Page 15 of The Boss's Triplet Surprise

“That sounds good.”

The conversation meandered through a discussion of food preferences. Dan was happy to hear that he and Leah shared similar tastes, so they were able to share the nachos and a fajita dish, both vegetarian. Although Dan was a meat eater, he didn’t mind foregoing meat this evening. They also ordered a few margaritas.

After about an hour, though, Dan was no longer sure the margaritas had been a good idea. His guard was lessened by the alcohol, and it seemed that Leah felt the same way. She told a silly story about one of their coworkers trying to use the new color printer that had them both in stitches, which didn’t normally happen to Dan.

“What made you interested in pharmaceutical research in the first place, anyway?” Dan asked, taking another ill-advised sip of his cocktail.

“Well, I told you I was an only child, right? And my mom was already on the older side when I was born, although she’d probably prefer that I didn’t name a specific age.”

Dan wasn’t sure where this was going, but he nodded.

“I was born after over a decade of trying. My parents tried everything, but nothing seemed to work. Maybe with more IVF it would have been possible, but the costs were just too high, and the technology was nowhere near as advanced back then. In the end they gave up — and, of course, that’s when my mother finally got pregnant. They were beyond overjoyed. I was their miracle baby.” Leah smiled a little distantly. “I grew up hearing about how much my parents had gone through to have me and how special it was to have a child. In high school, I loved my chemistry and biology classes, so I pursued those subjects in college. That’s where I realized that medicine could help people like my parents, who wanted so badly to have a child but couldn’t.”

“Wow.” Dan shook his head. “That’s an amazing story, Leah.”

“Not really.” She sighed. “What I really want is to make medicine available to everyone, even people like my parents who couldn’t afford expensive drugs or treatments. I thought about working for a smaller company with that focus, or in a university, but I wouldn’t have been able to receive the funding I needed to make Forenal a reality. It makes me sad to think that, even though this drug exists now, it will probably only be available to wealthier members of society. I think that—” And then Leah cut herself off. Her eyes widened as she looked at Dan.

“Oh, my gosh.” She shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I completely forgot who I was speaking to. Of course, I think RMA does important and good work. I wouldn’t work for you otherwise. I shouldn’t have?—”

This time, Dan cut her off. “Leah, there’s no reason to apologize. I admire your passion about this. It’s rare to see in a world focused on profits over people — and I include myself in that. You’re inspiring.”

“Thank you.” Leah flushed. “But I still shouldn’t have said that. I really didn’t mean to insult you or your company.”

“Really, don’t be sorry. You weren’t insulting. Affordability of medicine is something we need to consider. It’s certainly something I should think about more.” Dan smiled at her. “Please, never hesitate to share your thoughts and opinions with me. Maybe we can make each other better.”

Leah lifted her eyes to meet his, her mouth curving into a smile. Those forest-green eyes were so bright that Dan found himself unable to look away. Leah Adams really was an amazing woman. Her passion was admirable, as was her kindness, forthrightness, and sense of humor. Plus, she really was beautiful.

For a moment, a strange image flashed through Dan’s mind. It was an image of Leah, cradling a tiny baby with those bright green eyes and her beautiful red hair. A baby who Dan knew was his.

The world seemed to stand still. Dan felt a strong connection to the woman across from him — and to the baby that they hadn’t even begun to create yet. It was an unfamiliar feeling and not exactly welcome, but Dan couldn’t shake it.

Leah was the one who broke their eye contact by raising her margarita. “To making each other better.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Dan clinked his glass against hers and took a long drink. He was going to need it.

CHAPTER 7

LEAH

Leah was starting to worry that dinner and drinks at a romantic restaurant wasn’t the best thing to do with her boss/the father of her baby/her fake boyfriend. The drinks had loosened her tongue and she’d spoken too freely about her motivations for developing Forenal. As relaxed as Dan had been, it couldn’t have escaped his notice that she’d essentially insulted the principles on which his company was built.

Despite that, Leah was having a lovely evening. Dan was a good conversationalist and, once he’d gotten over his usual formal style, he asked insightful questions and seemed truly interested in the answers. Plus, seeing him outside of work like this, Leah was reminded once again of the crush she’d always had on him. The crush she was doing her best to put out of her mind.

“We should probably call it a night,” Leah said once they’d cleaned their plates.

“That would be wise. We have sessions early tomorrow again. I’ll be right back.” Dan stood and walked to the hostess stand. Leah winced internally. He was going to pay for the meal, as he’d insisted on doing. It was kind of him to want to make sure she could eat here, but Leah never felt good about taking handouts. She’d worked hard for everything she had.

On the other hand, Dan was going to pay for fertility treatments, so one dinner probably wouldn’t tip the scales in either direction.

When he returned to the table, Leah was already on her feet with her purse in her hand.

“Thank you again for dinner.”

“My pleasure.” They exited the restaurant, thanking the staff on the way out, and returned to the parking lot. Leah was pleased to note that Dan had called a cab. Even if he wasn’t as tipsy as she felt, it seemed better not to drive. Leah liked that he was being responsible, even if it meant he’d have more hassle tomorrow when he went to fetch the car from the restaurant.

When the cab arrived, as before, Dan opened the door for Leah first.

“Thank you.” She blushed. She wasn’t used to anyone, especially a man, taking care of her like this. She probably shouldn’t enjoy it as much as she was. Still, she slid into her seat and let him close the door after her. Dan circled the cab and entered through the other door. As he sat, he smiled at her.

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