The Vessel - Jenika Snow Page 0,47
to his office without even thinking about it, not even calling him, just surprising him, because if I was going to be shocked, I figured he should be too. I shook my head and stared at the electronic numbers as they counted down each floor I ascended.
The Blacksmith corporate office was at the very top, and although I knew it wasn’t realistic, I swear I felt the air start to thin because we were so high up.
I placed a hand on my belly on instinct, butterflies moving in there... a baby growing in there. Lucius’s baby.
God, what would he say? How would he react? This certainly wasn’t how I’d ever seen myself getting pregnant—unwed, having only been with the father such a short time. But our romance had been fast, passionate. Intense.
And it still was, growing every single day.
It seemed to take the elevator forever to reach the floor I needed, but at the same time, it was like it was over before it really began.
The doors opened silently, and I stepped into the lobby with shaking legs. I was buzzing, every part of me feeling like I was underwater, like I was swimming against a current. The front desk was sleek and modern, everything around me glass and steel.
There was a gorgeous, svelte blonde sitting behind the front desk, the phone to her ear. She glanced up at me, eyed me for a split second, then went back to whatever she was doing. I looked down at what I wore. Jeans, a white, slightly wrinkled tee, and my running shoes that looked like I’d been gardening in them. Which I had.
Yeah, I definitely didn’t fit in, which was probably why she paid me no attention after the quick onceover.
For several seconds I thought about just turning around and going home, waiting to talk to Lucius about this later, but I was already here, nervous energy moving through me. I didn’t want to wait. And so I went up to the front desk, the receptionist all but ignoring me. I listened to her sickly saccharine voice as she spoke to whoever was on the other end of the line. After a moment, she hung up and lifted her wing-tipped eyes to me to give me the blandest expression imaginable.
“Can I help you?”
I licked my suddenly dry lips and cleared my throat. My palms were sweaty, and I ran them up and down my denim-clad thighs. “Y-yeah. U-um,” I stuttered out but told myself to get my shit together. “I need to see Lucius, please.”
She lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow but didn’t say anything for long seconds. “Do you have an appointment?” she finally asked.
Why was this woman making me feel so on edge? She was intimidating as hell, and I hated it, but I was stronger than this. I shook my head. “No, but he’ll see me.” And I knew he would.
“Is that right?” I gritted my teeth at her tone. “I’m sorry, but Mr. Blacksmith is very busy with meetings all day. If you don’t have an appointment, you’re going to have to call later and set one up.” She looked me over once more. “May I ask what this is in reference to?”
It was clear she was curious on what someone like me was doing in a place like this, where Armani and Gucci, designer and expensive everything was in abundance. Surrounded by all this stuff, I looked like I’d been shopping at the thrift store. Which I had, but that was beside the point.
Before I could say anything, someone called for the receptionist, and of course her name was Buffy, as if she were born and bred to be in a country club. She faced me again and said, “Unless you need anything else, you’re welcome to show yourself out.” And just like that, she dismissed me, as if her time were far more precious than mine.
What a bitch.
She stood and walked down the hallway to speak with whoever had called her over. I looked at the elevator then at the hallway she just disappeared down. I glanced in the other direction, to the other corridor. I had no idea where Lucius was, but leaving was most definitely not what I was going to do. I was breaking all kinds of rules, but I figured if I was going to get in trouble, at least the owner of the company was the man I was in a relationship with, and the father of my child, so how