I sit down and sigh. I came here thinking he’d want nothing to do with me or the baby. I never expected him to have this reaction and I’m not prepared for it. Time is what I need right now. I need to decide what is best for me, the baby, and now Kace.
With my mind made up, I go into the kitchen. Kace is standing with his back to me, looking out the window to the dark night. “Hey,” I whisper. He spins around, leaning on the counter. “I need some time to think everything through. Is that alright?”
He crosses his muscular, tattooed arms as he stares at me. I’m not sure from his blank stare what to think, so I hold onto the counter with my right hand. “Now my opinion matters?” he asks, lifting an eyebrow.
“Kace,” I begin.
“It’s fine, Ivy. I don’t know why you need time to decide if you’ll allow me to be a part of my child’s life when I’m all but begging for just that, but whatever. Go take your time and give me a call when you decide what’s best.”
He doesn’t wait for me to reply, he walks past me and up the stairs. I call Harper as the tears run down my face.
I’ve been back in California for almost a week and finally decided to stop hiding. Mia has been blowing up my phone and I can’t keep telling my boss I’m sick. I got up this morning determined to go face them both. Once I have my hair curled, my makeup applied, I slip into my gray dress. I feel like myself today and it makes me smile.
Once I get to work, I get right to all the emails. I’m grateful Debra let me take the time off and had someone to fill in, but I’m happy to be back to my routine. I might still be learning, but I feel like maybe I belong here.
“Are you done avoiding me?” Mia asks, propping her hip
on my desk.
I look up into her blue eyes and sigh. “I’m sorry. I have so much I’m trying to figure out and I don’t know what to do.”
“So, avoiding me instead of asking for help was your solution?” she asks, lifting an eyebrow.
I bite my lip to stop from smiling. “I guess so.”
“Well that shit is done. I’ll be at your place tonight and you’re going to tell me everything. I’ll bring dinner.”
Much like Kace, she leaves without waiting for a reply. Is this the new way people talking to me now?
“We have a full day, Ivy. Are you sure you’re feeling up for it?” Debra asks as she comes in.
“Yes, thank you for the time off. I appreciate it.”
“Meet me in my office in five for some notes,” she says with a smile.
It’s nice to have the distraction of the endless thoughts in my head, so I smile as I get back to the emails. After a few minutes, I get my pad and pen, going into Debra’s office. She’s on the phone, so I sit down, waiting for her to finish. I listen as she talks about a new line she is trying to sell, and it amazes me how she can be so confident and convincing. She’s a pro at everything she does. It makes me realize I need to gain the confidence she has. Not just professionally, but personally.
“Sorry about that,” Debra says, sitting down as she pushes her glasses on top of her head. “I know we aren’t great friends and I’m your boss, but I want to say that you did the right thing.”
I tilt my head as my eyebrows dip low. “Taking time off?” I ask confused.
She smiles largely and leans forward toward me. “I completely understand you don’t want to talk about it, but putting your career first is the best decision.”
I lean back in my chair, putting the pad on my lap. “Debra, I’m honestly not sure what you’re talking about.”
“Sweetie, I know you were pregnant,” she quietly says, lifting her eyebrow.
“I am pregnant,” I correct.
“Oh,” she says, leaning back in her plush leather chair. “Are you going to keep it?”
My face heats with anger at her question. I now understand exactly what she was talking about. She thought I had an abortion and that’s why I needed the time off. I straighten my back, clearing my throat. “Yes I am.”
She blows out a deep breath and I notice a slight shake of her head. “I need an assistant that is one hundred percent mine. You’ll be taking a lot of time off, time I can’t afford to give you. I need someone who I can depend on. I thought that person was you.”
The anger I was feeling was nothing compared to now. I can feel my face heating up and my body slightly shaking. “A child will not make me any less dependable,” I say, searching her cold eyes.
“A child will make you less accessible to me. We were only just beginning here. I need you to travel with me and take care of things when I’m not around. You won’t be able to do that now. I hired you because you told me you were looking for a chance, a new start. I didn’t realize that the new start was a family,” she says, disappointment clear on her face.