Page 133 of Nine Months to Bear

“There. Better.” Elena pats my cheek. “Now, eat something.” She pushes the pastry box toward me. This time, the smell doesn’t make me want to puke.

“Elena?” I pause. “What if he never comes around? What if this is all I ever am to him?”

She pauses at the doorway. “Then you take your child and leave. Build your life without him. Show him what he lost. But I don’t think it will come to that.”

“Why not?”

“Because Stefan Safonov has done many terrible things. But the best thing he ever did was fall in love with you. And he knows it.”

50

STEFAN

“You didwhat?”

Mikayla doesn’t flinch at my tone. She never does. That’s what makes her invaluable—and right now, infuriating.

“Is that a trick question?” she asks.

“Don’t get cute with me, Mikayla.”

She scowls. “When have you ever known me to ‘get cute’ with anyone?”

“I didn’t ask you to do this.”

Dirty deals are part of the business. If this were anyone else, I’d be clapping Mikayla on the back and telling her to keep it up.

She knows it, too. That’s why she’s both pissed and confused. “You didn’t have to ‘ask me.’ It’s my job. This is exactly what I do every time you tell me you want to acquire a business. And in this case, I executed standard acquisition protocol.” She throws a folder across my desk. “I identified our target’s weaknesses, applied pressure, and created favorable conditions for purchase.Just like I’ve done a million fucking times before, per your orders.”

I don’t touch the folder; I know what’s inside.

Documentation of how she’s been systematically destroying Olivia’s clinic.

“Define ‘pressure.’”

“All the usual shit. Anonymous complaints to the medical board. Negative reviews on fertility forums. Strategic client poaching through intermediaries.” Mikayla’s voice remains clinical. “Just business.”

Just business.I hate that phrase more and more with every passing day.

Mikayla sees me brooding and lifts a brow. “Or did I get this wrong?” she asks sarcastically. “Were we willing to pay a fat premium for this sinking shitshow of a business just because little Miss M.D. puts out?”

My gaze flies to hers, scathing and hot. “I pay you to do my dirty work, not to question me. In fact, I pay you to do whatever the fuck I want and shut the fuck up about it afterwards. Is that clear?”

“What’s clear,” she fires back, “is that you’ve completely lost the fucking plot! You realize that Walsh is orchestrating a takedown of your little girlfriend, right? I have evidence that suggests she’s going to out your relationship and use the scandal to undermine AFS.”

“Let her do her worst. I can handle Rebecca Walsh.”

“Yeah,” Mikayla hisses bitterly. “Apparently, you can handleallthese women, all by yourself.”

“Is there a fucking problem?” I demand. “Because you seem to have a stick shoved up your ass about something.”

Anger burns bright in those cobalt blue eyes, but she has the sense not to escalate things. “If you’re done with me, I have shit to do.”

I wave her away with a flick of my fingers, knowing that it’ll piss her off further. She leaves with a hiss and a slam of the door.

Jesus. What the fuck is going on?

It feels like Olivia has turned my world upside down. Even the stuff I counted on is no longer reliable.