“Robert!”
I gasped when I heard the familiar, mature voice behind me.
“Anthony!” my dad shouted. “How’d you enjoy the show? I saw you slipped away for a bit. Find some young hotsy-totsy to play with?”
He flashed Anthony a wink. It sent a shiver down my spine.
“As a matter of fact, I did,” Anthony replied with a smirk.
That was my cue to turn around. I could not let Anthony tell my father what we had done. As soon as he saw me, confusion found its way into the line of his face.
“I had a good time,” he murmured as he drew nearer. “Just found a model I grew fond of during the show. You know how it is."
My father nodded.
“Message received,” he replied. “Speaking of models, you remember Lilli?”
With my eyes wide, I held my hand out and gave him a false smile.
“I think your wife used to babysit me.”
“She did,” he muttered, a look of horror on his face. “Lovely to see you again, Lilli. Pleasure as always, Robert.”
My father smiled as the limo pulled up.
“I’ll see you in the office on Monday?”
Anthony nodded.
“You will.”
Chapter Three – Reunited
Months passed by and I had not seen Anthony even once. Despite my numerous attempts to meet with him in his office, I could not seem to get a meeting with him. Something told me that he was ignoring my calls on purpose. Perhaps he knew why I was calling.
“Daddy, I really need a job,” I explained, crossing my legs
“What happened to Ariana Wyatt?” he asked. “Or all those agencies you’ve been applying to?”
“Ariana Wyatt never called me back and all of the agencies I’ve been trying to get in with are full,” I elaborated. “Look, I’m not asking you to hire me forever but working at Hawthorne and Dale will look really great on a résumé, so you’d be doing me a huge favor.”
He sucked on his teeth.
“I don’t like you working in the industry to begin with,” he grumbled. “You know this.”
I did know it. Ever since I was a young girl, I told my father how much I wanted to be a model. Instead of supporting me, he would tell me that he never wanted me to join the fashion industry. Unfortunately for him, I’m a stubborn girl that always looked up to her father. I would join the industry whether he liked it or not. He knew it too.
“Daddy, I know, but you’ll make me the happiest girl on the planet if you give me a job. Please, please, please,” I begged. “I’ll do anything.”
“Anything?” he laughed. “Well, in that case, sure. I’ll give you a job. I need a new talent agent.”
I frowned. He seemed to be doing everything he could to make sure that I never became a model.
“I won’t be modeling?” I asked. “I was really hoping for a modeling job…”
Deep down, I knew that my modeling career would not last long. Though I was still slim, I was gaining weight every day.
“It’s either this or nothing,” he asserted.
“Okay,” I agreed. “But what exactly do I do? Just go around and find models?”
He chuckled and replied, “It’s not that easy. Look, I’ve gotta leave town tomorrow, but come on in. Anthony will be here. I’ll have him show you the ropes.”
My heart was pounding in my chest. I had not seen Anthony since our run-in at the fashion show in Los Angeles.
“A-Anthony?” I stammered. “Can’t one of the other talent managers just—”
“They’re busy. Anthony won’t be,” he cut me off. “Why? Do you have a problem with my business partner?”
I gave him an awkward smile and shook my head.
At least it’ll give me a chance to talk to him, I thought. Captive audience.
It wasn’t the way that I wanted to tell him, but it would have to do.
Anthony seemed shocked to find me in his office. It was eight o’ clock in the morning, which was the earliest I had been up since college. A cup of coffee was in my hand, and I was lucky I didn’t spill it as soon as we met eyes.
“L-Lilli! What’re you doing here?” he asked, his eyes wide. “Shouldn’t you uh—shouldn’t you be in school or something?”
I laughed and threw a smirk his way.
“I’m not a teenager, Anthony,” I said. “My dad gave me a job. I’m here to work.”
He narrowed his eyes. He didn’t seem enthused by the idea of us working together.
“And your dad—he doesn’t know about us?” he asked.
“Of course not,” I replied, shaking my head. “No reason to worry him.”
He let out a sigh of relief.
“Yes, no need to worry him at all,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “So how have you been? Busy?”
I shrugged.
“Not really. That’s why I’m here. I need some cash.”
“Fair enough,” he murmured. “Well, we always have room for a beautiful woman on the staff. Welcome to Hawthorne and Dale.”
His hand was outstretched. It was strange to shake hands with the man that took my virginity. I obliged, nonetheless.
“So about the fashion show—”
“Never happened,” he interjected. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
I frowned.
“But—”
“No buts. I’m your boss now, and if I say it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen”.
Chapter Four – All the Signs
Working with Anthony was nothing less than bizarre. Avoiding him was nearly impossible, but that was all that I wanted to do. I couldn’t bury the feelings I had for him if he was working within ten feet of me. Unfortunately, that was always the case. Our offices were right next to one another. It was almost as though the universe was playing tricks on me.
“This is a goddamn nightmare!” I heard him exclaim from the next office over. “I need those timesheets on my desk tomorrow. I mean it, Sharon!”
I cringed as his phone clashed against the hook. Only a few seconds later, there was a knock on my door. I assumed that it was one of the secretaries, as per usual.
“Come in!” I called. “It’s open!”
The doorknob turned. As the door opened, my heart jumped into my throat. There stood the man that deflowered me, broad-shouldered and elegant. He ran his fingers through his salt and pepper hair.
“Lilli, can I get you to call Vienna Humboldt? We had a mix-up and we need to reschedule her shoot.”
I nodded and seized the phone.
“Right away.”
“Thanks,” he whispered, stepping out of the room.
He still did not know my secret. Little did he know, it was his secret too.
Later that afternoon and several phone calls later, I had rescheduled Vienna’s shoot. Her agency was displeased to say the least, but I would do anything to get Anthony’s attention. I needed to build a relationship with him. Maybe then I would work up the courage to talk to him.
The door creaked open. I looked up from my computer.
“Good work today, Lilli,” Anthony muttered. “Was she pissed?”
“Well, she wasn’t impressed,” I admitted. “But I calmed her down and sent for a gift basket.”
He gave me a thumbs up.
“You’ve been a godsend around here. I hope you know that.”
I flashed him a witty grin.
“I know.”
He closed the door. That was my cue. I unbuttoned my pants and let my gut hang out. In the fashion world, it was perhaps the most unattractive thing I could’ve done. However, I had been having some complications. It had been four months since my rendezvous with Anthony. I had not had a menstrual cycle ever since.
The morning vomiting had started weeks back. Though I tried to convince myself that it was all from stress, I was showing all the signs. I always felt sick. I was gaining weight. I was constantly having
the strangest cravings. I couldn’t run from reality anymore. For the first time since my father hired me, I was actually glad that I wasn’t a model.
Suddenly, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I ran out of my office and to the unisex bathroom. It was occupied. I knocked as hard as I could.
“I-I need in!” I shouted through the door. “Can you hurry up?”
No response.
“Please? I-I’m not feeling so well!”
“I’m in here!”
It was Anthony’s voice. My face fell. He was the last person I wanted knowing about my constant nausea.
“Bit of an emergency!” I yelled through the door. “Please—oh God!”
Then, it happened. In the middle of the hallway, I vomited. He would be stepping out soon, right into a pile of my sickness. I could not let him know. My coworkers couldn’t know. Nobody could know. Nobody except my father. I simply could not deal with the humiliation I would face if I was not only the boss’s daughter, but if I was also caught sleeping with his partner. Everyone in the office would have a field day.
“Hold your horses! I’m just washing my hands,” he called. “One second.”
I stared at the pile of vomit in horror. I had no way to clean it up.
“O-or you can stay in there! Not an emergency anymore! I’ll be f—”
I couldn’t finish my sentence. I heaved onto the floor once more.
Then, he stepped out. His eyes widened as he saw the pile of sick on the linoleum. It was almost as though he knew.
“I’m sorry. I said it was—”
“Vomiting again,” he muttered. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were pregnant.”
My face whitened. I had no idea how he knew that I’d been vomiting regularly. I thought I had been hiding it. Apparently, I was not as sneaky as I thought.
“W-well…”
“Well what?” he asked, laughing. “You aren’t, are you?”
I scratched the back of my head.
“About that…”
“About what?” he asked, in a rush. “About what, Lillian? You can’t just say ‘about that’ and leave me without anything else!”
I bit my lip.
“I have been exhibiting some of the signs,” I murmured.
“Like what signs?” he asked.
“All of them,” I said in a small voice. “But it’s nothing. Nobody has noticed.”
“Well, people are going to notice eventually, It isn’t—” His voice lowered. “—mine, is it?”
I took a deep breath.
“You’re the only person I’ve slept with.”
“Please tell me you’re kidding,” he muttered, putting his face in his hands. “Ugh, not again.”
“Again?” I asked. “So you get virgins pregnant often?”
“Virgins, no,” he grumbled. “Girls that I shouldn’t have gotten pregnant? Yes. But usually—well. We usually take care of it. Models don’t like being pregnant.”
I looked down at the vomit-stained floor.
“And that’s what you expect of me.”
He sighed and shook his head.
“I don’t expect anything out of you. I just know what I would usually do.”
I bit my tongue and nodded.
“I understand.”
It was a lie. I didn’t understand.
Chapter Five – Dinner and Lies
Millie J’s was the hottest restaurant in town. Reservations reportedly took months, yet somehow, Anthony was able to get us in that evening. Thankfully, my father was in Denver. There was no chance he would run into us.
“So you’re pretty far along then,” he murmured. He took a sip of champagne and added, “You don’t look it.”
“I’m a slim woman,” I replied. “It’s been fairly easy to hide, but trust me. I’ve put on a few pounds.”
“Does your father know?” he asked.
“About us? No.”
“So he doesn’t even know you’re pregnant?” he inquired, furrowing his brow. “Don’t you think he’s gonna find out?”
I chuckled and laced my fingers together on the table.
“Oh, he knows I’m pregnant,” I admitted. “I told him right away. He was surprisingly cheery about the whole thing. But he doesn’t know it’s yours.”
Sweat was dripping from his brow. I could tell that he feared my father’s wrath. Admittedly, so did I. He would be furious if he knew I’d slept with Anthony.
“And do you plan on telling him?” he asked, cutting his steak rather aggressively.
“I don’t think so,” I said, shrugging. “I told him it was an old boyfriend’s. He thinks that I just can’t track the guy down. Hopefully he doesn’t find out I lied.”
“I see,” he muttered. “I wish you didn’t wait so long to tell me. We could’ve…done something about it.”
I shoveled my mouth full of leafy greens, though I was actually craving a burger.
“You aren’t still on about the abortion thing, are you?” I asked, furrowing my brow. “Because if that’s what you’re saying, maybe you shouldn’t be involved. It’s too late for anything like that. It’s irresponsible.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“I’m not saying it now. A few months ago it would’ve been an option but it’s not now, of course,” he muttered.
“So you would’ve asked me to abort it a few months ago?” I asked, angrily. “Just because you’re too much of a coward to raise a child? Is that it?”
He closed his eyes.
“Lillian, it isn’t that simple…”
“It is that simple, Anthony. This child is part of us and you won’t be able to have anything to do with it,” I shouted. “If you weren’t such an idiot—”
“Lillian, please. You’re making a scene,” he murmured.
Onlookers gawked at us. I didn’t care.
“That’s more than you’re willing to do!” I yelled. “I’m going to raise this baby myself, but it’d be nice to at least know that you’re supporting my decision. But no! You want me to abort it? Screw you, Anthony.”
I got to my feet.
“Lillian, sit down. You’re making us look bad.”
“No, Anthony. You’re making yourself look bad.”
And with that, I stormed out.
Chapter Six – The Shoot
Managing a career and a pregnancy is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. The higher-ups were starting to expect more and more from me, and nobody in the office except Anthony and my father knew about my pregnancy. As the five month mark approached, it was becoming hard to hide.
Leo was one of the most important men in the company. Though he wasn’t as important as my father or Anthony, he was certainly someone that could ruin my career if I didn’t make him happy. Sadly, it seemed like I was doing just that.
“What are you doing?” he scolded, a sassy hand on his hip. “These are the girls you bring me? I told you I wanted a Chloe and you brought me five Brittanies. I can’t work with this!”
“I’m so sorry, sir,” I apologized, my face reddening. “I’ll fix it. I promise.”
I was trying to fight the nausea and the constant yelling was not helping my situation. I was fighting the urge to vomit on his nine-hundred dollar shoes.
“This is the most important shoot of summer,” he whined. “Why oh why can’t you get this right? I know you’re Robert’s daughter and you’ll always have a job here, but if you can’t start doing better, I may have to have a word with him. I may not be able to fire you, but I can make your life hell, honey. You count on that.”
I gulped. I was afraid that I would vomit all over him if I opened my mouth. My stomach was rolling.
“Well? Are you just going to stare at me like some kind of idiot or are you going to come up with some ideas?” he spat.
“Look, I’ll call the agency and see if they can send someone else over—”
“And how long will that t
ake?” he asked, pursing his lips. “I don’t have all day, sweetie. However long it’s going to take one of those cokehead bitches to get down here is going to be waaay too long for me to wait. No, we have to make The Brittany Five work or else the entire shoot is screwed.”
“So you don’t want me to get someone else,” I confirmed, slowly. “O-okay. I’m sorry. I’ll get some more stylists up here and—”
“We don’t need more stylists,” he spat, turning one of the girls a bit to the right. “We need a miracle.”
I gave him a nervous smile. I was not sure what else to do. He was going to yell at me no matter how I responded. There was nothing I could do that would make him happy. My anxiety was at an all-time high.
“Well, I can’t give you a miracle, but I can get you as many people as you need.”
He sucked on his teeth.
“Oh, you’ve done enough, Lillian.”
Suddenly, the camera crew and went rigid and the models bettered their poses. I could feel the tension in the room. It could only mean one thing.
Anthony was there.
“How is everything coming?” he asked, his hands cuffed behind his back. “Well, I trust? It looks like you’ve gotten some beautiful ladies in here.”
He grabbed a model’s hand and kissed it. I could see the blush in her cheeks, even under all her pasty makeup. A surge of jealousy ran through me.
“Well, things would be going better if Lillian had her shit together,” Leo spat, crossing his arms. “My vision for this collection just can’t come together with five Brittanies. I don’t even have one Chloe. Not one!”
Anthony frowned.
“Why do their names matter?”
Leo scowled.
“When I say a Brittany, I mean blonde, skinny. I needed Chloes. Dark, mysterious. Wide-eyed and free,” he explained, closing his eyes. “There isn’t enough black lipstick on the planet to turn these women into Chloes.”
“So rework the shoot,” Anthony suggested. “These ladies seem talented enough to me. Lilli’s job is to find talent. She did that. I’m failing to see what the problem is here.”
Romance: SPORTS ROMANCE: The First Half (Bad Boy Alpha Male College Football Romance) (New Adult Contemporary Pregnancy Romance) Page 13
