Page 19 of Oops Baby for the Billionaire
A flicker of uncertainty crosses his face. “I wasn’t under the impression that it was a security concern, but yes?—”
“Then why,” I roar, slamming my hand down hard enough to make my laptop jump, “did you not check the fucking catering staff?”
He straightens. “Sir, you said she was at the party. I assumed?—”
“You assumed.” I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “That makes you useless to me. She was working that party. One of the catering hires. Using the service elevators, the service entrances—all the areas that should have been under your surveillance.”
“I can pull those records now.”
“Now?” I round the desk, and he stands quickly, taking a defensive step back. Good. He should be worried. “She’s been working in this building for three months. I found her today, by accident. And it turns out, she tried to get to me, too, but was blocked at every turn. There is a fundamental problem with the security protocols if I ask about a woman namedWillaand then a woman namedWillacan’t get to me.”
“I’ll look into the?—”
“She’spregnant,” I roar.
His eyes widen. “Mr. Thorne, if you’d specified?—”
“If I’d specified?” My voice drops to a dangerous whisper. “I pay you to be thorough and think of the angles I don’t. Instead, you did the bare minimum and called it a day. Do you know what your incompetence cost me?” I’m in his face now, close enough to see the sweat beading at his temple. “Four months. Four months of her thinking I didn’t care enough to look for her properly. Four months of my child growing without me knowing it existed.”
“You’re done.”
He blinks. “What?”
“Fired. Terminated. Get the fuck out of my building.” I turn my back on him, returning to my desk. “You have one hour toclear out your office. After that, if you’re still on the premises, I’ll have you escorted out.”
“This is a mistake. You’re being emotional?—”
I spin around so fast he stumbles backward. “Emotional? You’re right. I am emotional. I’m fucking livid. Willa thought I didn’t care enough to find her.”
“How was I supposed to know she was that important?”
“Do I ask for things that aren’t important?”
He doesn’t have an answer for that.
After he leaves, and I inform HR of my rash but necessary decision, I lean back in my chair, the anger slowly morphing into painful regret. Not for firing someone—he deserved it for not doing a thorough job, and his severance will be appropriate.
But I have intense guilt about the time lost.
Willa was here all along, carrying my child.
I outsourced a job I should have fully handled myself.
And now I have to convince her that I’m not the monster she thinks I am.
Chapter 11
Willa
As threatened,Roman strides back into the CurateMe offices as I’m finishing work for the day.
“Willa, Mr. Thorne is here,” my boss says, gushing as if this is a gift instead of a deeply stressful complication to my already complicated life.
But since I like my job and they don’t need to know the boss is my baby daddy, I just nod and say thank you.
I told my co-worker that there had been a misunderstanding earlier, but I sorted it out.
It’s wild what people will accept if you say nothing with enough confidence.
