Page 70 of Lying Lainey

My jaw dropped. I was by no means in need of money—my nest egg would give me whatever life I wanted anywhere in the world. However, getting shares in Enigma would be a vomit-inducing amount of money.

“You don’t have to do that,” I argued. “I have more than enough money from my jobs until now to stop working and live a comfortable life.”

“It’s not about the money. To me, having you as an equal partner in this means we’re equal in all areas of our life. No one can argue about money or power within the company because it’s all distributed evenly,” Halstead countered. “Now go do what you need so we can get you officially moved into our home.”

Having dismissed me in a commanding and oddly adorable way, I sighed. “Come on, Quintin, let’s leave the sexy nerds to their work as they save the world one number at a time.”

Quintin snorted but placed a hand on my lower back as we headed for Halstead’s office. Sam had gone home as he promised, so it was just the four of us up here, meaning I didn’t need to hide our relationship from anyone. Stopping just outside Halstead’s office doors, I grabbed Quintin’s suit jacket and pulled him to me as I tilted my head up and kissed him. He didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around me as he returned my advances.

“What was that for?” Quintin asked, letting his forehead rest against mine.

I shrugged. “Because I wanted to.”

“Good enough for me,” he said, kissing me this time as he pulled open the office door, walking backward and drawing me in. “How much time did they say we had?”

A puff of laughter escaped me as I leaned into Quintin’s hold. “As much as I love that idea, and trust me, I would be all for it, I think the first time in Halstead’s office, he should be here with us.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Quintin agreed dejectedly, pressing a quick kiss to my head before letting me go. “Let me get you to a secure profile on H’s computer where you can access all you need, but there’s no fear of anything happening to company files or information.”

Moments later, I was in Halstead’s giant leather office throne that was pretending to be a chair. I had to sit toward the front of the seat, or I’d be too far away to type anything. “Any rules I should know about being in here?”

“Only one,” Quintin said, holding up a finger. “No one but the four of us are allowed to be in here. There are security cameras everywhere on this floor that are kept on a private server so nothing that is ever said or done on this floor can be accessed by anyone but the three of us. That also means we have alerts set up if someone is trying to hack in or mess with any of our technology. The Syndicate can’t get to you here. You are safe, I promise.”

Hearing him tell me that was the reassurance I needed but didn’t even realize it. “I trust you,” I told him as I looked him dead in the eyes. “I trust all three of you to keep me safe.”

“Thank you for trusting us. I realize what that means coming from you,” Quintin murmured, his fingers brushing along my cheek. “I’m going to make some tea, would you like a cup?”

“That sounds lovely,” I answered, giving him a soft smile.

He returned it with one of his own and headed out, leaving me alone here in this vast office thirty floors in the air overlooking the city. I glanced at the bag that held the tests and decided now was as good a time as any. Snatching it up, I headed for the attached private bathroom. Halstead offered it to me the other night when I was getting ready for dinner, but I wasn’t ready to be that vulnerable in his personal space. Now, I didn’t think there was such a thing as personal space for us, making me laugh as I shimmied my jeans down.

There I sat on the toilet reading the instructions for the test, feeling like an idiot. It couldn’t be that hard to figure out, right?

“I have to pee for seven to ten seconds on the damn thing? Or I could piss in a cup and let it soak,” I muttered as I read over the sheet for the second time. “Okay, if I’m going to do both, I’ll have to do it at the same time. I don’t know if I have enough pee for a second round, and I’m not going in search of a cup.”

I took them out of the wrappers, removed the plastic cap, then took a few minutes to find the best way to make this work.

“Jesus, how the hell am I supposed to know where the stream is going to go. I’m not a fucking dude. Okay, seriously, girl, take a deep breath and let it out. So what if you have to adjust shit.”

It was at this point my bladder decided it was going to be shy. I closed my eyes and thought of waterfalls, running rivers, ocean waves… oh, thank fuck. It worked. Having no clue if seven to ten seconds was achieved, I managed to aim well enough so I didn’t make a mess and got the damn thing wet enough.

“This has to be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever done,” I grumbled as I put the caps back on the tests and set them aside.

Pulling myself together, I ignored them as they sat there taunting me while they held my future fate. I hummed the happy birthday song three times as I washed my hands with my eyes closed hoping it would make the three minutes fly by faster. Now dry, I paced the bathroom, arms crossed, tapping my fingers along my skin as I focused on my breathing, keeping it calm and even. No matter what these things said, nothing would change for the guys and me. I would still go back to that desk and find a moving company to pack up my house and bring it here. These are the men I wanted to build a family with, so if I didn’t get pregnant this heat, there was always the next and the one after that.

My feet came to a halt as I realized what I’d just told myself. “I want to be a mom…”

The revelation shocked me but, at the same time, made me smile. Unable to hold back any longer, I hurried over to the sink and looked down at the two white cartridges praying for two little pink lines to tell me that I would be a mom. I gazed at it, my eyes flicking back and forth between the two tests as my eyes watered. Covering my mouth, I tried to calm the wave of emotions hitting me and unsure how to process them. Then I heard the sound of the office door opening, so I grabbed the tests, wiped away my tears, and headed out to talk with Quintin.

“Hello, Emmalina,” a voice not belonging to any of my guys said. “Fancy meeting you here since you’re supposed to be back home dealing with a family emergency. Then again, who can ever trust what a con artist says?”

twenty-nine

Lainey

There standing in Halstead’s office was Reuben Watts, his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his slacks as he leaned on Halstead’s desk.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I demanded, panic clawing at my chest.