Alicia pressed her injured hand against her desk while her assistant went over the dialogue and the subtleties included. Between the soreness of her hand and the cramps still lingering in her stomach, Alicia was too distracted to pay attention. Besides, there were a million other files for her to go through. So far, her post-lunch work had been nothing but reading and writing up her own scribbly notes.Boring. She had half a mind to interrupt her wife’s multiple Friday business meetings and demand some attention. Instead, she sent Danica a text imploring her to go blow off some steam that night.
“You should see what I’ve done with Midnight so far. Ahem.”
She didn’t receive a reply. That was fine. Danica was in a meeting.
“Ma’am?”
Alicia looked up from her phone. Abby was less than impressed that she had been talking to a brick wall for the past two minutes. “Sorry. My brain’s all muddled right now. I’m sure you heard about my little tumble last night.”
“Yeah. Sorry to hear about that.” Abby, always business, pulled out her tablet and opened a document full of charts and graphs.Great. So much fun. “Anyway, do you want to talk about your Married Women’s Alliance meeting next week?”
“Suppose we should.” Alicia had decided to go to the complimentary meeting she had been invited to.Lunch at the country club. Her first time going. No big deal. No pressure.It’ll be fine. Right?
Alicia lived a life of complete discomfort for the next hour. Her cramps got worse, but she was dubious about taking any medication without knowing what was going on. So she put up with the pain, shoving any concerns she had out of her mind in favor of focusing on work.Almost feels like my period.No way.For one, Alicia was pretty damn sure she was pregnant, and for another, if she wasn’t, then her period wasn’t due for another few days. Considering how stressed she had been lately? Aunt Flo should’ve been stuck in traffic.
The only thing that cheered her up was Danica visiting her later in the afternoon, as she usually did when she had no other appointments. She sat a respectful distance away, checking her phone while Abby and Alicia finished up their discussion about the Married Women’s Alliance. Abby collected her things and went into the main office to type up notes before going home for the weekend.
Finally, Alicia had time to read her dossier on Clarissa Livingston. She swung her shoeless feet into her wife’s lap. Danica took the hint and gave her a light foot massage.Give me a full stomach massage while you’re at it.Danica would probably interpret that as needing to fuck her. Again.Becausethis morning wasn’t enough. Her wife had not been gentle as she pounded her against their bedroom window, her insane need for Alicia overwriting any fatigue she felt after such a long and hard run. Then again, she was apparently an athlete beneath her clothes, whether those were dresses and suits or gym wear.
“Did you know that your great-grandmother was Irish?” Alicia mused.
Danica scoffed. “Why do you care so much about that?”
She knew what she meant, but decided to go in a different direction. “Because if I’m having your little Moreau babies, I would like to know their heritage. This is especially juicy since your father made a point of mentioning that my family has an Irish background as a reason I’m unfit to be your wife.”
“He says whatever comes to his mind first.” Danica sighed, squeezing one of Alicia’s feet. “Do we have to talk about him? He spent half of today trying to get me to go on a date with some other woman. Can you believe it?”
Yes. “Be that as it may, he said something about me being Irish first. That came to his mind before anything else.” Her wife may not be making the connection, but Alicia sure as hell was.There’s something about this woman. I know it.A few photos were printed on the last page. Clarissa Livingston’s appearance could only be described as plain, conservative, and hard. Oh, and blond with high cheekbones.Sounds familiar. Like someone I see in the mirror every time I glance at one.“Your father hates women. I could sit here and pontificate about the patriarchy, but I’ll bet the twenty million dollars deposited into my bank account today that it’s a lot more transparent than that when it comes to him.” Alicia pulled her knees up. There. That helped the cramps a little. “If he was primarily raised by a woman he didn’t like, then hey, maybe there’s something to it.”
Danica opened her mouth to say something certainly haughty, but before a single word could come out, she stopped, amber eyes widening in surprise.
“Alicia,” she said with a clipped voice.
“Did she hurt him? Did she make his life miserable? What the hell could it be?”
“Alicia.”
“Why…”
“Alicia.”
Danica’s tone was more demanding than Alicia expected while they relaxed in her office. Yet there wasn’t a damn thing sexual about it. Alicia was compelled to lower her papers and catch the pallor of her face. “What is it?”
Danica swallowed….
And pulled her legs apart.
“What the fuck!” Alicia smacked her with the dossier about her great-grandmother. “Not cool, Danica!”
“Alicia!” She grabbed Alicia’s wrists and pried her thighs apart.Oh my God! She’s lost her mind!“Look!”
Alicia calmed, but her relief was temporary. For when she glanced down at what she was so concerned about, a shriek of dismay burst from her lips.
Blood. So much blood all over her nice couch.
Chapter 17
Doctors were useless. That was the conclusion an incredibly numb Alicia came to hours later as she awoke from her stupor.
