Chapter 73. Scare
Lilly Bradley
I had seen Maxima walk past my office towards the elevator. She had waved her hand in greeting, which I returned in kind. I knew she was going directly to Jackson and that there would be a firing, one that the company would soon hear about.
I focused on getting my pending tasks done before lunch. Only half an hour had passed when Maxima stormed through the offices like a tornado. She came back to mine, and I tensed, thinking she might have somehow found out that I was the one who recorded that conversation. She stopped at the entrance, about to say something when Richard, Jackson’s head of security, intervened.
"Remember Mr. Johnson’s warning," Richard said, stretching out his hand to close my office door. She said something I couldn't catch, then continued on her way, escorted by two security guards. Several employees came out of their offices to see what was happening. I was tense, nervous, and what unsettled me the most was the look she gave me before Richard arrived. Moments later, I snapped out of my thoughts when I saw her carrying her things and a box, escorted by two security guards. Richard glanced at my office and then followed them out. I approached my office entrance.
"Do you know what happened?" one of my colleagues asked.
"I don’t know," I didn’t want to get involved in gossip, but before going back into my office, I listened to the speculations. I was tempted to send Jackson a message but decided to wait until lunchtime.
For the next few hours, I was completely focused on the lease contracts assigned to me. After dealing with taxes and other details, a message arrived on my cell phone. Distractedly, I picked it up and looked at the screen. It was a message from Maxima. I opened it, feeling a knot form in my stomach.
"It was nice knowing you."
That was all. I hesitated to respond, then quickly typed a reply.
"Likewise," and hit send. I went back to my work, thinking she must suspect it was me.
When lunchtime came, I freshened up before heading down to the lobby. As I left, Jackson was in the office, sitting in front of my desk.
"Hi," I said as I entered. He stood up in one swift motion.
"Hi," I noticed the tension in him.
"Is something wrong?" He shook his head slowly, as if unsure. "I saw Maxima being escorted out."
"Ah, yes." That was all he said, and I frowned.
"She was about to say something to me, but your head of security stopped her."
"Yes, I asked him to politely make sure she stayed away from you and your family before she left."
"What?" I asked, surprised.
"And it’s true, I don’t want her near you." I was about to argue when he raised a hand to stop me. "Please understand. I don’t want her trying to influence you in any way, like she did with us, to achieve some goal." I sighed upon hearing this.
"Fine, alright. She sent me a message saying 'It was nice knowing you,' and I replied 'Likewise,'" he frowned.
"Just that?" I nodded, showing him the texts on my phone. "Alright, shall we have lunch?" I nodded, going back to gather my things.
We didn’t talk on the way. But I noticed he was restless. I didn’t want to make it worse by asking him. The car stopped at a vintage-style brick building.
"Where are we?" The two men got out of the car, leaving us alone inside.
"We’re at..." his cheeks turned red. "With a known doctor." I frowned.
"You have an appointment?" He nodded.
"Well," he hesitated. "You." he said suddenly. I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
"Me? Am I sick and I haven't noticed?" I tried to joke, but it seemed he didn't like it.
"I want you to get checked. We've had unprotected sex and..."
"Wait. But I'm on birth control pills. That time it happened without protection, I got the morning-after pill and took it."
"Relax, I just want to make sure everything is okay."
"Well, does 'okay' actually mean 'not pregnant'?"
"Yes." His eyes were watching me closely for any reaction, but it didn't hurt to confirm, and we'd both feel more comfortable.
"Fine, let's go." I saw surprise in his eyes.
"Really?" he asked, astonished.
"Yes, I'd like to make sure I took the pill correctly."
We got out of the car, and he anxiously reached for my hand, as if the unexpected visit to the gynecologist had upset me. It had only surprised me, but I appreciated that he was concerned. Getting pregnant was not in my plans, especially given our situation. I promised myself not to go through this uncertainty again; I needed to take better care of myself.
After a pregnancy test and an ultrasound while Jackson waited outside, we finally confirmed there was nothing to worry about. It was just hormonal issues caused by the stress I'd been under for the past two months, dealing with Oliver, working at his family's company, his infidelity at the brothel, the canceled wedding, the move—all of it had piled up, causing my periods to become irregular.
After receiving instructions from the gynecologist, I walked out. Jackson approached, anxious to know how it went.
"How did it go? What did the gynecologist say? Are you okay?" I looked down at the ultrasound showing everything was fine and that I wasn't pregnant. When I looked up, I handed him the ultrasound.
"It's the ultrasound." I saw the blood drain from his face in seconds. He stepped back unexpectedly, and I swore he was going to faint. "Hey, hey, calm down, breathe..." I took his arm and guided him to the nearby waiting room. "Sit down..."
"U-U-Ultrasound?" he stammered.
"Look at it..." He took it and grew even paler. "It's all good." He lifted his face to me, standing in front of him.
"Are you...are you pregnant?" he asked in a low tone.
"No. It's an ultrasound to confirm there's no baby. Besides, we haven't been sexually active for long, and it's only been one time without protection." He paled even more, closed his eyes, and I noticed he was trying to keep it together. "Jackson?" He opened his eyes and looked at me in a way I couldn't describe. "It was only one time, right?"
"I..." He tried to swallow, looked at the ultrasound, then back at me. "The day of the shower after our first date." My eyes widened in surprise at his confession.
"What?" He stood up quickly, and I stepped back. "Wait, so if I hadn't been taking my birth control pills, I could have...?" I saw fear in his eyes. "Jackson?"
"I'm sorry, it was the moment...I didn't think and..." He stopped mid-sentence. "I have no excuse for that."
I sighed.
"Well, I was on the pill, so that's ruled out."
"Lilly, I'm sorry," he insisted again.
"If we're going to be more active in that area, we need to be careful. Honestly, I don't plan to be a mother right now. I don't have a place or money for raising a child; kids are expensive. Besides," he paled again, "...I'm not really sure I want a family, especially with how you reacted." He didn't say anything to my words. "If this is going to continue between us, we need to be more careful."