The doorknob turned, and the door swung open. Goosebumps flared on her calves and she let her eyes flutter shut, groaning internally. She already knew who it was.
“Father.” Zahir’s voice flooded her, made her knees weak, and she kept her back as rigid as possible. “Are you busy?”
“Well, yes, a bit, I’d say.” Mr. Almasi grumbled a bit, adjusting his position in his seat. “Layla, you’ll forgive me for sharing your news so soon, but Zahir is the CEO in training, so he should hear this as well.”
“What?” Zahir sent her a hard look.
“I—” Layla began.
“Layla is with child and wishes to resign,” Mr. Almasi said, steamrolling her with the admission. Zahir’s face tightened slowly, as if someone tugged at his cheeks from behind.
Layla’s stomach made a somersault, and she backed toward the door. “Well, that’s all for now. Thank you both for a very pleasant time at Almasi-Thomas. I’ll go get my things ready now. I’ll be leaving within the hour.”
She bolted past Zahir, ignoring the heat rolling off of him, the confusion that he wore like a suit. She kept her eyes on the ground as she headed for her own office. A moment later a door slammed behind her and footsteps approached.
“Layla.” His voice was firm, quiet.
She swallowed a knot of tears and continued to her office. Head hanging, she pushed inside, tears blurring her vision. She studied her desk top, unable to look up at him, unable to do anything for fear of betraying the emotions holding her hostage right now.
The office door shut a moment later. Nobody spoke, and Layla did her best to calm herself. When she looked up, Zahir’s face was unreadable.
“Is it mine?”
Her brain seized, and she got lost in his eyes. Tears returned to her eyes, and a few broke the seal, trickling down her face. She covered her mouth with a hand, trying to stifle a sob. She nodded hard, looking back at her desk.
“Jesus, Layla.” He stepped closer, reaching for her over the desk. She shied away, drawing a ragged breath.
“You’re the only one,” she whispered, and then hiccupped. “The only one I’ve been with.”
Zahir stared at her, a range of emotions playing across his face. But it hurt too much to look at him. It reminded her of all the rationalizing she’d done to get to this point, all the excuses and bad decisions.
“How long have you known?”
She shuddered with another sob. “Since that business dinner. The real one.”
His eyes widened, a vein pulsing in his neck. For a moment, she thought he’d put his fist through the desk.
“Are you serious?” His voice held a note of incredulity she hadn’t known he was capable of. She nodded, shrinking back.
“And you never thought to tell me?”
“I was going to,” she whispered, wiping at her eyes. Her mascara was probably wrecked. Her life was definitely wrecked. “At dinner the other night—”
“I can’t believe this.” Zahir paced the office, his hands tugging at his hair. She drew another breath, struggling to hold onto the break in tears. “I need to think about this. I can’t talk to you right now.”
Layla wiped at her eyes, fighting another up-swell of emotion.
“We will discuss this later,” Zahir said, stopping in his tracks. He pointed at her, the gesture cementing his words. “You will wait for me, and we will discuss this.”
He paused, nostrils flaring, and then let himself out of her office. Layla collapsed into her chair, letting another wave of sobs consume her.
Wait for him to discuss this? She owed him an explanation, that much was certain, but she couldn’t be in this building any longer. Once the tears subsided, she scribbled down the admin information for her log-in and gathered the few items she had placed around her desk, pushing them into her purse. And then she scooted out of the office, heading to the elevator, head down and heart splintered.
16
Zahir paced his office enough times to wear a visible track into the carpet. He moved from one end of the office to the other, pausing only to mutter a curse word or groan. Layla was pregnant? And it was his?
He was going to be a father?