Rogue Hearts

“Okay,” Victoria said, dreading coming back. She hated her yearly physical and going to the dentist. Now, she had another medical professional to add to her list.

“It was a pleasure meeting you,” he said.

“Thank you, doctor.”

He stopped to chat with Deedee briefly about her kids before leaving them.

“Do you want me to go and make your appointment, while you get dressed?” Deedee asked.

“You’re a godsend, Deedee,” Victoria said. “I’d appreciate it. The faster we get out of here, the better I’ll feel.”

“You didn’t like Dr. James? I thought he was great.”

“It’s not that. I’m just not a fan of doctors’ offices.”

“Got you. Don’t worry. We’ll be out of here before you know it.”

She told her friend the days that were good for her and Deedee left her to make the appointment. Victoria wondered what her boss would think. The promotion didn’t seem possible now. Maybe he’d let her pass on the offer and stay in New York. They did

n’t seem like too much to ask. She always looked up to him and respected him. That had to count for something, right?

Victoria and Deedee left the doctor’s office together.

Deedee talked as they walked out to hail a cab. “I thought you were pregnant when you started vomiting. That’s one of the first signs.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do next. I’ve never even considered what I would do if I had a kid. How do you even manage it?”

“Day by day,” Deedee said. “I am taking you home so you can get some rest.”

“What? No. There’s no way I’m missing another day of work.”

“Smith will understand. He is a lawyer, and you’re pregnant. He has to understand. I’m pretty sure there’s a law against him not understanding.”

As much as Deedee protested, Victoria didn’t change her mind. She went to work like she always did, and being pregnant wasn’t going to keep her from doing it.

When she got to the office, she wasted no time going straight to DA Smith’s office. She wasn’t taking any chances on him finding out from someone else. As much as she trusted Deedee and Rosalyn, the rest of the office were natural-born gossipers. If they had a bone, they would run with it, and the last thing she needed was another scandal.

Smith was on the phone when she entered his open office, but he beckoned her to sit down. She closed the door before doing so, because she didn’t want a nosy intern to pass by while there is talking.

“Heck, figure it out!” Smith slammed the telephone down on the receiver. “What is it, Bellamy?”

“I can come back later, sir,” she said. This was certainly not a good time, and she didn’t want to talk to him when he was in a bad mood.

“You’re here. Just say what you came to tell me.”

She gripped her hands together tightly. “About the position.”

“Yeah? What about it?”

“I was wondering if there’s any possible way to accept the DA position and do the work from here.” She didn’t think that there was a way to make it happen, but she might as well ask.

He looked at her the same way he stared at new employees to see if he could get under their skin and make them squirm.

Even though she was nervous, she wasn’t going to back down from looking at him. She stared down many bad men in the courtroom. Her boss wasn’t going to send her running.

“Let me get this straight. You want the position, but instead of going to Chicago, where the job is, you will do the work from here?”

“When you put it like that, the whole thing sounds ridiculous.”