Page 56 of Snowed In with the Bosses

“Not impossible,” I reminded her softly. “You’re not going to be alone, Clara. We’ll be with you every step of the way. Three babies is a lot, but there are four of us. We’ll help.” I squeezed her hand, willing her to accept the reassurance I offered.

“We’re a team.” Alexander moved around to the head of the bed. He framed her face in his hands and stroked the tears from her cheeks when she lowered her arm. “This is our family.”

“Together.” Ethan rubbed her shoulder. “We’re in this together.”

“It’s an unconventional family dynamic, but we can make it work.” The promise calmed her enough to nod.

25

ETHAN

Halloween already. I knuckled my cheek to ease the knot of tension building in my jaw and smiled at the employees milling around the lounge. The Halloween party was always an event worth seeing. At least half the office dressed up. I’d spotted three angels, two devils, a maid, and some cosplay characters that I should know but struggled to place. The whole first floor of the building had been turned into party central.

Clara swept past in in a long maxi dress that brushed her ankles. Cartoon witches on brooms and scattered drops of candy corn covered the purple fabric. Long, bell sleeves tapered to a point well past her hands, and she pushed them back to her elbows while reaching for a cup at the drink table.

I made my way over to stand beside her. “How are you feeling?” Picking up my own cup, I filled both glasses from the crystal punch bowl and added an extra slice of orange to hers. She’d been on a citrus kick lately, eating oranges all hours of the day and night. Her belly poked out just a bit, enough that I had to shove my empty hand into my pocket to keep from touching her.

We’d established our rules for the office to keep things under wraps. Clara hid her pregnancy from everyone, and so far, no one seemed wise to her changing body. The maxi dresses helped, but there were times, like now, when it was obvious to anyone looking. Or maybe that was simply because I was so intimate with her body and the changes that had started occurring after that first ultrasound.

She side-eyed me and sipped her punch. “I’m great. My ankles are swollen, and my feet look like sausages with blunt little toes poking out. My back aches, and I’ll have to pee five times in the next hour.” She huffed a laugh, her complaints no different from yesterday. “But I’m fine. Really.” Her fingers flexed on the glass, tightening and releasing. “Allan’s here.”

Anger coursed through me. We’d done everything we could to get rid of the man, but the board didn’t see things our way. We brought up evidence Clara provided for us, but they’d said his work record made him indispensable to the company. I’d begun to understand Clara’s frustration with the patriarchy when I watched that board of men back one of their own regardless of the evidence against him. “Stay close to me. He’ll leave you alone if you’re with one of us.”

She rolled her eyes in that way of hers, the one that said I’d made a point she already knew. “It’s time for the costume contest. You think Liam will actually dress up?”

“Looks that way.” I nudged her hip with mine and raised my glass toward the stage.

Liam strode onto the platform and whipped the mic from its stand. “Who’s ready for the contest?” He threw his head back and laughed, the stage lights catching on the sequins sewn all over his suit jacket.

“He looks like that guy.” She snapped her fingers in rapid sequence. “I can’t remember his name. Mom used to tell meabout him all the time. He wore a different jacket to every game show.”

“Come on, everyone line up.” Liam boomed out the order with a wave. “Cast your votes for your favorite costume.”

“I’d vote for Allan as the company rat, but I don’t want him to win anything,” I muttered into Clara’s ear.

She snorted into her cup. “Don’t make me choke on my punch.” A sweaty sheen dotted her forehead.

I eyed her, lingering as long as I dared. The weight she’d gained from the pregnancy settled in her hips and breasts, making it increasingly difficult to keep my hands off her. But she’d been in good spirits throughout the ordeal of growing three lives inside her body.

A few glances from other women—and a few men—cut our way. One in particular turned suspicious when Clara started to rest a hand on her stomach. Much longer and the secret would be impossible to hide. We continued to argue over the best route forward.

Clara remained resolute in not telling anyone at the office that we were the fathers, or that any one of us could be the father. Our reputations and employment with the company were too important to her.

“Is he that guy from the movie, what’s his face with the crazy hair?” Alexander walked up behind Clara, stopping just short of putting his hand on her back.

“I can’t tell.” Clara tipped her head one way, then the other. “The light’s making me dizzy. Too many sparkles.” She put a hand to her head and closed her eyes. “I’m going to stand over there.”

We moved together in a way we’d become accustomed to in the last few months. Our world revolved around Clara. I loved her, craved her, and never wanted to leave her side.

She tried to wave us off, but a wobbly step that sent her sideways put us both in motion. We leapt up to catch her, the sweat on her brow spreading down her temples. She shivered. “Why is the air conditioning on? It’s freezing in here.”

“It’s not cold,” I argued before I thought better of contradicting her fluctuating hormones. Her body temperature alternated faster than a storm blowing in over the mountains. One minute she’d be freezing, wrapped up in every blanket we owned, and the next she’d threaten to walk around naked because of the heat.

The shudder rolling through her body turned her toward me. “Ethan, something’s wrong.” She held onto my shoulders, her fingers spasming. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and her entire body went limp.

“Alexander.” I cradled Clara close to my chest and eased her onto the floor.

“I’m calling 911.” His phone was already pressed to his ear, his demands cracking through the device as he answered questions.

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