"You're suggesting she planned this?" The thought had never—would never have—occurred to me.
Ember and I cared about each other.
She wasn't just some gold digger.
"I'm stating the obvious." He turned to face me. "She's trapped you. A pregnancy guarantees financial support at minimum, and potentially marriage if she plays her cards correctly. It's textbook money grubbing behavior."
"That's not what happened," I snapped. "Ember didn't trap me. We're both responsible for this situation." My hand reached for the doorknob behind me and rested there, my escape hatch in case he got too cruel.
"Are you positive about that? Have you seen proof of the pregnancy, or are you taking her word for it?"
His question shocked me almost as much as Ember's announcement. "I haven't seen medical documentation, but I have no reason to doubt her."
"Then you're more naive than I thought." He crossed his arms. "Women have been using pregnancy to manipulate men for centuries. It's one of the oldest tricks in existence."
"Ember isn't manipulating me," I spat. "She kept the pregnancy secret for a month because she was terrified of exactly this reaction."
"And yet here we are, discussing a scandal in the making." He moved back to his desk and braced his hands against it. "Let me be clear about what will happen if you continue down this path. The committee will use this pregnancy as grounds to strip youof the Lightkeeper role. They'll claim you've violated the moral standards the position represents. And they'll be right."
"The bylaws don't support that," I told him, remembering what Ember had looked up.
"The bylaws can be interpreted however the committee chooses to interpret them. And I have considerable influence with several committee members who owe me favors." His tone was matter-of-fact, devoid of emotion.
When he lifted his eyebrows, I wanted to smack him. "And the hospital board? Nathan, she's your secretary… You know this could get you fired."
His words weren't just knowledge.
I knew the tone of voice he was using. This was a threat.
"You'd do that to your own son?" I stared at him, searching for some hint of paternal concern beneath the cold calculation. "You'd sabotage my reputation to prove a point?"
"I'd do that to preserve the family's standing. Your relationship with this girl has already damaged our name. A scandal over this fling with a woman young enough to be your daughter will destroy it unless we take action."
"What kind of action?"
"End the relationship. Publicly distance yourself from her. Provide financial support for the child without acknowledging paternity until after a discreet DNA test confirms it's yours. Let her fade back into obscurity where she belongs." He sank into his desk coolly, and I pounded my fist onto the door behind me.
"You're talking about abandoning her." Rage burned through my veins. "Abandoning my child."
"I'm talking about protecting your career and your family's reputation. The hospital board won't look kindly on a dean of medicine who got his assistant pregnant."
I opened the door and backed out, realizing I wasn't going to get what I needed here.
"I came here hoping for advice, not a lesson in cruelty."
"Nathan, wait." He held up a hand. "I understand you have feelings for this girl. But feelings are temporary. Your career is permanent. Don't throw away everything we've built for an infatuation that will burn itself out within a year."
"This isn't an infatuation." I turned back to face him. "I love her. I want to build a life with her and our child. And if you force me to choose between family approval and Ember, I choose Ember."
His expression hardened. "Then you're a fool."
I walked out and closed the door behind me, my hands shaking with suppressed rage.
My mother stood in the hallway, clearly having heard everything. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she clutched a handkerchief in one hand.
"Nathan, I'm so sorry." She pulled me into a hug. "Your father doesn't mean half of what he says when he's angry. You know that."
"He meant all of it." I returned the embrace, drawing comfort from her, though it meant so little since I was so angry. "He always does."
