we signed the contracts.’ She flashed me a smile. ‘I’m enjoying getting to know you. I can’t remember the last time I had a proper girly chat.’
I sighed. She was being so nice to me; I had to give her something. ‘The day I got pregnant, hooking up was the last thing on my mind. But I was upset, lonely. He offered to take care of me. It was nice to feel protected.’ My words were heavy with the burden of my secret. ‘I’d always had a crush on him, but never acted on it. That night . . . it felt right.’
‘I know what you mean.’ Sheridan’s kohl-lined eyes twinkled as she absorbed my words. ‘Daniel and I tried for over a year to get pregnant with Leo. We were both under a lot of pressure at work. I’d all but given up. Then one night we got really drunk and it happened. The one time we didn’t think about it was when I took.’
‘Tell me about it,’ I laughed. ‘If it wasn’t for Mr Jameson I wouldn’t be here today.’
‘Jameson?’ Sheridan tilted her head to one side.
‘Irish whiskey,’ I chuckled. ‘I don’t normally drink it but we . . .’ My words were cut short as I caught the expression on Sheridan’s face. Shit.
‘You were drunk when you conceived my baby?’ Her words were low and thunderous, her expression icy cold. I stiffened. I had to come clean. Sheridan could see right through me and lying would only make things worse. Besides, how come it was OK for her and not for me? Slowly, I nodded.
‘It’s not as if I planned it. As you said yourself . . . these things happen.’
‘Juice.’ She pushed the kale juice into my hands, making it slop over the side. ‘Drink your juice.’
‘What?’ I frowned, looking at the glass. The room fell silent, the air between us was thick with tension. I knocked the drink back, downing it in one. My stomach rolled, more with nerves than anything else. I wiped my fingers with a napkin. ‘I’m sorry, I . . .’
But Sheridan seemed in no mood for my apologies. Her body was rigid, each word delivered with the simmering fury that bubbled underneath. ‘What if you’ve damaged the baby? Have you thought of that? What else have you lied about?’
‘Nothing, honestly. I stopped drinking the second I found out I was pregnant.’ But my words were digging me into a deeper hole. It was weeks before I did a test. I could feel the blood draining from my cheeks.
Sheridan glared at me, her nostrils flaring as she inhaled. I was so shocked I could barely move. Only a couple of minutes ago we were chatting like old friends. I had never seen anyone in such a state of quiet fury, not even my mother.
She broke her gaze to glare at her watch before standing up. ‘Get up. Breakfast is over.’
Her words were abrupt, her movements jerky. I remained in my seat, my mind racing as I tried to figure out what to do.
‘I said get up!’
In one swift movement she wrapped my ponytail around her fist and yanked hard.
‘Ow!’ I screamed. ‘You’re hurting me!’
I tried to wriggle from her grasp, but she was a lot stronger than she looked. I had no choice but to follow as she marched me towards the lift.
‘Please, Sheridan, I’m sorry – let me explain!’
But she was beyond reason, summoning the lift with her spare hand as I tried to loosen her grip.
‘Go to your room!’ Her words echoed in the hall. ‘Go to your room and think about what you’ve done!’
The roots of my hair burned as they were plucked from my scalp. As she marched me into the lift, the doors began to close and she turned to walk away. I gasped as I lost my balance, falling on to my backside. Flashes of light pierced my vision as I hit my head against the handrail on the way down.
‘Roz!’ Sheridan cried after me, her voice imbued with instant regret. ‘Are you OK?’ Her voice echoed as the doors shut and the lift made its way down. What the hell? I was pregnant. She could have knocked me out cold.
With heavy legs I staggered to my feet as the lift reached the basement floor. Despite my head being woozy, self-preservation had kicked in, and I was not risking Sheridan coming down. What happened back there? I thought, as I wedged the doors open with