Page 38 of Before I Loved You

My heart is beating rapidly as the thick tension between these two can be felt pulsing in the air, cascading all around us.

Greyson’s eyes narrow in on him. “But as far as I’m aware, you don’t work here. So what are you doing here?”

“Was in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d stop by to get some advice on my stocks,” Paul says plainly.

Greyson laughs. “You probably have more money in your account than half the population. I think your stocks are doing fine.”

Wait…Paul’s rich?

“Can never be too sure, which is why I like to always keep an eye on things to avoid any unexpected issues,” Paul warns, and for whatever reason, I feel like there’s a hidden meaning to his words.

“That’s very smart of you,” Greyson adds. “But sometimes, it’s best to step back. Sometimes, being too involved can get you into trouble.” Greyson crosses his bulky arms over his chest, his chin lifted defiantly.

I peek over my shoulder at Paul, who shrugs his shoulders. “I’ve never shied away from trouble to keep things I care about safe.”

The two stare at each other, like soldiers from opposing sides, ready to conquer the other. And it’s scaring the shit out of me.

“Well…” I clear my throat. “I have a lot of paperwork to complete today. And Paul was just leaving.” I step to the side, away from both of them. Paul’s hands drop from my dress, leaving me cold from the loss of his touch.

It takes Paul a moment before he finally nods in agreement. “Yeah. I’m leaving.” He looks down, his eyes focusing on the slight tremble in my body as my heart races uncontrollably. “You’re good?”

I know his question has a double meaning, but now is not the time to tell him I’m not good. And it’s definitely not the right time to tell him that Greyson is blackmailing me to stay away from him when all I want to do is tell him I’m pregnant with a baby.

His baby.

So instead, I say, “Yeah. I’m good here. As soon as I finish my paperwork, I’ll be heading home.”

Paul squeezes the back of his neck, scanning around the office. His eyes focus on each employee nearby. Is he making sure there are people around me?

It seems to practically kill him to say his next words. “All right. I’ll see you then.”

“See you around, Paul,” Greyson haughtily interjects, waving an arrogant hand.

Paul hesitates, narrowing his eyes on him, before finally turning and leaving the office.

As much as I know he had to, a part of me wishes he weren’t walking out those doors right now.

I quickly face Greyson to find him glaring at me with his familiar cold blue eyes.

“I thought I told you—”

“I didn’t know he was coming here,” I cut him off, panicking. “We have nothing to do with each other. I swear,” I insist, my voice shaking with the fear and realization of what he might do.

Of what he might show the world.

He sighs, running his fingers through his short, blonde hair. “Okay.” He looks at the door Paul just walked out of and, before stepping away from me, says, “Be sure it doesn’t happen again. That’s your one and only warning.”

I faintly nod, my shoulders hunching in. “It won’t happen again.”

A few hours later, I slump through my apartment door and lock it behind me. Kicking off my heels, I unzip my dress and let it fall to the floor. I toss my bag on the coffee table and begin to open the first piece of mail in my hand, scanning the information.

Oh lovely. A bill from the doctor’s office.

Since I’m only an intern at LH United, I don’t have a fantastic health insurance plan. Not until they hopefully offer me a full-time position with better benefits at the end of the semester, which means this pregnancy is probably going to cause me to file bankruptcy.

Gotta love the American healthcare system.

The total of seven hundred and thirty-three dollars stares back at me, mocking me. An expense I never even thought about or planned for and will have to pay eventually. But for now, I’ll add it to my ever-growing bills, previously piled in my bedroom but now moved to the kitchen island because they insisted on tormenting me before sleep rescued me.

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