Page 18 of The Irish Rogue

His pilot acknowledged the order and assured him that the jet was fueled up and ready to fly as soon as he arrived.

Sean stuffed his clothes into the leather bag, unconcerned that he still had a few more days left on the house lease. He tossed the house key onto the kitchen counter, flung his leather bag into the trunk of his rental car, then sped away, heading to the airport.

Chapter 5

Kennedi glanced at her phone for the second…or maybe the millionth…time. It was Friday and she’d been waiting for a call from Sean all week. But how could he call her? He didn’t have her cell phone number.

Of course, he could have called Tom and gotten it at any point.

“Are you okay?”

Kennedi jerked her head around, blinking up at Tom, unaware of how her mouth had fallen open. At the concern on his wrinkled face, she pulled herself together. Straightening her spine, she forced her lips to smile. “I’m fine,” she finally replied and valiantly fought back the tears that threatened to spill over her lashes. Again.

“You don’t look fine,” he replied, his fluffy, silver eyebrows furrowing with concern. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off and head on home? You’ve worked more than your contract hours this week.” He turned away and winked playfully at her. “Plus, it’s Friday night. Surely a lovely lady like you has a hot date lined up.”

Kennedi forced a weak laugh because Tom always teased her about “hot dates”, even though he knew perfectly well that she rarely dated. She knew Tom was trying to cheer her up, but after last weekend, it wasn’t working. She doubted it would ever work. Especially since she now heard the whispers. She’d gone to Ella’s coffee shop on Monday, needing a pick me up. But the whispers behind hands and the chuckles, the glances of contempt, had been too much for her.

Plus, coffee wasn’t agreeing with her lately. For some reason, even the smell of coffee made her stomach churn.

Her phone rang and she saw that Brody was calling her. Why couldn’t that jerk understand that she would never,ever, go out with him? Especially not after his atrocious behavior last weekend. He’d made a nuisance of himself for the last time.

In an abrupt change of plans, she stood up and grabbed her purse. “Tom, I’m going to take you up on your offer. I’ll see you on Monday, okay?”

“Have a great weekend, Kennedi!” he called out from his office. The door was always open. Tom encouraged staff members to interrupt him anytime for questions or suggestions.

She liked that about him, but at the moment, she also knew that Tom was watching her carefully, trying to understand why she’d been so upset this week.

Sean stalked down the hallway of his headquarters, his sharp gaze taking in the activities of his small staff. He didn’t need a large team since nearly all of his work was done online. His team of handpicked experts researched companies that needed saving. He would either stealthily buy up enough stock to have the controlling interest, or if the owner was amenable, he would negotiate a sale price. Then he’d call in his group of consultants, figure out the problem that hindered profitability and growth, fix the problem, and then sell everything off for a profit.

He thought about “The Old Goat” brewery, wondering how he could get control of that place.

Then he rejected the thought. He wasn’t buying that place. The brewery could rot in hell for all he cared. That way, Kennedi would lose her job and he would relish the thought.

No, that wasn’t right. He didn’t want her to suffer, he reminded himself. Okay, yes, he did. But there were others at the brewery that needed employment. He couldn’t ruin a whole company simply because a woman rejected him.

Those were his daddy issues at play and he’d vowed never to let his father gain any kind of control over his life. Kennedi’s rejection, her racing out of his life, had stung, but he would be fine. He was back on track. And there were several companies he was interested in acquiring. He would focus on work. That had been his revenge ever since he’d first understood his father’s preference for his legitimate son.

Either way, he was relieved to be back on track. If his subconscious was tormenting him at night with dreams of holding Kennedi in his arms, then he would just work through the pain, just as he’d done throughout his whole life!

Chapter 6

It lied!

Kennedi stared down at the plastic stick, willing the test results to change.

“Impossible!” she whispered, hovering over her bathroom sink. “Not happening!”

She reached out and flicked the test with her forefinger. But the positive sign was still there. Taunting her.

Which would make sense since she had several symptoms of pregnancy. Tender breasts, aversion to coffee, morning sickness, and afternoon fatigue had all led her to wonder. Now she had proof.

She was pregnant.

Sighing, she pushed her hair out of her eyes and forced back tears. “I’m going to be fine!”

For a moment, she considered an abortion. She wasn’t ready to have a baby. She was too young, too poor, and too…stupid. She’d had sex…a lot of sex…with a man over a twelve hour period. Unprotected sex. And now…she was pregnant.

But as soon as the thought occurred to her, she rejected the option of an abortion. For some reason, she truly wanted this child. It may have been conceived under less than ideal circumstances, but she could do this.

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