Accidental Pregnancy

I rub soap over myself as fast as possible, and grab my brush even as I towel myself down, tugging at the knots. I’m trying to do several things at once, hopping around the bathroom to get dry and then rushing into my bedroom with my toothbrush in my mouth, very aware of the time. I should have set my alarm for much earlier.

To my surprise, though, I manage to make it out the door with five minutes to spare, grabbing my keys and still applying some white make-up as I rush down to the garage. My car is exactly where I left it last night, and I throw my lipstick onto the passenger seat as I hop behind the wheel.

Then I take a breath. It’s okay, I’m going to make it, and my father is not going to have any idea that I was almost late. I run my hand through my still-damp hair and then leave the garage.

I make it just before nine. I rush past the receptionist, who smiles and waves as I go past, and head directly to the top floor. While I’m in the elevator, I tug my shirt and skirt back into place and use the mirrored wall to pat my hair down so it looks a little neater. By the time the doors open, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, and I stride forward with my chin up and shoulders back, no signs of the night before on me at all.

“Good morning, Amanda,” my father greets as I approach. He’s not smiling, and I gather he’s unhappy that I wasn’t available last night. “Did you have a good night?”

I remember dancing with Lyle at the club and then moving with him in the hotel room, hot and heavy and intimate. I smile.

“A very good night,” I say.

“Good, good…” My father folds his hands on the desk and leans forward. Behind the massive desk, his steel hair perfectly

straight and his suit impeccable, he looks forbidding and imperious. I straighten a little more. My father has never been the warmest man in the world, but he’s always seemed so much colder behind that desk. “I had a think about your request last night, and I have decided to grant you a chance.”

I nod slowly, though inside I’m jumping up and down. This is what I’ve been waiting for.

“What sort of a chance?” I ask, trying to keep my voice as even as possible.

“Currently, Energy Plus Co. is looking to form a strategic alliance with us,” my father says. His voice makes it clear how unimpressed he is by this idea. “They would like to reach into the cell phone sector, and believe we will both benefit from allying ourselves in this venture.”

Personally, I think this is a great idea. But I know how my father feels about our far more successful rival company, especially since the young son took over upon his father’s untimely death. So I don’t say anything, simply nod, waiting.

“I would like to send you as a representative to hash out a deal,” my father continues. “You will be solely responsible for deciding whether this deal is worth it or not. If they do not meet our demands, or if their demands are too much, you will have full license to pull out of the deal at any point. You are also allowed to make the decision on whether to take the deal.” He looks at me severely. “In other words, the success or failure of this venture is entirely down to your decision.”

It’s a huge responsibility, and I know immediately what two things my father is hoping for. First, the deal will fall through and we won’t have to connect with the company, though this will inevitably show me as irresponsible when Energy Plus Co. gains even further success. Or, second, I’ll take the deal and we’ll fail due to being unable to collaborate because of my father’s stubbornness. Again, that will be on me.

It’s a lose-lose situation. He’s done this to me because he wants to see how I’ll handle it. I smile grimly. My father and I may not always get along, but I’m very much his daughter. I never take second best, and I will not accept failure.

“Very well,” I say with a sharp nod. “When would you like me to go over there?”

“Today,” my father says.

“I’ll go now,” I reply.

I turn and leave, not waiting for an answer. This is my big chance, regardless of how unfortunate it all looks on paper. I’ll show my father that I do have what it takes. No one is going to stand in my way.

Not even him.

Chapter Four

Lyle

I whistle as I make my way into work. Last night was amazing, the morning was great and, on top of all that, Amanda gave me her number. She obviously would like to meet again. I would very much like that, too. Amanda is beautiful and fun to be with. I would like to know much more about her.

“You’re in a good mood,” my secretary, Alicia Herman, notes as I approach my office.

“I had a good night,” I laugh.

“Considering how black your mood was when you left, it must have been an amazing night,” Alicia says with an amused smile.

I grin at her. A fifty-year-old woman with blonde-gray hair and a zesty attitude. Alicia has been my secretary since I took over the company, and she worked for my father before that. I hand-picked her from the advertising department. She’s quick, efficient and always ready with a joke. She was exactly what I needed when I was struggling to figure out what to do next.

Now, in a world where most people look at me and see the money and the company that I inherited, Alicia, who is down-to-earth and more than willing to slap some sense into me, is one of my closest friends. It’s a rare thing, these days, for me to have a genuine friend. It was one of the worst things about becoming a billionaire; it allowed me to strip away the masks of everyone around me and discover just who was only in my life because of what I would one day inherit.

I smile at Alicia. It’s been a long, hard road to get here, full of disappointment, heartache and panic. I was close to giving up so many times. But I’m here, now, and I’m well on my way to making this company my own, rather than just a legacy that was left to me.