Four

Chapter Four

.^.^.^.DOMINIC.^.^.^

I woke up to an empty bed on the other side. The sheets, still warm with her scent whilst her presence was nowhere to be seen.

My secretary. I was drunk and made love to a woman who ground my gears Everytime she flashed those guns of hers at another colleague at the office.

It was unlike me, being so reckless. And yet, I’d never felt so free.

Raking a hand through my hair, I managed to get out of bed. The reverie of her soft moans, the way she held onto me whilst I drove into her, the titillating way she screamed my name as we both reached the highest point of our ecstasy. It all slammed into me, at the same time an overwhelming sense of hangover which almost made me topple back onto the bed.

I let out a groan. Damn Anna, ruining every single one of my plans to my carefully curated image getting frayed at the edges. Now I was awake, after spending the night with a woman I was bound to see in a few hours, with complicated feelings I couldn’t even decipher.

I couldn’t pretend to have not spent with night with Earhart. I was a man with integrity. I was cruel but I wasn’t a monster. Pretending to have not reveled in the way her legs wrapped around me, whilst our mouths tangled in seduction, was doing her a disservice.

Heck. It was a disservice to me.

My night with Amelia Earhart was just something I couldn’t forget. Drunk or not.

.^.^.^.^.^

“Gone?!!” I raised my voice, almost slamming my hands down on the desk, much to the surprise of the head of my HR department, “What do you mean she’s gone?!”

“She turned in her resignation just this morning,” Mrs Ingram muttered, “something about a sick parent of the sort. Then she cleared out her desk and left immediately.”

There was no sick parent. It was obvious to no one but me.

Enraged at her callous behavior. I quickly slipped into my jacket, “I need her address.”

“But sir,” Mrs Ingram blinked, “There’s a strict confidentiality—

“I make the damn rules and I might as well break them if I please!” I snapped at her, unashamed of my unlikely behavior. I was spiraling out of control for a woman who’d turn my night into one of bliss but was now trying to run away from me, “Get me Earhart’s address or you and the whole department might as well be packing!!”

.^.^.^.^.^.

“Sorry champ,” The short landlord with the frumpy red hair simply shrugged at my desperation, “She doesn’t live here any longer.”

Rage wasn’t cutting it. The fury that coursed through my veins was enough to burn a whole town, “What do you mean she doesn’t—“ I paused for a moment to gather myself. For heavens sake, I was Dominic Volkov, I commanded a whole company. I made to the Forbes billionaire list, and yet a measly secretary was making me act out of the ordinary.

“What do you mean she doesn’t live here any longer?” I asked, now with a much calmer sense of self, my anger still peaking through the shadows.

Her landlord shrugged, “She packed up all her things and left just this morning. Something about a sick parent,” then he chuckled, “I’m pretty sure she’s running from someone. You never know with that lady, she’s the cunning type.”

“Yeah,” I glumly agree, “I know.”

“Look man,” he tried placing a hand on my shoulder only to get a daggering stare that made him retract those mucky hands of his, “You’re not gonna find her here. She’s kapoot.”

I nodded. My hands tight in a balled fist to a point where my knuckles went white, “Give me a call if you spot her around. I’ll reward you handsomely.”

He nodded with enthusiasm, “Does she owe you??”

“Yes,” I muttered whilst handing him my business card, “She owes me a lot.”

I turned to leave and my driver who stood right outside, obviously listening to the conversation, “Should we contact the police. I can tell you’re worried about her.”

“Worried?” I snorted, “That’s a stretch.”

“But—

“But nothing.” I snapped, adjusting the lapels of my jacket, “Earhart will return….they always do,” I entered the car, “And when she does, there’ll be hell to pay.”

.~.~.~.AMELIA.~.~.~

(EIGHT-MONTHS AND A WEEK LATER….)

“Amelia Earhart?” The doctor called from the waiting room, “We’re ready for you now.”

I grunted, staring at my round belly which seldomly gave me the wide eye view of my legs. Swollen, tired, peeing like a toddler and overwhelmingly pregnant. I managed to get on my feet, not before releasing a little bout of fluid into my pants which made me wince out loud.

The baby was pressing my pelvic floor now. I was due to give birth in three weeks according to the doctor, and to be Frank I couldn’t wait to get him out of me anytime soon.

Yes. I was having a boy. A baby boy who’d probably come out to look like the man who’d haunted my dreams for the past year.

Running away was the hardest thing I’d ever done. The moment he said the name of another woman in bed, I knew I’d made the greatest mistake of my life getting into bed with him. It took only a few hours, packing up my life and resigning from a job I solely relied on.

Five weeks later and I found out I was pregnant. Alone. In another city whilst hiding in plain sight.

I was pregnant with Dominic Volkov’s baby and there was nothing I could do about it.

It was terrifying at first. I wanted nothing more than to terminate it, as the stark reminder of the beautiful night I spent with him was too much to bear. I also wanted to tell him, but the reminder of how he thought he slept with another woman crowded every rational thought I had.

He wouldn’t accept me, or the child.

I was his lowly secretary, and he was the boss who made my life hell.

“Oh the baby’s growing rapidly,” The doctor muttered as he rubbed the cool gel all over my round stomach, “Still no sign of his father huh?”

I gulped hard, “Yeah. The army isn’t giving him a leave anytime soon.”

The military. A story i went with to throw people off.

“Well I hope he gets it,” The doctor added, “You’re bound to burst anytime soon. Just take your solids, and the supplements, and then we’ll see you next time for your appointment.”

I nodded and rose from the table. It annoyed me how out of breath I was, stretching to grab my purse. I waddled towards the door, a side effect of being round as a beach ball, when I suddenly felt a warm sensation down my pants.

I went pale.

It wasn’t pee.

“Uhm doc…..” my breath hitched, “I think the time to burst is now.”