Page 160 of Checkmate
Straightening his back, he walked with more purpose, ready to take on anything.
His first thought was Marcus had found some way to get back at him for the stolen tour bus. What he didn’t expect was the onslaught of blue and pink decorations covering every inch of the workspace.
“Surprise!”
The chorus of cries was deafening as his employees stepped out from behind their desks. His gaze whipped from one face to another, his brain racing to catch up.
Just what the fuck was going on?
“Darling, you look so surprised!” Sophie said, with a beaming smile as she approached him. She looked radiant in her blue and pink dress, fitted perfectly to show the beginning of a perfect and tiny bump.
Oh god, no.
“What’s going on, Soph?” He said with a nervous chuckle. He was very aware of every face staring at him, observing him.
“Isn’t it obvious?” She replied, resting her hand on his chest. “You’re going to be a daddy!”
Oh god, no!
No, no, no!
“That’s…” he hesitated, staring down at her beautiful, perfect face. Fuck her. “Amazing,” he said finally. “That’s amazing, Sophie.”
Leaning down, he brushed his lips against hers in the briefest of kisses before glancing swiftly around the room at their audience. Everyone was smiling and seemed to be supportive.
He caught the eye of Justin Fletcher, his heart sinking as he realised there were representatives of the London Group there to witness this entire spectacle. Why had she invited them?!
“Why don’t we go into my office so we can celebrate together in private—”
“Nonsense,” she said, taking his hand. “People are waiting for the big reveal.”
“The reveal?” He asked, his jaw hurting from holding his fake smile in place. He was getting irritated now. Why couldn’t she sense his need to talk to her? To clear up a few things. “Surely the reveal happened when you shouted surprise!”
A small chuckle went around the room as Sophie shook her head.
“No, silly!” She said, leading him to the centre of the room where the most exquisitely decorated cake sat surrounded by blue and pink balloons. How much had all this cost her? “That was your surprise. But the real reveal is inside this cake. Blue or pink. Boy or girl.”
“I see,” he said, not caring either way. “Well, why don’t we cut—”
“Not yet, silly!” She giggled. He wanted to throttle her. If she called him silly one more time, he’d lose his shit. “This is a party, Alex. We can’t skip to the main event.”
Sure enough, now that Alex was looking, he could see the buffet table laden with food. A pile of presents stood, piled against Sophie’s desk. The large group that had watched his reaction had tapered off into pairings of private conversations.
She had monopolised his office, stolen a working afternoon and thrown herself a fucking party.
“Did you get those minutes I asked for?” He asked, holding on to hope she had at least done the one thing he’d asked from her today.
“Later,” she said as Justin approached. “Game face on.”
Frowning down at her, he missed his chance to question her as Justin thrust his hand into Alex’s face. “Congratulations, Alex,” he said with a curt nod. “And to you too, Sophie. From all of us at the London Group.”
“Thank you, Justin,” Sophie said with the perfect amount of charm. “You’ll forgive us for not telling you sooner.”
“Nothing to forgive,” Justin said easily. “We’re very much looking forward to the two of you becoming a family.”
A family.
Alex felt his stomach lurch, the three double whiskeys settling uncomfortably. He felt sick. Panicked. Completely trapped.
