Page 48 of Office Affairs

No period.

Holy fuck.

I might be pregnant.

The room spun. I gripped the counter and forced air into my lungs as a frigid chill swept through me. Pregnant. The single word played on repeat, the sound of it a death knell. I couldn’t be pregnant. I took birth control with the meticulousness of a nun saying her prayers.

What would Chase say? What about Russell and Garrett?

“Mom, I think it’s ready.” Keith’s voice came from a distance, his voice tinny and high like it traveled through a narrow tunnel.

I focused on the sound and used it to draw me back to the kitchen where he waited for me. “Good job.” My body resisted when I tried to reach for the sausage, but I pushed through and carried the package to the stove. I could do this. I had to do this. Keith needed me more than I needed to find out the truth. Plus, it wasn’t like I had pregnancy tests here. I’d have to go to the store, and Keith would have a million unanswerable questions if he saw the test. He was at that age where curiosity and knowledge combined into a mess that I couldn’t even pretend to want to talk about.

The doorbell rang out a cheerful melody.

“I’ll get it.” Keith hopped down and raced toward the living room.

“Stop.” I barked the single word and planted my fists on my hips. “What’s the rule?”

Keith stood tall, then deflated when he saw me straighten. “No answering the door without knowing who it is.” He darted to the window and yanked back the blind before I could stop him. “It’s Mr. Russell. And two other men.”

Screwed. I was totally, royally screwed. I risked a look at myself in the hallway mirror, grateful I’d fallen asleep in shorts and a baggy t-shirt. Not presentable by any means to my bosses and the men I couldn’t get out of my head, but it would have to do. I raked my fingers through my hair and unlocked the door, yanking it open as I plastered a fake smile in place. “Chase. What are you doing here?” I blinked up at him, the sudden brightness causing my eyes to water. “What are all of you doing here?”

Garrett’s smile gave me a sense of peace I hadn’t known for years. He held up a stack of boxes. “We brought breakfast. Can we come in?”

I narrowed my eyes at him, then Chase, and Russell last of all. “You told them?”

“Would you like to have this discussion out here in front of the neighbors or inside?” He arched a perfect brow, and I gritted my teeth in response.

“Fine. Please come in.” I walked away, leaving the door open behind me, and retreated to the kitchen. I’d eat their breakfast and save all this for another day. Maybe the morning sickness wouldn’t be as bad next week.

Garrett set the boxes on the kitchen table and opened them one by one. “Didn’t know what you liked, so we brought a little of everything.”

The yeasty smell of donuts pushed the last of the nausea away. My mouth watered, and I took a plain glazed to nibble on.

Keith hopped into his chair and leaned across the table with his arms stretched out in front of him. “Wow. That’s a lot. I’ve never seen this many together. How many can I have?”

“Two. And some protein.” I pointed my donut at the last open box, where piles of fluffy scrambled eggs and bacon waited.

My son wasted no time in grabbing a plate and filling it up, even adding a healthy scoop of fresh berries from yet another box.

I angled my head toward Russell, who’d moved to stand beside me. “So, why are you here?”

“Wanted to check on you and Keith.” He said it so genuinely that the cold stone in my gut dissolved. “They deserved to know you were here. I don’t hide things from my best friends. I should have told you first, but—” he shrugged.

I understood. It was hard to keep secrets. I should know, I had enough to sink a ship so deep it could never be recovered. Sinking my teeth into the donut, I chewed and swallowed while watching them.

Chase and Garrett introduced themselves to Keith, and the three began a contest to see who could stack the most blueberries on top of one another before they fell. I almost stopped the nonsense, but it was so nice to see Keith smiling and laughing. I’d clean up the mess and grumble later.

Other, more important things, rattled around in my head. All it would take was one wrong word from Keith. One mention of the business, and he’d want to know if they knew his Grandpa Leon.

A crumb caught in the back of my throat, forcing out a cough. I covered my mouth and prayed that the nausea stayed away.

“I had an idea. I thought we might go somewhere.” Chase edged away from the table but kept an eye on Keith. “All five of us.”

All five? My eyebrows shot upward so fast they pulled my eyes tight. “Where?”

That was as far as I made it before the breathlessness caught up with me.

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