Page 3 of Silver Fox's Secret Baby

I heard the words but couldn't quite understand them. "But I have a job—"

"Dammit, Samantha, I can't be around you."

I flinched, and the tears that I didn't want to fall streamed down my face.

"Fuck." His hands went to his hips, and he turned away for a moment. When he looked back at me, he said, "I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you. Surely, you knew this had to end at some point. That point has come. We can't just end. We have to be apart."

"And I'm the one who has to go away? I have to leave my family, my friends, the city I grew up in?"

He looked down, and I supposed it was in remorse. "Yes. New York is the corporate offices of Banion MediaCorp. I can work in other offices for short periods of time, but not permanently."

I let out a humorless laugh. "You are like the rest of them, Henry. Your money and power make you believe that you can dictate other people's lives. I don't want to go."

"I set things up very nicely for you, Samantha. No other company can give you the salary and perks that I've arranged for you. You've complained about the challenges with your father. This is a good time for you to be away from all that. To make something of your own."

For a long moment, I sat, my fingers fiddling in my lap. I wondered what Victoria would do in this situation. Would she threaten to out the affair?

Surely, that was the reason he was sending me away. He didn’t want anyone to know about me. I was his dirty little secret. Of all the things going on, that was what hurt the most. He was ashamed of what we’d done.

I determined that Victoria might have a few choice words, but she probably wouldn't threaten to reveal his secret. What good would it do? It might make him change his mind, but then he would resent me, and I didn't want that.

I wanted him to love me. And like an idiot, I thought he had. Now I knew he didn't, or if he did, not enough. His reputation and business were more important. Knowing all that, Victoria would stand up and walk away.

I rose, hoping my wobbly legs would hold me. I let out a breath and looked him straight in the eyes as my heart shattered. "Your secret's safe with me, Henry. Goodbye." I made my way to the door, not even sure how I was going to get home. I supposed if my ride wasn’t waiting outside—which now was likely, considering Henry hadn’t intended for me to stay—I could order a rideshare back to the city.

"Samantha."

I stopped at the door, looking over my shoulder at him. His expression showed a torrent of emotion. Maybe he was going to change his mind. Maybe he was going to ask me to stay after all. Hope bloomed in my heart.

"Good luck." Then he turned toward the ocean.

At that moment, I grew to hate him. I hated him for not loving me enough. I hated him for never wanting to see me again. I hated him for making me fall in love with him. And I hated him because deep down, I’d always love him.

Initially, I wasn't going to take the job in Seattle. Henry wasn't wrong in that it would be nice to get away from my father, who was never around and made life miserable when he was. But I was close to my mother. And I loved New York. I didn't know a lot about Seattle except that it rained a lot.

But then my new employer began calling and emailing me, discussing the job, and I grew excited about what they wanted me to do and the amount of leeway they were going to give me to do it.

I supposed I should have been thankful to Henry at setting up the job, but I knew he only did it to alleviate his own guilt and to make sure that I was in a position where I could be happy and support myself and therefore stay out of his way.

A week after graduation, I packed up my belongings that I could carry with me on an airplane, deciding I’d buy whatever else I needed in Seattle with the ten-thousand-dollar bonus to my stipend Henry had arranged for me to use in getting settled in Seattle.

The night before I left, I spent time with Victoria. We were weepy, drinking wine and eating ice cream, grieving that we would be apart. She didn't know that I was grieving more than that.

And then I left. I arrived in Seattle and was quickly immersed in my work. The long hours distracted me from the pain of losing Henry.

A week later, I woke up feeling sick to my stomach. At first, I put it off to stress, especially since once I got moving, my stomach settled. A few days later, still waking up to nausea, I decided I should go to the doctor and make sure there wasn't something seriously wrong. The test results came back.

I was pregnant.

I felt completely overwhelmed by this news. I needed to talk to Victoria because she always had the best advice and support, but this was her father's child. She had no idea I'd been seeing anyone, let alone Henry. She’d find it suspicious that I hadn't told her I was dating someone.

I knew what she would say. She’d tell me that the father needed to know. He had responsibilities. But then I remembered the way Henry looked at me that night in the Hamptons. I believed that he didn't want to hurt me, but I also knew that he wanted our lives separated as quickly and as permanently as possible. The last thing he'd want was me contacting him to tell him I was pregnant.

Knowing how important it was to keep our affair secret, I figured all he would do was send money. He didn’t want me or this baby, and I had enough money, so he didn’t need to know.

Sure, my conscience told me that the ethical thing to do would be to tell Henry. I forced myself to push away the thoughts of Henry being a father to our child and being as devoted to it as he was to Victoria. My child deserved that, but I knew Henry wouldn’t provide it. So I made the decision that the baby and I would go it alone.

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