𝚃𝚠𝚘 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛

"I'll see you later tonight?" Ted asks right before I exit his car.

We've been going on dates every now and then for two weeks now. And to my surprise, I am still alive. He has not yet tried to murder me. But I'm still waiting for that to happen.

Nobody around me knows I am seeing him, except for Beau, but I haven't mentioned Ted ever since I even told him about him, so it doesn't really count.

Truthfully, Ted is an amazing and charming guy, and his daughter... she's the sweetest little human I have ever met. Now, there's a but.

But Ted McCallahan is obnoxious. He doesn't allow me five seconds to breathe.

When I told him I had lunch with Beau yesterday, he freaked out. I told him I was sharing an office with Beau, and you know what he did? He asked me to find another office to stay in, preferably sharing one with a woman or staying all by myself.

At first I thought he was joking, but now I'm starting to think someone has truly hurt this man before. Maybe he has some kind of trauma.

Don't get me wrong, I'd be willing to work through it. But I am only twenty-four. I shouldn't have to deal with a thirty-year-old that sees no wrongs in his behaviour.

"I suppose. But I don't know when I'll get out of here." I want to flee his car.

After he had been yelling at me for a good forty minutes about my co-worker, he insisted on me staying the night because it got late. I really wanted to go home, but I was too afraid he might start beating me if I said so.

Okay, maybe he's not as charming as I said in the beginning. He has his moments... and then he flips. Like a switch. Does a whole 180° turn.

"That asshole of your boss should have actual nine to five hours provided for you. Not some kind of 'We'll see. Whenever you're done with your work' kind of hours."

I snort a laugh. "Mr. Storm doesn't care when I leave. I have to stay at least 8 hours a day, that's my minimum. But I refuse to leave before I finish the last thing on my list for today."

He hums, bobbing his head. "I'll pick you up at five."

Not when he forces it upon me.

"Sierra, seriously. We've been dating for two weeks. I think it's time we finally spend a night together. Or do you have some weird thing going that keeps you from sleeping with a guy you're with?"

Excuse me?

"I do not," I answer harshly. Without waiting for Ted to speak again, I push open the car door and jump out as quick as possible.

I do have that sort of this, but there is no need for Ted McCallahan to know of it.

"Sierra!" I hear him yell my name in anger, maybe frustration. Either way, I couldn't care less right now. "Sierra! I didn't mean it like that."

Just keep walking, Sierra.

He's not just obnoxious. Ted is... too many things I cannot name. Charming, for sure. He's a bit narcissistic, rude, has bad manners. But he's good with children, at least that's what it seemed like.

He hasn't shown me this kind of behaviour before though, otherwise I would have left him the second we met. I don't like people getting pushy with me, and I think I'm allowed to not like it, seeing as I've been pushed over the edge before.

"Don't do this, Sierra!" he yells just when I reach the top of the stairs to the entrance of the building. "It's one night after two whole weeks! You can't seriously expect me to still stick around if I don't get some of you soon."

I stop. My hand lies on the metal of the door handle. My inner voice is begging me to keep walking, but something keeps me from it.

So I turn around, facing Ted. He stands almost to right behind me, not even giving me space now that I am truly mad at him.

"Why the hell won't you let us take a step further? You like me, don't you, sweets? I like you, a lot. You've had sex before, right? So what's the deal?"

Rolling my eyes, I have to bite the inside of my cheeks, forcing myself not to punch him in the face.

I want to tell him that he's a jerk. That I want him to stay the fuck away from me. But I can't.

It's funny how just five minutes ago I thought of him as charming and amazing.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm on my period. And I don't sleep with anyone during my time of the month."

"You've had the same excuse on our second date. That's two weeks ago, Sierra. I don't buy your bullshit. Are you seeing someone else?" For a second I believe he is about to hit me. His hands ball into fists by his sides, his eyes filling up with so much more anger than I've ever witnessed someone feeling.

I did have the same "excuse" two weeks ago. It's because I've been having this weird on-again off-again spotting going since.

This is all the wrong things to say, but in desperate need to get him to stay the fuck away, it just so happens to blurt out of me. "I have a boyfriend, Ted. I've only been with you because we can't make it official yet and I needed someone to make rumours disappear." A total lie, but it's good enough.

"Don't lie." Or not.

"Just leave me alone, Ted."

He falls down to his knees, holding onto my ankles. What the fuck? "Don't leave me, Sierra. I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry."

I chuckle sarcastically. Right as I manage to wiggle my legs free from his grip, I turn around and walk right into the building. Surely he won't follow me inside. There are way too many people in here for the scene he is causing.

Walking a little bit deeper inside the building, I make my way to the elevator. On my way there, I greet a couple of my colleagues, beaming a smile at them. And I am praying nobody heard a single thing. It's unlikely they didn't.

After the scene Ted just caused, nope. Some definitely heard that.

How could I ever let myself think he was a decent guy? The signs were there right from the start.

On our first date, he asked me if I would want to come home with him. He said we could watch a movie together and "see where things would go." I declined his offer, told him I don't go home with anyone on the first date.

So the second date happened. This time, he directly asked for sex.

The next couple of dates... he's done the same. Well, he stopped asking directly, but he hinted towards it.

I guess I was just blind because I really did try seeing only the good in him.

"You'll need someone escorting you out later, probably even need a ride home," someone speaks from right beside me. I know the voice. It's a very familiar, warming voice. "I told you the Tinder guy wasn't going to be any good." A sigh leaves him. "So, I take it you don't have a secret boyfriend?"

Ignoring his question, I say, "Beau." I look at him, sighing in either relief or defeat. Maybe both. "I really thought he was a nice guy, you know." We both step into the elevator, shortly after, I press the button to our floor. "He is a nice guy."

"He is a piece of shit. I thought I'd have to come right out there and bust his balls myself." Beau wraps an arm around me, pulling me into a side hug. "Well, good thing is, you're still alive and he didn't pull a Ted Bundy on you."

I laugh. Once. Just one loud Ha!

"I'm sure the second I step out of this building, I'll be dead."

I wish I was joking. Men have always scared the living hell out of me. Especially after what happened with him. It's the reason why I've never been looking for someone, or even put myself out there.

Mistrusting a guy... it's very high on the list of my problems. The only guys I truly trust are my brother and Beau. All the other men... no, thank you.

The elevator doors open, but when I'm about to step out, Athena stands in front of me like she's been waiting right here.

"I hate to tell you this, Sierra, but Storm heard your boyfriends little scene," she speaks, slow and in a low tone. It's like she is mortified. "He told me to tell you...if that happens again, he will fire you because he doesn't need relationship drama happening in front of his building."

And once again. What the actual fuck? What is this day? And why the hell does my boss care about my boyfriend, not that Ted and I are in a relationship, acting out?

"That man," Beau mumbles under his breath, walking off towards his desk.

I step out of the elevator as well, not wanting to take an unnecessary ride around. "So he warned me off because some guy yelled at me?" I can't help the snort from coming out of me. "That's not even the worst thing happening today, so I'll just accept my fate."

-♡-

Recently, I've been way more sensitive to smells. It started with Athena's Tuna sandwich two weeks ago. But ever since then, the list of products that make my stomach turn just by smelling it has expanded.

And I still don't seem to tolerate coffee. Which is a shame. I love coffee.

I had my assumptions about why that is good a week ago. An assumption that I'm still praying isn't true. It can't be.

I bought a pregnancy test, or two, a week ago. Didn't quite take it yet, mainly because I'm too afraid of the results. I know putting it off won't give me different outcomes, but I sure as hell can hope my symptoms disappear and none of them ever happened.

That's not true. If the tests were to come out positive, even if the symptoms disappear, I suppose they'd still be positive.

Walking into the women's restroom, I try to calm my nerves by staring at myself in the way too large mirror.

I have to give it to Storm, this building is fancy. It's not just some office building. Whenever I walk in here, I feel like walking into a 5-Star hotel.

That man must've put hundredths of thousands into this building alone. I'm glad I don't have to look at his finances all day long. Though, I suppose you can't compare the loss and gain of his money. He sure as hell makes more than he loses.

Taking a deep breath, I find some courage to grab one of the tests from my purse. I can continue to put it off, or finally have some clarity.

Perhaps I'd prefer if this wasn't even a problem in the first place, but what can I do? Ignoring it being present won't make it go away.

Maybe I should have taken the test at home and not at my work's restroom, but I know I would continue to stall back at my own place.

God, get a grip, Sierra.

I can do this. I mean, it's just peeing onto a stick, right?

I can freak out when I have my results and it says anything that isn't negative.

What would I even do if it says positive? Would I tell Storm? He deserve to know, right? He should know. He barely even knows me, I don't think he would even believe me.

-♡-

I'm staring down at the pregnancy test in my hands, just blinking, barely even breathing. I haven't turned it over yet, haven't had the strength to find out what it says.

The easy part is over. Now it's only the difficult one left. Finding out.

Never in my life have I thought I'd ever fear to be pregnant. I've always had this image of a perfect family in my head. As naïve as I used to be, I even pictured having a child by the age of twenty.

Thankfully, that didn't happen. But now I'm twenty-four years old, I don't even have a partner, never really had one. All I had was this one stupid one-night stand. With my boss.

That's the worst part. If it weren't for Storm being the father of this child, I don't think I'd even react the way I do.

I've never been put off by the thought of having children. Not even when it's from a one-night stand. My mother had me at twenty-two from one. She raised me on her own, with only the help from my brother.

My brother is five years older than me. Yes, my mother had him pretty damn early on in life, but that was never a problem. She's the best mother anyone could have, even though she was young when she had us.

Cody's father left for the military when Cody was two. He broke up with my mother before he left just in case something would happen to him. I never quite understood why, but I suppose he was just worried he'd be nothing but a burden if he was badly injured, or had died.

A couple years later, my mother found back to him, but by that time, I was already in the picture. Even though I don't know my own father, at least I had Cody's.

Drew is a nice man. He always cared for—, and about me, as long as my mother was still around. But it's obvious he never truly saw me as his child. I can't really blame him for it. I'm not his child.

Anyway, I'm just continuing to stall right now.

I have to turn this stupid thing over and then decide whether or not my life is ruined. Not that a child would ruin it, but the father of this one sure would.

Here goes nothing.

I inhale deeply, pressing my eyes closed as I turn the stick over. And then slowly, carefully, I open my eyes. Maybe if I do so slowly, the results will turn out in my favour.

The test does not turn out in my favour. Not at fucking all.

"Positive," I mumble to none other than myself. Of course it would be positive. I'm not very lucky when it comes to my own life.

Maybe this test is false. That's what I have the second one for. The one I've already taken as well but is lying on the counter as I didn't think I'd need to look at it.

This is going to be the end of my life, isn't it? Okay, a bit dramatic.

I know having a baby won't kill me. But it sure as hell will be a challenge, given his or her father.

Oh, God. Storm. What the hell am I going to tell him? When will I tell him? It's not like he ever speaks to his employees.

The last time I requested to speak to him, five days after I started working for him, he declined every single attempt of mine to get in touch. Even emails stay unanswered with this man. Not that I should email him that he's having a child.

Imagine how that would play out.

"Dear Mr. Storm,

with my deepest regret, I will have to inform you... I'm pregnant. With your child.

Congratulations.

Sincerely,

Ms. Bloom"

Yeah, no.

To my horror, the second pregnancy test is also positive. Of course it is. It's not even a surprise anymore at this point.

Not one thing in my life turns out the way I wanted it to. It's only logical this happened. I was lucky enough not to get pregnant a couple of years ago. It was bound to happen the first time I'd have sex again.

I hide the two tests in my purse and go back to my office, only to shut down my computer completely. I won't stay here today. Maybe I'll come back tomorrow, but after this, I need a day off. Or two. Or forever.

God, no. Not forever. I need my job.

"Are you okay?" Beau asks just when I hastily storm toward the elevator.

I stop and turn to look at him, giving him my usual smile. "I don't feel all too well. I am going home."

He nods like it's only logical after what happened earlier. At least I now have a great reason to end things with Ted. Not that there was ever anything between us, really. I didn't even kiss that man.

"You have to inform the front desk," he yells after me, shortly before the elevator doors close.

Instead of pressing the button to the ground floor and actually leaving, I press the eleventh floor. The Storm-office floor.

Clearly I'm acting on impulse, but it's better to get the truth out now than never. Unless I just keep my pregnancy hidden from him and he'll never know. Would that be so wrong?

I suppose it would be.

If I were a guy and the woman I accidentally impregnated wouldn't tell me... I'd probably do some really stupid things. Like use a lawyer or something.

Why can't I even think of anything worse than using a lawyer?

Storm will need one either way. I'm sure there are going to be a hell ton of meetings between him and I. That is, if he wants to partake in this. If he wants to be a part of the baby's life and doesn't just brush me off.

"Sierra?" Athena looks up from her spot at her front desk for Storm's office. He's fancy like that. Having a whole ass extra front desk alone for his office.

Athena isn't a secretary, but she sure as hell works as one anyway. She does everything for Storm. Takes calls, organises his schedule, makes sure whoever he's meeting is okay while waiting for the man himself to have time.

I don't really acknowledge my best friend. I know I should, but I don't have the headspace for her questionnaire right now.

Storming through towards Storm's office, Athena follows me, telling me all about how I can't just march in here, especially not his office.

But I do not care.

I know I can't. This is most definitely going to have consequences for me. Or not.

Telling Storm he is going to be a father shouldn't get me in trouble at all. Except if I were to march into his office while he's in a meeting, maybe.

"Sierra, seriously. You can't just go in there. He's busy!" Like that. That is a reason to stop and wait until whoever he talks to comes out.

And yet, I don't stop and continue to walk towards the huge door that leads into his massive office.

"Sierra!"

I keep ignoring Athena. And I continue to do so even when I open the door and stand there, watching as Storm looks up from the other guy in front of him.

Storm looks mad. Really mad. His jaw clenches as his eyes lock with mine. Anger filled eyes that tell me to leave.

But I don't.

"I am so sorry, sir. She just-"

"Ms. Bloom," Storm says, his voice tight, strict. "I am busy. Make an appointment with Ms. Coffey if you so desperately need to talk to me."

I laugh. Once. Then hold my hand to my mouth to stop myself from bursting out into laughter.

I tried before, is what I want to say, but it wouldn't lead anywhere. And this is a whole different topic I need to talk to him about.

So, I straighten my back, take a deep breath and say, "I need to speak to you, now. It can't wait."

I suppose it can wait. But I'm not sure I'd still have the courage if I'd wait on telling him.

Athena tries to pull me out of the office, but I'm not budging. Not until the man sitting opposite from Storm turns.

"Ted?" I mumble, trying to make sense of why the hell he is here. In Storm's office. And why the hell does it look like someone's beat him right on his nose? He's bleeding and has one bruised eye, the other looks just a bit swollen.

How much weirder can this day get, honestly?

"I should go," I hear Ted say right before he stands. He doesn't say goodbye to Storm, nor does he look anything like the confident asshole I've met two weeks ago. He appears to be scared, like Storm threatened to take his firm from him.

But why the hell would Storm do that?

Ted walks past me, not even so much to looks at me as he does. He keeps his head down, looking at the ground.

"Sierra, you need to leave," Athena speaks, once again trying to pull me outside.