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“Brett, after you did the first press release, we were all sure you were about to tank the company,” Brock started. “You told us to give you a bit of time, and we did that. Instead of seeing an improvement, we saw you make the same mistake again.”
Brett opened his mouth to defend himself, but Brock lifted his hand, asking Brett to wait.
“After the second press release, you again asked for time, and against our better judgement, we gave it to you. This time, we were sure you were going to sink yourself. Instead, you managed to turn everything around. We’re impressed.”
Brett looked as surprised to hear these words as I was. He opened the file he had received from Susan and skimmed over the numbers. After looking, he put the file on the table and slid it toward me.
“Gentlemen, I appreciate you giving me the time to prove myself,” Brett said. While he spoke, I opened the file and looked at the numbers too. The fifty-point loss we had suffered the previous week had bounced right back and then some. It had to have been the positivity of his confession. It didn’t matter how much gossip there was in the world, everyone loved a good love story.
“I must admit,” Harper said. “We were ready to pull funding. It was only because of your previous success and Miss Hudson’s sparkling personality that we decided to wait.”
Brett glanced at me before he nodded, turning his attention back to the investors. Now that we knew they were happy with us and the numbers were good, Brett was full of self-confidence, and the rest of the meeting was positive. By the time the meeting ended, the investors were all secure, and the future of Loomis Industries was bright.
We waited for the investors to file out before Brett and I turned to each other.
“I can’t believe this turned out so well,” Brett said.
“I can’t either. I was worried at first.”
Brett stepped closer to me and pulled me into a hug. “You know, this is all thanks to you.”
“How?”
“Because you taught me to believe in happy endings.”
It had nothing to do with the meeting. But when he said things like this, I melted. It wasn’t that he was only using a line on me either. It was all genuine, even if Brett had learned how to add his charm to it.
It only made me more nervous about what I was about to tell him.
We headed out to lunch, and my stomach was a knot of nerves. Brett talked about how well the company was doing and how well everything had gone down, but I could barely concentrate on his words. My mind buzzed with every scenario I had tried to prepare myself for, and I knew that no matter how many times I had tried to imagine what Brett would say, I still wasn’t ready for this.
“Are you all right?” Brett asked after we had sat down and ordered our meals. “You seem a little off. Are you feeling sick?”
I took a deep breath and looked Brett in the eye. “I’m pregnant.”
I watched Brett’s face as he digested the news. At first, he looked disbelieving. But I didn’t smile and tell him I was only joking. As he understood what I was saying, his eyes widened and his lips parted slightly.
“I found out last week, when I took off from work,” I said. “I confirmed it with a blood test, so it’s real.”
Brett stared at me without saying anything for the longest time.
“Please don’t just be quiet,” I pleaded when I couldn’t take it anymore. I had prepared myself for every scenario except for Brett being silent.
“Why did you wait to tell me if you’ve known for a week?” he finally asked.
“I needed time to wrap my mind around it. And I was scared.”
“Of telling me?”
I nodded.
“There’s something you should know,” I said before Brett had a chance to speak. “The doctor thinks it might be twins.”
Where Brett had displayed mild surprise before, he looked shocked now. Horrified in fact. “How can this be? We used protection every time.”
I shrugged. “I was thinking the same thing. But this is where we are now. We have to deal with it.”
Brett shook his head back and forth, and I could see him wrestling with the news. I’d had a week to figure out how I felt about what was happening. Brett had only just heard the news.
