“Do you know what we’re—” He stops himself, biting into his cheek for a moment. “Do you know what you’re having?”
“Will!” Zara calls out from the conference room. We both turn our heads to find her glowering from the doorway. “Come on, it’s starting.”
And just in time, too. I wouldn’t even have known what to tell him. I’m due for an ultrasound soon, but I don’t honestly think Will has any business being kept in the loop about the pregnancy. He has chosen the way of the NDA. I don’t care if he has any second thoughts. I’m doing this alone.
He gives me an apologetic nod and walks away.
I head back to my desk and sink even deeper into my work. I’m gonna cry myself to sleep again, soon enough…
CHAPTER22
WILL
Lunch with Lilian is far more tense than I expected.
Clearly, she’s been talking to Zara about Olivia. Lilian is pretty much the only other friend I have in this world beside my lawyer, and that has been a conscious and deliberate choice as I have sought to protect myself from any vulnerabilities while I built my company from the ground up.
I haven’t told Lilian I’m the father but she’s bound to figure it out soon enough, even if Zara keeps her mouth shut like she knows she’s supposed to. I’m pretty sure Lilian is some kind of natural mentalist.
“So, the FEMA pitch is in a month,” I say once the starter plates are brought over.
Post-divorce, Lilian has been trying an all-vegetarian lifestyle in a bid to cleanse herself of what she considers were negative energies. In a sense, I can see where she’s coming from, and I don’t mind indulging her over some Middle Eastern mezze while we talk. She takes hold of the naan bread and starts dipping and tasting, giddy with delight as she discovers new, exciting flavors.
“I’ll bet you’re excited about it,” Lilian says between bites while I pour us more sparkling water.
It’s a beautiful day out, and the rising temperatures have brought us to one of our favorite spots in Sacramento. The place has a terrace overlooking Discovery Park, and it’s just an abundance of greenery as far as the eye can see. I’m reminded of Clearlake every other minute. A hard pill to swallow for a man who deliberately chose to let Olivia down the way I did.
“I am. Olivia’s work is at the center of it all. I’ll be sorry to see her go.”
“Will, who is the father of that baby?” Lilian asks, eyeing me intently.
“It’s none of my business. Nor yours, for that matter,” I reply sternly.
It prompts a knowing grin to appear on her face. Dammit. I walked right into that.
“Will. I’ve known you long enough to recognize your defense mechanisms. Pairing that with Zara’s own skittishness around the subject even though Olivia is clearly and officially very much pregnant… I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t something the two of you are refusing to share with me. I mean, I keep asking…”
“Maybe the absence of an answer should tell you to butt out,” I shoot back.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she chuckles. “You know I always get to the truth eventually. You might as well spit it out now.”
“I can’t. I’m bound by a nondisclosure agreement,” I concede with a heavy sigh, my appetite gradually leaving me empty and pretty much dead on the inside. Guilt is a hard mistress.
Lilian leans back into her seat, chewing slowly before she washes her food down with water. She even takes a moment to breathe out sharply as if to make it clear that she is enjoying every goddamn second of this circus. “And that was the answer I knew I was gonna get, because like I’ve said so many times before, Will, I know better than you know yourself. You absolute doofus—what the hell were you thinking, knocking her up like that?!”
“We didn’t plan for it to happen, it just… happened.”
“And you got her to sign an NDA? Are you really gonna hush her out of your life like that? Because since she accepted my job offer, I know she won’t be working for you anymore after the Asclepius bid. Obviously.”
“She was the one who suggested the NDA,” I reply, but quickly succumb to her persistent glare. “I just wanted her completely out of my sight and my life.”
Lilian thinks carefully before responding. She has always been brutally honest in our interactions, but there are times when she knows to be mindful and delicate in her approach. She reaches across the table and smacks me hard over the shoulder. “You prick!” she hisses. It’s clearly not one of her mindful and delicate moments. “Running away from love like that.”
“It’s not… what are you talking about?”
“You didn’t realize it, did you? I was there when you offered Olivia that job. I saw the look in your eyes, I saw exactly how hooked you already were,” Lilian says. “I get that you’re in denial about your own happiness, Will, but that young woman was clearly meant for you. I’ve been around your office enough times to observe your dynamic, not to mention Zara’s own impressions on the matter. I’m shocked that you chose to go down this road instead.”
“Lilian, it was literally a one-night stand gone wrong.”