Page 54 of Billionaire Boss's One Night Stand

We waited for him to return to the building for as long as we could, but we finally went ahead and left as a group for the big meeting.

Brad shifted in his seat again, clearly uncomfortable about our team member, our leader, being absent.

Eli and Rupert weren’t any better. They fidgeted and shifted, unsure about proceeding with this when Matt was a no-show.

“Looks like he’s bailing, huh?” the slimy man in the corner of the waiting room said.

I hadn’t met Aaron DuPont before today, but I hadn’t been missing out on anything. He was a jerk, too smug and eager to lord over us. I disliked him on sight. He was the sort of man who would never be well-liked or welcomed. So for him to be an old rival of Matt’s, he had to lay on the charm pretty damn thickly to get any clients for his marketing company.

“Who?” I asked, lifting my chin to face him. He wouldn’t scare me. I wouldn’t shrink back and be intimidated. Not by someone like him.

“Matt.” Aaron smiled, looking like a weasel. “It seems he’s giving up, after all.”

I crossed my arms. “And why would you think that?”

“Loren,” Eli whispered, tugging on my sleeve.

I looked down at him, watching him subtly shake his head to dissuade me.

“I don’t have to think it,” Aaron replied. “I can see it. He’s bailed on your team.” He snickered and smoothed down his tie. “He probably couldn’t stand to watch the disaster unfold.”

“Whatdisaster?” I bit out.

“Whatever his pitch was.” Aaron gestured at the four of us on the opposite side of the waiting room. “Whatever you all thought could beat a DuPont pitch.”

“The only disaster happening is how you’ll react when you see us succeeding, without any micromanagement.”

Aaron smirked, shaking his head.

“Because Matt doesn’t just lord over us,” I said, getting more riled up to speak about Matt, much less to defend him. “He trusts his team and has faith we will do well, with or without him here.”

He stepped closer, scowling. “Are you implying that I’m a crappy boss whodoeslord over his team?”

I shrugged, grateful that the Gammon conference doors opened.

Emily, one of the kind, younger women I recalled from the last meeting, smiled upon seeing me. “Loren!” She grinned. “I’m so glad to see you again.”

I gave her a side hug as I walked into the room. “It’s wonderful to see you again.” Before I passed her by, I paused and looked down at her stomach. “You’ve got a bump now!” I exclaimed. Last time, she mentioned how excited she was to work on this pitch and see who they wanted to hire for the rebrand of the line because she was pregnant with her first baby.

“Isn’t it adorable?” She laughed, strutting and sticking her stomach out so I could see her bump. It was small. She was early yet. But seeing another younger businesswoman, dedicated to her careerandstarting a family, made me emotional.

“It is. I can’t wait to have one.”

She gaped at me as more Gammon associates ushered us further into the room. Rupert, Brad, and Eli walked in, sharing hellos and small talk with the others. I was once again pleased that Tom had called off sick.

Emily pulled me aside. “Loren! Are you also expecting?”

I smiled, glad I could nod and tell that news to someone who would be happily excited for me. Not someone suspicious and shocked, like Hailey. Not someone so put off by the news that they walked away, like Matt.

“I am. It’sveryearly yet. I’ve only just learned about it over the last weekend.”

She wrapped me into a giddy hug, over the moon and all smiles. “Oh, congratulations! This is so exciting. Have you picked a doctor yet?”

I shook my head. “Next on the list. And there will besomany things to do!”

“For sure,” she said agreeably. “It’s such a huge change in our lives.”

Change.I almost laughed when she reminded me of what to generally expect as a mother-to-be. Changes. My body would change.Iwould change. It seemed that this “change”, this baby, was conceived the night Matt and I thought we could embrace and celebrate changes.

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