The Billionaire Boss's Baby

Just Tired

6 weeks ago

Amara sat at her desk, trying to get everything done that was necessary. Everyone else had gone home already. Joshua had been focusing on Nicole way too much, and had fallen behind as a result. Of course, when he got behind, so did she.

Amara couldn't see what he saw in Nicole. Although lately, it didn't seem like he saw anything in her. They had been yelling at each other like crazy, and yesterday, Amara had actually witnessed Nicole storm out of his office and out of the building. She hadn't seen her since.

"Oh, you're still here."

Amara looked up into her boss's face. "I'm just trying to finish this so I don't have to do it tomorrow."

"Well, since you're here," Joshua said, "I have dinner reservations for tonight. I was just going to cancel them, but maybe you'd like to join me?"

Was he asking her out? Despite the fact that his fiancee had walked out on him just over 24 hours ago? She couldn't do it.

"What about Nicole?" Amara found herself saying.

"Forget about Nicole," Joshua answered. "She isn't worth it right now."

A nagging feeling was biting at Amara from the inside. But he was smiling at her. He obviously liked her. She glanced at the clock. It was almost seven. She would have to grab dinner anyway...

"Alright," she said, though her heart started pounding. "Let's go."
 
"Amara!"

Amara glanced up at Gabby, who was looking at her, concerned. She just realized that she hadn't even touched her lunch.

"Sorry, what did you say?" Amara asked.

"Are you okay?" Gabby asked her, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. "You've been out of it all morning."

"I'm okay," Amara answered. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Care to elaborate?"

Amara glanced around the break room. Ethan was talking to a friend of his on the other side. A few others were scattered around, eager to catch up with co-workers before their hour was up.

"Not right now," Amara said finally. "It's really personal."

"Okay, we can talk about it after work if you want," Gabby suggested.

Amara nodded, then began picking at her salad again. She tried to eat it, but she was feeling nauseous. She wasn't sure if that was a symptom, or because she was so nervous about this whole thing...
 
 
 
They had laughed and talked all through dinner. Amara couldn't believe how well they had gotten along. Sure, she may have been slightly attracted to him before, but she had thought that was normal. After all, he was charming, good looking, and smart.

Joshua had ordered red wine with their meal. Amara didn't drink much, but she didn't want to be rude. Besides, it was just a little wine. That never hurt anyone, right?

"I never noticed how gorgeous your eyes are," Joshua said.

"Really?" Amara glanced down, embarrassed. "My last boyfriend said they look like pools of mud."

Joshua laughed. This felt weird. She was kind of on a date with her boss, but it wasn't a bad thing. At least, it didn't really seem like a bad thing. Amara had never felt this kind of connection with a guy on the first date. Wait, was it a date?

Amara slammed her bag down on her desk as she prepared to go home for the night.

"What's going on?" Ethan called.

Amara looked up, and blushed a bit from embarrassment. "Nothing," she lied. "I'm fine, really."

"You don't sound fine," Ethan said, concern in his eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Amara glanced up into his face. She wanted to tell him, she really did, bit she wasn't even sure yet. She wanted the doctor to tell her for sure. Besides, this would ruin their whole relationship. If he really liked her, he would never think of her the same way after finding out she slept with their boss.

"I'm fine, really," Amara insisted. "It's nothing. I'm just tired."

"Okay. See you tomorrow," Ethan said. He walked out of the office.

"Okay, where should we go get dinner?" Gabby said.

"You know what? I'm really not hungry," Amara said. It wasn't a lie; she was feeling sick to her stomach.

"You've hardly eaten anything all day!" Gabby planted her hands on her hips. "Did Chantelle insult your weight again? Because so help me--"

"No! No, nothing like that," Amara couldn't help but laugh. "I'm just not feeling up to it tonight. Rain check?"

Gabby watched her for a moment, before answering, "Alright. But if something's happened, you'll talk to me, right? After all, that's what I'm here for."

Amara reluctantly nodded, and the two parted ways. As Amara drove home, she couldn't fight the tears in her eyes. She had to call the doctor tonight and make sure she didn't have a false positive. She would have to tell someone either way, it was killing her. Amara wondered who she would tell first. Gabby? Joshua? And would she ever tell Ethan?

She blew air through her lips as she continued to cry. She felt like she had let down a lot of people. She liked, Ethan, but not in that regard. However, the fact that his viewpoint of her would be tainted is what was hurting her. Her parents would be devastated. They always taught her that sex before marriage was wrong. Now she was possibly carrying the baby of a man who didn't believe that. That idea alone would kill them.

But that wasn't the worst part. Amara had let herself down. She could never forgive herself, even if her pregnancy test was wrong. Why hadn't she trusted her instincts that night?