Page 46 of Baby Bombshell for the Boss

And she needed to stop letting herself depend on him, too. Taking his money was one thing. That was for the baby’s sake. But she couldn’t let him take care of her emotionally or physically anymore.

She had to stand on her own two feet, because that was the way things were going to be now.

CHAPTER 21

IVY

THREE WEEKS LATER

Ivy wore a black maternity dress to the unveiling of the new office.

She’d debated wearing the gown Elliot had bought for her. It was much nicer than anything she could afford for herself, and she didn’t know when she would next have an occasion to wear it, so really, she ought to get as much use as she could out of it. But just looking at that gown was hard after what had happened the last time she’d worn it. She didn’t think she could put it on without thinking about the way she’d felt when he had touched her zipping it up. Better to just wear something else.

He’d sent her a text offering a ride to the office for the event, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to accept that. Being in a car with him would be too hard. She’d arranged a taxi instead. She was paying for it herself. She wouldn’t have been able to tell him she was declining his offer of a ride but that she wanted him to pay for her cab. Things were so uncomfortable between the two of them these days, and she could only hope that it would get easier before the baby was born.

The taxi pulled up outside the office building. Ivy steeled herself and got out.

She’d seriously considered not coming at all. It would be painful to be around him. But she didn’t want to miss this. She had poured her heart and soul into this project, and it was the biggest thing she had ever done. She wanted to be there for the unveiling.

But she hadn’t counted on the press.

They were waiting outside the cab, and none of the questions they shouted at her had anything to do with her work. “Ivy! How far along are you? Are you and Elliot Livingston in a relationship? Are you going to raise the baby together?”

She ducked her head and pushed past them. It was her first time encountering press since all this had started, and she was aware suddenly of how well Elliot had shielded her from all this. If she had arrived with him, no doubt she would have been protected from it.

Once she was inside, things were better. None of the journalists had been allowed through the door, so the only people here were affiliated with the office. There was a camera, but it was run by the SmartSilver videographer, a man Ivy had already been introduced to. She had expected that camera. He was taking footage that would be edited and released to the public, and if it included Ivy, she would be able to curate it, at least. That helped.

She spotted Elliot at once. He was standing in a group of people, holding a glass of champagne and smiling. A part of her itched to go over to him, to stand beside him, but she couldn’t bring herself to do that. She turned the other way instead.

“Ivy!” It was Jason Montgomery, one of the board members. He extended a hand to her. “I have to congratulate you on a job well done. I admit we were all a little concerned when Elliot hired a designer with so few credentials, basically sight unseen, but having seen your work, it’s clear that he was right to put his trust in you. You’ve done a great job with the project.”

“I’m glad you like the way it turned out,” Ivy said, hoisting a smile onto her face. She knew she had to put on a bit of a show tonight. She couldn’t let it become public knowledge how bothered she was by everything that was going on between herself and Elliot. It was bad enough that the press knew so many things about her private life, but if they knew this, they would really go nuts. She didn’t want that to happen.

“Oh, we love it,” Jason said. “We’re going to be submitting the photos to all kinds of magazines and online publications. We’re expecting it to be a big splash. And that’ll be great publicity for the company. Anything to have us top of mind, right? Our competitors are going to lose it when they see this. I’m expecting our numbers to go way up next quarter, and it’s all thanks to you. I’ll be recommending you to everyone I know — well, everyone outside the industry, that is. I don’t know if you’ve signed a noncompete clause.”

“I haven’t.”

“Maybe that’s something we should discuss. I’ll speak to Elliot. I don’t want the competition getting their hands on you!”

“I won’t work for any of your competitors,” she assured him. “We don’t have to sign anything.”

“Yeah, but just for our security, it would be better to,” he said. “I’m going to speak to Elliot. Why don’t you enjoy the party?”

He wandered away. Ivy frowned. She had never been Jason’s biggest fan, and she didn’t like that his attention had already turned to making sure Ivy didn’t work for any of his competitors. She also didn’t like that he didn’t trust her when she said she wouldn’t do it — Elliot would have trusted her. She didn’t think Elliot would make her sign anything.

Then again, things had changed between them. The trust that used to be there might be gone. Maybe he would. Well, if he felt that way, she’d sign whatever he asked. She didn’t mind. She’d meant what she had said to Jason. She had no intention of being hired by the competition.

A woman Ivy didn’t know came up to her. “You’re Ivy, aren’t you?” she asked. “The designer?”

“I am,” Ivy said.

“You did such a great job. I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself — I’m Melanie. I’m in the marketing department — I’m the one who wrote the press release about your pregnancy.”

“Oh,” Ivy said. “You did a good job too. I’m glad I got to meet you, actually. I thought that press release was really well done, and I wanted to thank you for handling it so gracefully for us.”

“Of course,” Melanie said. “I was just doing my job. And I know that if I had been in your shoes, I would want the release to be respectful. You deserve that.”

“Thank you,” Ivy said. “That means a lot to me.”

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