“Ladies, I’m busy,” he told them. “You’re losing time.”
Lila’s back straightened, her eyes shot daggers at him and she opened her mouth to speak but Rachel got there before her.
“We agreed I’d do the talking,” Rachel said to Lila.
Lila turned her murderous glare to her daughter and announced, “I’ve changed my mind.”
“Mom, seriously, let me do the talking.”
“No, I’ve got a few things to say to this… this…” Lila stuttered but was so caught up in anger she couldn’t find an appropriate word.
“Say them,” Jack clipped his invitation. “Then go. I have things to do.”
“All right then…” Lila started, leaning forward, clearly ready to let loose a stream of invective but it was what Rachel said at the same time that caused Jack’s body to go rock-solid.
“Belle’s pregnant.”
Jack stood motionless at the door, his mind completely blank as the two women ignored his stunned reaction and bickered in front of him.
“I can’t believe you just blurted it out like that!” Lila snapped.
“Well, it’s not news you can easily cushion,” Rachel returned.
“He doesn’t deserve cushioning but you didn’t have to just… blurt it out,” Lila fired back.
Rachel put her hands to her hips. “How would you have done it?”
Lila put her hands to her h*ps as well. “I don’t know but I wouldn’t have blurted it out.”
“You’re just mad you didn’t get to tell him and be all,” she raised her be-ringed hands to either side of her head and shook them, “drama.”
Before Lila could respond, Jack’s voice hit the room and they both jumped when he said, “Excuse me.”
They turned to him and stared as if they were surprised he was even there.
Yes, he thought, they were both very like Belle.
“Let’s go back to Belle being pregnant,” Jack suggested in a deceptively soft voice. His mind, unusually slow, still not wrapped around this fact however he did recognise one of the feelings he was feeling.
It was anger.
“Well, she’s pregnant. That’s it. That’s what we came to say,” Rachel told him as if she did this every day, forced her way into men’s offices and informed them the one night stand they’d had months ago was pregnant.
“And you’re saying you think it’s mine,” Jack stated and the air in the room changed drastically. It was not friendly before but after he uttered his words, words he knew were unnecessary, words he also knew were a serious insult, the air became sluggish and suffocating.
Rachel, the more pleasant one, lost all vestiges of pleasant. Her eyes narrowed and her cheeks went pink.
As becoming as this was (the same as when her daughter blushed), Jack’s gaze moved to Lila and he saw she stood straight and still, hands clenched into fists at her sides, the daggers in her eyes had turned to deadly spears.
“We shouldn’t have come here,” Rachel muttered furiously. “Belle told us but did we listen? No, we did… not… listen. Do we ever listen to Belle? No, we never… listen… to Belle. Do we always get in trouble? Yes! We do!”
Jack, instinctively knowing Lila was the more worthy opponent, didn’t take his eyes from her as Rachel ranted. Therefore he saw immediately when her expression cleared, the anger cooled and she looked at her daughter.
“This is good,” Lila told Rachel.
“How is this good?” Rachel returned sharply.
“Belle didn’t want him to have anything to do with the baby. He doesn’t think it’s his. Belle gets what she wants.” Lila clapped her hands together like she was wiping away dust and declared, “Fin.”