Page 36 of Working For A Billionaire

"Thank you," he suddenly says.

My eyes widen with surprise at his comment. "For what?"

"For proving me wrong," he smiles, and I know what he means. That makes me feel even worse about this. But admitting it will make everything a tangled mess of shit. I don’t want that. Maybe no one will ever know how this started. What matters is that I want to be a father. I want all of this.

"Good, I better get to the hospital," he says with a curt nod, bringing me back to the present moment.

With a nod, he shakes my hand and leaves my office. My head is swimming with thoughts of Riley and the baby. Gabby is young and healthy. If she is having health issues during pregnancy, there is a chance Riley can as well. It makes the idea of a home birth seem more dangerous.

As I reach for the phone, I pause. How could I possibly tell Riley about Gabby's news over the phone? I know this conversation requires more than a few words, and so with a heavy heart, I grab my keys and leave the office. There is no time to waste.

"Mr. Rutherford?" Mrs. Thatcher says, looking confused as I hurry past her desk.

"I'll be out the rest of the day!" I yell back to her without stopping to answer any questions.

The drive home is a blur as I try to imagine what Manuel is going through. If it were me, I would be losing my mind. This kind of thing is why I worry about a home birth. I have to convince Riley to deliver the baby in a hospital.

There is no time for that type of thinking. I pull into the driveway, park the car, and then hurry into the house to find Riley.

"Hey, where are you?" I call out as I walk down the hall towards her bedroom.

"In the nursery," she answers. I can hear her moving around in the room.

"Riley, I need to talk to you."

"Okay," she answers, still busy cleaning the room.

"What are you doing?" I ask, trying not to sound accusatory.

She finally stops what she is doing to look up at me. "I was just getting the crib ready."

"You should have said something. I would have helped you put it together."

She shrugs. "It's alright, I had everything under control."

I sigh and move toward the crib. "You could have asked."

"Penny helped me with it. I didn't want to bother you," she says defensively.

"You're not bothering me. I don't want you to hurt yourself or the baby. You should be more careful."

"I will," she says, turning her attention back to the toys in the crib.

My concern sounds more like reprimanding than I meant it to. I breathe in deeply, focusing on Riley as she organizes the baby's crib.

"Have you talked to Gabby?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "No, not yet," she says quietly.

"Well, I saw Shawn today," I explain, hoping I'll find the right words to say. "He told me that Gabby is in the hospital."

"The hospital?" She repeats, sounding confused as the color drains from her face. "What happened? Is everything okay?"

"She started going into labor. They stopped the labor, but they've put her on bed rest for the next few days."

"So, it's serious?" She asks, looking lost as she takes in the information.

"She has preeclampsia."

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