The rejection

Aiden remembered the first time he had set his eyes on Emily, it was that night at the club, a day after he had been forced to attend Joan’s strange birthday party. He had woken up in Joan’s bed feeling off and very out of place. He had gone to the club right from work, because he needed a distraction and he found one, in the person of Emily. He couldn’t take his eyes off her from the moment she got on the dance-floor and began to move her body like she alone existed in the world and every other person was just furniture.

He was hooked from watching her dance that he knew without a doubt that he wanted her in his bed that night and he was going to make it happen.

He watched as she went back to her booth, her hips swaying gorgeously as she walked, she was still in the mood to dance. He watched as she wiped the sweat off her face as he approached her and made himself comfortable sitting opposite her.

“Where have you been my entire life?” He asked her with a straight face. He watched as her brows raised in recognition, and then her mouth went open like she was about to say something but she thought against it. And then she smiled, Aiden knew immediately that hers was the prettiest of all the smiles he had seen ever.

“Hi, I’m Aiden” He had introduced himself even when he knew it was just a formality. She said her name was Emily and the rest was history. Or perhaps he was the one who had thought it was history because why on earth was Emily in front of his office and claiming to be pregnant for him?

‘This can't be happening’ he muttered under his breath.

“Allow her” He ordered his secretary who had been trying his best to hold Emily back and prevent her from barging into Aiden’s office.

The secretary freed her and she hastily walked towards Aiden, with her eyesight clouded from too much crying.

Aiden stared intensely at her as she approached him, she looked too disheveled compared to the night he first met her.

“Please you have to believe me” She started to say but he had to cut her off, he didn’t want the conversation to be long and he also didn’t want news to be flying around as it could taint his reputation and in return be bad for business.

“You’re pregnant, right?” He asked her

“Yes,” she replied, sniffling.

“And it’s mine?” He asked again

“Yes. I swear I was on contraceptives. I don’t know how it happened” She tried to explain but he shunned her by raising a finger.

Looking at his secretary, he said “Austin, you know what to do.” facing Emily, he said “The baby isn’t mine, but meet Austin, he’ll help you. I’d advise that you terminate the child though.” That being said, he walked back into his office and slammed the door so hard that Emily shook on her feet where she stood.

She turned around to see Austin look at her with pity and from his expression, she could tell that this was not the first time he had had to deal with women like her.

‘Women like me?’ she thought

“What kind of woman am I?” She asked him but rather rhetorically.

Austin didn’t respond, he simply shrugged and gave her a tissue to wipe her face. And then opening the drawer of his desk, be tore out a page of post-it notes and scribbled something on it.

“If you want to terminate the pregnancy, you can call that number, it's safe and trusted and you won't have to worry about paying” He said handing her the slip. Seeing that she wasn’t eager to accept the paper from him, he drew closer to her and forced it into her hands. His face void of any emotion and his actions just like a regular routine he had gotten used to over the years.

“This isn’t the first time, is it?” she asked but to no one in particular and she knew at the back of her mind that hers was definitely not going to be the last.

“You’ll get some more wired into your account by the end of the day and after which you’re to stay away from the vice chairman’s life for the rest of your existence. Refusal to do so will lead to involvement of legal measures.” Austin sounded like he was reciting those words off the pages of a textbook.

Emily knew she had had enough, so she picked up whatever was left of her dignity and made her way out of the company, completely embarrassed. She had expected for this to happen but expecting it didn’t make it hurt any lesser, instead it made it hurt more. Maybe a tiny part of her was hoping that she had meant more than a one night stand to Aiden but she could clearly see that she was wrong to have hoped for such.

That morning, she had dressed in her most corporate outfit, a royal blue shirt with a fancy neckline and long wide-bottom black pants that complemented her shirt. Her belly was still flat as no bump was evident yet and she knew that she didn’t in any way look pregnant.

Her interview had gone well and she had gotten the job but for the final formalities she was directed to the in-house clinic for a routine check up as per the regulations of the company, it was at the clinic that they had found that she was pregnant and hence her appointment terminated as it was in the rules and regulations that female staff weren't allowed to get pregnant or sick for maternity leave until they have worked with the firm for a year or more.

“You could try again once you’ve given birth. You are a bright mind and we’ll be honored to have you work with us” One of the personnel managers had said but Emily had scoffed, she knew that in the next year, there would be newer faces and sounder minds in the labor market.

Emily didn’t know what led her to Aiden’s office but she had gone to the office and demanded to see him, his secretary had refused her entry which led to a ruckus that didn’t stop until Aiden himself came out of his office.

He had rejected her, and her baby. She didn’t know what to do, going back home to her family wasn’t an option either, they had high hopes for her and she was sorry she had let them down, she was still too embarrassed to face them so she was going to try and avoid them for as long as she could.

That night as she lay in bed, crying herself to sleep she got a notification from her bank. A hundred thousand dollars had been deposited in her account. Emily didn’t need a soothsayer to figure out where the money came from, she knew it was her billionaire baby daddy.