Page 49 of A Baby Surprise For My Billionaire Boss

“All right,” he agreed. “We can talk later.”

“No,” Maddie said. “I mean, I think it’s best if I leave this house altogether. Stop working for you. This hasn’t been a good situation for either one of us for a while now, and for me to carry this pregnancy in front of Charlie… that’s not a good idea. I should go now.”

She held her breath, wondering how Eli would respond. Surely he would try to convince her to stay?

But he didn’t. He returned his eyes to the computer screen. “If that’s what you think is best,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion.

The shock of realizing how little he cared, in the end, rocked Maddie to her core. She was stunned and frustrated, too, to realize that she cared deeply for him. It would hurt her badly to leave.

But it was what needed to be done.

“I just can’t thank you enough for this,” Maddie said, settling on the bed that had once been hers.

Tess sat down beside her and handed her a cup of tea. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like,” she said gently.

“I appreciate you not saying ‘I told you so.’”

“Well, even I couldn’t have predicted this.” Tess put an arm around Maddie’s shoulders. “How are you feeling?”

“Oh, all kinds of ways.” Maddie sighed. “I wish it was simple. I wish I could just be angry with him and resent everything that happened between us, but I can’t. The truth is that a lot of it makes me really happy.”

“I can’t believe you’re going to have a baby.”

“Neither can I. I’m being completely irresponsible by going ahead with this. I don’t even have a place to live!”

“But you will,” Tess assured her. “Once that bank account is ready to go, you’ll be able to find a perfect home for yourself and the baby. Not that I want you to rush into moving out. You should make sure the place you choose is exactly what you want. We’ll help you look — me and Damian.”

“Thank you, Tess. I can’t tell you how much that means to me. I don’t know what I would do without the support of friends at a time like this.”

“You’re not going to have to find out. We’ve got your back. You’ll let me throw you a baby shower, won’t you?”

“Oh, God. Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I just feel like people might think this isn’t something to celebrate. Accidentally getting knocked up by my boss.”

“Maddie, you’re going to be a mother,” Tess said. “You’re taking the biggest step forward in life that I can possibly imagine. And I know it isn’t happening in the most conventional way, and I understand that you have doubts about it because of that, but everyone is going to want to be by your side. All of our friends are going to be as excited as I am to support you in this. Trust me.”

“I trust you.” Maddie smiled. “And you’re right. This is a big deal, isn’t it?”

“You’re having trouble feeling how special it is right now because of how that jackass reacted when you told him, that’s all.”

“He’s not a jackass.”

“Of course he is! What kind of man hears that he’s going to have a baby and saysokay, I’ll set you up a bank account? What would you think if you heard that Damian had done that to me?”

“Damian would never.”

“No, exactly, he wouldn’t. And the fact that Eliwouldtells me everything I need to know about him. He’s selfish and heartless and frankly not the kind of man anyone wouldwantto raise a child with.”

“I know you’ve never liked him, based on those articles you read about him.”

“I would have let him prove me wrong if he had handled this situation well,” Tess said. “But he didn’t. And you just don’t get unlimited chances when it comes to my best friend. We don’t need him. We can do this without him.Youcan do this without him.”

Maddie nodded sadly. “You’re right,” she said. “And it’s probably for the best. At the end of the day, I don’t know that I can trust him as a father. Not after seeing the way he was with Charlie. He broke that poor boy’s heart, and I’d never want that to happen to my kid. I can hardly stand the idea that I left Charlie to that.”

“It was the right thing. Like you said before, you couldn’t live in that house, have a baby that’s technically going to be Charlie’s sibling, and keep their relationship a secret. Charlie might be just a little kid now, but if he ever figures out what happened…”

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