by Sandi Lynn
He pushed the button to the fiftieth floor and then slid in a keycard and pushed the button to Lucas’s penthouse. Damn. I knew it.
“You’re pregnant?” he asked, and I swore I heard a bit of disappointment in his tone.
“I am.” I smiled.
“Congratulations.” He gave me a nod.
“Thank you.”
When the doors opened on the fiftieth floor, I took the rest of my bags from him.
“Thank you for your help.”
“You’re most welcome. It’s not every day I get to help a beautiful young woman.” He gave me a wink.
“Somehow, I doubt that.” I pointed at him as I grinned and walked down the hall to my apartment.
Wow. He was as smooth as his son.
Chapter 17
Lucas
“I want to meet the woman who figured out what you couldn’t and almost cost this company a serious amount of money,” my father spoke as we sat in the conference room going over the financial reports.
“She should be here in a few minutes.” I let out a sigh. “I sent her a text message last night telling her to come straight to the conference room.”
There was a light knock on the door, and when I looked up, Jenna stepped inside holding a coffee from Starbucks. My father turned around instantly a wide smile graced his face.
“You?” He grinned as he got up from his seat.
“Hello, Mr. Thorne. I’m Jenna Larson.
I sat there narrowing my eye at the both of them.
“Am I missing something here?” I asked.
“I had no idea.” My father walked over, took Jenna’s hand and brought it up to his lips.
“Your father helped me with my shopping bags yesterday when I arrived home,” Jenna spoke.
“She certainly had a lot of them.” My father smiled. “We must be paying her an awful lot of money.”
“Well, considering her educational background, we are.”
“I would love for you to join the two of us for dinner tonight,” my father said to her.
Shit.
“Actually, I have—”
“Cancel them. I insist you join us.”
“Alright. If you insist.”
“Excellent. Lucas will fill you in on the details.”
“Looking forward to it.” She looked at me as she bit down on her bottom lip.
“You can get to work now,” I said. “I’ll drop by your office later.”
“Okay. It was nice to officially meet you, Mr. Thorne.”
“And you as well, darling.” He smiled. “That one is a little spitfire,” he said as he sat down across from me.
“Why do you say that?”
“I can tell from the brief conversation we had yesterday about shopping. Did you know she’s pregnant?”
I swallowed hard as I could feel the beads of sweat starting to form.
“Yes. She told me before I hired her.”
“She’s not married, but I’m assuming there is a boyfriend.”
“I don’t know, Dad. She’s just one of my employees. I don’t know her personal life.”
“I see. Well, that’s the best way to keep employer/employee relationships.”
After we finished going over the financial reports, I headed down to Jenna’s office and shut the door.
“Hey,” she said as she glanced up at me.
“You told my father you were pregnant?” I took the seat across from her desk.
“He asked me if I did a celebratory shopping because I got my cast off. I told him no, and that I was pregnant, and nothing fit me anymore. Don’t worry. He doesn’t know you’re the father and he never will.” She rolled her eyes.
“I have a feeling he’s going to be asking you a lot of questions at dinner, so you better be prepared.”
“Don’t worry about me, Lucas. I can handle your father.”
“Nobody can handle my father, Jenna. Dinner reservations are for seven o’clock at Daniel. Please try to be on time. If there’s one thing he hates is when people are late.”
“I’ll be there on time.”
I got up from my seat and headed towards the door.
“By the way, why didn’t you tell me you were getting your cast off yesterday?”
“I honestly didn’t think you’d care.” She smiled.
“Fair enough. Why are you wearing that thing?”
“I have to for a couple weeks when I’m here or out and about. I don’t need to wear it at home.”
“That’s good. I have to get back to my office. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay.”
I went to my office and shut the door. Sitting behind my desk, I turned my chair around and stared out at the city. My father wasn’t stupid and both she and I needed to be very careful with our conversations tonight.
Jenna
After freshening up a few of the waves in my hair, I changed into a black short sleeve baby doll dress and slipped my good foot into a comfortable black flat shoe. As I stood at the elevator waiting for it to stop on my floor, the doors opened, and Lucas was standing there.
“Hey,” I said as I stepped inside.
“Hey,” he spoke as he stood there with his hands tucked tightly into his pockets. “You look nice.”
“Thanks. So do you.”
“Since we’re leaving at the same time, you can just ride with me, I guess.”
“That’s okay. I have a cab waiting for me,” I spoke.
“We’re going to the same damn place.”
The doors opened and I stepped out.
“Then maybe you should have offered that earlier today and I wouldn’t have called a cab,” I said as I walked away and out the lobby doors.”
I climbed in the back of the cab and shut the door as Lucas stood there staring at me. I arrived at Daniel before he did and was taken to the table where his father sat.
“You look lovely, Jenna.” He stood from his seat and kissed my cheek.
“Thank you, Mr. Thorne.”
“Please, call me Lincoln.”
Just as I sat down, Lucas walked over and shot me a look.
“Son. I’m surprised you didn’t have Jenna drive with you since the two of you live in the same building.”
“I suppose it slipped my mind,” Lucas said as he looked at me.
“Well, I’m assuming it won’t slip your mind to drive her home.”
“No. It won’t.”
The waiter walked over and took our drink order.
“I’ll just have water. Thank you,” I said while Lucas and his father both ordered a scotch.
“So, Jenna, tell me about yourself,” Lincoln said.
“Well, there’s really not much to tell. I’m originally from Massachusetts, I graduated from M.I.T., and I moved here over a year ago.”
“Which big company lured you to the fine state of New York?”
“Actually, I moved here because my best friend lives here.”
“What about the baby’s father?”
“Dad, come on. That’s none of our business.”
“We aren’t together anymore. Things didn’t work out between us.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. How far along are you?”
“Almost seventeen weeks.”
“Being a single parent is hard. I should know. My son’s mother died during childbirth and—”
“Dad, that’s enough!” Lucas snapped.
“Anyway, I trust you’ll be able to handle it. You seem like a strong woman.”
“Thank you, Lincoln. I’m not worried.” I gave him a small smile.
After a stressful dinner, I said goodbye to Lincoln and climbed into the back of the car. Lucas slid in next to me and slammed the door shut.
“I think he suspects,” he said in an angry tone.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because he’s connecting all the dots, Jenna. I know my father.”
“You never told me your mother died.”
“Why would I?” He s
tared out the window.
“Your father raised you alone?”
“No. I had two nannies and servants that did a majority of the raising. The only thing he cared about was grooming me to take over the company one day. I feel like this is history fucking repeating itself.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Nothing. I’m done discussing this.”
I shoved my key in my purse and set it down on the counter as I took off my shoe. There were two sides to Lucas Thorne and that became clearer this evening. One side of him was a powerful rich man who had a caring nature when he decided to let it out. The other side of him was a frightened boy who never knew his mother and lived with a man he called his father whom he tried to please his entire life. But I got the feeling that no matter what he did, it was never good enough. I knew Lucas was damaged in his own way, but I didn’t know to what extent. We were opposites. While he was trying to show his father he could be the best, I was showing my parents that I didn’t want to be. I suspected he sought his father’s approval for everything, while I sought my parent’s disapproval.
At first when he told me he couldn’t be a father I thought it was because he loved his bachelor life too much. That he was just a selfish man who couldn’t be bothered. Maybe that was still the case, but after meeting his father and seeing the two of them together, I believed it was something much deeper.
Chapter 18
Jenna
I was in the break room pouring myself a cup of coffee when Lincoln walked in.
“Good morning, Jenna. You’re just the person I wanted to see.”
“Good morning Mr.—Lincoln.”
“I’d like you to join me for lunch today. I have a couple things I need to discuss with you.”
“Okay. Will Lucas be joining us as well?”
“No. It’ll be just us. Don’t mention this to Lucas either. Understand?”
“Yeah. Sure. I won’t mention it.” I furrowed my brows.
“I’ll meet you downstairs in the lobby at noon and we’ll drive together,” he said as he walked out of the break room.
I stood there leaning up against the counter as I brought my cup up to my lips. What could he possibly want to talk about?
“Morning,” Lucas said as he walked in and interrupted my thought.
“Good morning.”
“Is everything okay?” he asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
“Yeah. Everything’s fine. Why?”
“You looked like you were in deep thought.”
“I was just thinking about all the stuff I have to do.” I gave him a small smile before I headed back to my office.
Looking at the time on my phone, it was eleven fifty-five. Grabbing my purse, I headed down to the lobby where Lincoln was already waiting. We climbed into the back of his limousine where he spent the entire ride to The Capital Grille on a business call. The moment we stepped inside the restaurant, we were immediately taken to our table.
“Good afternoon, I’m Clarissa, and I’ll be waiting on you today. May I start you off with something to drink?”
“I’ll just have water. Thank you.” I smiled at her.
“And I’ll have a scotch on the rocks, darling.” Lincoln gave her a wink.
“So, to what do I owe the pleasure of having lunch with you today?” I asked as I picked up my menu.
“Maybe I just wanted to have lunch with a beautiful woman.”
“Perhaps. But not today, Lincoln. Especially with a pregnant woman.” I arched my brow at him.
He let out a chuckle as Clarissa set our drinks down and took our lunch order.
“Down to business. I like that about you.” He took a sip of his scotch. “I know that child you’re carrying is my son’s.”
I inhaled a sharp breath, and I needed to play it cool.”
“What makes you think that?” I cocked my head at him.
“I’m not stupid or ignorant, Jenna. I can put two and two together.”
“Then enlighten me, Lincoln.”
“My son was very nervous last night. He was afraid you were going to slip after he told you not to tell me. Then there’s the timing of you coming into the company. I pulled your file, and you were hired after you fixed the coding for the project my son was working on. The two of you had a one-night stand because that’s all Lucas is in for, and you either got pregnant on purpose because you saw an opportunity, or my son was irresponsible. But in all fairness, I’m going with he was irresponsible because a woman like you and with your brain, you don’t need a man to take care of you.”
“You’re right. I don’t need a man to take care of me. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.”
“Then there’s the fact that he put you up in his apartment, which I’m to assume was to keep you close. Lucas isn’t ready to be a father, Jenna, and he never will be.”
I picked up my glass and took a sip of my water just as Clarissa set our lunch down in front of us.
“The truth will come out. I just wanted to speak with you first,” he said.
He had me backed into a corner and this whole thing was stupid and a waste of my time. I wasn’t playing these games.
“You’re right, Lincoln. Lucas is this baby’s father, and your grandchild. But we both had an agreement that he will have nothing to do with the baby and I will raise it on my own. I want nothing from your son.”
“But you’re working for our company and you rented his apartment. It seems like you want something.”
“I was in a bind and he helped me out. You know what?” I set down my fork in disgust. “I saved that project for your company and this is how you treat me? You should be fucking grateful I did what I did. Lucas didn’t ask me to do it. I saw it in his office in the penthouse and I took it upon myself to do something to repay him for letting me stay there after I broke my foot in his building.”
“I am grateful to you, Jenna. Don’t misinterpret that. But that’s over and done with. Now we have a new set of problems.”
“So you’re saying my child is a problem?”
“I’m saying it’s a problem if Lucas were to be involved.”
“Why would that be a problem?” I cocked my head at him.
“Because when you feel, you stop thinking. And when you stop thinking clearly, everything goes to hell. Lucas has firsthand experience with that.”
“Is that some bullshit line you’ve been feeding him his whole life? And what about his mother?”
“She was a woman I met and had a few good times with. She meant nothing to me. When she told me she was pregnant, I sent her to get an abortion. She couldn’t go through with it, so I paid her off and she left town. Before she gave birth, she filled out some paperwork at the hospital listing me as the father and the emergency contact. When the hospital called to tell me she had passed away during childbirth and to come take Lucas home, I really didn’t have a choice. I didn’t plan on keeping him, but then I saw an opportunity to keep our family legacy going just like my father always wanted. But it stops with Lucas.”
“You’re a real piece of work, Lincoln. And I would never in a million years let my child be involved with your family. In fact, this baby won’t even have the Thorne name.”
“Good. That’s what I wanted to hear. Lucas has enough responsibilities, and he doesn’t need to add a child to the mix of things.”
I pushed my plate away, wiped my mouth on a napkin and threw it on the table.
“Are we finished here?” I asked as I got up.
“I believe so.”
“I’ll take a cab back to the office.” I reached over and grabbed my purse.
“Jenna?” He called out to me and I turned to him.
“I think you should reconsider working for Thorne Technology. As good as you are, I can’t be having any distractions, and neither can Lucas. Name your price?”
“My price?”
“I will pay you a reasonable sum of money to get out of New York a
nd never contact Lucas again. That way, you won’t have to work, and you can solely focus on raising that child. You’re a very smart woman and you know what the right thing to do is.”
“Let me think about it, and I’ll get back to you. I’m sure I can come up with a good number that will benefit us both.” I turned and left the restaurant.
I thought my parents were horrible people, but Mr. Lincoln Thorne took the cake as far as parenting went. Now, everything was crystal clear where Lucas was concerned. He was merely a puppet and his father was the puppet master.
Chapter 19
Lucas
I was heading to my office when I heard Jenna call out my name. Backing up and stepping into her office, I could tell she seemed off.
“What’s up?”
“Can you come over after work? I need to talk to you about something.”
“Is it really important? I have plans tonight with Danny.”
“If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be asking.”
“We can’t discuss it now?”
“No, Lucas. We can’t. For fuck sakes, just forget it,” she shouted.
“No.” I sighed. “I’ll come over. Watch that attitude, Miss Larson.”
“When you watch yours, I’ll watch mine.” Her brow arched at me as she spoke in a snippy tone. “It works both ways, Mr. Thorne.”
I couldn’t help but smile as I shook my head and headed to my office.
I had a late lunch, so I wasn’t worried about dinner when I stood outside the door of Jenna’s apartment at seven p.m. After I knocked, she opened the door and I stepped inside. The smell of something enticing infiltrated the air.
“Are you cooking something?” I asked.
“I’m making baked spaghetti. It’ll be done in a few minutes.”
“I hope you didn’t make that for me because I don’t plan on staying.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, Lucas. I made it for me and the baby. We’ve both been craving carbs like crazy the past few days.”
“Oh. What did you want to talk to me about?” I asked as I followed her to the kitchen.
She grabbed a glass of scotch from the counter and handed it to me.
