Chasing Mr. Carlton ( The story of a Shrew's Son)

Part 47

"Hey... Nora!" Brian said in surprise as his smile faded and he moved forward to help her up. Matt immediately did the same, darting towards them.

"ow." Nora said with a frown, allowing Brian to help her.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked and Nora nodded.

"I'm sorry." Brian said, looking absolutely mortified.

"Are you sure you're fine? Are you hurt?" Bobby asked, looking to see if she had any scratches but Nora shook her head.

"No, I'm fine. I was just lost in thought." She said, looking back towards Bobby. "Why don't we just get started?"

---

Lisa sat at her desk, staring down at the ultrasound nervously. Her fingers glided over it time and time again. Everything was going perfectly, a healthy baby and Matt had held her hand the entire way through.

She had to admit, she had a lot of hope for her and Matt's situation improving and the idea of becoming a mother... her face softened at the thought. Then, something happened today that made her realize that things weren't as perfect as she thought they were.

She'd felt her heart drop straight into her stomach when the doctor had said it, changing her due date. 13 weeks. 3 days.  She looked at her hand, it was trembling. Without knowing it, the doctor had changed her life completely with that simple change. Just a two week difference...

"No, you're being dumb. No, there's no way." Lisa said to herself, putting her face in her hands. There was absolutely no way that it could be true.  "It was just a dumb thing... that was all."

She stood up, thinking she needed a drink of water and so she stalked out of her office and past Eddie's desk, moving as quickly as she could to the break room. As she did, she nearly crashed right into Nora, who managed not to fall by grabbing hold of the counter.

"Oh, god. Sorry." Lisa said, noticing how Nora had nearly tumbled. Nora sighed and let out a chuckle.

"This seems to be the theme of the day." She said, making Lisa raised her brow.

"Are you okay?" Lisa asked and Nora nodded.

"Yeah." Nora said, looking up at Lisa who looked just as pale and nervous as Matt and Bobby had earlier. "Are YOU okay?"

"Yes. Just have a lot on my plate at the moment." Lisa said, "I guess we all do with the big changes going on."

"Yes, you're right." Nora said, looking around the office. "I can't believe just how much everything has changed over the last couple of months... I can't believe that soon, I won't be here."

"I can't imagine you not being here. I'm sure you and Brian will find a way to make it in here often." Lisa said, crossing her arms and leaning against the counter with Nora. They both faced out onto the floor.

"Maybe but, it won't be the same anymore. Pretty soon even Emma will be gone. A word of advise, Lisa. The years will fly by before you know it- don't waste any of it." Nora said with a smile, reaching over to the bottle of water she'd gone in for. 

"Yes. I mean... I won't." Lisa said as Nora was turning to walk out.

"It's getting late. You should go home! You've been working too much lately." Nora said, glancing at the clock on the wall. 

"6pm sharp, I'm out the door." Lisa said with a grin as Nora exited the break room. Lisa stared after Nora, such a strong and good woman. They were all such good people, the Carlton family.

And Matt? He didn't deserve this, not one bit. But what was she going to do? She didn't know anything for sure and all that was going to happen was that he was going to hate her. Why did she have to be so stupid? Even if it wasn't true, even if she was wrong... Matt was never going to trust her again.  And if it wasn't true, how would they ever raise a child together when he hated her?

She closed her eyes and the images floated absently in her mind. It was such a stupid thing to do but Matt had been distant and he'd been leaving her alone more and more time. She'd been angry, insecure, distraught... She was jealous. She had to admit, of Bobby. She groaned, if only she hadn't let her imagination run away with her.  How in the world could she think and Matt was cheating on her with Bobby... of all people, Bobby?

Lisa looked up and stared across the office at the door to the tiny office that had been left open. Bobby, who had proved to be such an open and honest, straightforward person... Bobby wouldn't do that to her. She wouldn't go behind someone's back and try to take their boyfriend. She watched Bobby, who now walked out of her office with giant rolls of paper in one hand and a stack of folders in the other. Ben approached her, taking some of the items from her arms and helped her carry them towards the conference room. Lisa had to admit, Bobby was a pretty girl and she got along so well with Matt that it had been easy to let her imagination run away with her.

If she had been smarter, she would have never done what she did. She wouldn't have had so much to drink, she wouldn't have let someone else drive her home... she wouldn't have let another man stay with her.

She wouldn't have spent the weekend with him out of spite.

She supposed she would have to come clean. Lisa sighed. She could just pretend it never happened and continue as things were. She could continue to try to win Matt back and they could raise the baby together...

But she couldn't, she wouldn't. She almost laughed at herself. Lisa would do the right thing because that was what her parents had raised her to do. Lisa knew she was spoiled, knew she could be childish but that didn't mean that she was the type of person to trick a good man.  She reached into her pocket and took out her phone, scrolling through the contact list. There it was.

 She scribbled a quick text. Well, at least she would talk to him before she went and rocked the boat with Matt. With everything going on around him, the last thing Matt needed was a maybe it is, maybe it isn't scenario. She looked at the text and sighed. She'd known him for a very long time, she was sure he would go with her to take test and then, once she knew exactly what the situation was... she would tell Matt.

Lisa reached over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. She was still so stressed over it and the doctor had told her she needed to be careful. It wasn't much, but at least this small step forward gave her some peace of mind. Lisa turned to leave the break room and looked back towards Bobby's office. She could see her shuffling around in there, dropping something on the ground. She almost laughed. Bobby was so funny.

Then Lisa frowned. No, that person couldn't be Bobby. Lisa darted her eyes across the nearly empty floor and to the conference room. Bobby was standing there with Ben, dictating something to him. She looked back towards Bobby's office... was no one else seeing this? No, no one else was around. Then she saw him.

She looked back towards Bobby who was now walking back into the conference room with Ben, both their backs turned. Lisa looked back towards Bobby's office and raised a brow, watching how he waited for no one to be around before walking out quickly.

What in the world was Michael doing in Bobby's office?