Devil's Heat

CHAPTER 3

2 MONTHS LATER

Greg was in his office working on some paperwork when he heard voices just outside his office.

His secretary, Anna, was explaining something to someone who was apparently impatient. Greg

hoped it would not be Pamela.

Frustrated by the voices coming from outside and his inability to focus, he walked out of his

office. The moment his eyes locked with familiar blue ones, he couldn’t believe his eyes. After two months he was finally seeing her again. His

secretary looked flustered.

“I tried to explain to her that she needs an appointment to see you, but she insisted and told me–”

“It's okay. You can go,” he said without tearing his gaze from hers. It was as if he feared she

might disappear again if he looked away from her. The last time they had met, it had been

fleeting, and it had left him with a void in his heart, one he could not explain. But here she was.

When his secretary left his office, he was suddenly aware of her again. She looked just as

breath-taking as she had in the party, although with lesser make-up.

He took in her features again. Her back-length, auburn hair, her golden eyes, her full, sensual

lips, and those dainty dimples that adorned her cheeks. He was surprised to find that he actually

missed her.

“I am not leaving even if you're busy.” She said when he did nothing but stand there and stare at

her.

He blinked and willed himself not to give away the fact that he was actually longing for her. He’d been thinking of her and how to reach her ever since that night and now… she was here. Right in front of him looking even more beautiful than the last time he’d seen her.

“Have a seat.” He waved at one of the empty seats in front of him. She took it.

When he seated himself behind his large, mahogany table, he took another long look at her.

There and then, he decided to give off the impression that he had not actually given a thought to

what transpired between them the last time they met. She had probably forgotten.

“How may I help you?”

She raised her brows at the formality then shrugged easily. “It took quite a while to find you.

You didn't tell me you were the Gregorio Alexandré Cortez.”

He noticed as she said his name that there was no decibel of admiration or awe in her voice. She

obviously knew his name, but she was not fazed by it. He also noticed that, for an American, she

pronounced his name flawlessly.

“You never asked.”

She nodded once. “Fair point,” she hesitated. “Greg– Or is it Mr. Cortez now?” She asked,

looking around his equally large office.

“Whichever sits well with you.”

She met his eyes again, not trying to hide the surprise in her eyes at his cold, aloof formality.

Then she sat up in her seat, her spine straight. “I just wanted to tell you something, but before

you freak out–”

He raised his brows at the expression. He was sure there was nothing in his life that would get

him freaked out anymore.

She ignored the look he sent her and continued. “I want you to know that I have found a

solution.”

What is it you want to tell me?”

“I'm pregnant.” She muttered under her breath.

“Pardon?”

“I said I'm pregnant.” She repeated, louder this time.

Greg stared at her in utter disbelief. She was pregnant. Instinctively, he looked down at her

stomach. There was no sign of life there, no bump. He tried to contain the flurry of activities in

his head that was beginning to make him giddy. “You know this because?”

She glared at him, scoffed, and rummaged through her bag, muttering indistinctly. He would

later swear he heard her say “knucklehead.” She brought out several pregnancy sticks and threw

them unceremoniously on his table. They slid toward him.

He stared at them with a blank expression.

“Oh, the two red stripes mean positive. Positive means I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant means–”

“I get your point.” He interrupted, his train of thoughts going haywire. She was pregnant. But

how would he know if it was his? Although he remembered that they had not used protection

when they made love that night but… “How am I supposed to believe it's mine?” He stared at her stomach

again. Somewhere in there, a life was forming, he thought to himself. A life he might have

helped create.

A small gasp escaped her parted lips. She looked like she was about to lash out at him, then she

changed her mind. “I've been celibate for years before that day, Greg.” She said softly. “And I

was not on the pill.”

Greg wondered if the soft tone of her voice was a result of her suppressed anger. Or was she even

angry? He looked into her golden eyes, the ones he had come to love. “You're pregnant.” He said

as if it would make it any more true than it already was.

“Oh my God. You're freaking out. You're totally freaking out.”

He sighed. “I'm not.”

“Are you sure?”

I'm not.” He repeated, kneading his temples with his thumbs.

“I have a solution. Since we both don't want it, I have decided we could terminate it. It would be

as if it never happened.”

His head sprang up. She was kidding, wasn't she?

She was still talking. “I was just as surprised as you are. It was to be expected, but I was still

surprised. I don't want you to think I want to be in any way tied with you or whatever. I am a

very ambitious lady and I have my entire life mapped out in front of me. I can't let some gooey,

sticky, icky toddler ruin that for me.”

Greg had stopped listening. She did not mean what she had just said, did she? He swore under

his breath in Spanish. Was she still talking about terminating their child? His child? A warning

bell went off in his head.

“Liz!” He almost yelled.

“I have seen a doctor. I don't need your money though. The only reason I'm here is because my

best friend told me it was only fair to let you know since, in her words, we created it together,

and if we are to abort it, we should do it together.”

Greg could not believe his ears. Was she still talking about aborting a life they had both created?

He jerked out of his seat and walked toward the large window overlooking the beautiful

landscape in front of him. The view always calmed his nerves. But as he stared with blank eyes

into the view, all he could think was the fact that he could lose his child. Again. His muscles

tensed.

“We are keeping this child,” he said with his back to her.

“What?”

He looked at her. “We are keeping this baby, Liz. We are not aborting it.”

“I don't want it.”

“You'll grow to want it.”

“You can't make me.”

He walked toward her and towered over her, his dark eyes glaring down at her with a derisive

smile on his lips. “Oh, yes, I can. And I will.”

****

When Elizabeth got to her apartment, she angrily tossed her purse on the couch and kicked off

her shoes. Her best friend, Holly saw her reaction and looked concerned.

“How did it go?” Holly asked.

“Surprisingly terrible. Awkward at first, but he wants to keep the baby. Can you believe that?”

“Did he say why?”

“No, and I didn't ask because I don't give a royal f**k what he thinks we should do with it. It's

growing inside of me not him. I will go to the doctor tomorrow and we will fix a date. The earlier

we got rid of it, the better.”

Holly shook her head. “You are too stubborn, Liz. What if he finds out?”

She thought about it. What if he found out? What would be his reaction to her action? Well, he

had told her she would get used to the baby. He might also as well get used to her getting rid of

the baby. “If he finds out, it won't put the baby back into my womb now, would it?”