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No, she couldn’t be pregnant. Sure, she and Trent had stopped using condoms because she was on the pill, but those things were great at preventing pregnancy. Yes, the doctor said they didn’t prevent pregnancies one hundred percent of the time, but she’d never had a friend use the pill and get pregnant. Yet if the doctors said it was even a remote possibility then she guessed it was.
Panic like she’d never experienced before welled up in her chest and she took a gulp of her tea. There had to be another explanation. Stress maybe, didn’t that do all kinds of crazy things to your body? Addie latched onto the explanation. I’ve had plenty of stress in life before and never felt this way, her mind whispered dashing her hopes.
She went for another sip of her tea only then realizing she’d finished it. Covering her eyes with her hand she sat still. Only one way to find out. Addie pushed back her office chair. Then after a brief stop at Tara’s desk, she left for the closest pharmacy.
Not even an hour later, Addie stood in the private bathroom off her office and placed the pregnancy test stick next to the other two and held her breath as she waited. In less than a minute the tiny positive blue sign appeared just as it had done in the first two tests from the three-pack kit she’d bought.
Around her, the room spun and she grabbed onto the sink counter. No, there had to be a mistake. She took her pill every morning with breakfast. She never missed one. Wasn’t that how women became pregnant while on the pill, by skipping doses? Once the room stopped moving, she sat down on the toilet seat cover. Maybe the tests were faulty. Maybe she bought a defective box. “I’ll buy another box and that one will work fine.” Addie jumped up, grabbed her purse and headed back out.
Deciding that the first pharmacy must sell defective products, she headed for the pharmacy located in the Providence Place Mall. When she dropped her purchase on the counter, the cashier gave her a curious look, but she understood why. After all she was buying four pregnancies tests, all from different manufacturers. If she’d been working at the register and someone came up with that many, she’d probably give them a strange look as well.
“One of these has to work right,” she muttered as she entered her office later. Once in the privacy of her bathroom, she opened up all the individual boxes and prayed for a different result.
***
He decided to give her a little time. Calling her and leaving messages every day hadn’t helped. His flowers hadn’t helped and neither had the message he’d given her cousin. Perhaps some time to think would. Right now he figured it couldn’t hurt anything.
“Mr. Sherbrook, Marty Phillips is here to see you,” Shirley said from the doorway.
Trent almost told Shirley to reschedule the meeting. He knew if Marty questioned him about Addie he’d lose it on the guy. So far, both Marty and the media knew nothing about their breakup. He hoped it would stay that way. “Send him in, Shirley.”
Shirley disappeared and Marty entered with a smile on his face. “Have you seen today’s Providence Gazette?”
Wasn’t it a similar line that had gotten him into this mess? “No, not yet,” he answered with suspicion. Judging by Marty’s smile it wasn’t bad news, but when it came to the media you never knew.
“The paper did an election poll which included you, Potter and Runnel.” Marty took a newspaper from his briefcase and handed it to Trent. “At least according to the poll voters are most likely to vote for you, although Potter isn’t far behind.”
Trent looked at the poll results. According to it, fifty percent of the people asked said they’d vote for him in the election while forty said they’d vote for Potter. Although the election was still a while away, the number should thrill him. Instead, a knot formed in his stomach. They’d used Addie to achieve this. He didn’t doubt for a minute that his recent relationship with her had changed the way people saw him.
“I also heard that the Belands were quite taken with you and Addie at the auction. If you and Addie attend a few more of the same functions and develop a strong relationship, you’ll have Vincent in your corner. Maybe invite him for a round of golf, too. He’s an avid golfer. Consider making a contribution to the hospital as well.”
He nodded. He had every intention of winning Addie back and until then he didn’t want to discuss her with Marty.
Satisfied with Trent’s response, Marty continued. “It’s still too soon to start campaign ads, but we want to get things in motion. I’ve already contacted, Ben Astor; he did a lot of work on your uncle’s ads. I’m waiting to hear back from his office so we can all sit down and talk.”
Trent added little to the conversation as Marty went over the meeting’s agenda. So far things looked right on track and Marty appeared confident he would soon find himself a Senator in Washington. Two weeks earlier the meeting would’ve left him on cloud nine. Now it left him wishing he could turn the clock back. If he could do that he’d ask Addie out the day he’d bumped into her, long before Marty’s crazy plan.
“Will we be reading about an engagement anytime soon?” Marty asked touching on his relationship for the first time.
Trent thought back to his proposal. The whole night had played out much differently than he’d planned it. “I don’t know. I’ll let you know.”
“At least she quit the bakery,” Marty said as a knock sounded at the door.
Thankful for the interruption, Trent told Shirley to enter.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but your cousin Jake is here to see you.”
As much as he’d rather have Jake on the other side of conference table instead of Marty, he realized they still had matters to discuss. “Can you please tell him, I’ll be here a while and to just meet me at my place. Paul will know to let him in.”
Shirley nodded and closed the door.
***
“I helped myself. I didn’t think you’d mind,” Jake said, a beer in his hand when Trent entered his kitchen a few hours later.
A cold beer sounded perfect right now to him as well. “I think I’ll grab one myself.” Trent left his briefcase on a chair. As he headed for the refrigerator, he unknotted his tie, eager to lose the thing.
“I thought Addie would be here before you. She moved in with you, didn’t she?” Jake tipped back his beer bottle and took a long swig.
