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“Sorry,” Luci said, “we just found out that my brother and my best friend are going to have a baby too. We were just celebrating.”
“Congratulations but celebrate quieter.” The nurse turned to leave the room and another walked in behind her.
“Well, I have some good news,” she said.
“Do I get to go home?” Luci asked.
“Not yet,” the nurse said. “But you seem to be out of the woods. We’re going to admit you for the night and keep an eye on you and your little one. You should be good to go home tomorrow if you do well throughout the night.”
“Will I be able to stay with her?” Ty asked.
“Yes,” the nurse said. “There is a sofa in each of the maternity rooms that you’ll be able to sleep on.”
“We can run over to your place to grab what you’ll need for the night,” Ford offered.
“How about if you two boys run back to our place and get what we’ll need, and Journey and I can spend some time catching up?” Luci asked.
“You good with that, honey?” Ford asked. Journey smiled over at him and nodded, and God, she was crying again. “Again with the crying?” he asked. She and Luci both giggled and Journey sat down next to his sister. It was good to see the two of them together again. He worried that might not happen, but they needed each other. Journey was the sister that Luci never had—and if he had his way, she’d become her sister-in-law very soon.
Journey
Journey spent most of the weekend hanging out at Lucinda’s place once she was out of the hospital. It was like old times being with her best friend, and she could tell that Ford was relieved to have his sister and his best friend back. Of course, he and Ty spent most of their weekend watching football while Journey and Luci discussed nursery decorating ideas. It felt good to have her best friend back.
She went to work on Monday morning and turned down the “Story of a lifetime” as Andrew liked to call it. Really, it wasn’t a hard decision to make. She knew that if she took the job, she’d be putting her unborn child in danger, not that she was about to tell her boss that. She was only telling a select few people about the pregnancy. Journey knew that she still had a couple of months until she’d have to make the big announcement and give up her dreams of landing the “Hard news” stories. She would be put on fluff pieces, but it was a price she was willing to pay until after her baby was born. Honestly, it wouldn’t be that different from what she was reporting now. She was sent out on human interest stories, and she really didn’t mind. But a part of her wished to be a part of the big leagues, reporting on the hard-hitting world news, not just local fluff pieces.
For the most part, Andrew had been leaving her alone. Journey was hoping that he had finally taken the hint that she wasn’t interested and never would be. She had made it very clear that she was with Ford. Of course, he helped with that, showing up at her office and bringing her flowers or coffee. Ford always made a point to put on quite the display, kissing her goodbye at her desk, making sure that Andrew saw them. At first, it only seemed to piss him off, but after a while, he began to take less of an interest in her and her love life. Andrew hadn’t asked her to dinner in weeks, and that had to be some kind of record.
Andrew poked his head out of his office, “Can I see you for a minute, Journey?” he asked. She avoided going into his office alone with him at all costs. She quickly looked around the office and realized that everyone else was missing from their desks. Most of them hadn’t even made it into work yet. She was an early bird, always was, and usually was the first reporter into the office.
“Um, sure,” she squeaked. She grabbed her phone and walked into his office, sitting as far away from him on the other side of the room. “What’s up?” she asked, trying for casual.
“How about you tell me,” he said. He seemed pissed and she wondered what that was about.
“I’m not sure that I know what you mean,” she said with a shrug.
“I’ve been trying to figure out if the rumors that I’ve heard around the office are true about you,” he said. Andrew was trying to trap her and she wasn’t about to play into his hands.
“What rumors are you hearing about me?” she asked.
“That you’ve moved in with your boyfriend,” he spat.
“Well, that’s hardly a rumor or a secret. I have moved in with Ford,” she said.
“When you introduced him to me in the parking lot after our dinner date, you said he was just a friend,” Andrew reminded. Ford was just her friend back then, but so much had changed so quickly.
“First, it wasn’t a date, Andrew. We met over dinner to discuss my story. Second, Ford and I have been friends since we were just kids. It blossomed into more, not that it’s any of your business.” She was pushing him, she knew it, but she just couldn’t help herself.
“Listen, I think that we got off on the wrong foot. I’d love to sit down with you and talk about your future with CNN,” Andrew said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She spat. “Are you threatening my job here, because I won’t give it up without a fight? You want to fire me, you’ll have a lawsuit on your hands.” He stood from behind his desk and took a step toward her. She backed into the wall and worried that he was going to keep pushing her, with nowhere else to go.
“I didn’t mean it that way,” he insisted. “I wish you’d just give me a chance here and listen to me.”
“I don’t need to listen to you anymore,” Journey said. “My life and whom I’m living with isn’t any of your business. It’s personal and our relationship is purely business. I’m sure that HR will agree with me.”
“So, now you’re threatening me?” he asked.
“I’m not threatening you, Andrew. I’m telling you that if you keep asking me personal questions, I’m going to report you to HR,” she said.
