Page 48 of Snowed In with the Bosses

The nausea pretty much confirmed my thoughts, but I hesitated to say anything to Ethan and the others until I knew for sure. They were amazing men, but their concern for me seemed to stop the minute I had an actual complaint.

I wiped my face, scrubbed a paper towel over my teeth, rinsed and spit until all traces of bile vanished, and smoothed my hair back into a loose bun. Time to face them. I imagined putting on armor that would help me hide my suspicions and get them to go back to work without trying to convince me to see a doctor.

Three concerned men greeted me as soon as the door opened. They’d blocked off the whole damned space with their bodies, preventing anyone else from coming in. One woman walked behind them, her eyebrows high enough to disappear into her hairline.

“What’s wrong?” Alexander’s controlled tone shook me to my core.

I made a sour face. “Must have been the deli meat on my sandwich last night.” Please believe me. I silently wished, crossed my fingers, and prayed. I did not need them questioning me.

“Deli meat?” Ethan’s nose wrinkled. “It sounded like you vomited up your whole stomach.”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me. I’ve had food poisoning before, so I know what it feels like.” I tried a smile, but it felt forced and changed into a grimace. “I still don’t feel well.” I rubbed a hand over my stomach then let it fall to my side. “We should go back to Harrington.” I dipped my head toward the table they’d abandoned.

Liam crossed his arms and shook his head. “Do you need me to take you home?”

“No.” A deep breath in and my stomach settled. “I’ll be fine.” Another breath and I made my way between Ethan and Liam. “Let’s finish our meeting.”

“Clara.” A warning rang in Alexander’s stance and the low-level glare he locked onto me.

“I’m fine.” Damn it. I refused to fall apart in front of them, and especially in front of Harrington. “I’ll go home once this is over.” With my shoulders locked in place, I marched over to the table and sat.

Liam, Alexander, and Ethan followed my example, as I knew they would. None of them wanted to risk this project, and an upset stomach was nothing to worry about. I asked the waiter for a glass of water with lemon and settled gingerly onto the seat.

“Are you okay?” Concern laced Harrington’s voice and his expression tightened. “Should we stop for the day?”

“No.” I drove the single word out with conviction and picked up the glass the waiter rushed over. A small sip of lemon water helped soothe the slight edge of nausea. “Do you have any questions about the design? The layout is pretty basic. We considered adding a few nuances to the angles of the stairwells and hiding the elevators in alcoves, but those are details we can change without compromising the overall effect.” Unless he decided he wanted elevators in completely different areas, that would require a redesign. I tugged the hem of my skirt over my knees and cursed the tremble that sent another bubble of nausearippling through my stomach. I’d hold it together if it was the last thing I ever accomplished. This meeting was too important.

Harrington watched me over the rim of his glass. The sushi was gone. Either he’d eaten it or had it taken away while I puked my guts up. “I’d like to take another look at the office space. Your idea for conferences brought up another point I’d like to discuss. And we should talk about security.” He directed his attention to Ethan, and the two of them delved into a conversation about security cameras, tech, and what equipment he would need.

I allowed my mind to wander until he needed me to answer another question. When Harrington stood and congratulated us all on a job well done, I gathered my things and made my way to the door.

Ethan caught up with me before I made it halfway across the room. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“I’m fine, Ethan.” I had to get rid of him without hurting his feelings or making him suspicious. “I’m going home to lay down.”

“Someone should be with you. Food poisoning can be dangerous. What if you get worse?” He opened the door for me and cleared a path to my car, using his body as a shield against the surge of shoppers and couples headed out for romantic dinners. There would be none of that for me today. I might have slept with them, but I had no claim to candlelit dinners and romantic notions of forever.

I slid into my car. “I’ll call if anything changes. But seriously, I’ll be fine.”

Something in my voice or how I looked at him must have convinced him because he moved away from the car. “I’ll call later to check on you.”

“Okay.” It was the best I could do. Whether I answered the phone or not…well, I’d see how I felt at the time. I gave him acheerful wave and pulled away from the curb. He stood on the sidewalk and watched me leave.

I drove until I reached a part of town where no one knew me, my job, or my bosses, then pulled into a pharmacy with a sign that promised speedy checkout and delivery with a smile. I could use a smile today considering the news I suspected I was about to discover.

My steps were heavy as I crossed the parking lot and entered the building. It smelled old but clean, and a friendly white-haired man greeted me from behind a brown counter where an old cash register dinged and popped open. The man handed a woman some change and called out a goodbye when she walked away. His attention spun to me. “Is there anything I can help you find?”

Might as well get it over with as quickly as possible. “Do you have any pregnancy tests?”

His bushy white brows furrowed. “Sure do. Aisle three.”

I turned and found the aisle in question, grabbed the most expensive test on the shelf, and rushed it to the counter before anyone else came through the door. He rang up my purchase while talking about the recent weather, how nice it was for Valentine’s Day, and how his wife had reminded him to bring home a bouquet of flowers. “Know where I can find some nice roses? I stopped by my usual shop, but she was already sold out.”

“Check on the corner of Brady and Ninth. The shop there has hothouse roses year around.” I took my bag and ran out the door amid his thanks.

Every breath was a battle through the rest of the drive home, up the sidewalk, and into the house. I rushed to the bathroom and dropped onto the edge of the bathtub to read the directions. I went through them three times just to be sure, then did my business and set the stick on the sink. Ten minutes. It said it was best to use first thing in the morning when the hormoneswere the strongest, but there was no way in hell I could wait another eighteen hours. Ten minutes felt like an eternity. Each second ticked down on my phone. My feet jiggled back and forth across the linoleum, my shoes clacking a rapid beat. When I couldn’t stand sitting, I stood and paced back and forth across the bathroom. It was too small for a good pace, so I headed into the hall and marched up and down, up and down. A photo of me and Mom the previous Christmas at the town festival during the tree lighting ceremony stopped me in my tracks.

I straightened it and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath in and blowing it out slowly. Fuck this. Mom would not hide from reality. She would face it the same way she faced everything, even cancer. I ran back to the bathroom and grabbed the stick off the sink. Tears blurred my eyes. I dashed them aside, but they filled again, streams coming too fast to wipe away. I slid down the wall and wrapped my arms around my knees, bawling into my legs as I clutched the stick.

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