Page 31 of Knocked Up By the Silver Fox

Allen's frustration never left his eyes, but his shoulders relaxed a little as he focused on me. I could tell he believed me, but he wasn't pleased about it. He sat back in the chair and ran a hand across his face before he sighed.

"You care about Will?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Very much, but …"

"Well, this is what you need to do then. If you want to keep your job and you care about Will at all, I think you need to move to another department." As he said the words my heart sank.Doing this job was the best thing that happened to me in my career. I didn't want to take a demotion or move, and it wasn't about Will. I understood what Allen was saying. I just didn't want to go backward.

"But …"

"Beth, listen to me. It's the best thing. You'll save your career and Will gets out of hot water." He gave me a pleading expression and continued. "You will work for Oliver in risk analysis. You can be a senior risk analyst and you'll have a team. It will be lateral as far as rank but it's a bump in pay. And best of all, you're protecting yourself and Will."

I leaned back in my chair feeling defeated but understanding it was really the best thing. If Will needed me to do this, he'd never ask me himself. He would fight to make everyone around us change to accept us, and it would end up biting him in the butt. I had to be the bigger person and accept that change had to occur for things to be ironed out. Plus, this way I'd have the space I needed to think through my next steps.

"Fine. When do I move?" I hated this. I hated everything about it, and it felt deceptive toward Will, but I had to do it. Allen was trying to help even though I knew Will wouldn't feel that way.

"Right now…Just pack up and I'll send Oliver a text. He has a great office setup with a view of the city. You'll have a desk in his office for now and we'll get you set up with a cubicle after a few days."

My private office had been a dream come true, but it was time to get back to reality. The fairy tale was over. I was making a hard choice, but it was the right one for everyone, especially Will. I nodded and bit my lips together so I wouldn't whimper, because that was what I really wanted to do. I knew I should've taken that job with Nevil Banks when he first offered. I'd havebeen across town right now with plenty of space to process without further hurting the man I loved.

As it was, I was on a slippery slope. I needed this as much as Allen said Will did. I had to look at it as a positive thing. So when he left, I stood up and started collecting my things. I had no box to put things in so I shoved as much as I could into my laptop bag. I could just see the smirk on Sarah's face when she realized she got her office back, and something told me she was going to be smug about it.

I was in the middle of emptying my drawers when Will walked in with a cup of coffee, right on schedule. I winced and kept my back to him. I hoped I'd have been done and out of here before he got here, but I hadn't moved fast enough. He stopped by the door and stood there until I faced him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, and I heard the anger in his tone.

"I, uh…Allen is moving me to risk analysis. It's uh…" I didn't know how to explain it all. I was so nervous about his reaction, and I didn't really want to go anyway. I felt so bad when I saw the pain in his eyes.

Then his pain shifted to anger. "He what?"

"He stopped by…Will, please. It's for the best. We need space and?—"

Will walked past me and stormed into his office leaving the door open, so I followed him. He threw the coffee in the trash can and tossed his briefcase onto the sofa in the corner, then he yanked his coat off and draped it over a chair before turning back to me as he ran a hand through his hair.

"No," he said boldly. "You're not moving away."

"Will, listen to yourself. Your career is on the line. I'm not leaving the firm, just moving departments." I knew getting upset wasn't the best for the baby but what was I supposed to do? Ifollowed him around his desk toward the window and noticed his hands were fists.

"This isn't happening. I've been trying to keep the board off your back and?—"

"Stop, please." I took his hand, and he let me hold it but he was still very angry.

"Elizabeth, we're not letting other people come between us. Not Abby or Allen or the board, and why can't you see that?—"

I kissed him.

It was all I could do.

He was raging mad and going down a very negative path, so I crushed my lips against his and put my arms around his neck. I didn't care if someone walked in and saw us. He was right. No one, not Abby or the board or his coworkers or even this baby should ever come between us and our love for each other, but that was what was happening. We were fighting like hell to keep what we had, and this space between us was only going to help. He just couldn't see it yet.

Will's hands gripped my hips and he pulled me against his body as he kissed me angrily. I didn't let him take a breath either. I kept crushing my mouth against his and pulling him hard against myself until his angry grasp softened and his tension started to melt.

It wasn't right to just ignore the conversation and kiss, but he was too upset to talk. I was just as lost and in need of something to anchor me. So when he started backing me across the office toward the couch, I let him. It felt so good to be in his arms. When I was with him, nothing else mattered, and we could just drop our guard and love each other.

The conversation would still happen, but it would be after we made this connection. I just prayed it wasn't the last time this connection was made.

22

WILL

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