The Media Baron's Heiress

CHAPTER 16

Tessa locked her office door and slumped to the floor.  She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to shake the living daylights out of Bradley Blakely, but none of that would alter her pregnant state.  She needed to come to terms with her pregnancy. 
A day ago, or a week ago, if somebody would have mentioned pregnancy to her, Tessa would have run a mile in the opposite direction.  Now that she was aware of the precious life growing inside her, she knew her views had undergone a paradigm shift.  She crossed one slender leg over the other at the ankle.  The hard carpeted floor was uncomfortable, but it was the only place she wanted to seek solace from right now.  She'd wanted to go to Scarsdale, but Brad had been following her mom's car.  She did not want him at Scarsdale, so she came to her office.  When she'd hopped out and proceeded to stride into her office building, his limo pulled away.

It was well after seven in the evening, when she closed the file she was working on and decided to call it a day.  Automatically her palm gently brushed over her tummy.  It was as flat as a washboard.  It did not even hint at her pregnant state, but ever since Dr. Janine had confirmed her pregnancy, she'd immediately bonded with that little life growing inside her.  She could sense its heart beating.  She could feel the precious life inside her, in its still yet developing state.

'My baby,' she whispered.  

Not Brad's.  He is a deceitful rogue. 

She did not voice those last words aloud.   She did not want her baby to hear anything negative.  She knew he could hear, and she would ensure her baby only heard positive things.  God help her if she got into arguments with Brad, even her vocabulary could not be termed appropriate. 

Forgive me Junior if mommy sometimes throws a tantrum.

Tessa missed Marco.  She longed to see him, but she was not in the mood for JeTag.  She did not want to go home or to her apartment.  Instead she texted Fabian, and told him to meet her at his home. 
"We are home," he texted back. 

Tessa looked out her office window to see if the limo was lurking around.  Relieved that it was not outside her office, she got into her Ferrari and headed to Fabian's.

'What's wrong?' Fabian voiced with concern, when he saw the desolate look on her face.

'Fabian, I'm pregnant,' she sobbed, throwing her arms around his neck.  A look of disbelief washed over Fabian's face.  In slow motion his arms wrapped around her shoulders.  Her sobs became torrents of tears.  He cradled her in his arms and carried her to the comfortable black settee.  He had only ever seen her cry twice before, the day her parents divorced, and the day after she'd lost her virginity.  She was a fiercely strong lady and fiercely independent, but she was human.  His palm brushed her back, as she sobbed into his shirt, soaking it.  He let her cry, as his hands raked down her hair.  She felt comfortable in Fabian's home.  It was not opulently trendy like her penthouse decor, but it was stylish enough with a huge fancy TV screen, state of the art stereo system.  And since Melissa has been living here, it looked more lived in with bright flowers and potted plants.

'What's wrong?'   Melissa mouthed the words, as she brought a pack of tissue for Tessa.

'Tessa's pregnant,' Fabian spoke softly.  She shifted in his arms, so Fabian asked the question foremost in his mind, in the hope of establishing the answer to the question uppermost in his mind.

'Does Brad know Tessa?'

'Yes,' she murmured, but I want nothing to do with him, ever again.'

'Hey Tessa,' Melissa pressed her shoulder reassuringly.

'Hi Melissa,' Tessa moved away from Fabian.  'I've ruined your shirt,' she lifted her blood shot eyes to him.

'Melissa never liked this shirt anyway,' he smiled.