Shower complete, he pulled on a pair of athletic shorts, socks, and trainers, and beat himself to shit in the gym. By the time his hour was over, a waterfall of alcohol scented sweat was pouring from his body. He showered again, dressed in his usual boss attire, and then skipped the egg whites and downed a protein shake instead.
On his way out the door at 10:20, his mobile rang. It was Greg Astor. David growled at the hiccup of excitement that burst within him. Astor would have information about Diana.
“Yes?” He saw no reason for morning pleasantries. Astor said he would call, and David assumed that since he had, there was something of importance to impart.
“According to the barista at Perk Me Up, Miss Bluth has coffee there several times a week around one.”
David paused, his hand over the elevator call button. That was information he could use to his benefit.
“When was the last time she was there?” he asked, a plan forming in his head.
“Three days ago.”
So, she was due to take in caffeine that day. A smile tugged at his lips.
“Did this barista tell you what she usually gets?”
“A large mocha and chocolate croissants.”
Hmmm, Miss Peaches n’ Cream is actually a lover of chocolate.
“Thank you, Astor,” David intoned, brushing off the strange excitement that began zipping through him. He ended the call and stepped into the elevator.
The day was certainly looking up, he just had to sit through a meeting, and then he could concentrate on spotting and then catching his prey. As the shiny brass elevator doors slid shut, David couldn’t help but admire the wolfish smile grinning from his reflection.
Chapter 12
Diana ended the tenth call of the day, tossed her cell on her desk, and caught her hundred-pound head in her hands. Who knew it would be so much work to find an OB near the office that took her health insurance?
A familiar knock on her door made her tense. Damn. She’d forgotten she was supposed to meet Margie in the lobby. They were going to hit up Perk Me Up for much needed caffeine and chocolate croissants—though Diana would have a strawberry-banana smoothie rather than her usual espresso and mocha concoction of magic. God, she hated removing caffeine from her life, but the benefit far outweighed the shittiness. She was determined to have a healthy baby, and if that meant living like a zombie for the next eight months, she’d damn well do whatever was necessary.
There was another knock on the door, and she flinched. She didn’t bother looking up when the door opened.
“Di, what’s up babe?” Margie asked, coming around Diana’s desk to slide her hands over Diana’s shoulders. She gave them a gentle squeeze.
Diana plastered a smile on her face and lifted her head.
“It’s just exhaustion. This baby is sucking the life out of me,” she said, in half-truth. She was exhausted, being pregnant really was an energy killer, but that wasn’t the reason for her current state of continual anxiety.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to avoid David Brenner. Elaine, the receptionist in the lobby, had been kind enough to volunteer to call up to her office and warn her whenever David arrived. She thought Diana wanted to know so she could give Mr. Ayers a heads up, but it was really a heads up for her. When David arrived on her floor, Diana made herself scarce; she was either in the restroom, the break room, or on the other elevator, fleeing to Margie’s office. Though, why she thought he would even bother to come see her, she didn’t know. She inwardly shrugged; better safe than sorry, because she knew that if she caught even a glimpse of him, the urge to tell him about the baby would be nearly impossible to ignore. But she had to ignore it. She refused to be like those other women, the ones who used their babies to milk the daddies for money. Would life be easier if David and all his wealth were part of the baby’s life? Sure. But that came with its own set of problems, namely she was still as scared as shit to tell David, and the idea of asking him for money? Well…that made her sicker than any bout of morning sickness ever would.
“You still want to hit Perk Me Up?” Margie asked, oblivious to Diana’s inner turmoil.
Shaking off the worry for a moment, Diana smiled at her friend. “Hell, yes. I need time away from this desk, and I haven’t had a chocolate croissant in so long my blood to chocolate ratio is staggeringly low.”
Margie pressed a manicured hand to her chest in mock shock. “That is tragic! We must get you chocolatized immediately!”
Diana snickered, Margie’s humor doing wonders for the ache in her soul.
She grabbed her purse and they made a bee line for the elevators. The café was a short walk, and the entire time, Margie kept Diana’s mind occupied with tales of her escapades from the night before, when she and the flavor of the week, Ron, crashed a wedding reception.
Diana grinned her ass off, chuckling as Margie got to the part where they were thrown from the building by a security guard whose number she got. She’d called him that morning and they were going to hook up tomorrow night.
“Damn, you work fast,” Diana said, in awe of her friend’s lack of prudence. Pulling the café door open, she moaned, the smell of the place never failed to make her heart happy.
Margie shrugged, grinning at Diana’s visible bliss. “You would too if you saw him—all that hard-packed muscle in a black suit coat.” She growled. “I can’t wait to climb him like a tree and see what shakes loose.”
A laugh exploded from deep in Diana’s chest and, as
