Page 336 of The Morally Grey Billionaires Boxset

Penny

"He fired you?" Mira asks me with a wide-eyed gaze.

I left the office, pausing only long enough to peek in on Tiny on the first floor of the building where Knight instituted a doggy day care.

I turned down Rudy’s offer of a lift and took public transport to the apartment I’d shared with Mira.

A-n-d you heard that right. The wonders of having money—you wave your hand, and up springs a day care center for pets in the building that houses your office, with qualified staff to take care of the fur babies.

That move earned Knight a lot of brownie points with his staff, not that he's aware of it.

Not that he did it with the view to garnering good will.

He explained that this way, Tiny would be taken care of during the day, and he could peek in on the mutt.

Of course, now that I'm not working, I can take care of Tiny.

Assuming I'm staying with him. Which I'm not really sure about.

"Yep, gave me some bullshit about my being his wife, so it doesn’t make sense for me to work for him." I peer into the glass of wine Mira poured for me as soon as I walked in the door.

"You are his wife—"

"Fake wife," I burst out. "Also, he has another wife."

"Eh?" She blinks. "What do you mean fake wife? And he can’t have another wife. You’re his wife."

Oh, ugh, I broke the non-disclosure clause in the agreement I signed. Well, too late now.

"He, uh, proposed I marry him—not for real, of course—so he could fulfill the conditions his father laid down and get full control of his company.

Also because"—I hunch my shoulders—"uh, we had unprotected sex, so.

.." I blush a little. Damn, I sound so stupid when I say that aloud.

Who, in this day and age, has sex without a condom?

"You’re not on birth-control?" She frowns.

"Never thought about it, to be honest—" She opens her mouth, and I raise my hand. "In retrospect, it was incredibly stupid of me, but I was too focused on taking care of my mum and finding a job to pay my bills. Also, you knew I was a virgin, so I really didn’t feel the need to be on it."

"And he didn’t wear a condom?"

I shake my head. "He said he got too carried away in the moment."

"Hmm."

"What does that mean?"

"The same Knight who’s always so wound up and tightly in control got carried away."

"You don’t think he did it on purpose, do you?" I ask in a small voice.

"Hey, I’m not here to guess at his motives. Maybe it was an honest mistake. Maybe." She raises a shoulder. "Maybe it wasn’t."

"Either way, I’m fucked. Literally. Because I could be pregnant with his child."

She gapes. "Jesus, I need a drink." She takes a sip of the wine from her glass, then glances at mine. "No wonder you aren’t drinking now. In fact," —she knits her eyebrows—"you weren’t drinking at your reception, either."

"I wish I’d been able to. When he left halfway through that lunch, I wanted to sink through the floor and hide myself."

"He’s really making your life interesting, huh?" she murmurs.

I laugh. "Oh, my god, you’ve become so Brit in your reactions."

"Right?" She puffs up her chest. "I’ve been practicing how to be understated. I guess it’s paying off."

"You have a Brooklyn accent," I remind her.

"Doesn’t matter what I do; can’t get rid of that." She takes another sip of her wine. "So, you and he have an arrangement that includes sex, and a possible child on the way."

My stomach lurches. OMG, when she puts it that way. I place the glass on the coffee table. "Don’t forget the other wife."

"I thought you were joking when you mentioned that earlier," she murmurs.

"Sadly, not." My stomach makes grumbling noises, and I press my palm against it. "Turns out, the wife of one of his teammates who was killed while captive had a psychotic episode when she heard the news and now, thinks Knight is her husband."

"And let me guess. Out of a sense of responsibility, he’s been letting her continue the assumption?"

"You guessed it." Bile boils up my throat. "Uh, I think I’m going to be sick." My guts churn. I jump up, head to the bathroom, and am violently sick. I empty my stomach into the commode and manage to flush before I collapse against the wall.

"Here, honey, this should help." Mira places a wet washcloth against my forehead.

I sigh. "That feels good, thank you." I rest my eyes, until my stomach seems to settle down. And when I open them, it’s to find her looking at me with concern.

"What?" I take the glass of water she offers me and sip from it. "What is it, Mira?"

"Um, you puked, so you might be, you know—"

"I might be what?" I take another sip of water when realization hits. I spit out the water. "Ohmigod, ohmigod, you don’t think?" My hand trembles, and the glass slips from my fingers, but she catches it.

"I can’t be pregnant."

"Well, you did say you had sex without protection."

"But that was a week ago. I can’t be pregnant so soon, can I?"

The concern on her face deepens.

"Shit, where’s my phone? I need to check this on the internet."

"So, I could be pregnant. Damn, why can’t anyone agree about how soon after unprotected sex I could get pregnant?" I scowl down at my phone.

We’re back in the living room, where the two of us have been searching the Internet for some facts on my possible condition, and sadly, I’m none the wiser. I could be pregnant, or not. "Either way, it’s too early for symptoms to be present," I conclude.

She tosses her phone aside, reaches for her glass of wine, and drains it. I reach for my own glass of wine, but she swipes it from the table. "I’m getting you some water."

I deflate further. "At least, some juice. Or ice cream?"

Before she returns, the intercom buzzes. I walk over and answer it.

"It’s Giorgina, can I come up?"

Huh, the last person I’d have thought to see here. I buzz her in, then hold the door open.

"What’s she doing here?" Mira walks into the room and places a bowl of ice cream on the table.

"Chocolate-chip! You’re a lifesaver. Also, I have no idea how she obtained this address."

Footsteps approach. Giorgina must have heard me. As soon as she reaches the doorway, she says, "Knight gave me your address." She walks in and surveys the tiny space. "Apartments in London are so cozy, eh?"

"You mean, it’s tiny compared to L.A."

"You said it." She walks over to the window and peeks out. "It has a certain quaintness, I have to admit. In fact, it’s beginning to grow on me." She turns to us.

"What are you doing here, Gio?"

She looks from me to Mira, then back at me. "Knight sent me to make sure you’re okay."

He could have come himself. Why didn’t he come himself?

"He wasn’t sure you’d be willing to see him."

She notices the look on my face and nods. "Guess he was right, huh?"

"How does he know where I am, anyway?" I frown.

"You’ll have to ask him that. I tried to tell him I didn’t think it would help if I met you, considering I’m not the biggest fan of how he’s been treating you. But he thinks that’s precisely why I should be the one to talk to you."

I begin to speak, when she cuts in with, "I’m not here to persuade you to speak with him or anything like that."

"You’re not?"

She shakes her head. "Whatever it is he did or didn’t do, the fault lies with him."

Mira barks out laugh. "I like your style."

"Thanks." She walks over and drops her handbag into one of the chairs. "The only thing I’d say is, don’t let the lack of communication derail you. I don’t know what went down, but as a PR person, one thing I’ll tell you is that ninety-nine percent of disagreements are because the parties involved did not talk things through with each other.

It’s surprising how giving the other person some face time often puts things in perspective. "

I frown. "I thought you weren’t on his side."

"I’m not. Hell, I’d say whatever happened, you should not forgive him.

You should make him grovel, no matter if it wasn’t his fault.

Nothing like a bit of groveling to put a man in his place.

As you know, I’m not a fan of the institution of marriage, either, but since you can’t change that, it wouldn’t hurt to have an open conversation with him about what happened. "

I scowl at her. "I should be pissed off with you for sneaking that reasoning past me, only you were so smooth that I’m not sure I want to be."

She half smiles. "Look, I’m a bitch, I make no bones about it. But I'll be honest, something in his voice when he called me gave me pause for thought. The man has some serious issues, but I have to admit that my cynical heart is convinced he has feelings for you."

"I do," a familiar male voice interjects.

I squeeze my eyes shut. What is he doing here?

"I obtained a key to the apartment. I hope you don’t mind that I came in without your permission." He addresses his words to Mira with a smile on his face.

She simpers, then firms her lips. "I do mind, especially if you’re here to upset her." She walks over to stand next to me.

"Sending a woman in to smooth the way, hmm?" Giorgina drawls, then glides over to bracket me in from the other side. Their protective stance makes my heart melt a little. Especially since, Giorgina doesn’t know me that well… But she’s all for putting up a united front against men.

"Needs must." Knight looks at me. "I’m not sorry I sent Gio here to talk to you first. I know how pissed you are with me."

"You think?"