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CASSANDRA'S POV

A small giggle escaped my lips as I felt Asa's stubble rub against the crook of my neck, his lips planting soft kisses on my skin. I was perched on his desk, having initially come here to have lunch with him, but that was well over an hour ago. I really needed to get out of his office and get back to my own and get some work done, especially because I had been in and out these last couple weeks with my morning sickness getting the best of me.

"Asa," I whined playfully, running my fingers over the smooth material of the collar of his dress shirt. He was dressed impeccably, as always. "I have to get back to work."

"Nah, not yet," he grins playfully at me before attacking me with more kisses. Things have been so good between us. We spent more time with each other, and Asa always made sure he was back to have dinner with me. If he had extra work, he was either delegating or working on it from home, but made sure to pay special attention to me. "I can't wait for dinner tonight. I can't believe we're gonna tell mom."

I couldn't help but smile, shutting up and forgetting about leaving his office. I was so excited too. We had seen Lydia three times since that first dinner, and we had to keep our mouth shut about the baby every single time just in case. Neither of us wanted to, but we also wanted to be cautious.

Today was exactly twelve weeks, and keeping it a secret any longer was going to be too hard. I wasn't exactly showing, but a little bump was starting to form, and if you paid close attention and knew I was pregnant, you would know I wasn't just bloated. I had definitely gained a little weight as well, especially since I was finally getting my appetite back.

I was so sure that Lydia had noticed when I declined wine at the dinner table multiple times over our last few visits, but she hadn't mentioned anything. Lauren, on the other hand, kept making playful comments, and smirking at me playfully whenever she got the chance.

"I know. I'm so excited," I giggled again as I felt Asa's stubble on my skin again. His hands gripped my waist possessively, staring down at me. I loved this side of him. I've seen it before on occasion, but now that I was pregnant, he was so protective of me. I'd heard many women hated that, but I was so here for it. "And now that she's considering treatment, I really think that she's gonna go through with it after hearing about the baby."

I was almost positive that Lydia was on the treatment boat. She had an appointment in the next two weeks, and with the way things were looking, I just knew she was going to go through with it. Hearing about another grandchild would have her even more ecstatic, and I really hoped that it would push her over the edge.

"I think you're right. She's gonna be surprised, though. And Andrew? He's been bugging Laur as to why he can't have a sibling, and I think this will be close enough," Asa's smile is soft and sweet before he captures my lips with his own. I grab his collar this time, kissing him with just as much passion as he's giving me.

His cell phone suddenly goes off, forcing my lips from his even though he clearly didn't want to pull back. I reared my head back, brushing my lips with my fingers, flushing. I still got a little shy about PDA in the office, although nearly everyone knew that we were engaged. No official announcement or anything, but the rumor mill didn't stop news from circulating.

Asa quickly glanced at his phone after pulling it from his pocket, silencing it immediately, sending it straight to voicemail, and placing it on the desk. He kissed my cheek again, burrowing his head into my hair.

"Honestly, can we just move your office up here? I hate that you're three floors down. It's too far," Asa mumbles into my ear, and I roll my eyes playfully.

"You do hear yourself, right? I'm literally two minutes from here," I laugh softly, shaking my head at how he's pouting at me now. He's so serious about this, even though he's pretending to be all cute about it. I wouldn't be surprised if he had my office moved up one night, but best believe that I would only drag everything back down. "I'm too scared of your floor. Everyone is so serious, and slightly terrified of you...plus, I like my office."

That makes him smile, and my heart totally melts. I swear, our baby better be more him than me. That smile and those hazel eyes? I think he or she would get whatever they want, although I'm sure that regardless of what they do or say (or look like), they'll have Asa wrapped around their finger and get whatever they want anyways.

"Me? I'm the nicest person that works in this entire building. It's you they should be scared of. Killer looks, sweet persona, but fierce and stubborn as hell," he laughs, pulling back from me right as his phone goes off again. He ignores the call once again, but it immediately goes off once more.

Asa's eyebrows pull together in confusion as he picks it up this time, and I watch as he unlocks his phone, my own curiosity peaking as I see him fumble with it for a second. Three calls in a matter of less than a minute? It has to be important.

"Hold on. It's your brother," he says after a second and I see him hit the call button on his phone, holding it to his ear. "He doesn't call me much."

I nod. I haven't talked to Zac much since we had that argument. I haven't even seen him outside of this place, mainly in the conference room with others around us. But this was a business call, and Zac and Asa had to talk business. I'm just glad that they kept me out of it. Asa wasn't pressuring me to talk to Zac, and he didn't pressure me not to either.

"Hey, what's up?" Asa asks as his fingers caress my knee gently through the fabric of my pants. I decided not to wear dresses until we had announced that we were expecting, because most of them hugged my waist, and that little bump would have been too noticeable. It was much easier to hide it under a loose fitting blouse and dress pants, or even a skirt.

I watched intently as Asa glances out the floor to ceiling windows that cover two of the four walls, and my eyes take in his side profile. His taut jawline as defined as ever. I was a little jealous that he could keep up with my eating habits, which had gotten a little worse in the last couple weeks, without as much as gaining a single pound.

"Whoa, okay. Hold up. slow down. What?"

Asa's voice raises an alarm in me, because he seems surprised. As soon as I try to capture his expression from his face, his eyes flicker to meet mine, and I feel nervous as hell. He's never looked at me like that before, and I just know something has to be wrong. Asa seems almost nervous, and this man is always confident as hell.

"Okay. Yeah...No. We'll be right there," Asa says abruptly, ending the call just as quickly. He pulls his gaze from me, and I grab his hand, the one that's resting on my knee.

"What's wrong?" I ask softly, trying to contain my nervousness. Asa never freaked out. He was always calm and collected, so the fact that he looked bewildered and concerned had me on edge.

Asa gulps, and I see his Adam's apple bob as his thumb brushes the back of my hand.

"Don't freak out," he starts, and I immediately shake my head. That is certainly not what you tell someone when you don't want them to freak out.

"Just tell me," I press, sliding off the edge of his desk and onto my feet. I was wearing heels, taking advantage of wearing them as much as possible until I couldn't anymore. They weren't too high, but I knew that Asa kept his eyes on me every time I walked near him anyways.

"We have to go to the hospital. Right now. I don't know the details, but all I know is that there was an accident, and we need to be there right now," Asa says, grabbing my hand again as he grabs his keys off his desk, stuffing them into his pocket with his wallet and phone.

My heart sinks immediately.

"Is it Zac? What happened?" I ask as I scramble to grab my own things, realizing that none of it is here besides my phone. My purse was in my own office, but I didn't need it.

"Not Zac. I really don't know what happened. He didn't say much, but said to bring you there right away," Asa is already leading me out the door, and before I know it, we're waiting for the elevator. "I think he's talking about your dad, Cas. It was hard to hear over the line, but I can't see who else it would be about."

My throat goes dry and I can't even nod in response to his statement. My dad and I don't talk, but that doesn't mean that I would want something to happen to him. Things were just complicated, and I could deal with that, but I don't know if I could deal with this right now. Why would he be in the hospital? A heart attack? A car accident? The list could go on.

The worst part was not knowing. I'm silently cursing Zac for being so vague when talking to Asa, and wondering why he hadn't just called me. But I know why. Because I wouldn't have answered. Even if he called three or four times, I wouldn't have bothered to even shoot him a text because of how upset I still was at him for what he had said to me.

Now I felt like shit, thinking about how my own brother couldn't call me when our father was in the hospital because of my selfishness.

"Cassandra, stop overthinking this," Asa's words are sharp as he helps me into his car. "Please, baby. Let's just get there and get the facts before you make assumptions, okay?"

I want to agree with him, but that's not how my brain is wired. I always think of the worst case scenarios first. I learned this from my father himself, who always calculated the risks and worst-case situations before wagering a bet, whether it be in his personal life or for our company. I had learned to always consider the worst before hoping for the best, and I had learned that from the man himself.

Once I'm buckled in, Asa's foot doesn't leave the gas as he rushes us to the hospital. It's luckily the closest one to this block, and I'm so glad for it, because if we were stuck in the ridiculous NYC traffic right now to get there and get some answers, I don't think I would have been able to stay as calm as I was pretending to be.

Asa held my hand the entire time, but I could tell that he was also on edge. Of course he was. My dad is his business partner, and anything that happens to him affects this company. But I had a feeling it had nothing to do with that, and everything to do with me. He was worried about me.

I just didn't know how worried I should be. I wish so badly that I knew what to expect going into the hospital as we pulled up to the front. We found a spot right near the entrance, and Asa pulled me close to him as we entered inside.

Just as we were about to approach the receptionist at the front, I grabbed his arm firmly, stopping us both in our tracks.

"Asa," I whispered, looking up at him and searching his face for something. Anything. I don't know what I was looking for, but I needed some sense of comfort. "I'm scared."

"I know," Asa nodded down at me, not bothering with a smile, but immediately pulling me into his arms. I pressed my head to his chest, engulfing his scent as I held on tightly. "Just don't shut me out. I don't know what we are walking into, but just know I'm here, and that you can talk to me, okay?"