The Baby They Bonded Over

“How does everyone know about Nadia being pregnant? You know how much I hate office gossip and you’re the only person I told. I told you to keep your mouth shut on this. I trusted you!”

“There’s definitely a misunderstanding here, sir. I haven’t told anyone about the pregnancy because you told me not to. Even if you hadn’t told me that, I still wouldn’t spread that because it’s not my business to tell!”

“So how did everyone find out?!” he asked her with the assumption she was the leak.

“Wait right here,” Claudine left the office. She returned shortly with her phone and a newspaper in her hand. Jeremy stared at the paper waiting for the big reveal. She flipped it open to the gossip page and there it was in big bold print:

BOY BILLIONAIRE PROUD PAPA

Jeremy slapped his forehead, but Claudine didn’t stop there. She scrolled through her phone until she found what she was looking for and read it out loud, “Jeremy Witten, that fine black billionaire who runs the tech company, was caught outside his neighborhood. Yeah big deal right? Word on the street is he was in a heated conversation about someone not being supportive to his baby mama. We can only assume that the mother to be is that young lady he was out with a few weeks back in that restaurant. If anyone knows who that woman is please send it in. Nosy people like us want to know.”

Jeremy put his head down on his desk, “I’m sorry Claudine.”

“I didn’t quite hear you, sir,” she wanted him to apologize to her face. “You’re a bit muffled.”

Jeremy exhaled as he stared Claudine in the eye, “I’m sorry Claudine. I should have known better that you wouldn’t leak anything I told you not to. Or anything about me, period. I apologize.”

“Apology accepted, now what are they talking about with this heated conversation?” she asked.

“A few days ago, right when Nadia was really sick, her sister took her to the doctor. They got into a huge fight and she left her there at the office. That’s why I had to rearrange everything that day. When I went to the store to get Nadia a few things, I was arguing with her sister about not being supportive and all she could say was it doesn’t matter since we’re not keeping the baby anyway. I forgot about how much press I had been getting lately and I shouldn’t have had that conversation in the store,” Jeremy sighed.

“You’re not going to keep the baby?” the woman was confused.

“It’s a long story, but right now we don’t know,” he lied not wanting to bring in another person on their charade. “Do me a favor and schedule an impromptu press conference for later this evening. My investors and clients must be going crazy with all of this publicity. I’ve got to get ahead of this thing before the rumors, lies, and gossip get completely out of control. It’s only going to be a few minutes and I’m not taking any questions. Make sure they know that!”

Claudine nodded as she left the office to do as she was told.

Later that evening, Nadia received a text from Jeremy showing her screenshots of the blog article and the headlines in the paper. She cringed thinking that Jeremy had had enough and wanted to back out of the plan, but to her surprise he didn’t. He told her about the press conference to make sure she watched him. Nadia slid out of bed and made her way into the guest room. That was the only room on the second floor in her house that had a television. She switched it onto the business news channel and there he was. Jeremy was standing at a podium surrounded by a sea of reporters and flashing lights. He seemed presidential as he stood up there confident and poised.

Jeremy cleared his throat and began to speak, “Ladies and gentlemen of the press. Over these past few weeks there have been a few personal changes in my life. I don’t want to get too deep, but overall, as a result of this new relationship I’m in, it’s put me in a position where I have to deal with certain obstacles to be with the woman I want to be with. Now, I’m only here to ease the minds of my associates and employees with whom I conduct business with. I want to say that despite everything that’s been happening to me personally, it has not and will not affect the business of Witten Enterprises. I also want to state that my personal life is no one’s business but my own, but I understand that I cannot control what you choose to print and release. The facts are that I’m in love with a woman who is now bearing my child. I will be the man she needs me to be throughout this journey, and I will not stand for any foolery or lies being spouted about me, her, or my character. Life is hard enough without the brunt of the media following our every move. That is all I will say on the matter. Business will continue on as planned. I thank you for coming out. No questions at this time. Thank you.”

Jeremy stepped away from the podium and out of the spotlight. He exhaled a huge sigh of relief as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. Everybody knew how he truly felt now. It may have been just for TV, but his emotions shone through crystal clear.

Sylvia watched the press conference and it softened her position against everything they were doing. She smiled at Amy, who was sitting next to her, “I really think he’s in love with her. They’re definitely going to keep that baby.”

Paul was fuming as he flung a lamp against the wall. Madilyn tried to calm him down as they finished watching the press conference.

“I don’t see what the big deal is! You’re with me and he’s with her. What are you so pissed off about?”

“You don’t see that sh*t!” Paul yelled. “He’s really in love with her! I thought it was a joke! I thought they were trying to play me, but dude is really in with her! AND she’s having his baby! That bi*ch ain’t got pregnant not once while we was together. Now she with old boy and gets knocked up in the first couple of weeks?! This is bullsh*t. She played me! She told me she couldn’t even get pregnant! She lied to me! That baby should’ve been mine!”

Nadia shut the TV off and went back to bed. Her nausea had dissipated and she was feeling much better. She slipped under the covers as flashes of Jeremy at the press conference replayed over and over in her mind.

Her smile couldn’t be contained as she spoke to no one, “I think he really does love me and I’m going to have his baby. I can’t wait to tell him how I feel.”