My Ex-Boss Wants Me Back

TWO YEARS AGO. Genesis' POV. I unwrapped the pack of the pregnancy test kit with shaky hands. I just hoped Emma was wrong. I had told her over the phone how my body was feeling different when I got back from the two-week work trip and she convinced me to get a pregnancy test kit alongside some pain killers. I laughed it off and told her it was probably nothing. She made me buy it anyway. Now, it didn't seem so funny anymore. Hugging myself tight, I stared in fear as two red lines took form on the strip and I slid down to the cold bathroom floor, my head in my hands. What was I going to do now? If this had happened a week ago, I'd have been so happy to announce it to Clyde. Elated, even. But not now. Not when he had just reduced what we had shared to a ‘just a fling.’ Tears welled up in my eyes and I just let them flow unhindered as I reminisced on my encounter with Clyde earlier in the day. “So, that's it? It was all a lie?” I asked shakily, tears welling up in my big brown eyes that lit up each time I saw Clyde. But, right now, the sight of him was like a thousand thorns were pricking my eyes. “I never lied to you, Genesis. What happened between us in Rome was just a fling. I'm surprised you read any more meaning into it, actually.” he said calmly, his eyes looking behind me. The sign that he wished this conversation was already over. “But– you said I –” I sputtered, trying so hard to think about the amorous words he has spent most nights whispering in my ears in those two weeks. Two weeks of bliss. Two weeks when I thought I had finally found my Prince Charming. “Everything I said was just… on the spur of the moment. You of all people should know I never meant them. I mean, you were aware that Ariadne and I just had a fight then.” He drawled lazily, driving the knife deeper into my heart. Shattering it to pieces. “But, Clyde…” “No buts, Miss Simone! I expect every interaction between us, from now on, to be professional. Strictly Boss-Personal Assistant relationship. We wouldn't want people getting the wrong idea about us now, would we?” The tears that had been threatening to fall, came down in torrents, and the remaining light I had left in me, died right there in front of him. He took no notice of my tears and if he did, he didn't show it. “Get me the schedule for the building surveys I have today. And get me a cup of coffee. Close the door behind you.” he said with a note of finality. I knew I couldn't stay there. Not anymore. Not after he had shattered my heart and tainted the beautiful image of our experience by calling it ‘just a fling.’ I left his office, picked up my bag and left the company for my apartment without so much as a backward glance. My time at Grayson's Real Estate had come to an end. But the two tiny lines on this strip in front of me shook my resolve to never have anything to do with him. Surely he won't turn me away after he finds out I'm carrying his child. A part of me just wanted to hide in this lonely apartment forever. Hide from the reality of my situation. Yet, another part of me knew I must let him know. This was our baby. The proof that what we had in those two weeks was not just a hazy dream. I wondered on which of those ecstatic nights this baby had been conceived. Was it on our first night together, in the sky, flying over Europe, where the entire world was a blanket of a thousand glittering lights below? When he had taken my champagne glass from my hand, quietly while staring deeply into my eyes. He pulled me close and I slid effortlessly underneath him. We fit so perfectly and everything felt so natural with him. After that night, my body felt warm at the sight of him and my eyes lit up. Until he doused me in icy water this morning with his words. I came back to the present and stared around me. I stood up, and took a long, sad look at the test kit. It strengthened my resolve and I stepped out of the bathroom. It seemed my time at Grayson's hadn't come to an end after all. I let out a shaky breath and tucked my hair behind my ear as I got through the revolving door at the entrance of the company. I gave the receptionist a watery smile and headed into the empty lift. I punched in 39, and watched the door close. I bit my lips as I took shallow breaths, thinking about what reaction I would get from Clyde. Surely he was going to reconsider his decision when he heard about this baby, our baby, and he would apologize for calling the beautiful thing we had ‘just a fling.’ “Oh my G–” The sight before me made me feel even emptier than I already felt. Clyde and Ariadne stopped kissing and disentangled from each other’s arms when they heard me gasp. “Learn to knock, Missy!” Ariadne hissed and swung her long glossy legs off Clyde's table, smoothening her hair while looking at me triumphantly. “What do you want so late, Miss Simone?” Clyde drawled in his soft deep voice. “I asked Evana about your whereabouts, and she said you left in a haste this morning. Is everything okay?” He asked, c*****g his head to the side, like he was daring me to say something about our altercation this morning. “No,... I– I had… an emergency.” I stammered. “I came back to apologize for… for leaving unannounced.” I said, on the verge of tears, and I quickly bolted from the room. Coming back here was a mistake. I should have known Clyde was just a cold-hearted son of a b***h. I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes as I got out of the elevator. This baby was mine. Mine alone. And I was going to do everything to make sure it gets the best life. I would do everything to make sure no one ever got close enough to hurt it. Not even its father. I stood by the sidewalk and hailed a cab, heading to my apartment for the second time today. I couldn't stay here in Los Angeles anymore. It might be time to take Emma up on her offer to accommodate me if I ever thought of moving to San Francisco. I picked up my phone and dialed Emma's line. It was in her hand as usual, and she picked up on the first ring. “I'm pregnant, Emma, and it's Clyde's.” I managed to say over the phone before breaking down into heart-wrenching sobs. “Shh, it's okay.” She comforted me over the phone. “Tell me everything.” And I did. I told her everything about how we had spent the two weeks in Rome– when we were supposed to be viewing potential building sites– in each other's arms. I told her about the sweet things he whispered in my ears after a long session of lovemaking. I told her of the romantic spots he booked, just for us to spend some quality time together. And I told her finally of how he shattered my heart to pieces. Twice in the same day. “I can't do this anymore, Emma. I can't bear to be in the same city with him.” I sobbed into the phone, my voice carrying the exhaustion I felt inside. “Then move here, Gen.” She said simply. “My house is always open to you. And my offer still stands. You can stay with me till you find your footing in the Real Estate business that you love so much. You can stay till you figure out what you're gonna do about the baby..” “I'm keeping it.” I said, without doubt. “It's totally up to you, Gen. Pack your bags and things. I'll drive over tomorrow. I love you, okay? And I'm here for you, you know that, right?” “I know, Em. And I love you too. Thank you for doing this.” I sniffled. I hung up and took some tissues out of the box on the table to blow my nose. The ring of my phone stopped me short, and I stared at the Caller ID in confusion. Why was Adrian Chase– the head of Grayson's Real Estate fiercest competitor– calling me?