Page 47 of The Rebel Billionaire

Monday morning comes around faster than I anticipate. I was dreading the weekend, stuck inside four walls without another human being to talk to, but it went surprisingly quickly, mainly because I powered through my to-do list and baked.

I also managed to speak to Kat and April, with Caleb, of course, putting in his two pennies’ worth. I told them about my job and what I’m doing. Having a focus for the weekend, then catching up on all the TV shows I’ve wanted to watch but never found the time to enjoy, meant the weekend flew by.

“How was your appointment?” I ask when Callie appears on Monday morning.

“It was fine. My obstetrician is pleased that I’m going to finish work early. Although not as pleased as David.” She rolls her eyes. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all the free time.”

“Swim? Walk? Sit with your feet up. I was going to say eat chocolate, but the diabetes puts a bit of a dampener on that.”

I suddenly remember the cake I’ve left in the kitchen and grimace.

Way to go, Harper!

“Is everything all right?” she asks.

“Fine,” I say, screwing up my face. “I baked over the weekend. I left it in the kitchen. I’m sorry, I didn’t think.”

Callie laughs. “Don’t worry about me. I was looking forward to getting large with child, gorging myself on chocolate with no guilt. Someone clearly has other ideas. Besides, I’m more of a savoury girl myself. And cake… how to make friends and influence people. The team will love you. You might want to snag a piece for Alex before it’s all gone.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

The elevator dings, and we both look up as Sue appears around the corner.

Her eyes drop to Callie’s growing stomach, and she smiles. “How’re you doing?”

“Getting bigger by the day,” she says, placing a hand on her neat little bump.

Sue looks over at me before returning her gaze to Callie.

“I was wondering if I could borrow Brooke? I was hoping to give her a tour on Friday, but something came up.”

“Of course.” She spins towards me. “It’s the best way to meet everyone. Just don’t try to remember everyone’s names. There are a lot of us now.”

I incline my head at Sue, who simply smiles back. “Let me know when you’re free.”

“Give me an hour to hand over to Callie, and then I’m all yours.”

Sue excuses herself, and Callie turns to me.

“So how did Friday go?” Her eyes flick to Alessandro’s door.

“It was fine,” I say.

“Fine as in you didn’t kill him? Or fine, I didn’t have any interactions with him, so you didn’t feel the need to kill him? Or fine-fine, as in you handled everything that was thrown at you, so he stayed quietly in his office.”

I laugh as her eyes sparkle. “Probably the last one. He was busy, and I gave him no reason to complain. I completed the list you left me.”

“What, all of it?” Callie looks at me, her eyes wide.

“Er, yes. Wasn’t I supposed to?”

Callie chuckles. “Well, if you got everything done, then my job is finished. You must have been working flat out.”

I shrug, not wanting to tell her I worked all weekend. “I prefer to be busy. Besides, I grouped the tasks so I could work through several at once. Your list was very comprehensive.”

“Well, if you’ve done all the jobs, then I can put my feet up and wait for Alex to call. Did you get him his morning coffee?”