The Boss's Little Miracle

“It’s complicated, Mom. I haven’t worked anything out. I just learned of the baby about an hour ago. Give me some time to get used to it and make plans.”

“Well, of course. And I’m happy to help. Come home this weekend.”

“I’m not sure.” She wasn’t feeling any better for knowing she didn’t have the flu. Added to that was the stress that grew as she contemplated telling Tanner he was going to be a father. Nothing had been said in all the times she saw him about a long-term affair and especially not children.

“Tell me how you’re feeling. When is it due? When will you know the sex? Have you thought of any names? I can’t wait to see you. Oh, honey, I’m so delighted. I never thought—Wait until I tell your father!” Ginny’s enthusiasm came across the lines like a balm to Anna’s jangled nerves. She began to relax as her mother started to admonish her about eating well, sleeping extra hours and keeping up an exercise program. She urged her to take time away from work as much as possible to store up sleep—she’d need it when the baby came.

The two chatted for almost an hour. At the end of the conversation, Anna extracted a promise from her mother not to tell anyone else in the family—she wanted to share than news in a couple of weeks at the Thanksgiving holiday when everyone would be together. Reluctantly Ginny agreed.

“But how I’m going to keep this from your father, I’m not sure,” she said.

“Please, Mom. This is so special. It may never happen again. I want to be there when they hear it. I want to see their expressions as well.”

“I’ll do it. Call me right away if you need anything.”

Anna agreed and hung up. She still felt surreal. Her hand went to her stomach in the instinctive manner of all pregnant mothers.

“Hello, little one,” she said softly. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Tired, Anna went back to her room to lie down. She was too keyed-up to sleep, however. She began to make plans. As soon as she felt up to it, she’d visit a bookstore to get as many prenatal and newborn baby books she could locate. Then she’d have to go online and check out rentals in Brussels. The apartment Thomas Vintner had found for her wouldn’t do. She needed more room.

She’d have to get baby furniture, find child care and decide what to do about school when the child was older.

And in the meantime, she had to find a way to tell the baby’s daddy.

CHAPTER THREE

TANNER hung up the phone and looked at his watch. It was after two. He’d asked Ellie to check on Anna for him when she had not come into work today. She was supposed to be seen by her doctor. He wondered if she had kept the appointment. He had a few minutes before the next department head was scheduled. Unable to concentrate on the report in front of him, he dialed Anna’s number. A moment later she answered.

“Did you see the doctor?” Tanner asked without preamble.

“I did,” she said. “You woke me up for that? I said I would go.”

“And? What was the prognosis? Could he do anything for the flu?”

“Actually he gave me some medicine for the symptoms. I’m already feeling better.”

She sounded much better, he noted. Her voice had an inflection he hadn’t heard for a while. He remembered their frequent talks on the phone. Before he’d go to bed many nights he’d call and they’d ramble about any and everything. He remembered each conversation, how they’d good-naturedly argue about silly things. They rarely talked seriously. Once she’d told him she had a broken engagement behind her and that she couldn’t have children. That would have been the perfect opening to tell her about Zach. But the pain was still sharp when he thought of the boy, so he had kept silent.

Not that it mattered. It happened so long ago. He had to keep moving, tried to forget Cindy’s betrayal and focus on the present.

Most of the time, however, their late night sessions had been lighthearted and fun. A welcome change from the stress and cutthroat business at hand. He had welcomed the diversion when negotiating this position and winding up his chief operating officer position at his prior company.

The way he calculated it, he owed Anna. More than he’d given her when he’d stopped seeing her so abruptly. They had no commitments. No long range plans. But it still had to have hurt when he stopped seeing her with no word. He could have said business was too intense and he had to call a halt. It would have been better than silence.

“That’s good.” I was worried about you sounded too personal. Yet he had been. He’d never seen her look so frail as she had on Monday.

“Thank you for your concern. I’ll probably take the rest of the week off and be back on Monday,” she said. “I have lots of sick leave on the books. I’m never sick.”

“Get better. Call if you need anything.” He knew she had an exemplary attendance record as well as outstanding performance reviews. She hadn’t risen as high as she had in the company without a strong work ethic.

He replaced the receiver on his phone and looked at the stack of papers on his desk. He had made the right decision to sever their relationship. But for a moment, he enjoyed hearing her voice.

It had been a pleasure dating Anna. He missed the easy way they could talk about everything, or remain silent for long stretches without any awkwardness. He liked the fact she enjoyed similar activities. The way she jumped on and off the cable car like a native. Her love of crab cocktails at the Wharf. Her delight in watching kites flying at the marina.

He rose and paced to his window. Glancing out on Montgomery Street, he remembered the Sunday afternoon they’d walked along the deserted thoroughfare peeking into some of the windows of the closed shops and businesses. They had made up stories about who owned them, the kind of businesses they were and the dreams of the future the owners were likely to have. Then they had hiked to the wharf to have crab cocktails and sourdough bread for lunch. That had been two days prior to the discovery that she worked for Drysdale Electronics. His own code of ethics had demanded he stop seeing her. For once he wished he wasn’t so good about following his own rules.

He walked to his office door and opened it. Ellie was working diligently on her computer.

“Order some flowers for Anna Larkin,” he said. “Have them delivered today.”

Ellie looked up in surprise. “Sure thing. Is she worse?”

“No, but she is going to stay home a few days to get over the flu.”

“What shall I put on the card?” Ellie asked.

“Best wishes from your friends at Drysdale Electronics,” Tanner said. He didn’t want to give rise to speculation with the rest of the staff. But he wanted some flowers to brighten her apartment.

He returned to his desk better able to focus on the work. But always in the back of his mind was the image of Anna he had seen last night in her warm pink fleece robe and fluffy slippers. He felt a tightening in his stomach any time he thought about her. Why wasn’t she as easy to forget as other women he had dated over the years? Was it only because they were forced into proximity from now on? Or was there something particularly special about Anna Larkin? He could almost feel her soft skin under his fingertips. Smell her special scent. Hear her laughter and see the sparkle in her eyes.

He’d need a cold shower if he didn’t stop daydreaming about her. Turning, he plunged back into work finding relief in the myriad of facts to be absorbed.

Anna spent the next few days lounging around her apartment, sleeping as much as she could. She had been delighted with the bouquet of flowers from the office the day she’d learned her news. She took them as a positive omen. A celebration—though only she knew why. The lavish arrangement of colorful fall flowers with chrysanthemums and other blossoms raised her spirits whenever she looked at it.

When not resting, she went on the Internet to search sites about pregnancy and newborns. She studied housing listings for Brussels. She had so much to think about. First to make it through the pregnancy. She’d follow the doctor’s orders to the letter. Any risk would be ruthlessly dealt with. She yearned for this baby with all in her.

She needed to find a flat in Brussels larger than originally planned. She’d have to furnish a room for a child. Perhaps she could hire a live-in nanny or au pair to help out with the baby once he or she was born. That would require an even larger place—especially if she wanted room for her family to stay.

Would it be a boy or girl? She had no preference. Daydreaming about either, she let her imagination soar. A tough little boy like Tanner, charging ahead, learning things fast, making a difference. Breaking hearts.

Or a little girl. Would she have dark hair like her daddy? Sparkling eyes full of mischief?

Either would be loved to bits. She prayed it would be healthy—and that she could deliver her baby safely into the world.

She also had to decide when to tell people. Because of the high risk of miscarriage throughout the pregnancy she didn’t want to tell anybody until the doctor gave her some encouragement things would work out.

How cruel to be granted this precious wish and have it snatched away if she miscarried. Once again she searched the Internet for high-risk pregnancies and ways to get around the problems. There was no getting around the scarring; the rest she’d do her best to minimize.

She would tell her family in a couple of weeks at Thanksgiving. They would rejoice with her news. And be there if the unspeakable happened.

She knew the exact day they had made love—it wasn’t everybody who could say exactly when a child was conceived. She was not quite two months along but after Christmas the first trimester would have passed. If she were still pregnant, and had her doctor’s blessing, she’d tell friends then. She wanted everyone to know before she moved to Brussels. It was so much better to hear it in person rather than via e-mail or a letter.

Though she still had the problem of how to tell Tanner. And when. She could imagine his reaction—she suspected he would not be happy. The last thing he wanted was to get tangled up with anybody. Dating was fine—even having a steady relationship for a few weeks fit his game plan. She’d have to make sure he knew she expected nothing from him. Should she wait to tell until right before she left for Europe? Or maybe waiting until she was in Brussels would be safer.

Safer? What did she expect, he’d change his mind about her transfer?

Actually she hadn’t a clue how he’d take the news—but she didn’t feel it would be a warm and happy reaction.

She dreaded the confrontation. Brainstorming different ways to relay the news, she didn’t have a comfortable plan by end of the day. Maybe something would come to her soon.

By Saturday, Anna was going crazy being cooped up. The rain had passed and the day was glorious. The mild medication the doctor had prescribed had cleared up her nausea and the endless hours of rest had her feeling fit again.

She bundled up against the breeze coming off the Bay and headed for the marina. There was a large bookstore there that would have everything she needed.

As she walked along, her spirits soared. It was a beautiful day and she was pregnant! She couldn’t wait until she showed and the entire world would know with just one glance.

Spending hours browsing in the bookstore, Anna finally emerged with six books, one on what to expect during pregnancy and five on child care. She had watched her sister’s children from time to time, and always rocked the babies when they were little, but this was different. She would be responsible for the entire care of this child. She needed to learn so much. She wanted to be the best mother possible.

She was only a couple of blocks from the wharf. Since it was so pretty, and she was loathe to return to her apartment this soon, she decided to walk to Pier 39 and have something to eat. Frequent small meals were the key to ending the nausea according to her doctor.

One of the treats at the Pier was the bunch of sea lions at the end. Their antics always caused laughter. She could hear their hoarse barking from blocks away. Feeling buoyed by the day, she almost walked on air. When the baby was older and they visited the States, she’d bring him or her to see the sea lions. There was so much she wanted to share with her child.

Her favorite city spot on the Bay was as crowded as most Saturdays. She dodged in-line skaters, kite fliers and families with children running back and forth. The tourists lined up to ride the excursion boats. Joggers ran along the outside of the wide sidewalks, dodging the occasional pedestrian that veered into their paths. The breeze was brisk, cool and refreshing. She shifted the bag of books to her other hand and looked around with interest. She loved people watching.

“Anna?”

She recognized that voice. Stunned, she looked over her shoulder. Tanner veered from the edge of the sidewalk to jog over to her. He’d obviously been running a while. His long legs showed beneath dark blue shorts. His T-shirt was marked with perspiration. His hair was totally windblown. Gone was the staid business professional. He looked hot and sexy. Her eyes drank in every inch. He looked like he had at the gym, fit and athletic, and gorgeous enough to stop her heart.

“Hi,” she said. They’d never gone jogging together, but they had discussed it a couple of times. Golden Gate Park had wonderful jogging trails through the eucalyptus groves and on out to the ocean. She’d thought they’d explore some of them together. But that was before he stopped calling.

“Feeling better, I take it. You look good,” he said.

She nodded, pleased with the compliment. “First day out. I couldn’t stand to stay in the apartment a minute longer. I see you’re getting some exercise.”

“First time this week. It’s been hectic, as I’m sure you’d expect. Long hours, lots to review even when I get back to the apartment at night.”

“Talked to everyone?”

“All the managers. I’m getting some resistance in certain quarters. Nothing I can’t handle,” he said confidently.

She could imagine Tanner handling anything. Except—maybe her announcement. Of course she instantly wanted to tell him. Yet she wasn’t ready. And if the baby didn’t make it, there’d be no reason to tell him. She wasn’t sure which way to go.

“Want to grab a cup of coffee?” he asked. “That is if you don’t mind being seen with me like this.”

Anna hesitated. His attire was the least of it. She was suddenly conscious of the books in the bag, of the secret she kept. Yet a part of her yearned to spend a few more minutes in his company. She had missed him over the last few weeks. Soon she’d be living thousands of miles away and any chance of running into him would vanish.

“I might be talked into a fruit smoothie,” she said. There were several places on the Pier that offered caffeine-free beverages.

He fell into step as they headed toward the Pier. “Been shopping?”

“Just a few books to while away the time. I wish I’d had them this week.” She hoped he wouldn’t ask her titles. They shared a liking of mysteries. Quickly to forestall him, she asked, “Did you finish your run? Or am I interrupting?”

“I was winding down,” he said. “You’re not interrupting.”

“So how was your first week?” She had mixed emotions, knowing she would not be at the head office long to watch Tanner in action. She was excited about her promotion, however, and couldn’t wait to head an entire division herself. Maybe he’d give her some pointers about taking over from someone who was retiring.

“Exhilarating,” he said. “There is so much more challenge at Drysdale than I had my previous place. That was a growing company and had its own set of challenges. With Drysdale Electronics I have to reverse some ill advised decisions to regain market share. The company is larger and more diverse, so the challenges greater.”

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