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Damn.

I laid one-hundred percent of the blame on myself of course, for putting all my eggs in one basket. I’d just always thought that basket would be there. I was also to blame for not paying more attention to Skyline, and their rapid encroachment on the marketing industry. Their business had exploded so quickly, and in so many directions, I should’ve been wary of something like this.

It wasn’t all bad, though.

For one, the guys had taken to calling me every other day. They did it one at a time, taking turns making nighttime calls so they wouldn’t ‘overwhelm’ me. Gage had of course told them we’d spoken. In that respect, he reopened Pandora’s Box.

At this point I welcomed it though.

Still keeping things secret until the second trimester, I had no one to talk to about my pregnancy, not even my family. But with Devyn, Maverick and Gage, I had a whole trio to run my woes by. They got to hear all about my aches and pains, my mood swings and cravings. And it was good just being able to talk to them again. Their advice, as strange or funny as it was sometimes, was always welcome.

Another thing that happened: Gage started sending me gifts for the baby. They started small; adorable camouflage onesies, or bibs with funny sayings on them. They progressed to teething rings and toddler toys and even books, some of which I didn’t have the heart to tell him were years away from being read. Eventually the gifts got even bigger: activity jumpers and baby swings, even a really expensive-looking glider that would take me a good two hours to put together. Worst of all he sent these things to the office address, where they always arrived wrapped in plain brown paper.

I began piling the gifts in the back corner of my office, behind a large Ficus tree and a high-backed chair. But there were too many of them. So many I even stopped opening them. Eventually Aric came in and closed the door behind him, and the face he made was full of sarcastic excitement.

“Youknowall the walls in here are glass, right?”

I thought of two to three lies, in the span of five quick seconds. The lies all sucked though.

“Is it?” my assistant’s face lit up. “Areyou?”

He saw in my eyes before I even said it. For the first time in a while, I allowed myself a genuine smile.

“Yes. I am.”

Squealing with joy Aric rushed forward, engulfing me in those big, long arms. It felt wonderful, being enveloped by him. Squeezing him back, I let a single tear flow down my happy cheek.

“Juliana! CONGRATULA—”

And then the floodgates opened all the way, and I was crying openly into his chest.

It felt amazing, all around. The warmth. The comfort. The physical closeness of someone I knew and respected and even loved, holding me so tightly while I let out weeks worth of pent-up emotion and strain. For a full minute I just stayed there, crying but not sobbing. Not even caring that all the walls were glass, and the entirety of the company could be witnessing my apparent breakdown.

“This is amazing,” Aric was saying. “Better than amazing! Have you told your family? Is that where all these gifts are coming from?”

I shook my head. Aric put on his pondering face.

“Oh! I see!” He squeezed my shoulders. “They’re fromhim.” He examined my expression, trying to read me. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“A good one,” I croaked.

“Then I’m thrilled for you,” he said wholeheartedly. “I know how much you’ve wanted this, Juliana. I know how many hoops you’ve jumped through to get here.”

He looked down at me in a brotherly way and touched my cheek. His grin was so wide it was infectious.

“I can’t believe it! You’re going to have a baby!”

“I sure am.”

“Holy shit. Holy fucking shit!”

“I know,” I chuckled. “It still hasn’t hit me yet.”

“Wait until this poor kid sees what he’s up against!” Aric declared. “His mother’s a ruthless tyrant!” He paused for a moment, rubbing his chin in consideration. “Or maybe he or she will ruleyou,” he theorized.

“I doubt it,” I smirked.

“Oh no, I think that’s it,” Aric teased. “An adorable little boy is going to steal your heart. And if it’s a girl…” he shook his head slowly. “She’s going to be a mini version of yourself. She’ll give you such a run for your money you’ll be coming in here crying each morning, begging me for help.”