I wrap my hand around my throat as I take in the view. The sun is setting so the building facades are gleaming golden. In the distance, the surface of Lake Michigan glistens as it captures the final remnants of daylight.
“I know it’s not Zurich, but Chicago has its own charm,” Stella says as she stands beside me.
“It sure does,” I agree.
She looks around. “So do you like the apartment?”
“I do,” I admit as I turn around. “It’s… amazing.”
“I’m glad you think so. I chose some of the pieces myself. I’ve been dabbling in interior design lately.”
“Really?”
That would explain the feminine touch.
“I’m setting up a nursery soon.”
“A nursery?” My eyebrows furrow, but as soon as I see Stella’s hand on her belly, I understand. “You’re pregnant?”
“Yes. I’m not that far along, so it’s not obvious yet, and maybe it is too early for me to be thinking about nurseries. I mean, we don’t even know if we’re having a boy or a girl. But I just can’t help but be excited. Well, I wasn’t excited at first. I was really scared, actually. But now I am.”
And it shows.
“It’s fine,” I tell her as I give her hand a squeeze. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
“And please tell Mr. Hawthorne, Mr. Ethan Hawthorne that is, that I graciously accept his gift and am very grateful.”
Stella nods. “I will.”
“I’d thank him myself, but I don’t want to take up any of his time. I know he’s very busy.”
“He is, but you can just thank him the first chance you get, like when you bump into him in the corridor or happen to share an elevator ride with him.”
I give Stella a puzzled look. “I would have thought he had his own private elevator.”
“He does, but every now and then he takes the other one just to let himself be seen, remind his employees that they’re all working towards the same goals.”
“Really? He didn’t strike me as someone who cared about his employees when I met him in Zurich.”
Stella grins. “That’s because he looks so serious most of the time. Scary even. But he does care. He’s actually a big kid at heart.”
Her words—and more particularly the tone of her voice—give me pause. There’s also that look on her face when she’s talking about Ethan Hawthorne. Is this how an assistant talks about her boss? My female intuition tells me no.
Is Stella Ethan Hawthorne’s girlfriend? She doesn’t seem to be wearing a ring, so she’s not his wife or fiancée, and yet there’s something there. But she’s pregnant. Is it Ethan’s? Is that even allowed?
I suddenly have a lot of questions, but I decide to keep my mouth shut. I’m new. I’m curious, but I don’t want to be nosy. Besides, who the CEO knocks up, whether it’s his assistant or some foreign-born heiress, is really none of my business. I’ll give this the Swiss treatment and leave it alone.
Just then, Stella’s phone beeps. She looks at it.
“Oops. I have to go. If there’s anything wrong with the apartment, you can just call downstairs.”
“Okay.”
She places her hand on my arm and gives me a warm smile. “Again, welcome to Hawthorne Holdings. Welcome to Chicago. And I wish you all the best.”
I pat her hand. “Thank you.”
She walks towards the door but stops right in front of it and turns.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“I know Asher can come on a little too strong sometimes. He can seem careless, thoughtless. Sometimes, it seems like he speaks before he thinks…”
She sounds like she knows Asher well, too. Wait. Don’t tell me the baby is Asher’s?
“But he actually weighs everything carefully. He may seem lazy, but he takes work very seriously. And yes, he loves to flirt, but I think he’s actually maybe desperately searching for someone who can understand him and challenge him at the same time.”
I narrow my eyes at her. I know I said I’d keep my mouth shut, but I just can’t rein in my curiosity.
“I’m sorry, but are you and Asher…?”
Stella’s eyebrows go up. “What? No!”
She shakes her head.
“So you didn’t sleep with Asher?”
“Never.”
“So the baby isn’t…?”
“Not Asher’s,” Stella assures me. “Definitely not.”
And I believe her. Something in her eyes tells me she’s never even been interested in Asher, which is a first, I think, but understandable if she’s always been in love with someone else—like Ethan Hawthorne, for example. In fact, I’m even more convinced now that that’s the case.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “It’s just… I’ve heard things about Asher.”
Stella nods. “I know. That’s why I told you all that stuff just now. Some of the things you heard may have a grain of truth in them, but trust me, Asher isn’t a bad guy.”
But he is. After all, no decent man goes to a party with one woman, the one he asked and practically begged to go out with him, kisses her and then leaves with another, right?