Page 60 of Twin Babies For The Grump

Yesterday, we spent the better half of the day at my house, getting all my clothes and shoes into suitcases and boxes left over from his move, and bringing them back here with Edward’s assistance. Even though it’s still early in the pregnancy, Owen insisted that I don’t lift anything.

Instead of answering, Owen gets up and plants a kiss on the back of my neck, pulling me closer to him.

I turn around and brace both hands on his chest. “The workers are already here; I need to get to work. Getting special treatment won’t help with our case,” I point out.

Owen makes a face but doesn’t argue with me on that. Even if there were no rumors hanging over us, I wouldn’t want to slack off. Besides, Grapefest is only a few weeks away. We can’t afford to loosen up now.

My phone beeps. It’s from Adela. She came to work earlier to see me and then headed straight to work. She’s taken it upon herself to check what the vibe is like in the winery.

“What’s she saying?” Owen asks.

“No one has made any comments yet or acted weird. Macy is not there yet though. Even if the staff hasn’t seen that news story, I’m sure she’ll start commenting on it as soon as she steps in the winery.”

“I hope she does, I’ll have the pleasure of firing her on the spot then.”

“Owen, we went over this. You said it yourself that that wouldn’t look good.”

“No, I said that firing her without a reason wouldn’t look good. Spreading rumors in my business is a perfectly just reason to kick someone out.”

As much as that prospect pleases me, especially when I remember how she spoke to me when we were in the shelves room, I don’t want Owen to make a scene. He’s come a long way in improving his image and relationship with his employees. I don’t want that to be ruined because of Macy’s antics.

I turn back to the closet and pick a pair of dark blue slacks along with a simple, loose, white tee shirt. The weather is getting hotter by the day and now with the baby, I want to be as comfortable as possible.

As I change, I can’t help but notice my belly. It looks a bit bloated although it’s still too soon for that. Owen notices the motion and bends down to plant a kiss on my hand first and then my belly.

“The doctor’s appointment is at 5 pm, right?” he asks.

I nod. It might have not been the wisest decision to book the appointment for today, given that I don’t know how things will go with the staff, but neither of us could wait any longer to see our baby.

We finish getting dressed and head outside together, Owen holding my hand all the way to the winery.

The people we meet along the way greet us warmly, like any other day, and we are stopped twice before we reach the main building for work-related questions. It’s like nothing has changed.

At the entrance, Adela is waiting for us. She has already gathered the rest of the staff there. Marco is looking at us with a goofy smile on his face, while Liz and Jed are dying of curiosity. The rest are perplexed as to why they were all gathered here today. And then, there’s Macy.

She’s dressed in slacks too but is wearing a rather tight, burgundy blouse that matches the shade of her lipstick. Her hair is straightened, professionally done for sure. Maybe she plans on giving another interview later in the day, presenting the hot gossip live on TV?

I shake my head. There’s no point in making up scenarios and obsessing over them.

Owen makes his way to the center of the room, my hand still trapped in his. I know it’s supposed to be our moment of truth, and I’ve never shied away from talking to them, but right now all I want to do is leave.

“Thank you all for coming in today, I promise we won’t keep you long. Tess and I wanted to make an official announcement in the light of some blatant lies presented in the news about the Delia Winery and the two of us specifically.”

He raises our entwined hands a bit to drive the point home. “Tess and I are indeed in a relationship, and we have been together for quite some time. That is unrelated to her work here, and especially her promotion as manager. You are all aware that she was fulfilling those duties when my father was alive, long before I took over the winery.”

He turns to where Macy is standing, leaning against the wall.

“We're currently living together and are also expecting our first child.”

At those last words, a shiver runs down my spine. Our first child, as in,we’ll have more in the future.

Before Owen can continue with what he had planned to say, we are embraced by the workers, moving from one hug to the next, receiving wishes for our baby. All come to congratulate us apart from Macy who busies herself with some paperwork she’s snatched from one of the nearby desks.

“Congrats, Tess,” Jed says and gives me a tight hug. It’s his first day back and he looks a bit awkward, but I give him a reassuring smile. Owen is so happy that he doesn’t make comments or give Jed any warnings about how things will be around here from now on.

“One last thing before I let you get back to your posts,” says Owen and waits until the chatter has died down, making sure he has everyone’s attention.

“The more we approach the day of the contest, the more reporters we’ll be hanging around the winery and the estate. I do not want you to respond to any questions regarding my relationship with Tess, other than her being my partner. The focus should be on our product, not unbased, bitter gossip.” Again, he makes that last statement looking at Macy, causing a couple of heads to turn in her direction.

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