Page 43 of First Comes Orc, Second Comes Baby
“How far along are you?”
“Four months.” Spent in sheer misery. Some pregnant people breezed through the first trimester. Charlotte wasn’t one of those people.
Mistress let out a breath. “You know the company policy.”
“I know.” She leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes. Her stomach clenched, and not just with nausea. “I mean, I wanted to start a family and I accepted I’d have to go on a hiatus, but I hadn’t meant to do it right away.”Damn you, Brahnt.But she’d probably been unrealistic.
“Well, no help for it now if you’re going to keep it,” Mistress said. “It's not forever, just for a few months. You have a solid career ahead of you once this is behind you.”
Charlotte opened her eyes and gave Mistress a look. “It's a kid. It will never be behind me.”
Mistress shrugged. “You know what I mean. Besides, I never had any.” She gave Charlotte a brief smile. “Do the paperwork. If you're sick and dizzy and all of that, I can't have you doing partner work.”
Charlotte nodded, frowning, and after a moment pushed up on her feet and stepped forward.
Another bout of dizziness, and this time it lasted more than two seconds. She hadn't slept much last night—not Brahnt's fault for once—and she hadn't eaten much this morning, which normally wouldn't be a problem, but the hormones were messing with everything.
Her stomach clenched again, and she took another step forward to prove she was fine, then blacked out.
* * *
It wasn't like she was out for long. Two of the other dancers were crouching next to her when she opened her eyes, the back of her head sore. “Oh my god, Brahnt is going to kill me.”
The other morning the Orc had given Charlotte his Signature Even Stare and pointedly inquired how she was holding up under the strain of an early pregnancy plagued with vicious morning, afternoon, and evening sickness.
“Can you still dance right now?” he’d asked.
Defensive, Charlotte had hunched her shoulders, refusing to meet his gaze. “Of course I can. I have medical clearance.”
“You do. But it doesn't take into account the amount of nausea and vertigo you're having. That's unexpected. What if you fall and hurt yourself? I won't be very happy, Charlotte.”
“God, you're going to make a brilliant father. You nag like my dad already.”
At that Brahnt set aside his coffee mug and stood, crossing the distance to where she slumped in her chair.
He looked down at her. “I don't mind if you call me Daddy when I'm fucking you, but I am not, in fact, your father. Any more comments like that though. . .” Brahnt sighed. “I understand you're reluctant to give up work. I'll leave you to make a sensible decision.”
Well, the silver lining in this cloud was that Brahnt didn't know she fainted, and what Brahnt didn't know, Charlotte couldn't get disciplined for. Though that would be fun when she was feeling better.
That delusion scurried out the door the moment Charlotte got home.
She stopped, staring at the Orc who was sitting on the black couch, legs crossed, sipping a glass of wine as he thumbed a tablet.
It was, by now, a familiar posture.
The “you done fucked up” posture.
How could a creature so brutally sized look so civilized?
Especially when it was a dirty lie.
“You're home early,” Charlotte said, justifiably suspicious.
“Did you think I wouldn't know?”
So they were cutting straight to the chase.
“Know what, Mr. Grey?”
