Page 78 of Fade (Fighting Fate)

Everything changed the day I received the e-mails from Daniel. All the worry, doubt, and fear I was holding onto lifted, leaving me smiling for the first time since we were married. Knowing he was happy about the baby allowed me to focus on just myself and our baby, and making sure we were healthy.

Before Daniel deployed, I’d come to an arrangement with Alex about work, agreeing I would stay on as his PA until Daniel returned from his tour of duty in November. Being able to stay working where I was happy was the only good thing I thought had come from Daniel’s deployment so far.

Walking into work early Monday morning, I tried to calm my nerves. Even though I’d read it was best to wait until I was through my first trimester before I let people know I was pregnant, I decided telling Alex would be the polite thing to do in my circumstance. Besides, it wasn’t that long until I reached that mark anyway.

Knocking on his door, I cracked it open to check he wasn’t busy.

“Amy,” he said, dropping a folder onto the desk with a smile. “How was your weekend?”

I grinned. “It was good.”

His eyes narrowed, but his smile widened. “I can see. You seem very bright today.”

Moving to the chair in front of his desk, I sat and smoothed down my skirt, trying to remember the words I’d rehearsed in the car. “I have some news.”

Alex sat back and waited, intrigue a spark in his eyes.

Inhaling deeply, I let it out in a rush. “I’m pregnant.”

I watched his eyes widen as shock replaced all his emotions. “Holy shit.” He sat forward a fraction and shook his head as though trying to clear it. “I take it from your bright mood that you’re happy about this? I mean, I’m kinda trying to figure out how I’m supposed to be reacting. I’m a little out of my depth here.”

I laughed. That was typical Alex. “I’m happy. Well, now I’m happy.” I caught his confused stare and smiled. “I spoke to Daniel over the weekend. Well, we e-mailed. It was the first time we’d been able to talk since he’s been gone, so before that, I had five weeks of knowing but not knowing how I should be feeling.”

“So he knows now? He’s good with it?”

I laughed, feeling so light I didn’t even know it was possible. “Yeah, he’s happy.”

Alex nodded as though he liked what he heard before sitting back again. “Now I feel fucking old.”

“Oh my God, it’s not like you’re that much older than me. You’re only twenty-four.”

He sighed. “I guess. Rachel just left a very sour taste in my mouth when it comes to dating, so the thought of anything more than casual doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies.”

Of course, I’d heard all about Rachel through Amber when it all went down. Apparently, she was only dating Alex for the lifestyle, leaving Alex with a very large credit card debt when they broke up.

“You can’t just give up, though. Good women are out there. You’re just looking in the wrong places,” I said, feeling a little bad for him.

Letting out a dry laugh, he tapped his pen on the desk. “That’s the problem, then, I guess. I can only meet women when I’m at work functions, so that kind of limits the type I’m bound to meet. To be honest, I’m so off dating at the moment, I don’t think I’d even see a good one if she fell into my lap.”

“Then just fly solo for a while. The right one will come when the time’s right.”

Alex glanced up to the ceiling. “If only it was that easy. Mr. Fallon’s leaning on me. Heavily. He’s made it very clear he’s a family man and won’t deal with people flying solo.”

My mouth popped open. “That’s ridiculous. What if you had the best idea and the best price? Why would he just look you over because you weren’t married? That doesn’t seem like a very good way to do business to me.”

“Exactly,” Alex said. “But it’s an amazing opportunity. He has three developments coming up over the next three years, and each one is worth millions. I don’t want to miss out purely because I haven’t met the right woman yet.” He laughed. “Like any woman is going to put up with me anyway. I’m never home.”

I couldn’t argue with that. The man seemed to live at the office. He was always here.

“So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. He won’t even talk to anyone at the networking events if they don’t have a partner with them. Believe me, I’ve tried. It’s driving me insane.”

“Why don’t you just take a friend? Surely you have some nice female friends.”

He cocked his eyebrow at me. “You would think, wouldn’t you? But no, I don’t. The only single girls I know always seem to want something more from me. The rest are already married or in serious relationships. I don’t trust that easily anymore.”

“You know,” I said, thinking back on something my brother had told me a few weeks before. “When I saw Seth last time, he mentioned that a girl he went to college with paid for her entire tuition by working at this escort place here in town. Maybe you should look into that. From what he told me, it sounded quite professional.”

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