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I take the bottle from her. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She leans against the counter and studies me. “How long were you planning to keep pretending this is food poisoning?”
I glance at her through the mirror. “I never said it was food poisoning.”
“You also never explained why you’ve disappeared into this restroom every morning for nearly two weeks.”
“That’s because most coworkers respect bathroom privacy.”
Lena folds her arms. “I respect privacy. I also recognize patterns, and yours currently includes crackers before nine, ginger tea instead of coffee, and fleeing any room where someone has recently reheated fish.”
I unscrew the water bottle and take a sip.
Her gaze drops briefly toward my stomach before coming back to my face, and I know exactly when everything clicks.
Her mouth opens.
I raise a finger. “Keep your volume under control.”
She presses her lips together, but excitement spreads across her face anyway. “You’re pregnant.”
“Your version of ‘under control’ needs work.”
She glances toward the restroom door, then lowers her tone properly. “How far along are you?”
“Early.”
“Does Bane know?”
The look I give her answers that.
Lena’s brows rise. “That explains the crackers.”
I pause. “What crackers?”
“The ones your billionaire CEO keeps delivering to your desk while pretending he happens to be passing through project management.”
Lena stares at me until I start laughing, which I regret as soon as my stomach tightens again. I grip the edge of the counter and wait it out.
Her teasing disappears. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I breathe through it until the nausea passes. “The doctor says everything looks good. I’m just discovering pregnancy has a fairly aggressive orientation program.”
Her expression softens. “And you’re happy?”
That answer comes without hesitation. “Very.”
Lena reaches over and squeezes my arm. “Then I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you.”
“I also won’t tell anyone.”
Relief runs through me because that matters more than I want to admit.
Spencer has already managed to contaminate one of the happiest days of my life by cornering me outside the hospital, and the thought of this becoming public before Bane and I are ready makes my stomach twist for reasons that have nothing to do with pregnancy.
Lena notices the shift in my face but doesn’t push.
