Rachel Bailey - Return of the Secret Heir

JT scanned the slip of paper over Pia’s shoulder. “And we’ll ring you if it’s out of this range?”

“Absolutely,” Dr. Crosby said. “Otherwise, I’ll see you at your next appointment. You can make one with Amy on the way out. Oh, and don’t forget to sign the letter so I can access your medical history, Pia.”

They thanked her and made a new appointment with the receptionist, then headed for his car. Something insistent gnawed in his gut. It’d all seemed too easy, too low-key. Or was it just that he was expecting the worst? That his baby wouldn’t make it.

With his body braced as if expecting a blow, he drove Pia back to her place in time for them both to get to work-after a quick detour to pick up a blood pressure monitor.

Barely two hours later, Pia stood in Ted Howard’s reception area, palms sweating. He’d been held up in a meeting, leaving her here, becoming progressively more anxious.

As she paced from one side of the room to the other for the tenth time, the senior partner walked through from the hall, folders under his arm, greeting his secretary and indicating with an incline of his head for Pia to follow.

She walked into his office behind him, taking rigid steps. Having an unblemished record at the firm had been a source of pride, and she was about to blow it. More than blow it-she was about to obliterate it. Nausea that had nothing to do with morning sickness roiled in her belly.

“I have about three minutes,” he said as he closed the door behind her. “What can I do for you?”

She took a deep breath, then let it out in a controlled stream. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Go ahead,” he said, his back to her as he stacked the folders he’d carried.

Saying the words to anyone this early in the pregnancy-where there was a risk of the unthinkable happening-would be grueling, but ethically she had no choice but to confess to her boss. She moistened her lips and raised her chin.

“I’m pregnant.”

He turned around slowly, clearly surprised. Though she’d expected surprise, since she’d never once shown any signs of interest in marriage or family life. It was his next reaction that mattered most.

“Congratulations,” he said, with a distant smile, clearly calculating the impact on the firm, on her cases in several months’ time.

“Thank you.” She laced her fingers together behind her back and stood straighter. “But there’s more.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”

“The father is JT Hartley.” She said the words short and sharp, then braced herself for his response, expecting the worst, hoping for the best.

Ted’s eyes widened, then narrowed as he sat on the edge of his desk. “Let me get this straight…you’re carrying the child of a man who’s lodging a claim against one of the firm’s biggest estates? The estate you’re administering?”

She closed her eyes for a long moment. Hearing the words aloud made the situation become the awful reality she’d been trying to deny. And yet, as bad as being pregnant with JT’s baby was for her professionally, it was worse personally. The only positive was the tiny life in her womb-her son or daughter.

She resisted placing a hand over her stomach as she faced the consequences of her actions. “Yes.”

“You were supposed to keep me updated,” he said as storm clouds gathered in his eyes. “It seems you missed informing me about at least one important meeting.” He shook his head. “Why would you put everything you’ve worked for at risk?”

She bit down on her lip. Ted Howard had been her champion in the firm almost from the first-he’d taken her under his wing and nurtured her career. She knew he’d be disappointed in her and that knowledge tore right into her solar plexus. “I’m sorry, Ted.”

“Tell me this hasn’t been going on the whole time.”

Regardless of how much it made her squirm to provide details, he deserved the information. “The day he came to the office, I saw him after work. It was only the one day.”

“Ah, Pia,” he said, shaking his head. “You know I have to take you off the Bramson estate case.”

Her stomach swooped as her fears burst to Technicolor life. “I understand, Ted, but I have some alternatives we could discuss. Other ways I can prove I’m still the best person for the promotion. That partnership means the world to me.”

“You still want the partnership now you’re going to be a mother?”

A little voice at the back of her mind had been asking her the same question. She ignored it-when she came back from maternity leave, there would be options like nannies and flextime. She and the baby would cope just fine.

She looked Ted squarely in the eye, her hands clenched into fists to stop them trembling. “One hundred percent.”

He sighed and went around his desk to sit heavily in the high-backed chair. “I’ve made no secret of the fact that you were my preference for the next partner. Your ability and dedication to the job have always surpassed any other lawyer in the running. But I have to tell you, I’m questioning your commitment right now.”

“I can assure you, my dedication to this firm is still strong,” she said quickly, lacing the words with as much certainty as she could muster.

“You slept with a claimant to a will you were administering, Ms. Baxter.”

It was only the truth, but the accusation hit her like a blow and she steadied herself before replying. “I won’t make another mistake. I give you my word.”

His gaze rested heavily on her for long moments, then he sighed. “Tell me about your alternatives.”

She stood straighter. “Linda Adams takes over the case. I’ll assist her because I have the history with the estate and heirs, but she’ll be the lead. In exchange I’ll take something from Linda’s caseload to free her up.”

Ted drummed his fingers on his desk and looked intently at her. “I might regret this, but if you can promise there won’t be even a whiff of a mistake, not even a spelling error on the paperwork, and if you impress me on the rest of the cases you have, you’ll still be in the running for the partnership.”

“Thank you, Ted.” She swallowed the emotion that lodged in her throat over the fact that he was giving her a second chance. “I won’t let you down.”

He pulled wire-rimmed glasses from his breast pocket. “I hope for your sake-and the firm’s-that you don’t,” he said and went back to his work.

Pia picked up the mint-green booties from the stand in the exclusive baby store and smiled. Seeing the pink lines on the pregnancy test had been a shock, but now that she’d had five days to assimilate, she loved this little person with everything in her heart. She hadn’t been sure she could open her heart to a baby again, but she’d soon realized that loving him or her was the most natural thing in the world.

As she reached for a pale lemon pair, a wave of nausea crept up and she stilled to let it pass. Instead, the booties blurred before her eyes and the room began to swim. Panic flared as she realized her blood pressure must have dropped. She couldn’t faint-not here. She crouched down on the floor, trying to remember the position she needed to be in to stave off a faint, lowering her head to her knees, but suffocating blackness descended.

She woke on the floor, a roll of something soft under her head, a woman above her who looked on the edge of panic.

“Honey, are you all right? Can I call someone?”

Pia closed her eyes and swallowed a couple of times to get her voice to work. Without thinking, she said, “JT. Call JT.”

She heard muffled sounds that she assumed was the sales assistant going through her handbag to find JT’s number in her phone. Then she was vaguely aware of a conversation a little distance away.

Despite being groggy, she struggled to sit up, but the woman came back and said, “No need to get up. Your man said he’d be here in a matter of minutes. He said we shouldn’t move you.”

“But I’m fine.” Except for the fuzziness and a bit of bruising that would surely come through on the aching spots where she’d landed. But she wanted to get up from the shop floor.

Then in a blinding flash, it hit her-she’d fallen. The baby. Her pulse spiked and suddenly she was wide awake. Her hands went to her stomach but it felt the same as always. With her eyes squeezed shut, she momentarily laid her head back on the soft roll. Then she heard loud, sharp footsteps enter the store and she opened her eyes to find JT leaning over her.

“I’m here, Pia. You’re fine.” His voice was calm, assured, if a little out of breath.

“I know,” she said because she wanted to get up, but a small flame lit inside her and glowed. JT was here-he’d fix things, keep her and their baby safe.

“Are you hurting anywhere?” He smoothed the hair back from her face. He was so close that she could smell the unmistakable scent of him and in that moment she wished they had the type of relationship that would allow her to reach up and wrap her arms around his neck, allow him to press a kiss to her lips, to take comfort from his strength.

He was scanning her face, waiting for her to reply, so she pulled her lips wide in what she hoped would be a smile. “My head was a little fuzzy, but it’s clearing now.” It was the truth-there was nothing wrong with her, she was sure of it. But what about her baby? Had it been hurt when she fell?

He inched his hands under her shoulders and knees and lifted her in his arms. “Have you got a chair out back?” he asked the other woman.

“I can walk,” Pia said, but no one was listening. A couple of browsers were surreptitiously watching the commotion while looking at baby bonnets, but this sales assistant had all her attention on JT and his instructions. JT had always inspired that kind of focus in women.

“Follow me,” the sales assistant said as she walked ahead. “We have a small staff room out here.”

Once through the doorway, he gently sat Pia in a plastic chair and she looked up into his eyes, luminescent green with his intensity. “You got here so quickly.”

“I was inspecting a building on the next block, so I walked.” She suspected he’d run the distance from the sheen of perspiration on his forehead, but his features were controlled and gave nothing away.

“I really am okay,” she repeated, embarrassed by the fuss. All she cared about was her baby. What had the first signs been of the miscarriage after she’d fallen at sixteen? Bleeding? She dug deep and dredged up memories of that sickening night. No, the cramps had come before bleeding. Mentally scanning her abdomen, she checked for twinges and found none. How soon had they started last time? She couldn’t remember.

JT passed her a glass of water and she sipped, still trying to find the information in her memory banks.

“Have you got something sweet?” JT said over his shoulder.

The sales assistant appeared with a jar of candies. “We have these. You folks okay if I leave you for a few minutes?”

“We’ll be fine. Thanks for calling me.” He unwrapped a candy and passed it to Pia. “How are you feeling?”

“A little sheepish for causing all the fuss,” she said, her voice unsteady. “And I’ll have some bruises tomorrow, but I’m fine.” As long as she didn’t start cramping. She pressed clammy hands to her stomach. “JT, the baby-”

“I’m taking you to Dr. Crosby’s office. I’ll call on the way.”

The relief of having someone take charge when she felt too fragile for the role was immense. “Thank you,” she whispered.