Page 109 of The Heir

But I could have at least sat in the waiting room, or in the parking lot. So, needless to say, I'm irritable.

"Well I couldn't bribe the nurse,"Xavier explains to me quietly on the phone. "But sir, I did manage to remote into her phone and hack into her online chart."

I smile as I get into the driver's seat of my Mercedes. "Good man,and?"

Silence.

My eyebrows go up, as does my voice."And?"

"Uh…."

I feel my nose twitch with irritation as I start the vehicle, waiting for Gustavo to get in the passenger seat next to me."Spit it out man!"I grit, revving the engine a bit too hard.

Apparently, she'snotfine, as Dennis told me she's instructed him to idle outside her doctor's office, and apparently he's indulging her. Which is why I'm in my car, about to go get her myself. But Xavier cuts me off quickly.

"She's moving, sir. Dennis is pulling on the main street and I'm following them en-route to the house."

"Jesus fucking Christ," I grit out. Clenching my jaw, I pull down another street as trying to bust a u-turn in New York traffic is akin to a suicide mission. "What the fuck was in her chart?"

"She's pregnant, sir."

The words seep in nice and deep as my chest begins to beat out of control. "She'swhat?"I don't think I heard him right.

"Pregnant,Mr. King."

There's utter silence through the phone and in the car as Gustavo turns his face to look at me. I don't turn to acknowledge that he's being overtly obvious, but damn, I need a minute to let the information sink in.

The minute ends up being more like three.Three solid minutesI will my heart to not explode.

"Was she crying?" I say hoarsely, tapping out a new destination in my GPS.

"Well sir, a tear or two.She did look very shell-shocked. Dennis said she just sat there and stared out the window for quite a while."

"Call Dennis, Xavier, and have him take his time going the long, scenic route home. Then call Carlotta, and tell her to have the chef make Isobel's favorite Steak Diane entree. And to put more candles out on the table tonight, make it romantic." I pull into the famousflower shop on 5th and park illegally, hanging up with Xavier. "Let's go, Gustavo."

I spend so much money at the shop that I'm sure the owner is going to be able to keep afloat for at least a month just based on my purchase alone. But with Gustavo's help, we load both the trunk and the backseat, and in no time at all I'm taking the highway at a near breakneck speed to make it home first.

I call Donna next, intent on making things right between us. She answers quickly, making me happy.

"Hendrix, it's so good to hear from you." Her voice is stern, no-nonsense.

It's been a bit tense between the two of us after she learned how I took over her daughter's life. And when I told her about our marriage, well, it was touch and go for a while. I was afraid I'd made an enemy out of the woman. Her stare is worse than Isobel's somehow.

"Ms. Brookes, it's so nice to hear your beautiful voice," I say, injecting as much elegance as I can into the simple compliment.

"Cut the bullshit, Hendrix. I'm only being nice to you right now because you're keeping my daughter safe, but I don't like how you went about it and I'm still upset. So, what do you want? I've got places to be."

"I'm really sorry that I hurt our relationship, Donna, I am," I say. "But, hopefully time will cause your heart to soften towards me." My apology is unexpected, as she goes quiet over the phone. I wet my lips, taking a deep breath. "I've called because I wanted to invite you and Melody to my parents' home tomorrow. We're having a little get together, welcoming my sister's baby into the family, and I'd like for you two to meet everyone."

Donna's still silent. And it seems, whereas her daughter can't shut up, she won't speak.

"Oh come onnnn, Donna." I smile though she can't see it. "You can't hate me forever! Don't you want to love your son-in-law at some point? Don't I take such good care of my girls? All three of you?" I ignore at Gustavo side-eyeing me.

"Yeah well," she scoffs. "I've never heard of a man doing what you've done. I suppose you're a good person… but the jury is out on whether or not I'm going to love you, so don't hold your breath on my account."

"Fair, mom. Fair." She loves me, I can tell.

"Hmmph. So, where's your parents' place?"

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