Page 29 of Power Move

“I’m telling you it fucking is.”

Davey pulled my door closed.

“No one is here, Davey. No one?—”

“Thiscannotget out!”

I rolled my eyes. “You think this is a threat to you?”

“Well, yes!”

“That’s cute.” I crossed my arms, even more annoyed.

“Can you… can you not?” Davey asked.

“Not what? Like get rid?—”

“No, that.” He gestured wildly. “I am never going to be able to have thisveryserious conversation with you if you push your breasts up like that!”

“These are my breasts, Davey, I’m not doing shit to makeyoufeel better. Nor am I planning on getting rid of it, so just… back the fuck off!”

My voice reverberated.

Davey approached the desk, planted his left pointer fingerdown, and with a low voice, “I’m not fucking asking for you to do anything. I am asking you to please stop parading around here in next to nothing looking so good while I’m trying to wrap my head around how I impregnated you in a hotel room on the Mag Mile. Do you know what this could do to me? To the company?”

I leaned forward. “Withnorespect due, Mr. Delphine, you are the heir to billions, a man who no doubt lives like a prince, and with no worries. I am a woman still in the beginnings of a bright career who will be painted a whore for sleeping her way to the top. Trust me, I’m trying to quit but your sister cares too much about me to accept my resignation.”

“Fuuuuuuck,” he groaned, pacing. “What do we do?”

I shook my head. “If I had an idea, I would have already solved the equation.”

Davey

I reeled.

Pregnant? She waspregnant. And she said it was mine. Did I trust her? Did I have any reasonnotto? Eva was right. The condom broke. She was of child-bearing age, so it made sense. But she took the pill, right? She didn’t seem like some sort of trap queen who’d tie herself down to keep me around. She was smart—smarter than me.

I grabbed a pen from her desk, needing to occupy my fingers as I thought. The urge to smoke—something I hadn’t done in a fucking decade—overwhelmed me. I’d made it through my father’s funeral a year and a half ago without the urge, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how badly I wanted to smoke. I rolled the pen between my fingers in my left hand.

“Are you left-handed?” Eva asked.

“If I tell you yes, will you think I’m brilliant?”

“No, but it’s something I’m noticing. Nervous?”

I stood again. “How did it happen? You took the pill, right?”

“I did. They are not as effective as we’d hoped. And, for the record, there are two pills. One is better for people who aren’t model skinny, and the other is for mere mortals like me. You got the skinny pill.”

“What?” I furrowed my brow. “I never called you fat.”

“No, my gyno did,” Eva said. “Because I’m too fat.”

I did a double take. “She’s either daft or on drugs.”

“Daft? God, you’re a trip,” Eva said.

“Do you everstoptaking the piss?”