Aria stood in the doorjamb to her room, her coat draped over her forearm, staring at her baby's corner of the room. She'd spent most of the weekend staring at it, wondering what he would look like and if he'd be a good sleeper.
Then it drifted to how she would afford daycare if Ethan didn't want anything to do with her. She could always ask for child support if he didn't, but she loved her job at Devry Media, and any messy court cases would most likely get her fired.
There were always different jobs, but she need money to keep her afloat. Sighing, she shut her bedroom door and walked toward the kitchen to grab her to-go coffee from her dining room table.
She was going to tell him today. She couldn't wait the week; she didn't have a dress for the fundraiser anyway and couldn't afford one. Aria had to tell Ethan before her head exploded from guilt. It felt hard to breathe the more her feelings stirred every time he texted or called.
Even though she hadn't heard from him since Sunday afternoon after he didn't text her back Saturday, it still formed butterflies in her stomach.
She locked her door and made her way down to her car. The silence on the way there, because she refused to turn on the radio, haunted her mind. She didn't feel like forcing herself into a good mood with music. Her rattling heartbeat gave her enough rhythm to keep up with.
Devry Media was in full swing when she walked into the front doors that morning. Her mind shifted to work mode, and she realized she could tell Ethan during their morning session about the jewelry account. They needed to pitch their ideas to them soon, and they needed to gather their final notes for it.
Her notepad sat in her bag over her shoulder, and the feeling of despair resided in her stomach. Little Bean jumped around after the coffee she drank on the way over, and she couldn’t even muster the guilt to care she'd had the cup of coffee.
Even though her OBGYN allowed her so much caffeine per day, she felt her baby deserved the best.
And she wasn't sure she'd be able to give it to him. She wasn't doing so well so far.
Aria made it to her desk, started her laptop, and pulled out all of her things. She tried her best to keep a calm mind and deal with her raging heartbeat later, but it still drowned out her thoughts.
"Knock, knock," Seth said, hitting his knuckles against the top of her cubicle.
Aria glanced up at his smiling face and tucked a brown curl behind her ear. "Hey, good morning," she said, trying to portray she was busy by not giving him too much attention.
"Good morning. I thought I'd drop by and ask about this weekend. I know we're supposed to go to the fundraiser together and everything—"
Aria turned in her chair to look up at him. "About that, Seth. I'm not sure I’m going to be able to go. I can't find a dress, and I've been overwhelmed at work with Amy's work and my own."
Seth frowned, his goofy grin slowly faded, and he adjusted his glasses on his nose. "Are you going with someone else?"
Aria inwardly sighed because this wasn't the first time he asked personal questions—last time, it was about Ethan. "No, I'm not going at all. You can still go and have fun. You don't need me to do it."
Seth nodded reassuringly. "You're right. Thanks for letting me know ahead of time."
"I’m sorry, Seth."
He shrugged. "It's perfectly fine. No hard feelings."
Seth walked back to Abe's office where his desk was, and Aria let out a silent sigh. One problem dealt with, ninety-nine to go. Joan suggested she tell Marilyn about her pregnancy this week, and since she was already letting people down so early in the morning, she figured she better keep it going.
She gathered her nerves, walked toward her office, and knocked on the closer door.
"Come inside," she said.
Aria opened the door and took a deep breath. "I need to speak with you—" she stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Abe standing in the corner of the room looking at a file.
He glanced up at her and smirked. "Good morning, Ms. Linetti."
"Good morning," she mumbled.
"What is it you need?" Ms. Cook asked, over a cup of coffee.
Aria's mouth opened to speak, but she snapped it shut. She couldn’t tell Marilyn anything about her maternity leave in front of Abe, so she came up with anything she could think of to get out of it.
"I don't know if you need to know this or not, but I won't be able to make it to the fundraiser this weekend. I've had something come up."
Mrs. Cook frowned. "Oh no, Aria. I'm sorry to hear that. I will make a note of it for the coordinator."
"Thank you."
She caught a glance at Abe on her way out. He looked confused, with his brows down and a curious look on his face. Aria wished he would find a girlfriend or something to busy himself. He was nosy for a man.
Aria almost sprinted back to her seat to get away from the feeling of Abe's eyes on her. He was too curious for his own good. She made it there and noticed someone from the front lobby standing close to her chair.
"There you are," the young intern said. She looked worried with her notepad pressed against her chest, and unruly blond hair in a bun on top of her head. "Aria. There is a gentleman that insists he speak with you down stairs. I wouldn't let him up without his keycard, and he's become furious."
Oh no.
Aria nodded, hurrying to try and diminish any scene that Landen was causing downstairs. She hurried as fast as she could without tripping, and found Landen standing in the front, hands on his hips, behind two security guards.
"Ms. Linetti," one of the guards said. "I was two seconds away from calling Mr. Devry to see what he wanted to do. Do you know this man?"
Landen scoffed and pushed his fingers into his red hair. "Yes, I'm the father—"
"Yes!" she shouted, shoving between the two of them to grab Landen's forearm. "I know him, and he is just leaving. I'll be back shortly."
She began to drag Landen from the lobby, out the front doors and onto the bustling street outside. He looked pissed, but she was sure she looked madder. "What are you doing!" she shouted, lifting her hands and dropping them dramatically. "This is my job, Landen. You can't just show up and demand to see me."
He laughed humorlessly. "I wouldn't have to if you'd answer your phone. I've been trying to call you to tell you that I spoke with my mother, and she wants to meet with us about the baby. We need to discuss daycare, and the support you will need once you've had him."
Aria felt the sky fall around her, and break into a million tiny shards of irritation. "Landen … we can't speak about this here. I haven't told my job yet."
"Why not?" he asked, reaching for her, but she back stepped. "Because I just started, and now I'm going to have to be off for at least six weeks. I'm nervous, and I'm scared they will fire me. Let me deal with this. And I don't want to meet your mother, and I don't want your help. I'm fine."
He placed his fists against the center of his forehead and sighed. "Not this again, Aria. You can't do this—"
"I'll meet with you tonight if you just leave!" she said.
Landen gave her a quizzical look. "Promise?"
Aria nodded, feeling relief that he would go without a fight.
"Okay," he said, bending down to kiss her cheek, she side stepped him and gestured behind her. "Be on your way."
He looked annoyed but walked down the sidewalk and disappeared around the corner. Aria sighed deeply, knowing the stress wasn't good for her. Aria glanced around the sidewalk, noticing a newspaper stand a couple of feet away.
The front cover of a popular gossip magazine caught her attention. She walked over and grabbed it, staring down at Ethan Devry, standing outside of a bar with a scantily clad brunette putting her arm around him.
The air diminished around her, and she felt her stomach fall to her butt. She blinked several times, trying to catch her breath. She glanced up from the unsettling image in front of her and looked down the sidewalk.
Her breath stalled when she noticed Ethan walking in from the parking garage, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a hot coffee.
His gaze landed on hers, and he smiled. Like nothing was wrong. Like he hadn't spent the weekend with some girl, presumably on Saturday night, the night he never texted her back.
Aria began to hyperventilate and put the magazine down, watching Ethan stop and stare at her like she'd grown two heads.
"What's wrong?" he asked from the distance, hardly hearable above the foot traffic surrounding her.
She shook her head slowly, turned and walked down the sidewalk, away from Ethan Devry, and any chance of her baby having a two-parent home.