Page 68 of Flawed

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

Disapproval fills his face. "I take it you haven't told your father yet?"

His question hangs in the air like bullets waiting to fire at me. I confess, "No, I keep chickening out."

He sternly asserts, "Chanel, you have to tell your father."

"I know. I will," I say.

He crosses his arms. "I'm giving you two days to tell him. If you don't, I will."

"No, don't do that. My father will be more upset if he hears it from you instead of me," I claim.

Massimo nods. "I agree. Plus, this isn't something you can keep from your family. You're going to need them. So strap on your balls and fess up."

I scrub my face, muttering, "I don't have any balls."

He scoffs then lowers his voice. "Look at me."

I obey.

He quizzes, "Do you know why I enjoy you working here?"

"For my perky personality and loyalty?" I chirp.

He chuckles. "While I appreciate those things, I also respect that you aren't afraid to look my guests in the eye. Or me, for that matter. You stand up for yourself and don't let me push you around, either."

"You don't try to push me around," I claim.

He snorts. "I did at the start. I wanted to see if you'd let me."

"You did?"

"Apparently, it wasn't obvious enough," he mutters.

I stay quiet.

He continues, "Look, the sooner you get this over with, the easier it will be."

I groan. "You don't know my father."

He taps his fingers on the armrest. "I do know him. And I know my father. Not sure if I'd rather be in your shoes or mine, but we all have our own pressures to deal with. This is yours. Stop being a sissy and go do it."

I give him a little salute. "Hearing you loud and clear, Boss."

He rises. "I'm serious, Chanel. You have two days. You can't keep this hidden forever. And I don't like keeping things from your father or mine."

I sigh. I forgot how Massimo's head is on the chopping block, too, for hiding my secret. I resign myself to tell my dad. "Okay. I promise I'll tell him."

Satisfaction forms in his expression. "Good. I'll see you in a few days, and you can train the new flight attendant. She shouldn't need that much help, but I don't want to deal with any prior bad habits she may have."

My nerves about my job return. I ask, "Why am I training her so early? The baby's not due for a few more months."

He glances at my stomach then pins his dark gaze on mine. "You can't keep flying. You're six months pregnant."

I inform him, "I'm allowed to fly until I'm eight months. The doctor said."

He shakes his head. "No. You'll take a couple months off to get ready for the baby."

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