Charity Case - The Complete Series - Piper Rayne Page 0,203

my arms land on the sides of the doorway.

Chelsea’s red and bloodshot eyes greet me. Oh no. Please say no.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

Victoria smiles softly at me indicating it’s not the conclusion I’m drawing.

“Chelsea is experiencing first trimester pregnancy, that’s all. When your hormones are zooming all over your body like little space cadets.”

“Can’t I shoot them down like Centipede?” Chelsea grabs a tissue and blows her nose.

Man, I thought PMS days were bad around here.

“First of all, Centipede is a bug. Maybe you’re talking about the Space Invaders game?” Victoria always has the mom wisdom around here.

Chelsea completely disregards Victoria’s response. “Dean thinks there’s something wrong. He says I shouldn’t be crying so much.”

“How much are you crying?” I ask, sitting and crossing my legs in the chair in front of her desk.

As always, Victoria hovers by the door in case someone calls.

“Well, I cried at a commercial the night before last and again as I was scrolling through Facebook. I never noticed how much sad stuff is on there. I mean a man surprising his son after coming home from the war? Come on. Who doesn’t cry at that?” She raises her hands in the air and shakes them as though asking for a prayer to be answered.

“That’s normal. I get teary-eyed with that kinda stuff, too.” Victoria attempts to be the consoling friend.

A hopeful look crosses Chelsea’s face for a second. “I cried thinking about Grover. Thinking how I barely know him and how he’ll never grow as close to me as he is Dean. That he’s going to die one day and I never knew him as a puppy.”

I glance at Victoria who returns my look of bewilderment.

“See? Look at you two exchanging looks like I’m a lunatic. Maybe Dean is right. What if this is some sign that my hormones are crashing?”

“It’s not.” Victoria walks over and props herself on the edge of the desk, placing her hand on Chelsea’s shoulder. “This is all normal. With Jade, I cried because Pete brought me a banana milkshake instead of a strawberry one.”

“I’d be mad, too. These cravings are no joke. Dean went out last night at ten pm to get me Chick-Fil-A.”

“Were they open?” Victoria asks like she’s done a late night run before only to be disappointed.

“No. He got there right as they were locking the doors. The damn teenage manager couldn’t be bribed. And guess what?”

“You cried?” I ask.

Chelsea nods, tears welling in her eyes all over again.

Ding, ding, I got the answer right.

“You two are not making pregnancy sound appealing.” I stand smoothing out my skirt.

“Wait until you meet him or her. All these crazy emotions are all worth it. I promise.” Victoria kisses Chelsea’s forehead like the mom she is. “Tell Dean not to overreact. He’s in for a long ride.”

Chelsea laughs, her tears drying and I don’t want to be a jackass of a boss, but I really need her to secure us a new venue for the gala. Preferably today. I was up all night figuring out who owed me a favor. Since half of my contacts disappeared the minute I signed my divorce papers, the list has shrunk considerably.

“Oh, Hannah, I’m waiting for callbacks from a few venues. Don’t worry, I won’t cry to them on the phone.”

“Great, keep me posted.” I walk out of the office wondering how the next six or seven months of her pregnancy will pan out.

Victoria follows. “I put the messages on your desk this morning. Reed said he’ll call in some favors too and see if he can work anything out for us, but he’s in court most of today.”

“Thank him for me, but he already has a lot on his plate.”

“He’s happy to help.” She sits down at her desk, her hands instantly positioned on her keyboard.

I’m thankful every day that Jagger called me to tell me about how his assistant was relocating.

The white and gold decor in my office cheers me up slightly as I head to my own desk. The non-traditional office flair reminds me I’m in charge now and I don’t have to conform to anyone else’s wishes.

When I leased these offices for the RISE Foundation, I decided that no way was I going with boring old black, grey and brown. I wanted something vibrant, new…something to make me excited about life again. Someone offered their advice that the feminine palette diminishes my power when someone visits my office. That it says I’m soft and they’ll get what they