Which meant I owed Jade the biggest apology in the world. She didn't deserve that kind of treatment, that kind of fear. She'd worked too hard at her job to just walk away, baby or no. Whoever the father was, I couldn't punish him, either. Maybe it was time to rethink the company policy. Was it really my place to dictate their personal lives if it didn't affect their professional ones?
I had no idea how long I wandered the halls, feeling lost and confused before Nicky found me. He must've known just from looking at me that something wasn't right. He dragged my upstairs to the sitting room where he'd first interrogated me about Jade, pushing me down into one of the chairs. It wasn't until he'd passed me an extra full glass of Scotch that he asked what was wrong.
I wanted to lie to him, to tell him everything was just fine. But I couldn't. He was my eldest brother, the one who'd always looked out for me growing up. When I looked up into his concerned eyes, I let everything out. I told him all about Jade coming into my office and giving me her notice, told him about my outburst and subsequent apology. Then, I told him about essentially blackmailing her to come on the trip with me, ending with overhearing her and Mom talking about the pregnancy outside the bathroom.
He was quiet the entire time I talked. He sat there sipping his Scotch, listening to everything I had to say. Even after I'd finally stopped talking he was still silent for a moment as he processed everything. Then, he let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. "Well, you've really gotten yourself into one hell of a mess, haven't you?"
I snorted, then took a sip of my Scotch. The warm liquid was soothing as it went down, and I had to fight back the urge to chug the entire thing.
"Have you told her how you feel about her?" Nick asked, piercing me with that brotherly glare of his. Under that gaze, it was impossible to lie to him.
No matter how badly I wanted to tell him that I didn't feel anything for Jade, that she was just my employee, I couldn't get the words to come out of my mouth. Because, deep down, I knew he wasn't wrong. I did care about her.
No, it was more than that. Caring about her wouldn't explain the irrational outburst I'd had in my office. It wouldn't explain how badly it hurt to learn the truth behind her leaving. No, it was more than that. I didn't just care about Jade. I loved her. I loved everything about her.
When had it started? I wondered.
Thinking back, I couldn't pinpoint where I'd fallen for her. The two of us had always worked well together. She was good employee, knew how to take direction. But she wasn't afraid to speak her mind, either. If she thought there was a better way to do something, she made her opinion known. When she was right, she took the praise and moved on. When she was wrong, she learned from her mistake and never argued.
How could I not fall in love with a woman like that?
"No," I said at last. That single syllable word seemed to tell Nick everything he needed to know.
"Well, maybe you should. You said yourself she's planning to leave within the week. What could it hurt for you to tell her the truth?"
I could think of so many reasons not to tell her how I felt. But each and every one of them were selfish reasons, excuses I could make just to save myself the heartache of being rejected. If she was pregnant, willing to leave her job over it, then she probably loved whoever it was she'd been dating. Nothing I confessed to her would change her mind.
Part of me wanted to keep quiet about it, to just tell her I knew about the baby and promise her job was safe. And as much as it would kill me to see her happily dating, and maybe even marrying, someone else from the office, I wouldn't try to put an end to their relationship.
Before I knew it, I'd finished my glass of Scotch and hadn't replied to Nick's suggestion. When I looked up at him again, he was still watching me. But there wasn't any judgment in his eyes, just compassion.
Finally, I found myself nodding. I did need to tell Jade the truth. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep working with her without at least being honest. Nor could I let her walk away from her job just because she'd gotten pregnant. That wasn't fair to her or any of the other women in the office.
"I've seen the way she looks at you, you know," Nick said next, and my eyes went wide as I stared open mouthed at him. He smirked at me, then shook his head. "God, you must really have it bad for here, huh? Pretty much any time the two of you are in the room together, she can't stop glancing over at you. I don't know what happened that she ended up pregnant, but something tells me it's you she loves, not some other guy at the office."
"Do... do you really think so?" God, I hadn't felt this insecure since I was a preteen, just starting to navigate the complicated world of dating. And just like back then, Nick was there to reassure me, to help me figure everything out.
He nodded, then leaned over and put his hand on my knee. "I do. I think you and her need to sit down and have a long conversation with each other. And I think you
