Page 17 of Faking with the Bad Boy Billionaire

Over a year after he had left her, he showed up at the new location, preparing it for opening day to go over everything. He was walking around, pointing at small things that needed to be adjusted, lighting colors around the DJ booth, setting the tables up, and trying to perfect the behind-the-bar flow. Some of the bartenders were there prepping things and working on new drink specials.

"That looks great, everyone." Steven started sipping some of the drinks from shot glasses. He tried the first two, giving a hum of approval at a red and bright blue one. He got to a green one and practically choked. "Okay, we can skip this one."

The bar manager, Stacey, started laughing, "Sorry, Steven, we will eliminate this one from options."

Steven laughed and retreated to his office up the stairs. When he stepped onto the upper deck from his office, he looked down and saw a blonde woman pushing a stroller. His heart stopped beating, and his breath was not able to leave his lungs.

"Who is that?" Stacey had walked up at some point and stood next to him. Steven could not speak. His eyes were following the stroller down the road. "Steven?"

Instantly, Steven was doing math in his head. He could not see the child but was trying to get a glimpse. His eyes kept moving up to follow the woman and then back down to the stroller.

It was not just any blonde woman; it was Josie.

His Josie.

With a baby.

Chapter eleven

Josephine

Josephinehadbeengettingsick for a few months now. It was not every day, but it was pretty bad. She knew that if it was the flu, it would have come and gone at that point. She was always tired and hungrier than usual, even if she knew she would probably not keep anything down.

She was on a photo shoot one day, about three months after her night with Steven, when she got sick again. Lana was sitting beside her getting her makeup done when Josephine threw up in the trash bin between them.

"Well, that was disgusting." Lana's nose scrunched up, and she leaned away from her.

"I'm sorry. I've been having trouble keeping things down lately." Josephine dug in her purse for one of her disposable toothbrushes that she became fond of and made a break for the bathroom. She felt another wave of nausea wash over her, and she just made it over the toilet bowl. She slumped beside it and waited to ensure another wave would not overtake her.

"Jo?" Lana had cracked the door and brought herself to Josephine's stall.

"Give me a few minutes." Josephine wiped at her mouth and leaned against the wall of the overly decorated stall. She finally noticed the heavy white door, the mirror over the toilet, and the beautiful sink to the side.

"You okay? I never see you sick." Lana was not a worrier typically, but this was not the first time she had seen Josephine sick lately. "Did you go and see a doctor?"

"I probably should at some point, huh?" Josephine stood up and took her two steps over to the sink. She looked at herself and studied her exhausted appearance. Her blonde hair was a bit longer, her hazel eyes were not shining like usual, there were bags under her eyes, and she looked thinner. She opened the disposable toothbrush and started slowly brushing. When she was done, she took a small paper towel and soaked it in cold water. She folded the small piece and set it on the back of her neck. She let herself cool down before opening the door to the waiting area of the women's room.

"I think you should call and make an appointment." Lana held out a bottle of water for her. She had one leg up straight out and one bent at the knee. She had a raised brow and a rare serious look across her face.

"I know. I will do it right after the shoot." Josephine opened the water and took a long drink. The cold water calmed down the burning left in her throat. Josephine would walk out of the bathroom, and Lana put her hand on the door to hold it closed.

"I think you should call now." Lana reached into Josephine's pocket and pulled the phone out to hand it to her. She waited until Josephine conceded and took it to look up her doctor's number.

Each ring felt like it lasted forever.

"Hello, Dr. Neumann's office. Are you calling to schedule an appointment or for a follow-up?" The voice on the other end was so chipper that Josephine thought she would throw up again.

"Hi, this is Josephine Price calling to make an appointment with Dr. Neumann." Josephine felt an odd weight in her stomach.

Please let me know what the appointment is about.

"I have been having trouble keeping food down. I am exhausted, and I feel off." Josephine wrapped her arm around her stomach and watched Lana take in all the information.

"How long has this been going on?" Josephine was running through the mental timeline in her head.

"For about the last six or seven weeks. It has gotten progressively worse." Lana's eyes practically popped out of her head.

"Weeks?" Lana whispered, yelled at her, and threw her hands in the air.

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