The Billionaire Boss's Baby

No One Has To Know

One week later...

Gabby held Amara's brown hair back as she threw up into the toilet in the ladies' room.

"It's bad enough that I do this at home, but now here?" Amara said. She sagged against the wall of the stall.

"You were the one that had to have that McFlurry," Gabby said. She flushed the toilet and helped her friend get up.

"I know, but I needed it!" Amara wailed. "Eight weeks pregnant and I'm eating like a hippo."

"And starting to show already," Gabby said, leading Amara to the mirror.

She pulled back Amara's jacket, revealing the tiniest bump that was just beginning to show. Amara sucked in a huge breath as she studied herself. Without even realizing it, she placed her hands on her stomach. It was getting real.

The two of them wandered back to their desk. They didn't want anyone to wonder where they were and come looking for them.

"When's your ultrasound?" Gabby asked.

"Saturday," Amara answered. "I booked it in the afternoon so I could recover from your party on Friday."

Gabby smirked. Amara tried to get back to work, but she was suddenly distracted. Her bump was showing already?

"Do you think anyone knows?" She asked Gabby.

"They will if you keep talking about it here," Gabby answered. "You're fine. But we will have to go shopping soon."

Amara sighed. "I need to stop eating the way I have been. I'm gonna blow up like a balloon."

"That's what happens sometimes," Gabby said, typing away at her computer. "I'm not going to lie, people are going to notice. But I say we play it off as you eating too much for as long as we possibly can."

"You're right," Amara said. "That's probably my best option for right now. Massive weight gain."

"But stop talking about it," Gabby said. "Otherwise it will be obvious."

Amara nodded and got to work. After about an hour, she had just hung up the phone, when Joshua walked by. Amara looked up and the two of them made eye contact for all of a second before he looked away. He continued walking without even acknowledging her.  Amara sagged back into her chair and sighed. This could be a long seven months. She felt the need to throw up again.

"How many people are supposed to be at this party?" Amara asked, dumping ice into the punch bowl. 

"Just some friends and a few people from the office," Gabby answered. "Although, there's always at least ten or twenty more than I had planned."

"What?" Amara turned to face her friend. "How does that even happen?"

"I don't know, they just show up," Gabby shrugged. "But hey, the more the merrier! Maybe we'll meet some cute guys or something!"

That was the difference between Amara and Gabby. Gabby loved people and couldn't be around them enough. Amara, on the other hand, was often eager to go home to her empty apartment after a long day at work. Tears welled in her eyes when she realized she may not have the option be home alone anymore.

"I don't think any guys will want to be around me," Amara said, voice shaking.

"Oh, come on, don't be such a downer!" Gabby said. She squeezed her friend's shoulder. "You don't have to tell anyone."

"That's not going to work for much longer!" Amara snapped. "You can already see the bump! By the end of this, I'm going to look like a beached whale!"

Gabby stared for a second, obviously unsure of how to deal with that outburst. She quickly recovered, and assured Amara, "You'll look great. I promise. And as for the whole 'keeping this a secret' thing, I think it's going to be fine. No one will notice until you really start showing. And that won't be for another two or three months. Just relax, okay? We'll deal with everything else when we get to it."

Amara took a big breath and tried to swallow her tears. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just so freaked about this whole thing. I never wanted to get pregnant without a  husband in the first place, and now I'm doing it without a man who even cares about me. And I don't even know what I'll do once I give birth. That thought alone scares the crap out of me."

Gabby put her hands on Amara's shoulders. "Like I said before. We'll figure that stuff out when we get there. You still have lots of time. For now, just try to live a little. Have some fun. And help me entertain all these people tonight." Gabby started to move away, then turned back, "Oh, and don't let me get hammered."

Amara giggled. "That task alone may be too much for one person to handle."