Page 57 of Dante
Easing off the elevator, Dante slapped him on the back. "Relax, no harm done. And you can still call her Courtney. Very soon, her name will be Livingston."
Donald stared after him in a daze and shook his head as he stepped into the elevator.
By noon, the entire office was buzzing with the news of their boss and his assistant's romance. And they started coming up to the office on some pretext or the other, waiting until he had stepped out for a meeting.
There were mixed reactions from the women, most of it jealousy. One woman from the finance department asked her point blank if it was because she... what was it about her that was so different.
The head of the PR department was a svelte looking brunette with a trim figure and a slash of coral red on her thin lips. And she had resentment teeming off her in waves. If Courtney had not known his reputation for not sleeping with his employees, she would have suspected that he and Ms. Lorilee Evans had a previous relationship. The woman got right to the point, stating that she needed something for the press.
"I hope you don't have anything to hide." She smiled politely but could not hide the malice in her tone.
And Courtney had had enough. He was the one who had started the ball rolling and now she was left on her own to handle everything. On top of that, she was not feeling her best. Her stomach was in knots and the pills had not made a dent. So, she was certainly not in the mood for some prissy public relations person.
"You know what?" The phone calls were starting to get to her as well. Hanging up the phone, she faced the woman squarely. "As far as I know, this is my damn office, and I need you out of it in two seconds. It so happens that my position has been elevated, and I don't like your damn tone." She took a breath and continued. "I'm an open book and it's all there in my file. I did not force Dante to be with me... he was the one who initiated the first contact and asked me to marry him. In a matter of weeks, I will be Mrs. Livingston, with the authority to fire anyone who pisses me off."
She waited until the woman was at the doorway before firing her parting shot. "And by the way... I'm pregnant with another man's child. Something else for you to work into your statement."
Ignoring the shocked look on Lorilee's face, she serenely went back to her typing.
"I had to get away or I swear I was going to go crazy." Reaching for the bottle of water, she took a long gulp.
"You have a brand new car." Caleb had spent a few minutes admiring the sparkling dark blue chrome before settling into the passenger seat that adjusted to his butt and immediately warmed that area. They were in the parking lot of the precinct, and she was parked beneath a towering maple tree with the leaves shivering in the brisk wind.
"My battery or whatever died just as we were ready to leave this morning. It's too much, right?"
"For a man like Livingston? No." He turned his head to stare at her and was about to make a smart remark when he saw the weariness on her face.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't feel like myself. I'm happy, you know." She lifted her hands palms up. "I love him, but just today, it struck me whatI was up against. I had to tell off the PR manager this morning and said some pretty nasty things to her. I reminded her that in a few weeks I will be Mrs. Livingston with the option to fire or promote. Then I blurted out the fact that I was carrying another man's baby."
His brow lifted. "That doesn't sound like you."
"See what I mean?" She flopped back against the seat and closed her eyes. She had told Dante by text that she was heading out of the office because she needed a break, without telling him where she was headed. She had reached downstairs in the lobby, before she remembered she was minus a vehicle and had started to call an Uber when one of the security guards came up to her with a key to her brand new car.
It also flitted through her mind that money makes all the difference.
"And as soon as the press gets hold of the news, it will be a hell of a lot worse."
She turned to look at him. "For you too."
"I always wanted to be famous, even by association." He grinned to try and ease the anxious look on her face. "Look honey, I always wanted the best for you. And I never thought that bastard who knocked you up was it. Nor the idiot you were dating in college." He took her hands in his and examined her fingers. "You're a beautiful woman, smart and sweet and you deserve a hell of a lot more than you had before."
"Why isn't there a ring on your finger?"
"Because I wanted to take it slow. To slide into the relationship before the avalanche covers us. But he insisted. God! I've never met a more stubborn man. As soon as he decides that he wants something, there's no stopping him."
"Are you happy?"
"What?"
"That's the most important thing. Not the money, nor the prestige, but your happiness and peace of mind."
"He makes me happy." She smiled slightly. "I don't think he's ever shown that side of himself to anyone. Possibly a few close friends, but that's all. When he's not making me crazy, he makes me laugh and it's a wonder that I can do the same for him." Her hands tightened on his. "Yes, I'm happy."
She jumped slightly when her phone rang.
"I just bet I know who that is." He released her hand so she could answer the phone. Leaning back, he listened to the one-sided conversation, marveling at the softened look on his sister's face.
