Page 29 of Boss Unyielding (Boss 1)

nt on me, then who can you count on?”

It was a rare occasion that Shea’s snarky, pessimistic attitude came down, but Farren needed it so much right now. Shea was right. If she couldn’t count on her best friend, who could she count on?

“What was I supposed to do? I could lose my job, Shea. I could lose everything,” Farren said, with a voice of quiet desperation.

“That’s bullshit. There’s nothing you could do to make you lose me. Or your Gramma. You’ll never lose everything, Farren.”

Shea was quiet for a moment, looking at the petrified look on Farren’s face. “I get it, Far, I get why you think you have to walk on eggshells for everyone because you think you’ll eventually do something to make them leave, but not everyone is like that. Some connections run deeper than that.”

Farren looked up at her friend. Surely if someone as cynical as Shea could believe that, there was a small chance it could be true. She blew out a big, cleansing lungful of air and nodded her acknowledgment.

“He’s just so… everything.”

Shea’s head jerked back in question. “Everything?”

“Yes! Everything. God, Shea, he’s sexy, he’s complex, he’s challenging. I’ve never met anyone so hot in my life. One minute, he can be ruthless and intimidating, and the next minute he’s looking into my eyes like I’m the only person he sees. And he’s smooth, but he’s rough around the edges, and he’s freaking scary sometimes, but he makes me feel safer than I’ve ever felt, and I’m so afraid that if he ever knew how I really felt about him, he’d fire me on the spot and tell me he never wanted to see me again.”

Shea listened with her eyes wide. “Damn, you were right. That does sound like everything.”

They both sat nodding, and then Shea leaned over and picked up the test from the coffee table. She held it up in front of her. “So what is this going to mean?”

Farren shrugged. “I was hoping I’d know when I got there.”

Shea gave a cynical laugh. Then she looked down at the test and looked back up at Farren.

Farren stared on in silence, waiting to hear what news Shea would deliver.

“You’re pregnant, Far.”

Farren thought she would be surprised, but she wasn’t. Shea’s words only confirmed what she already knew in her gut to be true. She knew she was pregnant, and now the words had been said out loud. Now it was real.

“I am so fucked,” she said.

“Was it at least a good fuck?” Shea asked, using her vulgar question to add some comical relief to the otherwise intense situation.

Farren chuckled and looked Shea straight in the eyes. “You have no idea.”

“I knew it! Ha!” Shea whooped.

Somehow, the laughter was just what they both needed, and giggles turned into fits of laughter that had them rocking on the floor with tears streaming from their eyes.

When the laughter finally fizzled, Shea stood and held her hand out to help Farren off the floor. They sat on the couch again, and Shea asked, “So when are you going to tell him?”

“Tell him? I can’t,” Farren said, emphatically.

“What do you mean, you can’t? Why not?” Shea questioned.

“There’s no way he can know about this. Oh, God. The minute he finds out, I’ll lose my job. I cannot tell him, Shea.” Her fear shone on her face and she wrung her hands as her whole body began to tremble.

“There were two people there that night, Far. It wasn’t just you. If he played a part in getting you into this, then he can damn sure step up to the plate and handle his responsibilities now,” Shea argued with adamant intensity.

Farren shook her head in disagreement, but said nothing. She didn’t have to say anything. Her worry and fear were evident in her eyes and her nervous gestures.

“How do you know he won’t step up? Who’s to say he won’t be happy about this? I mean, if something has got you this crazy for a guy, how do you know he’s not just as messed up over you?” she suggested.

Now it was Farren’s turn to give the cynical laugh. “Yeah, right. He’s got all kinds of different women at his disposal. What would he want someone like me tying him down and shackling him to this giant responsibility that he never asked for?” She rolled her eyes like the idea was absurd. “It was one night. One amazing night. It was over before it ever began.”

Shea leaned in toward Farren and caught her line of vision. When Farren was looking back at her, Shea said, “Far, you have to give him a chance. He’s not your dad.”

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