Page 14 of Last Minute Fiancé

And a junior partner? Well, that would be good. Because that was where Nathan was. And if Nathan wanted me to have that position, then I’d work for it.

“I’d love to go to lunch.” I paused. “Just lunch.”

Nathan smiled softly. “I should mention that my wife and her assistant will be at the lunch too. Because while my wife and I love each other and trust each other, and I trust you, I don’t trust whatever the other guys who work here will say if they happen to see us out at lunch.”

Relief flooded me even as I rolled my eyes. “You got to love social dynamics and clawing your way to the top.”

“You don’t claw, but you do climb. So, let’s make sure that happens. And, by the way, my wife would totally trust us out to a work lunch, just like we trust each other. You’re welcome to bring whoever you’re dating to work events, you know, that would probably help the situation.”

I mumbled something under my breath, because I knew he wasn’t actually fishing, he was just being helpful. When we had work events—including the one coming up soon, which was a long weekend event with two overnights—it was helpful to bring your spouse or significant other. Harrington-Wells III would prefer it to be a spouse, and not someone you were just dating. Travis and I hadn’t been dating when we started working here, so we had never had each other to lean on, not that we ever would have. Because that would require trust, and that’s not something I had with him.

Honestly, the only person I had truly ever felt I could trust while dating was my freshman year of college boyfriend. Or at least I thought I could trust him at the time. And then he had run away, pissed off when I’d beat him in classes and also hadn’t wanted to deal with my health issues when I found out that the blood clots I was susceptible to were dangerous.

I was nervous about what that meant for this pregnancy, but the state of denial that I needed to hold on to so I could get through this work lunch and subsequent meetings meant that I wasn’t going to focus on it. Or focus on the fact that more testing may be done, and I was going to have to be careful.

We made our way to the restaurant across the street, and Nathan’s wife and her assistant were already there. Her assistant was a tall man with wire glasses and a soft smile.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Nathan’s wife said as she introduced herself. “I’m Kelly. This is Jeremiah.”

Jeremiah nodded at me and went back to his phone.

“Jeremiah is always working on a thousand things at once, even though I told him he’s supposed to take his lunch off. One day I will take that phone and throw it.”

“And you will get lost without your calendar.”

She rolled her eyes before leaning forward to kiss her husband on the cheek.

“So, is this where we talk about girl power and we try to take over the world?” Kelly asked, and Nathan just sighed.

“I’d rather just take over the world. You know I love your girl power, but I don’t think I’m allowed to be part of that club.”

For some reason, I was completely relaxed. Even though there was a part of me freaking out, the dynamics between them felt right.

“Anyway, I wasn’t sure what you wanted to drink or anything, so I ordered waters, and they should be here soon to get our actual lunch order. I know you guys have meetings to go to. And I have one with a friend of yours.”

I perked up. “Oh?”

“I own a small business with a friend of mine, and I’m going to be working with Paisley Cassidy Renee. They do great PR, and their little matchmaking company on the side makes me happy. Seriously such a great company.”

“You don’t need matchmaking,” Nathan grumbled as he looked over the menu. I just smiled.

“Paisley is the best. My best friend actually works for her too.”

“Devney Cassidy? I always wondered if they were sisters.”

I shook my head. “No, but it’s a long story.”

And not my story to tell. The fact that Paisley was the ex-wife of Devney’s husband’s twin, and Paisley was the ex-sister-in-law of my future baby’s father, was not something I really wanted to contemplate. The tangled webs already woven were ridiculous, and I had a feeling they weren’t even done.

“Oh, well it’s not my business. I’m just glad that she’s going to be working with us.”

I smiled. “The company does fantastic work. I’d say they’re the best, but I’d like to thinkwe’rethe best.”

Nathan grinned. “And we’ll be even better with you as junior partner. So let’s formulate some plans around how exactly to make that happen.”

I put my hands on my lap, letting out a slow breath.

“That would be quick though. Right?”

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