His Change of Heart: Unexpected Pregnancy Romance Read online

  By MP John

  Image Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  One

  “Ave, honey, are you up?”

  He asked in a low voice, turning to the woman lying on the large bed not far from where he was standing in the room, her thick black curls, a messy tousle on the pillows, her shapely body contoured carelessly under the covers as she slept.

  “Babe, are you awake?” He came closer to the bed and shook her gently by the bare shoulders. “Ave?” he said to her again, listening to her soft breathing. She was definitely asleep, but he didn’t want to leave before he had a chance to talk to her—to say goodbye. “Babe, can you get up for a sec. I want to talk to you.”

  “Huh. Wh..at?” Avery moaned sleepily and turned on her back to peer at Will, her boyfriend of just over a year.

  “We have to talk.”

  “About what?”

  “Something has come up at the firm. I want to run it pass you before I leave.”

  He bent to slip on the black nylon socks that he was dangling in his hands.

  “What? Can’t it wait until later?” Avery asked in a sleepy, but slightly exasperated voice, annoyed that Will was waking her up to talk about his job.

  “No, it can’t.”

  Will made an attempt to reach for the covers. And Avery, now fully awake, grabbed an end of the feathered duvet and pulled it all the way up to her chin and held onto it tightly.

  “Really, Will! It’s seven in the morning” she squinted at the digital clock next to the bed. “Not exactly the best time for a heart-to-heart,” she told him angrily, stifling a huge yawn. “Usually, you are never one for words at this time. Why are you up, anyway? And are you going somewhere?” She eyed the pants he was wearing.

  “And what’s so important that it can’t wait until I’m actually up and wide awake?” She glanced at him. “Come back to bed.”

  Avery patted the empty space next to her, but Will made no attempt to join her.

  “I see you need some encouraging.” She rolled over to where he was now sitting on the edge of the bed and covered his lower back with light kisses, running her fingers seductively over his bare skin, before making a show of pulling him back onto the large bed with her.

  Will shrugged her off. “This is not a joke, Ave. There have been some major shake ups at the firm in the last months—Ingram has brought two new partners on board, well, among other things. He’s expanding the firm, taking it in an entirely new direction. Some of the changes are going to affect my job there.”

  “What are you telling me, honey—that you won’t be working there anymore? I can’t believe Ingram would fire you. You have been nothing but a valuable asset to that firm. You shouldn’t worry about it—any firm in New York or the country for that matter would be more than happy to have you, especially when they look at your impressive track record.”

  She turned on her side and pulled the covers over her head, hoping Will would stop talking.

  “You aren’t listening to me, Ave. That’s not what I’m trying to say. Ingram is an astute business man—that’s why he’s so successful. He’s expanding across the country. He has already added a couple more offices in Paris and London. I’m pushing for time here. I have to go.”

  He turned to look at her in frustration.

  “Okay, okay!” Avery pushed the duvet back reluctantly, yawned again and popped her head up on the large pillows. “Shoot away—I’m listening.” She gave him a serious look. “I’m all ears,” she said to him, with her hands resting casually under her chin.

  “I’m meeting with Ingram in an hour,” Will told her, bending to grab a stack of folders off the floor, shoving them hurriedly into the leather briefcase in his hand.

  “I thought you didn’t work on Sundays,” Avery reminded him in a very disappointed voice. “This is supposed to be our time together, remember.” She made a face at him.

  “I’m well aware of that, but I can’t get out of this meeting. We have some last minute details to iron out, papers to sign. It’s more of a legal thing, than a social get together.”

  “I get that, but can’t you do this another time?” Avery sighed, and pulled her thick unruly curls away from her face and plaited them in a quick braid.

  “No, I’m afraid not. Ingram is leaving for Paris at noon. He’ll be gone for a week. This is the only time he can squeeze me into his busy schedule.”

  “I see,” Avery let out another deep sigh. “And what about the other partners—don’t tell me they are leaving for Paris or the country today too? Can’t you do this with one of them, like on Monday? Don’t they have just as much say in this as Ingram?”

  “Ingram heads up acquisitions, Ave. This one needs his signature. He has the final say on this.”

  “And you choose to tell me this now. I really wished you had said something to me before Will, like as of last night. And what about our plans for today? Don’t tell me you are canceling those. We are meeting Kat and Josh for lunch, remember? We canceled on them last week. We can’t do it again, two times in a row.”

  “I’m not sure I will be able to do lunch with them. I have already called Josh. He understands that this is work and unavoidable. And we’ll work something out for us when I get back.”

  Will reached over and pecked her on the cheek.

  “And what time are you planning on doing that? This isn’t going to turn into a four hour meeting, is it?”

  “I don’t think it is. We aren’t meeting with clients. It’s just the two of us, putting our names on some documents. That’s all. I will be back well before noon. I have to stop by my place to grab some contracts and then swing by the office to file some paper work. It shouldn’t take more than a couple hours. I will come back here as soon as I’m done. You wouldn’t even know that I’m gone.”

  “I will be waiting,” Avery told him with sarcasm.

  “Don’t look so dejected, honey. I wish I didn’t have to do this, but it isn’t entirely my call.” He bent to kiss lightly on the forehead. “Cheer up. I will be back in your arms in no time.” He brushed his finger across her cheek.

  Avery slapped his hand away. Tried as she could, she couldn’t hide her disappointment. She glanced at Will as he reached for his shirt on the leather sofa, and she watched silently as he buttoned the light blue cotton shirt and tucked it neatly into his jeans. She didn’t like the distant look on his face, especially the pensive frown around his mouth. Something was definitely going on with him, but she didn’t know what it was.

  He had seemed fine last night, and if she could recall, an hour before. There had been no talk of work or about him leaving then. In fact there had been very little talk going on between them. Will had made certain of that. He had made love to her with more fervor than usual. He had been extremely loving and attentive to her needs. And she had relished every intimate minute detail of their lovemaking.

  That was why she couldn’t understand the sudden change in his attitude. He seemed worried and suddenly aloof. It probably had something to do with his job. Maybe ongoing negotiations for a big contract weren’t going as expected or had fallen through at the very last minute. She realized his job was stressful and he could be under a lot of pressure at times, but much as she loved Will and supported him, she wasn’t exactly certain she was up for whatever corporate espionage was brewing at Ingram and Associates, not at this particular moment.

  This was supposed to be their special time together, their alone time, and the last thing she wanted was to be distracted by office talk. Besides, it was Sunday, not even a work week. They had agreed not to bring their work home with them, unless it was absolutely necessa
ry. Sunday was their down time, and today shouldn’t be an exception. It was the one day they got to spend in bed at their leisure. Then later in the day, they would either catch up on their reading, reply to emails, return personal phone calls, or watch a movie or a show they had PVR during the week. And there were the occasional times, like today, when they met up with friends for a late lunch, but they never showed their heads before noon.

  She didn’t know why he was in such a hurry to leave. She had seen him ignored important calls and text messages from work, including those from Ingram and the other two senior partners. Something wasn’t right here. She watched silently as Will buckled the black leather belt and adjusted the zipper of his pants.

  Then he turned to her and spoke.

  “Ingram has offered me a job with the firm in Chicago. I have accepted it. He wants me out there as soon as possible, as early as Thursday. I’m going to head up a new acquisitions department they are starting up,” Will finally blurted out to her, resolutely, looking at her from where he was standing not far from the bed. He was fully dressed now. “It will be a good career move for me. I can make junior partner in a year if I stick with it.”

  “You what?” Avery sat up suddenly, her hair falling from the loose braid, and onto her face, and bare shoulders, the duvet slipping from her hands, exposing her naked breasts. She wasn’t certain she had heard him correctly.

  “This is a once in a life time opportunity for me, Ave, and there is no way I’m going to pass it up.”

  “Wow, Will! This is unbelievable, truly unbelievable!” Avery shook her head wryly from side to side and glowered at him. “I thought I wasn’t hearing you right the first time. How long have you known about this, Will? No, don’t tell me, obviously not as of last night when you came over here or an hour before when we made love. Tell me you didn’t know you were leaving town when you made plans for dinner last night, and after you spent the night in my bed,” Avery demanded of him. She was angry. She felt like going over and punching him hard in the face. “Please, tell me you weren’t keeping something this important from me.”

  “I’m sorry for not saying something to you sooner, Ave, but it’s been in the works for some time now.” He avoided her angry stare.

  “Exactly as I suspected! You knew about the job offer all along and you said nothing to me. How selfish can you be, Will! So much for trusting and loving each other!”

  “It wasn’t that simple. I mulled over it for weeks before accepting the offer. It was a last minute decision. I didn’t even know I was going to take the job until a week ago. I had to give Ingram an answer before the deadline. I was in the running with Johnson and Carter. You know those guys—they are like sharks. Ingram offered me the position because he thought I deserved it more than them. He would have handed it to one of them if he felt I was procrastinating.”

  “And you didn’t think of coming to me? I can’t believe you could be that damn selfish, Will.”

  “God, Ave, I wanted to tell you the minute I found out, but I didn’t, and for that I’m sorry. I guessed I let Ingram push me in a corner, especially where Johnson and Carter were concerned. I had to get back to him by a given time, and my indecisiveness wasn’t helping my case. The job comes with a huge amount of responsibility,” he tried to explain to her. “I will be managing an entire department. And if I didn’t accept this position, Ingram would have just given it to someone else who would have gladly accepted it. It’s true that those guys have more seniority than I do, but I get the job done. I bring in the multimillion dollar contracts to the firm. I just couldn’t pass it over. Please understand. I have put in too many hours, my sweat and blood included to just walk away from this opportunity.”

  “That’s no excuse for not telling me, Will. I still think you should have said something to me. I really do. This decision is going to affect our relationship in a very big way. Have you even thought of that?”

  “I have, but the timing was never right. I know you had a lot going on at work and with your aunt. I didn’t want to add to what you were going through.”

  “Jeez, Will, how very thoughtful of you! Thank you very much for considering my feelings. You actually thought of someone other than yourself for a change. And I must say that your timing is impeccable. You couldn’t have chosen a better time to tell me you are taking a job in another city, after making love to me, and all.”

  “I didn’t plan it that way.”

  “Right! It just happened. Does Melissa have something to do with this sudden decision of yours? Is that it—is she going to Chicago with you?”

  Avery had to ask him. She must know if Will was leaving New York with that bimbo, if he had been unfaithful to her. She had heard rumors about Will and Melissa, but Will had always denied them as malicious gossip. She had met Melissa, Will’s buxom secretary at the last charity event she had attended with him months before.

  She remembered Melissa had been extremely flirty with Will—getting him a drink when he didn’t ask, leaning in closer than necessary, exposing her amble assets to him, holding onto his arm, rubbing his back in a seductive way. Melissa had been more than suggestive, and Will had been extremely discreet about the unwanted attention she had been giving him.

  He had politely excused himself when he saw Melissa getting too clingy with him or when he saw her coming his way. But it hadn’t been enough to deter Melissa. She had still sought Will out at every opportunity she got and continued to flirt with him. She remembered the other Lawyers had teased Will, and made reference to Melissa having the hots for him, but Will had assured her that he would never get involved with Melissa or cheat on her with another woman for that matter.

  And she had believed him. She thought their relationship meant more to him than that. And she didn’t want to spend her time obsessing about whether or not Will was cheating on her. She knew it wasn’t healthy for their relationship. And if she ever had the slightest inkling that he was unfaithful to her, she would have dumped him without a moment’s hesitation—there was no way she would have stayed with him all this time.

  Cheating was an absolute deal breaker with her. She would never be with a man who was two timing her, no matter how much she loved him. So, yes, she would be devastated if Will was having an affair with Melissa and she knew nothing about it, especially after he had spent months denying it.

  Will look at her with an incredulous look on his face.

  “What? god, no! How could you even think something like that? What kind of man do you think I am? I thought you knew me better than that, Ave. Melissa is the last woman I would get involve with. Ingram got rid of her a long time ago. He doesn’t respond well to blackmail. Ingram probably spent a drunken night with her and Melissa was using it to coerce him into an exclusive relationship. He fired her right away, especially when he realized there was no way she could sue him or the firm for sexual harassment. They were two consenting adults. As far as I see it, Melissa had her sights set on every lawyer at the firm. I think she was looking for a huge pay day, but it all backfired on her big time.”

  “Well, that’s really nice to know,” Avery told him with a huge sneer.

  Will came and sat on the bed next to her and took her hand. “Look, Ave, I should have said something to you about the job, but I didn’t. I’m sorry. But given the circumstances, I had very little time, and I’m certain you would have done the exact thing if your career was on the line here.”

  “No, I wouldn’t,” Avery shouted at him, pulling her hand away from him, wiping the tears angrily away from her flushed cheeks. “I would have had the decency to run it pass you first before I decide. I would have found the time. We are in a relationship, Will. We are supposed to make certain decisions together, especially when they affect us. I wouldn’t have kept you in the dark about something this important. And I most definitely would not have sprung this on you at the very last minute. So, don’t you dare tell me what I would have done. I’m not you, Will. That’s for sure.”

  Av
ery was sobbing now. Hot tears running uncontrollably down her face, her bare shoulders shaking. She felt like such an idiot for crying, but Will’s sudden announcement had caught her so completely unaware that she didn’t know how else to react to it. She had no idea he was planning on leaving New York, and most definitely without her.

  She wasn’t expecting him to announce out of the blue that he was taking a job hundreds of miles away, and they would be apart for god knew how long. She didn’t see any of it coming. He had blindsided her in the worst possible way. Maybe if he had said something to her before, like when he’d found out that he was in the running for the job, she would have had more than enough time to get use to the idea of him not being around anymore, but he didn’t. He had purposely avoided telling her.

  So, yes, she was entitled to cry her eyes out if she wanted to. And she hoped Will was feeling just as badly as she was, but she doubted he was. He seemed calm enough, sitting there, looking at her with mild astonishment, as if he was surprised by her reaction. He was certainly displaying enough composure for both of them. And she felt like reaching up and slapping the smug look from his face.

  He probably didn’t expect her to lose her cool and started crying, either. He probably thought she would jump into his arms and smothered his handsome face with kisses, tell him how happy she was for him, and send him on his merry way with good wishes to conquer corporate America. But she was far from feeling anything like the supportive girlfriend right now. Her heart was aching. She felt like a jilted lover, someone who had been lied to, dumped, left at the altar.

  Will reached over and held her, drawing her close to him so that her head was resting on his chest. She could smell his Calvin Klein cologne and feel the warmth comfort of his body through the cotton shirt he was wearing. And in spite of the seeping anger she was feeling for him, her body responded to his touch in an entirely different way. He has always had that pulsating effect on her. She could never resist him, his touches, his kisses, even when she was mad as hell at him.