Page 48 of In Her Shadow

“Since I started working here?” I growl back at him, letting him see that I’m not at all happy with this new revelation.

“Correct answer, you just earned yourself a promotion. Whose office do you want, pretty girl?” He leans in to kiss me, and I duck under his arm to get away from him.

“You can’t do this, Ren, you can’t own the magazine I work for.”

“I’ve owned it for all this time, and you didn’t even know. What’s the difference?” He folds his arms and rests his ass on the desk.

“The difference is now I do know. People are already thinking that I got the Junior Editor role way too soon. I can’t have this. I can’t have you be my boss's boss or whatever you are…”

Oh my god, are you the reason I got promoted?” I suddenly feel like everything I’ve worked for has been a lie.

“No.” Ren points his finger at me. “Up till now, I’ve been a silent owner. My uncle was calling all the shots; I had nothing to do with you getting your position.”

“Up till now.” I catch what he’s just said. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you are pregnant with my child, and I want to be close to you. I told my uncle I’d be taking more responsibility in my investments, and this is where I’m gonna start.” His lips linger close to mine, and as tempted as I am to give in to them, I don’t.

“So what do you intend to do all day, sit in here watching me work?”

“Come on.” I roll my eyes when he laughs, “You know watching you is my favorite thing to do.”

“And there's nothing I can do about this?” I check.

“Not a thing.” He kisses me before I can shove him away. “You should get to work, Kitten, you're already late.” He opens the door, and when he goes to step out, I drag him back. “Where are you going?” I whisper.

“To get my girl a coffee, I need to make sure Yvonne knows to stock up on that decaf.”

“Whoah.” I drag him back inside and slam the door. “I’m pissed about this, Ren. If you really intend to be here every day, you're gonna stick to some ofmyrules.” His lips twitch when I shove my finger hard into his chest. “I don’t want anyone inthis office knowing about us. I don’t want them finding out I’m pregnant. This place is the only touch of normal I have right now, and I need it.”

“How am I supposed to hide the fact you're mine when I want the whole world to know?” he questions, making me weaken and smile a little.

“You can work on it while you're watching me,” I tell him, turning on my heels and heading out the door.

“Hey, Eloise!” Mary-Ann calls me over to the watercooler. “Rumor has it that he’s the guy who owns the magazine; he looks more like one of the models.” She looks at him through the glass now that he’s pulled the blind back up. He’s standing in front of the huge window that looks out over the city, doing stretching exercises to loosen up his shoulders. And looking right at me. “What were you doing in there?” she asks, peering over her glasses at him.

“I, erm…I bumped into him downstairs. He was asking me a few questions, that’s all. You know how these rich folk are, got more money than sense.” I leave her to gawk at him and move on to do some work.

REN

FIVE WEEKS LATER

“Can you stop doing that?” Eloise storms into my office and slams the door.

“Stop doing what?” I laugh at her.

“Watching me through the glass and chewing on that damn pen.” She snatches it from my hand furiously.

“Something wrong, darling?” I stay calm and smile at her.

“Yeah, my boyfriend is an overbearing asshole. A hot, overberaring assshole, who knocked me up and is making me feel all these things I shouldn’t be feeling when I have a deadline.” She speaks through her teeth at me.

“First of all, relax.” I stand up and check the office floor through the window before pulling down each of the blinds. “Second of all, tell me about thesethingsyou're feeling.” Stalking back toward her, I lick my lips hungrily and lift her onto my desk.

“Don’t start something we can’t finish, Ren. I’m already on the edge.”

“Then let me fix it.” I slide my hand into the back of her hair and grip her nape, kissing her mouth and feeling her chest sag with relief. “That better for you, baby?”

“No, it’s worse, Ren, I don’t think it’s right to feel like this.” She chews on her lip, looking adorable.

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