AJWarm hands touched AJ’s shoulders, waking him from sleep. A slow smile spread across his face as he remembered that there was a beautiful woman sleeping in the bed next to him. If he was lucky, she was as ready to go for some morning fun as he was.“Good morning, beautiful,” AJ murmured, keeping his eyes closed as he reached for the woman shaking him.Except she was wearing a man’s dress shirt. And a tie. And a goatee.“Sir?”AJ opened his eyes to find himself staring at his very nervous assistant.“You are not a beautiful brunette woman, George,” AJ informed him, pushing the other man away. He looked over to see the bed next to him was empty. Slept in, but empty.“No, sir. I am most certainly not,” George replied, stepping back and straightening his tie.“What are you doing here?” AJ asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He looked at the crumpled bedspread beside him. She had clearly been sleeping there, so at least he knew he wasn’t dreaming. But where could she have gone? He had b
AJTwo weeks later...AJ sipped at his morning coffee as he sat down at his office desk and started his day. The leather seat creaked slightly as he leaned forward to turn on his computer and the smell of dark roast filled his nose. It was his third cup but he still felt groggy, like his brain wouldn’t turn on.He began flipping through his emails absentmindedly, not really reading any of them. He knew the reason had nothing to do with stress or lack of sleep. His mind was on someone.His mind was on Kat. It had been the only thing on his mind for weeks now.AJ leaned back in his chair and stared at the screen, at a long chain of replies about the proposal that he was hearing tomorrow. He had been skimming when his eyes fell on a signature line.Yours Truly,E. RyderWhat an odd way to sign off on a business email, he thought. It wasn’t even part of her signature line. She had specifically typed it out. It was so familiar, but then he knew that everything was reminding him of that nig
KatThe presentation was tomorrow and Kat felt like she needed an IV drip-line of coffee to make it. There was still so much to do, despite having worked her ass off for the last two weeks. Her normal work hours were long over, but she still had to put the final finishing touches on her presentation to the CEO of the company.If the presentation went as well as she thought it should, she’d be glad she’d done all this work.“Oh and when you go to Hawaii, you have to try the malasadas,” Renee told her, spinning in her desk chair and oblivious to the concentration Kat was putting in on her computer.“Mmm hmm...” Kat replied, not really listening. She had started out paying attention, but at the two hour mark of Renee going on about how amazing and expensive her Hawaii vacation was, Kat had zoned out.“They’re like donuts only better,” Renee said. “I wish we could have stayed longer, but Bob had to get back to work.”“Is he working right now?” Kat asked, hoping that he wasn’t. Maybe that
AJAJ rubbed his temples and considered getting another cup of coffee. He had spent the morning trying to find information on Kat again, and it had gone nowhere. He knew he needed to just accept the fact that he wasn’t going to find her. He had done everything in his power to find the woman, but it just wasn’t meant to be.He figured that, if he didn’t let this go, it would eventually drive him mad. AJ was a billionaire CEO. He had built a company from the ground up. Now that he was at the top, he was used to getting what he wanted. And he wanted her. Or at least her phone number. There wasn’t a problem that he couldn’t find a solution for, especially now that he had basically unlimited funds.The fact that he couldn’t even figure out who this girl was seemed to make all of his money and power feel worthless.But he knew he had to let it go. The sooner the better. And so, with a heavy heart, he decided that he’d give up the search.The intercom on his desk buzzed, breaking his train o
KatIt’s him.Katie’s heart sank with the weight of an anchor into the pit of her stomach and crashed there. Her throat tightened and for a moment she forgot to breath.It’s really him. Immediately her mind began running at a breakneck pace. This couldn’t be true, no, she was dreaming. Her subconscious forced a momentary blink, only to once more reveal her one-night-stand staring at her not ten feet away.Her hands clinched into a warm and sweaty fists. No wonder he never called! He’s a freaking CEO! I was in bed with the CEO. If I was a CEO, I wouldn’t call me back either!Katie swallowed hard, trying to keep the panic from overwhelming her. She felt trapped with the big door closed behind her. There was one large window near the back of the room where the shades had been let down, casting a dark and heavy shadow that made the room feel even smaller than it was.“AJ?” She finally whispered, though it felt like someone else was speaking.“Kat?”His words were soft and sounded more lik
KatA warm smile crossed his face that made her knees tremble. Again, he took another step forward. He was close now. So close that she could smell beyond his aftershave, she could smell him. Masculine and wonderful. He smelled even better than she remembered. It was a smell that froze her.“I had the hotel torn apart to get that note. Here is all they found,” he said, handing her his phone.She took a look at the torn letter in her handwriting, framed against a white background.Dear AJ,I had an amaziI want to see yI wish I coulI hope you undePlease call me. 5Yours Truly,KatShe laughed as she looked at it, raising her hand to her mouth. All the ink had washed away, and there was a giant red stain across the top half of it. It looked like they had lit the paper on fire just to get this much out of it, but the rest was either washed or torn away. There was just enough to show how crazy she was for him, but not enough to find her.She wanted to respond, but couldn’t remember how
AJAJ could barely believe he was kissing her. He could barely believe she was really here. Her lips were soft and tender, while her body pressed into his. She was better than he remembered. She tasted warm and sweet. AJ felt himself savoring her taste as he held her bottom lip between his teeth.In its entirety, the kiss was spectacular. The moment had begun slowly, but she increasingly responded to his every sensual maneuver, which only made him crave more. After settling for a moment on her waist, his hands had started to wander. They caressed the top of her butt, then slowly crept upward until he palmed her breasts.The kiss had sparked a wildfire of sexual enthusiasm that he remembered from their night together. It began in his chest but quickly moved to the tips of his fingers and down through his legs. His movements intensified with every second; he pushed on her breasts only to seize her shirt and pull her close again.She was not shy in following his lead. After going first f
KatIt took three days before a dinner was scheduled. Kat had felt like a kid waiting for Christmas after leaving his office, as if Christmas was some near but immeasurable time away.She had been at work, toiling through yet another spreadsheet, when her phone rang. She’d nearly let it go to voicemail just because she was so close to finishing her work, but answered it just in time.“Mr. Jacobson would like to request another meeting in order to further discuss your proposal.” The secretary sounded completely uninterested, and if anything, annoyed to be calling Kat to set this up.Kat wanted to sound as professional as possible, but found herself grinning from ear to ear, regardless of the secretary’s tone. “When is Mr. Jacobson proposing to meet?”“Are you available to meet with him Friday at The West Wing Steakhouse at 7pm?” the secretary asked. Kat could almost see her roll her eyes through the phone.“Yes, that sounds perfect.” It was a good thing that the secretary couldn’t see
About 7 months later…“I hope you have your bags packed.” Dr. Misti-Cooper wheeled her chair away from Kat’s open legs. “Because your water has broken.”“Hallelujah!” Kat announced while AJ paled. “That means we can just go over to the labor and delivery unit, right? No going home? No more waiting?”“Yes to all of those,” Dr. Misti-Cooper said with a smile. “You’re going to have a baby.”“Thank you, Doctor!” Tears of relief streamed down Kat’s face. The pregnancy had been rough. The morning sickness had lasted her entire pregnancy. Everyone kept telling her it would go away when she hit the second trimester, but it never did. The nausea and vomiting had lasted all the way up to the end.But today was her last day of puking, because she was going to have this baby.“Would you like a wheelchair? Or do you want to walk over?” asked Dr. Misti-Cooper.“I’ll walk,” Kat told her. “It’ll help progress labor, right?”The doctor nodded and helped her sit up on the exam table. “How are you feeli
KatThe hospital didn’t have an executive suite. Instead, Kat was placed in the best room on the Women’s Care unit. It was far enough away from the labor and delivery rooms that she couldn’t hear anything, and as far from the elevators as possible so that the staff could catch any reporters trying to sneak up on her.Kat looked around the room, trying to memorize it for later. There was the traditional hospital bed with white blanket, a water color painting of a mother with her child on the wall, and a pale blue plastic couch and matching chair. In about eight months or so, she would be back here in a room just like this one having a baby. Eight months seemed a long way away and yet terribly close at the same time.“The nurse is going to bring me some more pillows,” AJ said, pulling the visitor couch out into a bed. He had his suit jacket tossed over on the chair and the sleeves of his white dress shirt rolled up.“You really don’t have to stay the night with me,” Kat told him, eyeing
KatThe room was silent after AJ left. He’d only been gone a few minutes, but she missed him. The past few hours sitting in the ER with him had been wonderful. The ER part, not so much, but getting to be with him without worrying about people seeing them was awesome. She wished she could see him all the time.She sighed and fluffed her pillow, trying to find a comfortable position on the uncomfortable gurney. If she couldn’t go home, she at least couldn’t wait to be upstairs and in a real bed. Her butt was sore from sitting and really she just wanted to relax. And, for the first time since the pregnancy test, she felt like she could.AJ knew about the pregnancy. He knew, and he was staying with her. He promised to take care of her and the baby. All of her worst fears were disappearing. He loved her. He loved the baby. And while it wasn’t ideal for either of them, he wasn’t backing down. He was stepping up and being the man that she knew he was.He was going to make a great father. She
AJAJ evaluated the doctor standing in front of him.The man looked far too young to be a real medical doctor, but his coat had the “Dr.” embroidered on it and so did his name badge.“Where did you say you went to medical school?” AJ asked as the doctor checked Kat’s vitals and asked her questions about how she was feeling.“Harvard,” the doctor replied. “With undergrad at Yale. My diplomas are in my office if you’d like to see them.”AJ almost said yes. He wanted the best for Kat. And, while logically he knew that there were plenty of less prestigious medical schools that produced amazing doctors, he wanted the best. However, he didn’t need to be over the top either.He made a mental note to have Charles hire the best OBGYN in the state and have him or her on retainer.“Why did I pass out, Doctor?” Kat asked, shooting AJ a glare. He could read the “be nice” in her eyes, but he wasn’t about to back down. “Is it going to happen again? Is everything all right with my baby?”“Your baby i
KatAn annoying, rhythmic beeping woke Kat from a dreamless sleep. She wished she could just go back to sleep. In sleep she had been comfortable. Now that she was awake, her arm ached and it felt like it was part of an ice-cold river, not to mention she had a wicked headache. But, on the upside, she wasn’t nauseous.Cautiously, Kat opened her eyes to see gray ceiling tiles and florescent lights. The bed was incredibly hard and as she looked around, she realized it was actually a gurney and not a bed at all.She was in a hospital.She closed her eyes and her hand went to her belly. A cold wave of fear washed over her. Was her child okay? What was happening? How did she get here? What if the doctors had given her something that was bad for the baby?She took a breath and tried to remember how she had gotten here. She could remember arriving at AJ’s house, but it was fuzzy.AJ. Her hand tightened on her stomach and she swallowed hard. She was in a hospital with AJ. What if the doctors ha
AJAJ watched in horror as Kat’s eyes rolled up into her head and she crumpled to the floor. He barely managed to catch her before her head hit the tile floor. Everything seemed to move in slow motion.“Kat? KAT!” He shook her shoulders, but her head just flopped to the side. Panic welled up in his chest as visions of loosing her flooded his mind. Her skin was cold and clammy. No matter what he did, he couldn’t get her to wake up.AJ pulled out his phone and hit the panic button. His security team would get to him far faster than 911, would be more discrete, and would have similar medical training.“We have a medical emergency in the kitchen,” he yelled into the phone before tossing it to the side and focusing back on Kat. Her pulse was thready and her breathing shallow. He didn’t have much training other than CPR, but he knew that she needed to get to a doctor as soon as possible.The next thirty seconds were the longest he could remember in his life.“Please, wake up, Kat,” he whisp
KatThere was no way she was going to be able to tell him about the pregnancy. Not now.AJ grinned and wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you,” he whispered, pulling her closer to him. He seemed to be taking solace in her embrace which just made her feel even more guilty. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”Kat pushed her face into his chest, breathing in the scent of him. It was strange, but the smell seemed to settle her stomach. However, it did nothing to ease the ache of guilt.The beep of the intercom caused them both to pull back.“Yes?” AJ asked, leaning over his desk and pressing the button.“The lawyers are here, sir,” his secretary informed him.Weight settled around his shoulders and the happy light left his beautiful blue eyes. He sighed and stood up straight.“Congratulations on the project. I’m proud of you,” he said, kissing her cheek gently. “Maybe we can have dinner tomorrow? I’m unfortunately stuck here tonight.”“Dinner tomorrow would be great,” Kat replied before
KatMonday morning rolled around again, and just like last week, Kat wanted to punch it in the face. Mondays were pure evil.She sat at her desk, nauseous as hell and wishing she could just go home. Ginger ale was sort of helping, so she was basically main-lining the golden liquid. She needed to tell her stockbroker to buy stock in the ginger ale company, because if she kept drinking it at this rate, the company was set to make a lot of money off her.She set her cup down and tried to quiet her mind and her stomach. She was hoping to see AJ sometime today. Her mind was made up to tell him about the pregnancy. She was so nervous about it that she wasn’t sure it was just morning sickness that was making her stomach queasy.Just a few hours and she’d know how AJ felt about her. About their baby.“I have great news!” Renee announced, hopping up on Kat’s desk with a grin. Kat nearly jumped from her chair with surprise. She had been lost in her own world and hadn’t seen her come up.“You me
KatKat blinked against the early morning sun. Traffic was light as AJ maneuvered his black sports car through the quiet streets leading up to her apartment. Neither one spoke; they sat in amicable silence. Kat didn’t feel the need to speak. She was comfortable enough with AJ that they could have silence without it being overwhelming.“Thank you for driving me home,” she said as her apartment complex came into view. She loved that AJ had decided to drive her home himself, rather than just have a driver take her. They didn’t get as much time together as she would have liked, so even just the few minutes in the car were precious to her.“It was my pleasure,” he assured her. “If I didn’t have meetings today, I would have insisted that we just stay in bed for the day.”Kat frowned. It was the weekend, yet he still had meetings. Meetings he couldn’t cancel because it would raise suspicions, not to mention that he needed to salvage the company from his partner’s mistakes.“I would have like