Was it weird that she had almost forgotten about that?
“Hey, Candi,” she said into her phone an hour later. “I’m having the roughest day. What are you doing tomorrow? I’ve got a shitton of stuff to do for work, but if you’re game, let’s meet up for a late dinner. Bye.” She disconnected from her friend’s voicemail as the doctor approached her with some papers.
Hearing that she was officially becoming a parent was the first bit of good news Danica Moreau had in a while. When her wife let the test results flutter into her hands, the woman hugged her, hot face burning in the crook of her neck.
“Don’t worry,” Alicia said, patting her back. “When this is all cleared up, we’ll go home and relax.” She didn’t want Danica to turn into her father, having one health problem after another once she reached a certain age. That stroke had not been quite the coincidence. Russell’s doctor said he was unfortunately due for one, thanks to his unhealthy lifestyle and all the stress he had accumulated recently.Stress from me.Alicia couldn’t help but smile as she realized she contributed to her father-in-law’s downfall.
“I don’t know how I could relax after today.” Danica pulled away, her face long and disturbed. “Between officially taking over the company, my father, and…” She stared at Alicia’s abdomen. “It’s a lot to deal with.”
Alicia rubbed her nose against Danica’s. The tender affection she offered made some of the tension vacate Danica’s stiff body. “I’ll help you deal with it… ma’am.”
Heat exploded between them. Danica grabbed her wife’s head and mauled her mouth with her own. Alicia welcomed the power overcoming her. She may be Danica’s formidable equal in the boardroom, but she was perfectly happy to help her fulfill those domestic fantasies, too.You think they aren’t mine at this point?A girl can only take so much boardroom stress.What had Danica told her weeks ago? That people in their position either exert the same type of control in their sex lives or look for someone to take that control for a while? Alicia could be that second person. Willingly. Happily.
“Ahem.”
The Moreaus broke apart. Standing only a few feet away in the hospital hallway was Natsuko, holding a small bouquet of daisies.
“I heard about Mr. Moreau,” she said, offering the daisies to Danica and Alicia. “I know they won’t let me see him, but I thought he might like to know that someone was thinking of him. A man as unfortunate as him right now…” Why, was that a Moreau-tier smirk on the heiress’s face? “He might need a young and feminine touch to help him recover.”
“That’s diabolical,” Alicia said.
“That’s good business.” Natsuko handed the flowers to Alicia, who accepted them with newfound gratitude. “Our families together would do very well. Not just here, but in Asia, too.”
“Do you make a habit of hitting decrepit old men up for their money, Ms. Matsuda?”
Natsuko did not take Danica’s words with offense. “Only when I know I’ll be safe doing so. I could be the first Mrs. Russell Moreau to not almost meet an unfortunate end…daughter.”
Both Moreaus shivered from the hand dealt to them.This is almost too much for one day.“From love interest to stepmother,” Danica muttered. “Like you said, precious. Diabolical.”
“What does your boyfriend think about this?” Alicia would never look at Natsuko without remembering what she had seen in Midnight.Especially when I thought it was my wife…
“Why, he’s excited that I’ll finally have my own jet! We’ve always wanted to go on a romantic adventure to the Caribbean.”
“Doesn’t she sound like someone who would fit right in with our family?” Alicia sweetly asked Danica. Fingers tugged on the buttons to her shirt.
“The question is… for better or for worse?”
“Oh, I assure you, Danica,” Natsuko said with a serene smile, “I only have the best of intentions for our family. You won’t even have to worry about little… how do you say? Rugrats? From me. We never told your father, but I’m tragically barren. So even if your father has some DNA stashed away somewhere, it would be useless on me.”
Alicia could tell from her wife’s face that she wasn’t sure if Natsuko told the truth.I personally don’t care either way.Alicia’s business brain was already calculating the amount of money a marriage with the Matsudas would bring in. On the other hand, no one should ever have to say they were married to Russell.
“If it’s all right, I’m going to try to see Mr. Moreau.” Natsuko waved at them on her way by. “Have a pleasant day. Er, more pleasant, anyway…”
Alicia was not in a hurry to let go of her wife. “We should go clean things up at the office and head home early. Celebrate our promising victory this morning. Because, in case you have forgotten, Ms. Moreau, we now control our vast empire.”
“I have not forgotten.” Danica held her closer. “My father and what happened to you this morning aside, I know that there has been a lot of good news today. Perhaps the work will help take my mind off it.”
“Then we’ll go home, pop open a bottle of champagne for you and sparkling cider for me, and make love all night long.”
“You’re too much sometimes, Alicia. Just a little bit.”
“I’mtoo much?”
Danica’s grin against her cheek sent delightful shivers through Alicia’s body. “What will we do during dinner?”
They began a slow walk toward the hospital exit. “We should start discussing baby names. Oh, and didn’t someone promise me a wedding once we got what we wanted?”
Danica chuckled. “How pedestrian.”
