LOGINShare
Chapter Seventeen: Kat
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Yours Truly Chapter Eighteen: Kat
KatKat felt comfortable and much more at ease by the time the waitress came to check on them and take their order.“You can get anything you’d like,” AJ told her. “The company is picking up the tab, so if you want to split a bottle of Dom Perignon Champagne, that’s perfectly acceptable.”“Oh, I’m good, thank you. Champagne might cloud my business judgment.” She shot AJ a sort of ironic grin.“Are you sure?” he asked, then added, “I get to deduct it from my taxes.”His smirk was too much for her to handle. She giggled softly and then conceded, “Maybe a little fruit drink. Something kind of festive, but non-alcoholic.”“We have an amazing pomegranate lemonade,” the waitress offered and Kat nodded her approval. “Make it two. And go ahead and add some little umbrellas, just for fun.” AJ said to the waitress.“Of course,” the waitress replied. “And can I bring out any appetizers with those drinks?”“One tray of the oysters, please.” AJ spoke quickly and then looked back at her. His smile
Yours Truly Chapter Nineteen: Kat
KatDessert came and went quickly. It was some sort of crème brûlée that should have made her mouth water, but her appetite was still missing. She tried to keep the conversation light, but it was obvious that AJ’s mind wasn’t completely on the meal. He tried, though, and it was a pleasant end to the meal. She could appreciate AJ’s ability to set work aside for the moment, even if they didn’t resume a completely carefree banter.AJ signed the bill without batting an eyelash. Kat tried not to peek at the end, but she still saw at least three numbers for their small meal. A meal of this cost would have her budgeting her groceries for the rest of the month to make sure she could pay rent, and yet AJ signed the check like it was nothing.She pulled out her phone and sighed.“What’s wrong?” AJ asked, setting the pen down on the top of the bill.“Apparently we just hit a peak ride-share time,” she groaned. The cost of a cab would be a little big cheaper, but not by much.“Peak ride-share tim
Yours Truly Chapter Twenty: AJ
AJThe papers from the lawyers were stacked high on AJ’s desk. He sifted through them for the fifth time that morning, but his eyes just skimmed over the legalese. He understood what it meant, and none of it was good. The sex scandal lawsuits involving his partner were hitting them hard, and although he was normally an optimistic person, he felt less than hopeful on this particular day. The entire business was at risk.What am I going to do? AJ thought, as he leaned back in his computer chair and stared at the ceiling for answers. It was just too much pressure and too much unknown. The future of the company was at stake and most of the weight was on AJ’s shoulders.The door to his office was closed, but outside he could hear the hustle and bustle of his employees as they started their morning work. Their future was on the line just as much as his. He worried for them, he worried for himself, but mostly he worried for Kat. Since she worked for the company, the legal ordeal affected her
Yours Truly Chapter Twenty-One: AJ
AJ“Of course, sir,” his secretary replied. “Right away, sir.”It was perfect. To everyone else, this would look like a business thing. It was the perfect excuse to see her.The leather chair creaked as he leaned back and waited for her to arrive. He could already see the flush on her cheeks and the nervous breathlessness from running upstairs. He smiled, thinking about it. He loved teasing her and thought it would be a playful joke to make her think she was actually in trouble.Kat didn’t leave him waiting for long. Less than a minute and a half passed before the door to his office opened up and she was standing in the doorway. She must have run the entire way.“Everything okay?” she asked, nervous and out of breath. Her face was just as flushed as he had imagined it would be. He hoped to have it flushing again, but for an entirely different breathless reason.“Close the door,” he responded, keeping his voice tight and serious. He wasn’t about to give away the game yet.She did as he
Yours Truly Chapter Twenty-Two: Kat
KatMonday morning was destroying Kat. She felt like she’d had a bottle of tequila chased by a bottle of whiskey, even though all she’d had was a cup of mint tea after a quiet weekend alone. She was exhausted and queasy beyond belief. She had tried a cup of coffee before leaving the house, but the first sip had her running for the toilet. Currently, she was sitting at her desk devoting all of her energy to not puking up the tea and saltines she’d forced down.“You doing okay?” Renee asked, putting her hand on Kat’s shoulder. Kat hadn’t even heard her come up.“What?” Kat asked, startling out of her daze. She realized that she was still on the same screen she had been on thirty minutes ago.“Are you okay?” Renee repeated. “You look pretty awful.”“Gee, thanks,” Kat replied, putting her hand to her head to find it was the normal temperature, but the small movement made her stomach churn. “I don’t feel so good, though.”It was then that the contents of Kat’s stomach decided to stage a re
Yours Truly Chapter Twenty-Three: Kat
KatKat’s stomach turned as she kicked her feet up onto the couch and laid her head back. Her hands were clammy as she opened her laptop to once again view the project that she was supposed to be working on.She wanted to work on it. She was so proud that the board was even looking at her Shoesy Rentables idea that it was the only thing, other than AJ, that she wanted to do.Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to work on it at all, and it didn’t seem like that was going to change any time soon. Every time she tried to focus, the nausea would come back and she couldn’t seem to string two coherent thoughts together. Whatever kind of flu she had only allowed her to concentrate on one thing: keeping breakfast down.The TV was on at a low volume. She had started a show in an attempt to distract her from how awful she felt, but it wasn’t doing her any good. She could hardly pay attention to it. She felt like death warmed over, and beyond the nausea, she was so physically exhausted that it w
Yours Truly Chapter Twenty-Four: Kat
KatKat woke up and sat up gingerly. She looked around for AJ, hoping that perhaps he was still at her apartment, but she knew he wasn’t. The house was far too quiet and there were too many eyes watching him for him to stay. Even the fact that he had come last night was incredibly risky, but she appreciated it. She suspected that the reason she felt better today was because AJ had taken such good care of her. Slowly, she put her feet on the floor and walked to the bathroom. No nausea.She let out a small sigh of relief. She was getting better. That terrible twisting of her stomach was only temporary and she was on the mend. She could even go into work today. There was so much to do, and since she had spent the day before nursing her illness, she was behind.With a smile on her face, she went to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee. Unfortunately, just opening up the bag of coffee was enough to make her stomach threaten to repeat the day before. She carefully sealed the bag and chose te
Yours Truly Chapter Twenty-Five: AJ
AJAJ looked out the window for the fourth time in as many minutes. Kat would be at his home any moment, yet he didn’t want to wait that long. He wanted to have her in his arms this second. She was the bright spot to his entire day, his entire week even. Between the lawyers and the media, his days were hell. Even swimming, his usual stress-reliever, wasn’t helping.But Kat did. When she was around, his tension melted and the constant ache between his shoulder blades faded. Being in the water wore him out so that he was too tired to think of the consequences of Paul’s actions, whereas Kat energized him.The alarm chimed, indicating that a car was approaching the house. The grin spreading across his face threatened to break it in half. She was here and it was the best he’d felt all day.He ran to the door, excited as a kid on Christmas. Of course he had seen her at work, but he hadn’t had any time alone with her since he brought her soup four days ago. He hoped she was feeling better. A
Latest chapter
Yours Truly Epilogue
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
Yours Truly Chapter Thirty-Five: Kat
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
Yours Truly Chapter Thirty-Four: Kat
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
Yours Truly Chapter Thirty-Three: AJ
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
Yours Truly Chapter Thirty-Two: Kat
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
Yours Truly Chapter Thirty-One: AJ
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
Yours Truly Chapter Thirty: Kat
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
Yours Truly Chapter Twenty-Nine: Kat
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
Yours Truly Chapter Twenty-Eight: Kat
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
