Chapter 52

“I’ve got to leave a few hours early today,” I say, my head popped into Derek’s office around ten. “I needed a doctor’s appointment, and this was the only time they could squeeze me in.”

He lifts his head to look at me. He seems tired today, a steaming cup of coffee sitting beside him on the desk.

“What time?” He asks.

“I have to leave at three. If you need me to do anything, though, you can bring it home, and I’ll get it done. I planned on finishing everything early on purpose.”

He waves off my words. “No, I won’t make you do anything at home.”

I sigh. “Okay, great.”

“If you’re okay telling me?” His eyes are watching me, but he lets his eyes move to my stomach, fixing on that for a few seconds. “Is this for…you know?”

I look behind me toward the hall of other offices. No one seems to be nearby, which calms me slightly. It’s been several days since our last conversation about the baby, but he’s kept his promise.

Annie and Lily have not dropped the topic since. Every text in our group chat has been about his chivalrous and kindness and the girls.

“You guys make me never want to tell you secrets again,” I typed in the chat last night.

“Lies,” Annie typed back. Then, a second message came in. “If the Package is safe with him, then who’s to say there’s more he’s hiding?”

We’ve been calling the baby “Package.” It’s only to avoid anyone finding out about the little boy or girl growing inside of me. So Annie’s idea that Derek keeping my secret is hot continues to play in my head.

“The Package will always need someone. Why not him?”

I rolled my eyes and typed back. “What am I, chopped liver? I’m the one doing all the work.”

“So, let him help.” Lily was incredibly adamant as well.

“I don’t know how you two always have time to devise these schemes.” I hit send but didn’t see their replies until earlier this morning.

Lily had written, “You trust him. He trusts you.”

“Schemes are what best friends are for,” was Annie’s response.

I nod my head toward my boss, answering his question. “Yeah, it’s for that.”

Derek nods back. “Okay. Thanks for letting me know.” He’s still nodding at me, confusing me.

“Is…is there something else?” I ask, raising my right eyebrow now.

He stops nodding, seemingly like he was thinking about answering right away.

“You okay in there?” I push, walking into his office now.

“Sorry,” he states, shaking his head a bit. “I had a thought.”

I wait, leaning against the doorframe. The man’s face starts to burn, and my stomach starts turning inside out at what he’s thinking.

“Why don’t I take you to the appointment?” He asks.

My eyes widen, my jaw opens, and my shoulders tense. “Sorry?”

He nods, putting his pen down and leaning back in his chair. “I’ve been through this a few times. I’m a pro.”

I shake my hands in front of him. “Oh, no, no, that’s not…that isn’t what I was—”

“Esme. You have no one to be there with you at these appointments. You don’t deserve that sort of treatment, and neither does your…you know.”

“Mr. Anderson—”

“You can call me Derek, remember?” He interrupts again.

I shake my head with more vigor. “You aren’t coming with me today,” I reaffirm.

“As your neighbor who knows what you’re dealing with, I really insist.”

“As my boss, you don’t have to.”

Derek Anderson stands up from his chair, buttoning the top of his suit jacket. He looks as handsome as ever in a suit that probably cost more than what I made all last week. The light grey makes his smile appear wider, contrasting perfectly with his pristine white button-down.

“Esme,” he deadpans.

“Derek?” I question.

“If you leave without me to attend that appointment, I will be very disappointed. Moreover, I will annoy you by knocking on your apartment wall all night.”

I crack a smile, accepting defeat. “Fine. My office at three.”

“Now, was that so hard?”

Rolling my eyes, I make my way out of the office. “See you later, boss.”

Derek ends up driving us to the appointment together in his car.

“I’ll bring you back to work tomorrow,” Derek tells me. “Since I know where you live and all.”

“Not at all stalkerish,” I tease.

“Nope. Just two neighbors going to a doctor’s appointment,” he replies simply.

At the doctor’s, I sign in on the sheet, and we sit next to one another in the waiting room.

“Are you excited to know the gender?” he whispers to me, leaning in so I can hear him better.

“Not sure I want to know the gender,” I say back, smiling but not looking straight at him.

“Why not? Isn’t that the fun part?”

Is this man going softer on me?

That sounds incredibly sexist. I just feel like the more time we spend together, the gentler and kinder he grows.

My heart swoons hard, leaving me with a dry mouth and throat. It’s strange to know this man so well that he’s sitting with me at a pre-natal appointment asking about how I’m doing.

“Can they even tell gender at this point?” I question.

“Actually, no, I think that’s a week 12 discovery.”

“So, then we don’t find out the sex today.”

“Why don’t you want to know?”

“A healthy baby is all I care about,” I explain. “I’ve never cared what gender my baby is. Just so long as it’s okay.”

“I guess I was just too excited to find out I’d be the father of girls,” he replies, leaning back in his chair a little.

“Yeah?” I imagine my boss giddy at the idea of Bea and Tris before they were born, the smile on his face and the love in his heart.

“I still remember holding both of them after they were born.”

“Must have been magical,” I muse.

“Bea was so quiet; you wouldn’t think we had a baby. Tris was a bit more to handle, but that was also when the marriage began to fall apart.”

I still don’t know much about his ex-wife, but I don’t really want to know.

“I see how much you love them,” I state, my hand touching his upper arm. “I never doubt that. And they think the world of you.”

He squirms in the chair just a bit. “They’re my world.”

“I know,” I assure him. “You’re every child’s dream parent.”

“I just want to give them a good life. Having one parent is challenging for so many kids.”

“That from experience?” I question.

He breathes out a tiny laugh. “The child psychiatrists that have spent decades helping single parents play both roles.”

Now I’m the one growing uneasy. “I guess I never thought about that. Being a single mom.”

“You don’t think Ryan will abandon you and the child?” I turn at his words and see the genuine concern, fear, and exhaustion on his face. It’s etched into each wrinkle and dark circle.

“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “He’s wanted a child. And with Melinda, he’s getting that. He might be the father, but he’s in no way a dad.”

“Esme?” A nurse calls from the doorway, the two of us spinning to see her. “You can come back now.”

I stand up and offer a hand to Derek.

“You coming?” I ask, which takes him by surprise.

“Are you sure?” He asks, seemingly shrinking.

“Might not be time to learn the gender. But I’ll take the support.” I smile widely at my boss, appreciative of his help, support, care, and more.

My heart is slamming into my chest as he takes my hand and stands, quickly letting go as we follow the nurse back.

“Time to meet Baby Price.”