by Jamie Knight
I’ve been living on my meager checks and tips from the diner, as well as Wesley’s cash and credit cards. He hasn’t seemed to mind – he has plenty to spare – but there’s the little problem of how I’ll ever get to this money that I’ve legitimately earned on my own, without telling him I’ve been keeping this huge secret from him this whole time.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit. How in the world did I end up in this situation? By not telling the truth, that’s how. And now, I don’t know how to fix it.
I’m tired of lying to him and I just want to come out with the whole entire truth even though I’m worried about how he’ll react. Suddenly, I feel like I’m about to hurl the piece of celebratory cake I just ate, all over everyone in the world.
What in the world? Maybe there’s something bad about the cake. But no one else looks sick. Maybe I’m getting a stomach bug.
“Excuse me…” I say to Kristy, as I hurry off to the bathroom.
I barely make it to the toilet before I’m throwing up all over the place. I’m not the throwing up type, even when I have a stomach bug. But now, I can’t seem to stop hurling. Something is definitely out of the ordinary.
I think about the date, and start counting backwards in my head. When is the last time I had my period?
Shit.
I haven’t had it since I met Wesley. And we haven’t exactly been super careful. Sure, during the few times he didn’t use a condom, he pulled out, but I know from health class that it isn’t a surefire method. I used to think they were just trying to scare us when they said that.
But now, as my stomach churns even more, I begin to realize that I might have another secret I’ve been accidentally keeping from Wesley. And it’s because I didn’t even know, myself.
***
I hurry out of the bathroom, hoping I can sneak out of the office without anyone seeing me. I need to go take a pregnancy test, pronto. But, I’m out of luck, because people are gathered in the lobby and see me.
“Oh, there you are, Mariah,” Kristy says, with fake concern in her voice. “Are you okay? You disappeared on us.”
The look on her face says she’d only be too happy if I got sick or died. I’m in the middle of thinking how to answer her when Wesley comes up, carrying two champagne flutes.
“I’ve been waiting for the guest of honor,” he says, with a twinkle in his eyes.
Shhhh, my own eyes implore him. They’re going to know we’re together if you keep doing things like this.
“Here you go,” he says, handing me one of the glasses. “Cheers. To your big sale!”
I look at the clear liquid, knowing I shouldn’t drink it. Plus, my stomach feels queasy at just the thought of it. I have to make up some excuse and get out of here, quickly.
“Thank you, Mr. Drive,” I tell him, doing my best to sound professional. “But I have to leave.”
“Leave?” he asks, looking confused. “The office is throwing you this party…”
“I know,” I tell him, regretfully. “And I’m very thankful. But I’m not feeling very well. I think I ate something bad, and… I also have to go get ready for the closing that’s coming up.”
“Oh, Mariah,” he says, waving a hand dismissively. “I know you’re a hard worker and we appreciate that, but you’ve worked hard enough on this deal, and certainly deserve a little relaxation and celebration before jumping right into the closing. That can wait…”
But I’m already headed out the door, trying to tell everyone else goodbye and thank you on my way. I can tell from the look on everyone’s faces that they’re confused, but I’m propelled by a strange momentum to leave the office and try to figure out what I’m going to do to try to straighten out my convoluted personal life as soon as possible.
Chapter 33
Mariah
I’m at Wesley’s house, and I have to hurry, because I don’t want him coming here and trying to ask me a bunch of questions. I need time and space to clear my head. I have a few days before the closing, and I’ve decided to put in a request for personal time at work. I’m still working at the diner, but nothing too stressful is going on there.
I haven’t let Sterling down again by forgetting about any of my shifts, and I don’t plan to. But as soon as I get my big commission check from selling Wesley’s house – if I can get it – I’ll need to break the news to Sterling that I’ll have no more use for the diner job.
My plan, of course, was to go inherit my dad’s company once I sell the house and get the check. But now, I’m not so sure I want to do that. I’ve enjoyed standing on my own two feet, and working with Wesley. I have a feeling that he’d cut me into his own company eventually, and I could have my wildest dreams come true, without having to rely on my father for any of it.
Still, it isn’t the same as being CEO of a whole company, like I had been planning to be my whole life when my dad retired. Old dreams die hard. And there’s the little problem of Wesley and me carrying on a secret relationship that no one at the firm knows about, and which could spell big trouble if they find out.
And there’s also the very big problem I’m beginning to suspect is happening inside of me. On that note, I pull out the pregnancy test I’d stopped at Walgreen’s and bought on my way here. I’d been wondering if I could even find it within myself to use it. It’s now or never, I decide. I better have all the facts before me when I’m trying to figure out what to do about the crazy mess I’ve gotten myself into.
I go into the bathroom and pee on the stick. As I wait to see the results, I cross my fingers that they’ll be negative. It doesn’t take long, however, for a big fat “plus” sign to show up on the digital stick.
Well, great.
I went and got myself knocked up. By my boss. And my father’s biggest rival, who doesn’t even know who I am.
I start to feel like the stupidest person on the planet. I have no idea how I’m going to make all of this okay again. I just know I can’t tell Wesley. Can I?
Wesley’s dog Carrie comes to greet me, and I bend over to rub her head, in between her ears where I know she likes to be scratched. She whines a bit, as if to urge me to tell Wesley so we can all live happily ever after.
“I love you, Carrie-Dog,” I tell her. “And, even though I’m too scared to admit it to anyone but you, I love Wesley, too. But this isn’t a movie. Things don’t work out the way our hearts want them to.”
I remind myself that Wesley and I had just recently talked again about how we need to keep our relationship secret. How it could ruin both of us at work, and ruin the company he’s built. Bringing a baby into the equation would just make all of that even worse.
I can’t help feeling a bit attached to the pregnancy, though. It’s hard to believe that he and I created something so small yet so powerful. I know I’m an independent woman and can do this on my own, if I have to. The money I’m getting in will be more than enough to provide for the baby and me for a while. And I’ll have done what my father wanted – selling a million dollar house – so he’ll have to give me the company, and then I really will be set.
I just don’t want to destroy Wesley’s life or company in the process. I’ll have to keep it secret and just let him know that it isn’t working out – for his sake, even though he won’t know that, and it sucks that he’ll be hurt. I can’t help thinking about the look in his eyes when he sees me. The way he wraps his strong, protective arms around me and brings my head in to lay on his toned, tatted chest…
Stop it, I tell myself. This isn’t a fucking fairy tale. You and your Prince Charming are not going to ride off into the sunset. This is real life, and you have to face it. Put your big girl panties on and do what you know is right for Wesley logically, even if in your heart you wish things could turn out differently.
I gather up my clothes and throw them into my suitcase. I pat Carrie on the head one last time and tell her goodbye, hoping she won’t judge me. And that she’ll know I miss her, almost as much as I’ll miss Wesley.
I d
ecide to go to another motel for a few days until the closing of the sale. At that point, I’ll just have to go back to the office and let Wesley know I’m quitting, and tell HR that I need the last name of the checks changed. I’ll tell the HR person it was due to a divorce or something, and hope they won’t figure out that my last name is the same as that of the biggest realtor in the city – or that they’ll think the connection is through marriage, not blood.
It’s the best plan I can come up, and I don’t know why I didn’t come up with it sooner. I suppose because I was thinking I was “in love” and wanting it all to turn out very differently. But, this is real life and it’s time to face the music… and the fact that I’m about to be a single parent.
Chapter 34
Wesley
It’s been three days, and I haven’t heard a word from Mariah. She asked off to HR for some personal time, which would be fine since she’s been working so hard and I know she said she wasn’t feeling well at the house selling celebration the company threw for her. But she left my house, with her stuff, and I have no idea where she went.
I now realize how little I know about her. I know she said she had gotten into a fight with her father and left home. I doubt she would go back home, but even if she did, I have no idea where that is. I’ve searched her name on Google and Facebook and no one matching her description or life comes up. It’s as if she’s a ghost, gone from my life without a word.
But she’ll have to come back for the closing, right? She wouldn’t have put all that time and effort into selling the house, just to have the deal fall through or not get the commission for it?
The whole thing is so bizarre, and makes no sense. Why would she leave after achieving such a victory? Was she just using me the whole time? And if so, why wouldn’t she have waited until afterwards to split?
All of these questions are fresh on my mind as I walk into the office. I am half hoping to see her here, but I have a feeling I won’t.
“Oh, hello Mr. Drive,” Kristy says from the reception desk. “How are doing this morning?”
“I’m okay,” I tell her, trying not to snap at her out of my own frustration. I know that she and Mariah don’t really get along, but she’s been a good receptionist and it’s not her fault I’m such a sour mood.
“Well, I just thought you might want to know something about our little Mariah dearest,” Kristy says, batting her eyes innocently. “For the good of the company, I thought I’d bring it up.”
“Okay, Kristy,” I tell her with a sigh. “What is it?”
“When she called to put in her personal time, HR asked me to make a note in her file. So I did, and I noticed something.”
“Yes, Kristy?” I prod her. Out with it already. “What did you notice?”
“She still has all her paychecks outstanding; none have been cashed. Don’t you think that’s a little odd, Mr. Drive? I wonder what she’s been doing working here, if she doesn’t really need the money. Also, when I was looking at her HR file I realized some details didn’t quite match up. I’m beginning to think she isn’t really who she says she is…”
“Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Kristy,” I tell her, cutting her off because I really think she is overstepping. None of this is any of her business. But is she onto something about Mariah? Something that would explain a lot of what has been going on and puzzling the fuck out of me?
“You’re welcome,” she says, with a chipper tone in her voice and her fake smile plastered back on her face. “Here’s her file, if you want to look into it yourself. I know it’s not really my place, but I’m just worried about the company. I want all the best for it. And for you.”
She’s looking at me like she wants to hit on me. I’m trying hard not to pay too much attention to what she’s saying, since it’s obvious she just wants Mariah’s job… and probably her entire life, too. Or at least, the life we did enjoy together before she disappeared. I’m sure that Kristy thinks she would make an easy replacement for that. But, no matter how mad I am at Mariah right now, I know it doesn’t work that way. I couldn’t just forget her cute laugh, her hot ass, her amazing work ethic.
I take the file from Kristy and feel determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. I can’t stop thinking about why Mariah would say she was sick at her party. She ran off to the bathroom and then out of the office. And why wouldn’t she even take a sip of her celebratory champagne?
Something is up and I’m going to figure out what it is. I hope that Mariah’s not out to pull some big scheme on me. Because I love the life we have together. And I want to do anything I can to save it.
Chapter 35
Mariah
I show up for the closing at the last possible moment. It’s at our real estate offices. I don’t want to be late for it, but neither do I want to give Wesley or Kristy or anyone else the opportunity to talk to me beforehand and ask a bunch of questions.
I’ve decided that after this closing, I’ll tell Wesley that I need to quit because I don’t want to jeopardize his business. I don’t want to break up with him, but nor do I see what other choice I have, because once he or anyone else finds out I’m carrying his child, my goal to preserve his well-being will fail. I feel like I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place – being with him and costing him his career, or leaving and breaking his heart.
So, I can’t say I’ve decided what to do about Wesley, per se, except that clearly more time is still needed to see what happens between us. I can’t deny that I’m hoping for the best of both worlds – once I leave the firm and am no longer his subordinate, there will be nothing to stop us from being together. But he might feel too betrayed once he finds out who my father is and what my career plans have been all along, and I couldn’t blame him for that.
Granted, I had no way to know that he and I would fall for each other when I so desperately applied for jobs on Craigslist, went to interview with his skeezy salesmen, or accepted the job. I didn’t know the coffee girl job would turn into a junior sales position. And I certainly didn’t know we’d fall for each other.
If things had worked out differently, I would definitely change my plans for Wesley. I’d love to work here with him all the time. Or maybe, after I took my place as head of Harper Realty once my dad retired, Wesley and I could merge realty companies and rule the real estate world. But, I’m sure that things will be very different once he finds out who I am, and none of it will appear as it really is.
Not to mention that I have no idea how he’d feel about the fact that I’m pregnant. I have no idea if he’d want to be a father or not. He’s spoken poorly about his relationship with his own father, and has mentioned when we’ve seen kids on TV or while out and about that he’s afraid to ever have kids because he thinks he’d fuck them up like his dad fucked him up.
I can relate to that fear very well, but I still want to have this baby. I know it’s different, though, when I’m the one carrying it and not him. I don’t want to get my hopes up that he would be happy about having a child.
So, after this I’ll let him know I’m quitting. But first I’ll go to HR to make sure it’s a done deal and that there’s no backing out for me. I’ll ask them to change the names on my paychecks and make the real estate commission check for this house out to Mariah Harper, not Mariah Young.
Barring any snags or hang-ups that get in my way – which, I’m sure there might be many due to Wesley probably wanting to talk to me before the closing or before I make it to HR, and not knowing how HR will handle my request for a name change – I’ll be out of here in time to work my very last shift at the diner. Then I’ll go to my dad’s house to let him know I fulfilled my part of the bargain, and that I’m ready for him to fulfill his.
“Oh, Mariah, there you are,” says Bill Piper, the realtor who represents the buyer of the home, as I rush into the conference room and take my seat. “We were just about to call you. And Mr. Drive has been looking for you.”
“Sorry about that,” I
tell him, sneaking a sheepish grin at Wesley, who is seated to my left and ready to get his house sold. “I was just going back over everything to make sure all I’ve dotted all my I’s and crossed all my T’s.”
And that part isn’t a lie. I’ve been so busy fretting over my current predicament and trying to make plans for the future that I let a little work slide until the last minute, which isn’t like me. It’s hard to work in a hotel room, and my mind has just been so frazzled.
“How are you?” Wesley asks me in a low whisper, looking as if he’s been worried about me. “Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes,” I tell him. “Thank you.”
Then I look over at Mr. Piper and ask in my most professional tone, “Are we ready?”
Bill nods at me and says, “Yes, I don’t want to let anything get in the way of me buying this house.”
“Me neither,” I tell him, thinking, if only you knew how much I mean that.
Chapter 36
Mariah
The closing is over, and everything has gone off without a hitch. Now, I just have to get to HR before Wesley tries to talk to me. I hurry to pick up my files and leave the office, while he’s exchanging pleasantries with the new owner of the house. I also have to swing by my office to pick up some personal things before carrying out my exit plan.
“Oh, Mariah, are you…?” I hear Wesley trying to talk to me, but he had been in the middle of a conversation with Bill, who interrupts him to go back to telling him about how he’s planning to change the detour, so it’s the perfect chance to keep hurrying away.
