I struggle to catch my thoughts as Will takes his leave and gives Marcus and I privacy to talk. He gives me one last concerned look and also silently says, “We’ll talk after this”. Yes, I definitely owe him an explanation seeing as I’m the reason Marcus just went all Mohammad Ali on his face.Marcus slipped of his jacket, loosening his tie as he comes around his desk and takes his seat, all quiet and imposing. His calmness is sending waves of fear and anxiousness through me.‘Shall I get you some ice?” A bruise is already forming on his right cheekbone where will decked him. My question is met with silence as he taped the pad of his fingers slowly on the desk.Why the hell did I say those words? Less then two hours ago after finding out I'm pregnant with Marcus’s baby -although I wasn’t sure about anything-, I was sure I would never tell Marcus. But here I am, about to explain to my billionaire CEO boss that I am pregnant with his baby even though to him, he has never so much as touche
I nod in confirmation and watch as a look of utter disgust overtakes his features. He shakes his head in disappointment or pain, I'm not sure. “I was drunk and you… took advantage of that?” He accuses and just when I thought I couldn’t be made to feel worse, I do.“Marcus…” I say his name with silent shock. Is he seriously accusing me of taking advantage to him? Could things get any worse?He doesn’t bother correcting me on my use of his first name this time rather he continues on with his accusations. “You knew I was drunk and you fucking seduced me!?” He gives me a look of extreme disappointment mixed with the disgust from earlier.I let out a laugh, in shock, in pain. Like hell if I’m going to seat here and have him say such shit to me.I have had a day.The past two hours have been nothing but hell for me. I shook my head. “Seduced you?” I question with disbelief. “Between the two of us, whom is the likely seducer?” I pointed a finger at myself “I was drunk as well, I just happened
I take three more tests when I get home, all positive. I didn’t want to believe it.I sit on the floor of my bathroom sick to my stomach.How could I let this happen?How could this be happening to me?Did the universe hate me so much or Am I just so terribly unlucky?People had one night stands all the time, I’ve had friends who swear by it, and we used protection goddamn it.“My life is over as I know it”How am I going to take care of a baby jobless and alone?I knock my head against the tiled walls and cried for the life I built, I cried for the life I lost, and I cried for Marcus Wayne.MARCUSIn the course of the twenty-seven years I’ve been on this earth, I can easily say I've experienced my fair share of heart wrenching nerve racking experiences, some self indulged and others from foolish risks.I’ve lost millions of dollars, I've broken hundreds of hearts but what I've never done, is drunkenly fucked an employee and not just that, but totally forget about it the next day. And
I shake my head in total confusion. “Why are you angry?” Actually. No, “Why are you here?” I rephrase because I never expected to see him again after yesterday. He let me leave. Marcus looks around the hallway outside my apartment and a look of disgust crosses his features. Uh uh, what I'm not going to let him do, is judge my home. Not every one is a billionaire like him. Some of us have bills, debts, responsibilities. Angry, I question, “Why are you here Marcus? I don’t want you here.” He gives me a look of surprise. “You're mad at me?” His tone conveys just how absurd that is as if I have no reason to be angry at him when in fact, I have quite a lot. I roll my eyes. “Whatever. I don’t have the zeal to deal with you today” I go to shut the door in his face but his huge palm comes crashing down on it gently, preventing me from achieving my goal of slamming the door in his face. “Let me in” he demands with a look of authority. What? He does not get to tell me what to do anym
My breath hitched in my lungs for a monent, did he- then my eyes narrowed. "You dont know what I said that night" because he has no memory of it.And I wasnt sure how I felt about that. I grab my sandwich to leave because I don’t trust myself with him being so close but he takes hold of my arm by my elbow and pulls me back. “You're really not going to make one for me? I’m starving and you know I can’t cook anything”I have to catch myself before I laugh out loud, I know he cant cook anything, remembering the time he tried making himself some coffee in the break room, almost ended up with second degree burns.His gaze softened "I came here straight when I realized you werent at you desk, havent even had my morning coffee" I blink because I have never seen this side of Marcus before. I’m so used to him giving me instructions and making demands, that him pleading is… different. I nearly give in and make him one but I stop myself. “Then continue starving” I say, it’s harsh, I know but
I nod, I suppose he's right, it must all seem very sureal to him. Sometimes I feel I haven't believed it myself.One of his hand is still cradling my face and it is at this moment when we have finally come to an agreement on something that we both notice how close to each other we are sitting, how near we've leaned into each other. I see Marcus look down over me, his eyes run over the thin robe I’m wearing and this close, he can see I'm wearing nothing underneath. The material of the robe does nothing to hide the outline of my nipples and I watch as lust cloud his eyes as he stares and continues staring. I should pull away, but I don’t. The look in his eyes, takes me back to that night six weeks ago, he is looking at me the exact same way, like he is desperate to have a taste of me.I shake my head, this is a bad idea. I try to stand but his hand on my thigh stops me. When did his hand get there? I look up at him and see he is now looking at my face and not my chest. I see something
At exactly 4:55 pm that afternoon, I receive a text message from Marcus. Marcus Wayne: Come outside When the king requests your presence. Just who does he think he is? The authoritative tone of his text makes me consider delaying, maybe for thirty minutes or even an hour, but I doubt he’ll wait. I know if I don’t show up within the next five minutes, he’ll come up here and carry me down himself. I swiped my palm across my face, I was getting upset again. I'd remained indoors all day, doing some chores, prepping meals and eating. Then I cleaned, anything to keep me from thinking about his visit earlier. And what almost happened, again. It's clear that I can't trust myself alone with him. I dress up in comfy clothes and a jacket to wade against the chill of the evening air. When I get downstairs, I see Marcus’s driver standing in front of the Bentley car. I approach, exchange pleasantries with him, and get inside. Once I'm seated, I angle myself to face the tinted glass
PENELOPE The next day, I received a reply from the human resource branch of Wayne Tech regarding the email I sent with my resignation later. According to their response, I couldn't resign without four weeks prior notice and do a proper handover to my replacement so, I now have to go back to the office and deal with Mr. Wayne. A part of me wonders if he put them up to this but after speaking to Stacy, she confirmed that the rule does exist. I haven’t heard a single word from Marcus since he dropped me off yesterday after the clinic. I couldn’t forget the look on his face, he looked like he had been given a death sentence. I shrug off the feeling of pain and rejection that threatens to come back, I already cried myself to sleep again last night as I resigned myself to my fate. Marcus clearly doesn’t want this baby, and I will have to raise my child on my own. Whatever, fuck him and fuck his help. I don’t need him. I repeat the mantra in my head as I step out of the ele
**Get here.I looked at the message again and again.Get here?I got up despite my better instincts and made my way into his office. “Did you need me?”“Yes, I have the revision you wanted” he nodded at the document on the table his head bowed as he read something from an iPad.“And you couldn't think of anything else to say than 'get here'?” Marcus finally gave me his attention “What would you have rather I said?”I cat walked forward “Oh, I donno, maybe something like, Dear penelope, kindly make your way into my office when you have a spare moment-”“Now you're just pushing it. Sit"I glared at him and sat. “Did you spend the entire morning working on it?” “Take as much time as you need. Go through it, if you have no complaints, kindly sign before I get back” I knew he had a meeting with the lawyers this afternoon.“But I'm hungry, and it's almost lunch” I pouted. I didn't do well on an empty stomach.He got up and buttoned his jacket before bending to get his briefcase “Have
**It was another day in the office and I was determined to be productive, I had my antenna appointment this afternoon and I wanted to be relaxed and in a good mood when the time came. The universe must want to shit all over my plans because the elevator pinged and Marcus Wayne, AKA my boss and someone I did not want to talk to walked right not. His briefcase in on hand, the other in his pocket as he strolled forward without a single good morning to anyone. “In my office Miss Cruz” he called without a glance in my direction.Why couldn’t I be lucky like everyone else and the universe let him forget I exist? Why? I continued scrolling through my emails making note of what I need to add to my calendar keeping on eye on the time. It’s couldn’t have been more than two minutes he strode in the door slid open revealing Marcus, heading straight in my direction. Oh shit.He made his way around the table, his fingers wrapping around my arm I let out a gasp as I was guided out of my chair wi
**I cannot believe him. I returned to my desk only to realize I’d forgotten my iPad so I stormed back in, snatched my tablet, and strode out adding an extra sway in my hips.I swear I thought I heard a rumbling sound as I slammed the door shut behind me.Then I hurried myself to work the next few hours. Remembering my promise to Will I decided to hit him up.Me: Up for that rain check on lunch? His reply is a location with two question marks. I notice his sneaky attempt to weasel out of letting me choose a place, I knew he’d pick somewhere fancy, good thing he’d be paying, no way that was changing. I send a reply.Me: You got it. It. With my plans for lunch settled, I went back to my work.When afternoon came, I threw my purse over my office and strode to the elevator without a word to my employee. Texting a reply to Stacy who is on yet another lunch date with dear Bernard, those two were getting serious. I’d been expecting it hence my making plans with Will. She sends anothe
MARCUS I toss the hard copy paperwork of the contract I spent the entire weekend drafting on my huge office desk. Penelope looks up at me with a confused expression. “What’s that?” she asked and went back to her tapping away an iPad. “Our marriage contract”She glanced at me and then the bound papers before glancing back at me “Since when do you draft your own documents? If someone had asked me I’d have sworn you didn’t know what the MS Word software looked like” “I don’t, I used scrivener” I kept a serious expression and she scoffed, rolling those large green eyes, I didn’t know too many employees that took as much liberty as she did, were anyone else to roll their eyes at me in the same vicinity, they’d be rolling their eyes out of the building along with their personal belongings.“It looks nearly as thick as a textbook. What did you include in here?” Those eyes narrow her eyes suspiciously at me and I momentarily lose my train of thought, I’m suddenly wondering why I never
I’d spent all morning as I usually do on weekends, starting with cleaning then I run to a nearby groceries to stuck up on food. I’d hoped to get started on my laundry but my washing machine decided not to start up, so I had to visit a nearby laundromat, it was around eleven when I got to the coffee shop claimed a table and waited sipping my vanilla milkshake smoothie, watching other patrons go about their lives.The doorbell sounded and I looked up, she saw me immediately without having to wave my hand likely because the cafe was small.Andy strode over and claimed the empty chair in front of me and tossed her sunglasses on the table. “Iced American, two sugar” I offered nodding at the coffee cup on the table. I’d ordered it when I arrived along with my smoothie already knowing her preferred drink.“How’s Wayne taking it?” she asked getting right to it. She was never one to beat around the bush. I had texted her first thing this morning with the news. She sent me a time and location
The walk back to the office was fast, Marcus stalking straight to his office without a single backward glance. What’d I say? So moody.I tossed my bag on the table and brought out my phone to see if I had any notifications. None. So I got to work. I had a busload of documentation to proofread due to my absence yesterday and I immediately got to it.The phone rang about twenty minutes later, keeping my gaze on my computer I leaned over with one hand and brought the phone to my ear. “Wayne Technology, Marcus Wayne office-““I have a thirty-minute window” a voice droned in my ear “I thought we might make good use of it.” “By…? I trailed off” my eyes widening by the possibilities.“Working on our list” Right, the never ending list, get your mind out of the gutter girlie, I shoved my chair back, slipping on my shoes. “Okay, I’ll bring my note” I dug through my bag for the notebook and slipped out, snagged a pen from my cup, and made my way into his office humming a tune under my brea
I’ll have James meet us at the front” Marcus says, typing away on his phone, I followed beside him as he moved towards the entrance. He motioned for me to step in through the revolving door.“There’s no need, we’re not going far,” I tell him when he comes out behind me and I begin to walk. Marcus pockets his phone, his long legs eating up the space in two large steps and he is beside me once more. We walk past other New Yorkers going about their days. Decked out in formal wear, the men carrying briefcases, the ladies large purses such as my own to fit just about everything we would be needing throughout the day. It was like every other day excluding who was walking by my side and that I was almost eight weeks pregnant. I pushed back the thought and crossed to road. “Would you slow down?” strong fingers wrapped around my wrist.“Oh, sorry, I’m usually in a hurry to get a good space at the nice eateries, it's lunch hour after all and before you know it everyone would be crawling out o
I forgot to sign it. Getting home with a raging hunger, I ordered takeout when I was thirty minutes away from my apartment in hopes of getting it as I landed. Unfortunately, I still had to wait seven long minutes for the courier to arrive. By that time my intestine and organs were just shy of devouring themselves. I’d eaten and passed out on my couch, missed my alarm this morning and by the time I finally pealed my eyes open the sun was out shining, I barely had time to jump into the shower throw on some clothes and rushed out. Then spent the next hour and half cursing New York traffic. I practically stumbled into Marcus’s office in my haste. “Good morning, Sir” He glanced up slowly. “Glad you could make it Miss Cruz, one question, is this going to become a habit?” I shook my head. “I’d like a heads up in case I need to start scheduling my own meetings and taking notes” he continued. “I’m here now” I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.“I see that” he got up and rou
I’m seated behind my desk two hours later at quarter past two, I actually made it back earlier than I expected, enough time to get a hang of what I might have missed. I immediately get to checking my emails. I could have done so on my phone while I was away but I’d been too worried about my visit to the nursing home and ultimately mom’s reaction to my news. Today was a good day for her and she’d taken it well. And then on my way back, I’d been consumed with the thought of my visit there. I felt much better after hearing from her, being with her, in her atmosphere, her infectious smile, and her approach to life. Having a child unplanned isn’t the end of the world. And Marcus, well…. We were figuring it out. Trying to do the right thing for the baby. The right thing for our baby. I’m going to be a mother. Gah. And in only a couple of months. Before the year runs out. I tried to imagine it. Then I tried to imagine Marcus as the father of said child. As though he heard his name