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I flashed a smile at him and mouthed a silent thank you. Then, I walked over to my door and opened it quickly.
“Sophie, it’s so good to see you.” Miles’s fake smile was alive, and over the weeks I had enjoyed only having our weekly conference calls and staying away from him as much as possible. “This is Mr. Burke. He’s an investor that I have partnered with for many years.”
Following the courtesy protocols I shook hands with the new-comer and offered him a seat. “This is an unexpected meeting, and I have an appointment, so I hope you don’t mind rescheduling?”
Miles’s face didn’t change. “This won’t take long. Mr. Burke is interested in purchasing a few of our facilities.”
Turning my head to Miles in confusion, I kept my voice in check. “I wasn’t aware that our club portfolio needed liquidation?”
“Oh no, ma’am”
I correct Mr. Burke, “it’s Sophie.”
“Sophie, Miles would like to expand into buying another chain, so he thought my investment of purchasing a few facilities would help financially support the cause.”
I broke the tension by crossing my hands, pissed at Miles that he didn’t connect with me before this meeting. “Mr. Burke, I’m not sure Miles has appropriately explained the scope of his position as CEO; however, he does not have the autonomy to make merging decisions as per his contract. I’m sorry you made this trip, but after reviewing the financial documents, we currently don’t have any underperforming buildings that we would be interested in parting with.” Without hesitation, I grabbed my bag and walked out of the office door.
***
Heading for the doctor’s appointment, my phone was blowing up. Turning it to silent, I sauntered in to meet my OB-GYN. It took about thirty minutes to give blood and run some other random test but it felt like the longest time waiting for Dr Rice. She had been my doctor for years and I trusted her with my life.
As soon as the door opened my heart started racing. Dr Rice stepped in and closed the door quickly, “Sophie, congratulations. You’re going to be a mom.”
Dazed at her voice and the information she just relayed, my heart fluttered. All the fear, doubt and happiness filled my body, and I knew it would be an adventure, but motherhood sounded terrifying. “Dr. Rice, I need a favor. When would you be able to do a paternity test?”
She nodded with no judgment. “It looks like you are officially nine weeks along, so I would be able to do one today.”
“What do you need for the test?” I asked trying to figure out just how was I going to do that without telling anyone.
“We would need a sample through cheek swab.”
My skin shivered as I thought about who I was going to contact first. “You said I was around nine weeks,” my face felt warm as I thought back to the interactions with both men. She nodded again. I returned a tight smile to her, my mind racing at the possibility. It must be Miles. Leaving the office after getting a full on briefing about the first trimester, I picked up my phone and called Miles.
“Hey, why did you blow him off like that? This could take the business to another level.” He was outraged that I didn’t entertain Mr. Burke. Cutting him off, I asked him to meet me in person at a local restaurant.
Walking in, he looked terrific in his suit, and I could smell his aftershave. I missed the fun I had with him but it was nice keeping things professional. Until now.
“Hey, thanks for meeting me.” He leaned in to kiss me on the cheek before we both sat down facing one another.
Staring into his eyes, I observed he looked stressed. “Miles, I need a favor, but you need to not ask questions or tell anyone.”
He sat back in his chair and took a sip of water. “Let me get this straight, I take on being the CEO of your business so you can work on building an empire. But, unfortunately, you run off with the local janitor. You come back, tell me that you’re not interested in me anymore, and now you want me to help you?”
Listening to his recap, I realized my mistakes all at once. “Do I not pay you in millions to do your job? Have I not treated you fair giving what you wanted when you asked?”
He grinned a bit. “Funny, I didn’t take this job for the pay.”
I fired back, “bullshit. You got sick of being out of the game, and I was a bonus to your quest to be on top of the fitness business again.”
His face lost its color for a minute. I tilted my head sideways reminding him something which he surely had forgotten about. “Your ex-wife is a big fan of Drake.”
Shaking his head in disbelief, he smirked, “So, you have your friends run gossip with my ex-wife so you could hold it over my head?”
“Personal Assistant. Who worked for you and arranged the pick up and drop off of your daughter.” I snapped back at him.
Nodding once he connected the dots, he leaned toward me. “I’ll help under one condition.” Of course he had a condition. He was Miles. He always wanted to gain something out of it. “You name me CEO of Royal Investments.” Looking deep into his eyes, I could tell Chris, my current CEO of Royal Investments, had been talking to him. “You must like golf?” He smiled, already confirming what I had guessed. Chris loved his job, but golf was his weakness.
“I can’t, Chris has done a great job for me, and I have no reason to get rid of him.”
