She quickly looked down at her tablet to avoid his knowing gaze. Was it getting hot in here? All this conversation about babies and “doing it the old-fashioned way” was stirring up feelings for Aidan that she’d long ago squelched. And not just emotional feelings, but an actual physical attraction to him. And that had to stop right now. “You realize this is absolutely none of your business, right?”
He had the nerve to grin. “Yeah.”
She sighed again. “Look, even if I do have plenty of time, I don’t have a partner. You know, someone who’s interested in providing the necessary equipment to get the job done.”
Could she make it any clearer than that?
“Oh. Right.” Aidan seemed to ponder that for a moment. “But what about that guy you were dating? Aren’t you still seeing him? What’s his name?”
“You know very well what his name is,” she said drily. “You introduced us, remember?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said snidely. “Brad.”
“Blake,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Blake Farrell.”
“Right. What about Blake?”
Self-conscious now, Ellie avoided eye contact. “What about Blake for what?”
Aidan raised one eyebrow, but said nothing.
“Oh, fine,” she said, exasperated. She knew exactly what he was referring to. Sex. “If you must know, I’m not seeing Blake anymore.”
His mouth opened, then closed. After a pause, he said, “Ah. Sorry it didn’t work out.”
“You don’t sound sorry at all.”
“You’re right.” He grinned wolfishly. “I’m not. He wasn’t the guy for you.”
“But you introduced me to him.”
“You were both standing there,” he said with a shrug. “I was just being polite. I never expected you to start dating him. I’m glad you broke up. You can do a lot better than him.”
“Now you tell me,” she muttered. “After I already asked him to…” She stopped talking, but it was too late.
Aidan’s eyes narrowed in on her. “You asked him to be the father of your child?”
“I think this conversation has gone far enough.” She grabbed her tablet off the chair and turned to leave.
“Funny, I think it’s just getting started.” He circled around to meet her face-to-face, effectively preventing her from dashing out of his office. “Ellie, I introduced you to Blake three weeks ago. Are you saying that after three weeks of dating, you asked him to—”
“Yes. Yes, I did.” She began pacing again, but couldn’t get far with him standing right in front her. “I don’t know what I was thinking. But in my defense, we were going out every weekend, having a great time, getting to know each other. So one night at dinner he asked me where I saw myself in five years and I told him.”
“You told him what, exactly?”
She wanted to bury herself somewhere. Instead, she drew in a breath and said, “I told him that in five years I saw myself living on Alleria, working for Sutherland Corporation, and taking care of my adorable four-year-old child.”
She watched Aidan’s eyes widen. His lips quivered. He tried to bite back a grin, but it was useless. He finally began to laugh. “Let me get this straight. You basically told a guy you’ve been dating for three weeks that you’re looking for him to be your baby daddy?”
“Not exactly,” she said. But it was no use. His laughter was justified. “Okay, he might’ve interpreted it that way.”
“You think?”
“Stop laughing. What do I know? Blake was the first date I’ve had in three years.”
“Three years?” He looked her up and down. “What’s wrong with the guys you know?”
“It’s not them, it’s me.” Oh, dear lord. Could she sound like a bigger loser? She had to get out of there.
But Aidan grabbed her shoulders to keep her there and tilted his head to meet her gaze. “Honey, trust me. It’s not you. You’re smart, funny, beautiful. Any man would…well…” He faltered, frowning as he let go of her.
She blinked up at him, then frowned, too. “Well, what?”
He scowled as he walked back to his desk. “Just trust me. You’re not the problem.”
Ellie appreciated his words, but they didn’t really help right now. It wasn’t much fun admitting that she was a total loser when it came to men. Especially to admit it to Aidan Sutherland, who was not only her boss but also the man she had been crushing on for almost four years.
Not that it meant anything. A crush on a man was healthy, right? Of course it was! Sure, she had a personal hang-up or two, but other than wanting to sleep with her boss, she was fine and dandy. Very put-together, highly organized, successful. She had friends. She wasn’t a loser.
She smiled with determination. “I’ll say again that I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more notice, but I’ve got everything covered job-wise. I am absolutely certain that things will run smoothly. I just need your blessing to take the time off.”
“I won’t let you quit your job,” he said fiercely. “We need you too much.”
She was surprised and delighted by his admission. He had no idea how much his words pleased her, but she was still going through with her plan.
“Aidan, you know me. I love my job. I love Alleria. You and Logan are the best people I’ve ever worked with. Believe me, I’ve never been happier and I have no intention of ever leaving voluntarily.”
“Good, because I won’t let you. You’re a vital member of our organization.”
“Thank you.” She wouldn’t say it aloud, but she would be a fool to give up this job. After all this time, with all the raises and bonuses they’d given her, she would never find anything comparable, especially in such a beautiful setting as Alleria.
“I’ll never leave,” she reiterated.
“But you’re going to have a baby,” he argued, not quite ready to concede. “That’s not a good sign.”
“I have every intention of raising my baby here on the island and continuing to work for you and Logan for as long as you’ll have me. Okay?”
He scowled, but she knew he was smart enough to know when to give up the fight. Finally he nodded. “Okay.”
“Thank you,” she said. In a spontaneous gesture, she gave him a tight hug. “I really appreciate your understanding.”
“I don’t understand anything,” he said, but managed a half smile as he walked her to the door. “Call me conventional, but I still believe in the man-woman routine.”
Her laugh was lighthearted even if her mind was set. But she decided to humor him anyway. “Fine. You have one week to convince me it’s the best way to go.”
Not that she had any intention of doing things his way, Ellie thought as she walked back to her office. She’d thought this through down to the last detail, and she wasn’t about to change her mind just to satisfy her boss. She’d seen how a messy relationship with a man could turn a woman’s life inside out and she wasn’t about to let that happen to her. Not ever. Not even for Aidan Sutherland.
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