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Her chest vibrated against mine as she laughed. “Do you think Eli was planning to get you preggers right off the bat?”
“If he was, it was dishonest of him.”
Davina pulled back and smiled. “Not his finest moment, but it could be worse.”
“How so? I don’t see the good in a divorced couple having sex and creating a baby who was the reason for them divorcing in the first place.”
“Well, at least you love each other. I’m going to check on the potatoes while you freak out.” She winked and went to the kitchen.
“I’m not freaking out… yet. I might not be pregnant.” I put my hand on my stomach, unsure of how I felt about any of this.
“Well, no alcohol until you know for sure.”
I bit my bottom lip. Definitely no. I wouldn’t have even had a taste of wine if I’d thought I might be pregnant.
I needed to seriously consider what I’d do if there was a baby. The frustrating part was I never wanted to be a single mom. I grew up in a traditional family like Eli. We both believed in marriage and the family unit. It was one reason why I divorced him. So we’d both be free to have what we wanted.
Dammit. I didn’t want to think negatively. I’d wanted a baby for years—his baby.
I inhaled a deep breath. It was too soon to worry about any of this. Stressing over the possibilities wouldn’t do me any good. For now, I needed to stay away from Eli so I could process my emotions.
He might be all in, but I wasn’t there yet. He broke my heart. All my hopes and dreams were destroyed. I couldn’t just pick up where we’d left off after being apart for several years.
Even if I still loved him, it didn’t mean I’d run back into his arms.
Once again, love wasn’t enough. Maybe we were never meant to be together, despite how perfect I’d thought we were once upon a time.
“I’m a fair boss. But my expectations are high…” Eli stood at the head of the long conference table, making eye contact with each person seated before him. Everyone but me.
When I’d arrived to work, coffee and a bear claw danish were on my desk with a note:I’ll keep my distance, but I won’t give up on you.
Then Eli sent out a mass email to all the managers for a mandatory meeting at 9:00 a.m. Some of the women kept flicking their eyes at me. They’d been at the party and seen me with Eli. He didn’t seem to pay any attention to them as he went over his expectations.
Damn, he looked gorgeous in a pinstriped charcoal-gray suit. He had on his reading glasses, strangely. He never wore them during meetings or around anyone else, convinced they made him look like a nerd. He was so wrong in his thinking. He never believed metal frames could be sexy, but they were on him.
His dark-brown hair was a bit messy, like he’d been running his fingers through it before the meeting, and he wasn’t clean-shaven. I’d always loved his wavy hair and how he’d leave it untamed when not at work. And his scruffy face was hot as fuck and played into his wild side.
Nothing about this was normal for Eli when at work. Like, why was his hair messy? I loved it, don’t get me wrong. Probably too much.
Wait.
Was that it? He knew how much I loved this look. Was it all for me?
Foolish girl. You’re overthinking it.
Was I though? No, I didn’t think I was. His avoidance of me was his way of keeping his word. Though he’d broken it with the coffee and danish. I’d enjoyed both.
“Any questions?” His harsh tone jerked me from my thoughts.
“Will you be in Manhattan for the conference?” Becky asked in a salty tone. She was one of the women trying to flirt with him at the party. I had also overheard her talking about Eli in the bathroom last week when he first arrived. She was attractive and younger than me, in her mid-twenties and forward with men. Unfortunately for her, Eli never liked women who pursued him. The challenge of the chase got him off. I hadn’t made it easy for him back in college, but once he caught me, he’d held on with a death grip.
He narrowed his eyes at Becky as if trying to figure out the meaning behind her question. She shifted slightly in her chair and glanced at me. Eli followed her gaze and his eyebrows lifted as if it all suddenly made sense.
“Yes. I’ll be in Manhattan.” He splayed out his hands on the desk like he often did to intimidate people. “For the record…” He inhaled a breath, gathering his thoughts.
One thing I respected was Eli’s innate ability to set people straight without directly calling them out. I had a feeling he was about to do that and I was not going to like being the center of everyone’s attention.
“As you should know, SJI does not have a fraternization policy. So long as people are professional at work, what you do outside of the glass walls of SJI is your business. I assume you all know this.”
