material to go on the app, which Lucy and Monica would discuss today. Lucy quickly splashed a little water on her face in the bathroom, checked her makeup, and headed into the meeting.

“Lucy.” Monica smiled, getting to her feet and holding out a hand. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” Lucy shook her hand. “Sorry that your client manager couldn’t make it today.”

“It’s no trouble.” Monica waved her hand dismissively. “I’m happy to meet with you.”

“Great, then we can get started.” Lucy cued up the promotional materials on the projector screen and began to explain the strategy they were planning to use. Just as she was telling Monica about the Pura Vida Passport, a part of the app where guests could unlock special rewards when they visited two or more Pura Vida locations, Lucy began to feel dizzy. She rested a hand on the table to steady herself. “As I was saying, the passport will encourage clients to—” A wave of nausea rose, and Lucy forced herself to take a deep breath. “To?—”

The nausea increased. Lucy choked out a quick “Please excuse me for just a moment” before dashing toward the bathroom. There, she fell to her knees and was sick. Lucy knelt on the floor for several minutes, feeling dizzy, sick and completely miserable.

Afterward, she washed her face in the bathroom sink as she leaned against the porcelain edge, still feeling dizzy. In the mirror, Lucy saw that she didn’t look well. At all. Her normally pink cheeks were pale, and she had circles under her eyes.Great.Just great.What she really needed was to get some kind of bad stomach bug right when she was having an important client meeting.

Lucy took a deep breath. She’d go back in there, finish the meeting with Monica, then tell Brooke that she was going home for the day. Twenty-four hours of saltines and rest should see her back on solid footing. Taking another deep breath, she straightened up, adjusted her hair, and returned to the meeting room.

Monica was still in her chair, tapping on her phone. She put the phone away as soon as Lucy walked in. Her expression was kind.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Lucy said. “I really don’t know what came over me. But I’m just fine now. As I was saying, the passport system will encourage repeat customers by?—”

“Lucy.” Monica cut her off with a gentle smile. “I really appreciate your dedication, but we can do this another day. You should sit down.” She pulled out a chair and gestured for Lucy to sit.

“No, really.” Lucy flushed with embarrassment. “I’m fine.” She wished, yet again, that she still had a co-CEO or at least someone else who could step in and help at times like this. Thoughts of Elliot flashed through her mind, but she quickly dismissed them.

“Please.” Monica gestured to the chair again, so Lucy sank into it half-heartedly.

“Truly,” Monica continued, leaning forward slightly. “Don’t worry about it. I was exactly the same when I was pregnant with my first. It’s very normal.”

“What?” Lucy let out a nervous giggle. “I’m not. Pregnant, I mean. I’m not pregnant.”

“Is that so?” Monica raised her eyebrows. “Well, if you’re not ready to tell people, that’s fine, but you might find it hard to hide from other mothers.”

“That’s not it.” Lucy bit her lip. “I just, I don’tthinkI’m pregnant.” She cast her thoughts back to the nights she’d spent with Elliot. They’d used protection, but she knew as well as anyone that no protection was a hundred percent effective. And her period was late, wasn’t it? She’d thought it was because of the same stress that was causing her illness, but maybe it was something else. And her illness… perhaps the nausea and tiredness were because of pregnancy, not the flu or a stomach bug after all.

“Either way,” Monica said diplomatically. “You should rest. Take it easy. I hear that you’re running Borderless by yourself, which can’t be easy. My husband and I started Pura Vida together as a young couple, but things really took off around the time I had my son. Now, my husband does a lot of the technical work, and I do most of the guest and partner-facing work. It was certainly a challenge running a company with a young child.”

“I’m sure,” Lucy said, though her thoughts were still swirling through endless questions of how she could possibly be pregnant.

“Don’t worry.” Monica reached across the table and patted her hand. “You’re going to be just fine. For now, how about we end the meeting here? I’m impressed with what I heard, so you can just send me the presentation, and I’ll review that. We’ll meet another time.”

“Are you sure?” Lucy asked. She wasn’t sure how she could continue the meeting now, but she would do her best if she needed to. Monica shook her head, though.

“Really, it’s fine. Go get some rest.”

“Thank you.”

The women bid each other farewell, and then Lucy stopped by her desk to let Brooke know that she was going home for the day and wouldn’t be able to attend her afternoon meetings. Brooke didn’t bat an eyelash at the sudden departure; she just started rearranging meetings with finesse.

Lucy grabbed her bag and hurried out onto the street. It was October, and the leaves were tinged with red and gold around the edges. There was a hint of briskness in the air that hadn’t been there before. Normally, Lucy loved watching the seasons change, but today, she was focused on only one thing.

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