Page 68 of The Omega's Surprise Baby
“Are you really in a small town in Maine?”
I blinked. How did she know that? There was a picture online showing me at Rockland Airport, yes, but nothing about that should have told her I was staying in a small town. “How did you know?”
“I recognize the guy you're with from one of the pictures that were floating around the net when you attended that wedding.”
My eyes narrowed. There'd been pictures back then, yes, but nothing linking me and Shane. “There weren't any incriminating pictures then.” I'd checked.
“No, but he was in the background in some of them and with that hair, he's easily recognizable. Give me some credit. I like to know what my artists get up to. Especially when they don't tell me themselves. So tell me, Kade. Is he the father of your unborn child?”
“Is he my what?” I bit my lower lip hard. Damn, how had she figured that out? I hadn't even told her about the pregnancy.
“C'mon, Kade, I'm not stupid. I tell you to take a pregnancy test and you drop all communication. Then the next thing I know you're inMaine. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why you made that trip. Not that I blame you, really. Heishot. I can see how you slipped up.”
I glanced at the door, wondering whether anyone was within hearing distance. I hadnotwanted to discuss this pregnancy with Michelle before I discussed it with Shane. That just didn't feel right. But of course she had to put two and two together.
And you took too long to tell Shane.
“This doesn't have to be a bad thing, you know?” she said.
“I know it's not a bad thing. It's ababy.” But it complicated matters.
“Hah, so I was right. You got yourself knocked up at that wedding. Classy.”
“Shut up.”
She laughed.
Well, at least she wasn't angry with me. “Please, don't tell anyone yet. I haven't...” I glanced at the open door again and dropped my voice a bit. “I haven't told him yet.”
“I see.” She paused, as if considering something. “How serious are you two? Because I've been thinking—he might be just what you need.”
Even though I kind of agreed with her there, how could she say that when she didn't know him? What was she basing that assumption on? “I don't know how serious we are,” I said truthfully. “But kind of serious.” I was carrying his child after all, and he’d let me sleep in his bed. If that wasn't serious... “I like him a lot,” I added, though I wasn't sure why I was telling my agent that. Perhaps so she wouldn't try to interfere with my relationship.
“That's good,” she said to my surprise. “I was hoping you'd get yourself a respectable boyfriend. Someone who isn't in the show business.”
Wait... What was she talking about? “You're already thinking about how this is going to look to the media, aren't you?”
“Of course I am. That's my job.” Her tone of voice suggested that she thought I was silly for not catching on sooner. “I'm always worried about how you appear to the media. But really, Kade, you have to see the bigger picture here. We can use this to our advantage. When the world hears of your pregnancy and your small town boyfriend, people are going to eat it up. They'll understand that you're settling down. You're not that omega who slept around in the industry anymore. Of course we'll have to spin the story of how you and your new lover got together a little bit differently but that's a piece of cake.”
I listened to her with an increasingly queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Not morning sickness, no, I was over that, but the things she was saying... “I don't want to use Shane like that.” I understood that I couldn't keep him out of the eye of the media completely, but parading him around like that seemed extreme.
“You know it's going to come out anyway,” she insisted. “We might as well use the reveal to our advantage.”
She probably had a point there. I needed to think about how all of this was going to affect my career.
“Youarekeeping the baby, aren't you?”
“Of course I am!” The response burst out of me before I had a chance to think about it. I wasn't even sure when I'd made this decision, but apparently I had.
“Good.” I heard the smile in Michelle's voice. “Congratulations, by the way. When are you due?”
“You know when this started. Can't you do the math?” Since she'd figured out everything else already...
“You're right. I already calculated it. I was wondering about what sort of shows we could book to cover the story. May isn't usually too busy.”
“Oh God, stop.” I rubbed my face with the heel of my hand. “I don't even want to think about that yet.” AndIhadn't calculated my due date yet.May. Ugh. That seemed way too soon. “Wait,” I told Michelle when I heard footsteps in the hall. “I need to hang up.”
As Shane appeared in the doorway, I didn't wait for Michelle to reply before hanging up on her. Not polite, I know, but she hadn't exactly shown me a lot of consideration either.
