Preg-Not

20

MAKSIM

She must be nervous.

Her eyes were flickering through the crowd, and her speech slurred. There were even beads of sweat gathering on her forehead. He doubted it was from the heat. If she was hot, she would've just taken off some layers of clothing.

It was when her blinking became lazy that he suspected this was something else. Maybe she was hot after all.

He got up, not really sure what he was going to do when he reached her. When she toppled over, he jumped and barely caught her. She landed in his arms awkwardly, with her side pressing against his chest.

As employees scattered in search of help, he placed a hand at her waist to adjust her. His eyebrows furrowed when he touched something that he didn't understand. Instead of having a soft, fleshy belly, Raelynn was stiff.

Was she wearing a waist trainer?

He pulled a scarf off her, and then the second one. As he unraveled her, his chest became as stiff as her stomach, because her realized something was wrong. When the scarves were out of the way and he saw the truth, he forgot how to breathe. Raelynn's belly was huge, solid, and perked, but not from a waist trainer.

Needing to see her, he untucked her shirt from her pants. Her tanned skin felt tight under his fingertips. There was a long, dark line on her belly that ran along her abdomen, and repetitive flutters as she was kicked.

Fuck.

The pink bottle of pills, her insistence of avoiding his touch, talking to herself, the ridiculous clothes, and the cryptic messages now made sense.

This was no waist trainer or weight gain. This was a pregnancy.

"What did you do, Raelynn? What did you do?"

Based on the size of her abdomen, the correct question was, what did they do.

When he felt a hand on his shoulder, his shock caught fire and became panic. Thinking someone was trying to take Raelynn away, he flicked out a switchblade and pressed it against the intruder's gut.

The intruder was actually an employee who scrambled backward and fell.

Maksim scowled. Even prey knew not to approach a seething lion.

He stabbed the switchblade on the wooden podium– a warning for others to stay away, and then he secured Raeylnn's lolling head against his chest.

"Call HR," he barked at the scrambling employee. "None of you saw this. I don't want this news leaving this fucking room."

The few employees looked nervous. He didn't care if holding them hostage was potentially illegal.

He pulled out his phone number and called his medical contacts. He couldn't bring Raelynn to the hospital, so he would bring the hospital to her.

Human resources showed up and began handing out NDA contracts. They either offered a promotion or lump sums of money in exchange for their silence. Maksim didn't care. He'd pay what had to be paid to keep Raelynn's pregnancy a secret.

If the streets found out he had a child on the way, Raelynn would be in danger. He had too many enemies, and they all knew that the easiest way to bring down a king was by going for his true treasure– his heirs.

The employees were relocated to another room. When it was just them two, he stripped Raelynn down to her top and undid the top button of her pants.

Maksim couldn't rip his eyes from her midsection. He felt heavy; the realization crushing him.