Oh God. Oh God. How had this happened? She’d taken the damned pills like clockwork. She’d counted on them working as intended. And now she was pregnant with the child of a man who, despite all his actions to the contrary, had never even said he loved her. A man who might very well be already regretting his decision to go along with her crazy plan, for all that he’d been sweet and attentive taking care of her the last week.
He hadn’t signed on for this. Neither ha
d she. This was supposed to be a friendship with marital benefits and the real potential for more. A fun adventure with an escape hatch should either of them change their mind. It wasn’t meant to be an instafamily.
She had to talk to him.
Her hand reached for the phone before she pulled it back. No. Not the kind of conversation to be had on the phone. He’d know the moment he heard her voice that something was wrong, and she wasn’t sure she could keep it from all spilling out, fueled by the rising panic beating in her chest.
She’d go to his office. Not ideal, but there was no way she could wait until he got home at whatever ungodly hour was necessary for him to make up the work he’d missed taking care of her. She’d go insane.
By the time she made it to The Observer, she’d managed to find some measure of control. It wouldn’t last long, but it ought to be enough to get past his staff and into his office for a private conversation. Putting on her best everything’s fine face, she went inside.
Patty was on the phone, but she smiled and waved Piper back toward Myles’ office. With a vague sense of unreality, she walked down the hall. The blinds were drawn, but his door was open and voices spilled out.
“I love this paper. I really do. I’ve endured a lot of shit to get it turned around, and that’s finally paying off.” Myles.
Piper smiled at the satisfaction in his voice, proud that he was finally getting what he wanted. But there was something else in his tone she couldn’t quite put her finger on, and it had her hesitating in the hall.
“But I think I’m about to the point where I have to suck it up and admit defeat.”
Defeat? What’s he talking about?
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Simone asked. “I mean, you put a lot into this. Who else would’ve gone so far in the name of the paper?”
Simone knew about their arrangement. Knew their marriage was a means to an end to buy out Myles’ investor.
Heart pounding, Piper strained to hear his response.
“Yeah, I did. And I tried really hard to believe in the possibilities. But I think it’s time to cut her loose and move on. She’s not who I thought she was, and I just don’t have anything left to give. I can’t let it be an emotional decision. It’s just business.”
And she remembered what he’d said when he’d come home to find her sick. I’m sorry about so many things right now.
Apparently she was at the top of the list.
Piper felt her world shatter. Pain lanced through her chest, screaming down every nerve, stealing her breath. He didn’t love her. The marriage she’d wanted to desperately to be real was nothing but a means to an end, and he wanted out of the deal, just as his investor had wanted out of the paper because there wasn’t enough return on his investment.
It was just business.
Chapter 14
“I think I’m about to the point where I have to suck it up and admit defeat.” The admission left Myles feeling exhausted. Particularly in the wake of having been home with Piper most of the last week. He didn’t want to go back to the sixteen hour days and never see his wife.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Simone asked. “I mean, you put a lot into this. Who else would’ve gone so far in the name of the paper?”
Setting up the potential for a show for Leslie Clark-Ellis. Pulling together information on the local real estate market and showing how much home they could have here versus the city. Even getting information on the local schools—some of the best in the state. It had been a lot of work. But what choice did he have? Vanessa’s counter offer was ludicrous. There was no way he could meet it.
“Yeah, I did. And I tried really hard to believe in the possibilities. But I think it’s time to cut her loose and move on. She’s not who I thought she was, and I just don’t have anything left to give. I can’t let it be an emotional decision. It’s just business.”
“So what will you do?”
“Go through the process of formal search and see who comes out of the woodwork. There’s someone else out there right for the job. It’ll just take more time.” Meanwhile, there had to be something he could do, something he could change to make sure his marriage was still a priority.
His hand twitched toward his phone, wanting to text Piper and check on her.
Simone read his mind. “How’s Piper?”
“She went back to work this morning. Grumpy as hell after being an invalid for five days. But she still looked a little green, so not sure if it’ll take or not.” Never in his life had he seen anyone so sick, and that included seeing some of his college roommates after a bender. She’d barely managed to keep down more than a little chicken soup, crackers, and ginger ale until day before yesterday. “I want to get things wrapped up here as much as possible, in case I need to work from home again.”