Best of You
By Didi
Disclaimer: Same as before… The Young and the Restless is owned by CBS Broadcasting Inc., CBS Corporation and Bell Dramatic Serial Inc. and probably a host of other companies but definitely not by me. No malice or infringement of copyrights are intended by this writing and I will stop if someone just tells me to. Suing me isn't going to get your anything exciting… though maybe a chuckle or two.
Timeline: Go back and read the first chapter. That'll give you a better idea of where this story falls as far as canon goes. And I assume since you're reading chapter 2 that you've read chapter one. So….
Summery: Amber tells Kevin, Cane turns to his grandmother, Daniel wants peace and Adam starts to snoop around.
Author's Note: I'm not a fan of Lily Winters. I'm not even sure why, she seems to be perfectly nice character but there's something about her that grates at my nerves. And I must assuredly don't like her with Cane. You can't have two "nice" characters together without wanting to yawn a little… maybe that's the problem. I find them boring and completely uninteresting. What's a drama without some excitement?
Acknowledgement: I want to thank Jade and goldenskyblue22. Jade for attempting to read this story though she knows nothing for the back stories and goldenskyblue22 reading the story and having encouraging words to say. Thank you both and I'm going to keep writing for the two of you!
Chapter 2
Cane sat down with his coffee and the latest projection report from his grandmother's pet project: the women's shelter. It was a worthy cause that deserved his full attention. But last night's argument with Lily over her newest project in Belgium weighed on his mind. She had informed him all this after he had spend most of the evening letting her know that he wanted to spend more time with her, take a vacation together, just be together for a little while with no interruptions from their work, family or friends. But Lily's instinctive reaction was to back away from him again. Holding onto his frustration had cost him.
"Hey beautiful!" Kevin said cheerfully, "Long time no see."
The greeting caught Cane's attention and he turned in time to see Amber run into Kevin's embrace. Her eyes glad for a friendly face. She wore a blue baby doll top, jeans that weren't her usual paint-on style and carried a bag big enough for a circus tent. And her face… outside of the bedroom, Cane has never seen Amber sans makeup. But today, she wore nothing that disguised her pale and wane face.
Amber's greeting in return was soft enough not to be overheard but Kevin's expression revealed a startled concern. Taking her shoulders tenderly, he led her away from the public area and into the back offices while murmuring gentle assurances to her.
Watching them, Cane was again hit with a nagger concern that couldn't really be explained. The short conversation with his grandmother two weeks ago had revealed nothing; the wise old woman hadn't been the least bit concerned over Amber and had no reason to lie to Cane about anything. She had, however, suggested that Cane get it straight from the horse's mouth; a suggestion he had dismissed immediately. The less contact he had with Amber the better. He had promptly forgotten about the whole thing until now.
Now he was curious to know what Amber could have said to cause that look in Kevin's eyes: concern, fear and fierce protectiveness. Getting up, Cane called his grandmother again. If there was one person in the whole that Amber had respect enough not to lie to, it was Katherine Chancellor.
Shutting the door behind him, Kevin watched as Amber dropped into a seat and slumped over with her head between her knees. Opening the mini frig, he pulled a bottle of water out and pressed it into Amber's slack hands. "Now, what's wrong?"
Looking up and fighting the usual morning sickness, "Promise you won't say anything?"
"Yeah," Kevin answered with ease.
"Not even to Daniel?" she asked softly, her eyes pleading with him. She needed a friend, one that she could count on no matter what.
"You're freaking me out here, Amber. What is it?"
She took a breath and spilled it out before she changed her mind. "I'm pregnant."
He should have been surprised but he wasn't. "Daniel is going to want to be part of…"
"It's not Daniel's," Amber replied soberly.
Okay, that was a shock. "You… I didn't know that you had already moved on."
"I didn't," she answered rather pathetically. "I… it was a mistake on the rebound and… well, I can't take it back or undo it. So, let's just move on okay?"
"Jesus Amber," Kevin sat down in the chair next to her. He looked at her pale face and put the pieces together. "The tea, the cancelled dinners, the sickness, those pills..."
It was kind of fun to see the light turn on over Kevin's head. Amber nodded her head. "Yeah. No more coffee for Amber. The morning sickness is killing me. And those were damn prenatal vitamins... horse pills, every last one of them."
"How far…"
"Just a little over six weeks, give or take a day or two," she had already been to the specialist to confirm that.
Kevin took a breath and said nothing for a moment. This was going to get ugly between his two best friends in the world. "So… who's the daddy?"
Amber was silent.
Dread dropped into Kevin's stomach. "Or don't you know?"
She shook her head. "I have a good idea but I can't be sure."
"There are more than one possibility?"
She didn't blame him for his disbelief but didn't really want to deal with it either. So, she glared at him. "I'm not a slut no matter what people say about me. I was hurt, I was angry and I was stupid. There were two guys and I know who they are so don't look at me like I went out and prostituted myself to a bunch of johns or something." She stood up suddenly then had to stop and sit down again. The water bottle in her hand had to be set down immediately. "Oh god…"
The trashcan was moved to a strategic location. "Take it easy, I'm not accusing you of anything."
Moaning, it took her a few minutes to get her bearings again. "It doesn't matter anyways. They're not going to be a part of this."
He gave her a funny look. "This?"
"Yeah," she rolled her eyes, "This," motioning to her stomach. "I don't want help from anyone. Well… kind of."
"Amber…"
"I need an emergency contact," she explained as she looked at him. "I need someone that I can trust to be my emergency person if I end up needing one. The doctor said so."
Kevin sat back and looked at her a moment, his disbelief in his eyes. "You're serious, aren't you?"
"Well, yeah. The doctor says that…"
"No, no, I wasn't talking about that," waving away that particular train of thought. "Of course I'll be your contact person, I'd be insulted if I wasn't asked. I meant about not needing help from the dad. You're really going to do this all alone?"
Amber stood up slowly this time, waiting to see if her stomach would rebel before moving about again. "I've given that whole karma idea of Jana's some real thought. She's right, every time I do something stupid and idiotic – lies, schemes, not quite so legal ways to make money – something always goes wrong and I pay a really steep price for it every time." She took a breath and let it out slowly. "Did you know I… did you know I had other kids?"
Eyes went wide in shock. "What?"
She nodded her head, prepare to divulge her greatest sins. "My first child… my first baby was stillborn. I got to hold him for two seconds and then he was gone." She touched her stomach with one hand, remember the feeling of her belly when her baby had kicked. "I lied and schemed and did all kinds of stupid things and I used that baby as leverage for money and position and… And God took him away from me."
His heart bleeding for her, "Oh Amber…"
"And then a miracle happened and my cousin… my dear sweet sainted cousin gave me her child to raise as my own, to love as my own; and god I loved that baby." Her eyes filled with tears as she thought of Little Eric, the child that she loved as her own for so long. "But that baby wasn't mine and no matter how hard I tried to hold onto him, I still lost him."
"Jesus Amber," Kevin got up to hold her, seeing the raw pain in her eyes as she relived the tragedies in her heart. "You don't have to…"
"I was pregnant again after I lost… well, that doesn't matter. I didn't… couldn't carry the baby to term and I lost him too," she gave a silent prayer for that soul she hadn't protected in her. "So… I've lost three children now. I've never been a model citizen and I definitely weren't when I was… when I had my babies. But this time is going to be different. I didn't set out to get pregnant on purpose, it just happened. I can't say that I'm sorry for it. I love this baby already," touching her still flat belly. "But I'm going to do the right thing this time. No more schemes, no more lies; no more men… I'm just going to concentrate on bringing my child into the world, healthy and happy."
The determination in Amber's eyes was something he hadn't seen a quite a while. Kevin didn't doubt for a moment that Amber could do what she set her mind to… it was merely a matter of how. But even now, as pale and sickly as she was, he could see that Amber had set herself a goal and she was going to move toward it, with or without his help. And what kind of friend would he be if he didn't help her. "What can I do?"
She smiled, her wide lips curving up slowly into a grin. "I knew I could count on you," she leaned forward and hugged him tight, relishing in the human contact for a moment.
"Amber," he sighed, "You know I'd do anything for you."
Nodding her head, she slowly let go and touched her belly again. "Right now, all I need you to do is agree to be my emergency contact. I'll work out the details of this on my own."
"But you'll call me if you need help, right?"
Agreeing would be easier than arguing with him, so she did. But in her heart, Amber had already decided that this child was going to be hers and hers alone. She was going to pour all the love and dreams that she once had as a child of how her perfect world was going to be into this tiny life growing inside of her. She wasn't going to make the same mistakes from her past, trying to divide her attention from the most important thing in the world.
"So, what's happening now?" Kevin asked softly, watching her face soften with thoughts of her baby. She was practically glowing with love.
"I've got an appointment tomorrow afternoon for my first sonogram," she informed him excitedly, happy to share this wonderful news that she's kept to herself for so long. "It's a little early to see anything significant but the doctor wants to be caution because of my medical history."
He tried not to grimace, "You… you want me to come with you?"
Amber laughed trying to picture the ultra cool Kevin Fisher staring at a sonogram. "No, that's okay. I think I can handle things on my own. But I thank you very much for offering." She brushed her lips against his cheek, wishing Jana joy and luck with this awesome person for a husband. "Now that the morning sickness has passed… I think I'm going to go visit Mrs. C."
"Have you told her yet?" Kevin asked cautiously.
"No and I'm not going to," she replied picking up her bag. She had a can of club soda, a bottle of water, a package of saltine crackers, a packet of baby wipes, a tube of Lysol sanitary wipes and a small traveling box of tissue in there. One never knows when the morning sickness gods will strike. She was well prepare for anything; including a pamphlet on food poisoning from the hospital in case someone questioned her illness. So far, no one has noticed or cared. It should bother her but it didn't. She was too thrilled with the prospects of motherhood again to let anything bother her these days. There was far loftier goals to reach.
"Amber…"
She turned. "Yes?"
Whatever cautionary tale he was going to give died on his tongue. Now that the morning sickness has passed, she was glowing with new life. Amber was happy – truly happy – for the first time in a long while now and Kevin wouldn't take that away from her for the world. "Congratulations."
The smile she answered with was as simple as it was breathtakingly beautiful. "Thanks."
"Hello Esther," Amber greeted with a smile as she wiped her feet on the front mat. She's swept up her share of messes in her lifetime. "Is Mrs. C around?"
"In there," tilting her head toward the front parlor. Esther stopped Amber before she could move in that direction and leaned in close to whisper, "Her grandson is with her right now."
"Cane is here?" just her luck.
"He's been here for a while not really talking at all," Esther replied with a knowing look. "Looks like trouble in paradise if you know what I mean."
Amber didn't react, didn't really have anything to say. She and Cane were over a long time ago and he's made it perfectly clear what he thinks of her. "Maybe I'll come back later when the crown prince isn't around anymore," she said with a ruthful smile. "Won't want to disturb the peace."
Esther smiled understandingly and nodded toward the kitchen entrance. "Want to keep me company while I make dinner?"
On any other day, Amber would say yes. She enjoyed Esther's undemanding company and would have loved to watch Esther whip up some of the most wondrous concoctions Amber has ever seen. But today… today even the thought of food was making her stomach roll. Only six more weeks of this hell to go. "Thanks but I think I'll just go back to my place and come visit on another day."
"I've got fresh baked shortbread," Esther tempted with though she seldom allowed anyone to get a piece before Mrs. Chancellor does; and with Esther on her health kick, the shortbread occasions were coming less frequent. There had been more than one incident with Jill Abbot over that little control issue.
Just the thought of Esther's famous shortbread was making Amber's mouth water and her stomach jump in revolt. She took a deep breath and tried desperately to keep herself from gagging and – more importantly – offend the rather thoughtful Esther.
Seeing Amber turn a rather alarming shade of green, "Are you all right honey?" Amber nodded rather frantically and took another deep breath and swallow the raising tide of nausea with some difficulties. Esther put her arm around Amber quickly, afraid that the girl was going to faint she had gone so pale. "Oh honey, you do not look good at all. Come on, let's get you into a seat or something."
Amber shook her head quickly and made for the stairs, plopping herself down on the second step as quickly as she could and took deep breaths over and over again. She could not throw up here, not here of all places.
"Esther?" Katherine Chancellor's gravelly voice called from the front room. "What's going on over there? Who's at the door?"
Turning to answer, Esther was suddenly stopped by a hand on her arm. Amber shook her head at Esther, her eyes pleading for her not to say anything. Amber took another swallow and whispered, "I don't want her to worry."
Nodding her understanding, Esther hurried to the other room. "Amber is here to see you but… um… but she tripped in the front hall."
"Oh for goodness sakes," Katherine was on her feet with only a little assistance from her grandson. "Is she all right?" shoving Esther out of the way as she moved to the foyer. "Amber?"
Clinching her fists and her teeth and really wishing that Esther had come up with a better excuse, Amber stood up as normally as she could. "Hi Mrs. C."
"Oh god child," Kay stared at her in shock, "you're as white as a ghost. Are you all right? Esther! Call for an ambulance or something."
"I'm fine," Amber assured her as she came forward and took Katherine's arm to lead her back to the front room. She ignored Cane's questioning frown. "It was just a little accident; nothing to get worked up about."
"Tripping on the front rug does not put that look on anyone's face," Kay said trying to pull her arm from Amber's grip. "For god sake's child, I'm not an invalid."
"Oh course not," Amber replied agreeably and sat down quickly before she gave herself away. Throwing up on Katherine Chancellor would be an incredibly bad thing to do.
"What's the matter with you?" Kay demanded quite forcefully as she glanced at Cane then back at Amber again. She hadn't forgotten the conversation that had brought her grandson to her this afternoon.
"Bad sushi," Amber answered while making a face. "I should have just stuck with the California rolls instead of trying that raw stuff." She waved off Katherine's concern with an easy smile. "Don't worry, it'll pass on its own."
"That's not a good thing darling," Katherine said as she turned to Esther. "A fresh pot of coffee Esther."
"Esther," Amber turned sweetly, "can I have some tea instead? It's suppose to help calm my stomach."
"Sure," Esther replied then leaned over, "and I'll bring some shortbread," she winked and left.
"Honestly Amber," Kay reprimanded kindly, "You just about scared me to death there. You don't look too well, my dear. And then not visiting me for almost two weeks? That's inexcusable."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. C.," she replied with genuine regret. She liked Katherine Chancellor a lot, the great matron had done things in her life that Amber could only dream about. "I haven't been feeling too great lately," Amber admitted and refused to glance at Cane, who sat across from her in silence. She didn't like the way his hazel eyes were watching her a little too closely for her taste.
"Well have you seen a doctor?" Kay wanted to know with her usual blunt concern.
"Yes, I have. And I'm taking everything the doc tells me as gospel. Don't worry, I'll be fine." She smiled at the older woman with assurance. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm doing well enough," Kay picked up a packet on the coffee table. "I've been waiting for you to come see me so we may continue with my memoirs. I've found some lovely photos of some of my earlier projects with Chancellor Industries." She laughed, "I've had a very good time looking through them."
"Oh my gosh, these are wonderful," Amber said carefully taking the package from her and lifting the fragile photos. "Wow… they'll look great with some of the blueprint designs and archival photos I got from city hall."
"You've been busy," Cane commented quietly from his corner of the room.
She looked up at him, her face going completely neutral. "Don't react to him. He's baiting you." For once in her life she was going to think first before she acted. She smiled rather dryly, "I enjoy working on this project with your grandmother. I want to do a good job with it."
"And you are, Amber dear," Katherine showed her grandson her disapproval of his manner and told him to behave with just a raise of her arched brow. They've had more than one conversation concerning his animosity toward Amber. And while she will give him allowances for his bad history with the girl, she simply will not put up with his rudeness toward her guest. "Why don't you stay for dinner Amber? We have lots to talk about."
"Um…" she glanced at Cane to judge his reaction and when he didn't seem to put up any objection, she smiled and decided to chance it. Her stomach seemed to have settled down for the moment, she had best take advantage of it. "Sure, that would be nice."
"Wonderful," Kay said clapping her hand. "And you, Cane?" turning to her grandson. "Will you be joining us?"
Cane considered it for half a second before turning to his grandmother with a quick smile, "Sure, why not?" and found himself uncommonly cheered by the discomfort on Amber's face. Something was definitely going on; the question was what.
Katherine sipped her coffee carefully and listened to the front door close. Cane stepped back into the front parlor a moment later, thoughtful and quiet. Sitting down next to her, Cane poured himself a cup of the heavy Turkish coffee Amber had politely declined before excusing herself and drank it black in one gulp. "Is everything all right my darling grandson?"
Setting down the delicate fine china, Cane rubbed his face vigorously for a moment before turning to his grandmother. "Did Amber seem… did she seem different to you grandmother?" Dinner had been an unexpected affair. It had been quietly polite on Amber's part whenever Cane addressed her but full of enthusiastic excitement whenever she answered or questioned Katherine.
"Not at all," Kay answered, hiding her smile behind her coffee cup. "Amber seemed as she's always been, a delightful young thing. Not unlike myself in many ways when I was her age."
Cane didn't say anything a moment, not sure how to take his grandmother's comment. "But you didn't notice anything?" It had been rather disconcerting this weird distance between Amber and him… though she was doing exactly what he had asked of her: to leave him alone – like they'd never known one another, never been married, never fought and never made love… had sex. There was never any love, just lies and deceit. So why was he so unhappy when he was getting exactly what he wanted?
"Well," Katherine mused a moment. "She didn't eat as she usually does but that's understandable if she's suffering from mild food poisoning." She kept to herself what she thought of that particular excuse. Katherine hadn't miss the Amber's sudden reaction when the food was served, or how quickly she recovered after a moment. She had her own suspicions but thought it best not to disclosed them for the moment. She wasn't sure how Cane would react give his recent lost. "What concerns you, Cane? What did you see?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Cane gave her a rather troubled look then got up and paced. "I don't know." He sighed and felt stupid. He didn't even really know why he cared. "I just know that something is off and I can't quite put my finger on it. And that's rather disturbing to say the least." His accent, his grandmother noticed, became more pronounced when the poor boy was upset. "I'm not accusing her to plotting something or other but… but something just isn't right."
Kay sighed and nodded her head. "Well, I do know that the girl has been upset since she and Daniel separated." She watched Cane carefully for a moment. "You do know that they are no longer together, correct?"
Clearing his throat uncomfortably, for the last thing he wanted to do was discuss his ex with his grandmother, "I suspected but we're not exactly in each other's confidence."
"No, I suppose not," she smiled and sipped her coffee again. Kay wondered if he realized how telling it was that he wasn't asking at all. "They haven't been together for some time now, you know."
Cane tried his best not to show any interest but he couldn't quite control his natural curiosity. "What happened?"
"Oh… the usual things that young people go through. Amber didn't say much only that it didn't work and that she regretted that it had cost her a friendship that she was pretty certain would never be the same again," Kay eyed her grandson speculatively again. "But she was very discreet as to why they separated."
"I see," Cane wondered about it a moment, trying to guess what it could have been.
"It's been almost two months now I think," Kay hazard helpfully, "I had thought she would have cheered up a bit by now but…" she sighed rather regretfully, "Amber wears her heart on her sleeves and she's a romantic through and through. I'm afraid this may be one too many for her poor heart."
"What do you mean?" Cane asked, then chided himself for it. He didn't really want to question why it would matter to him if his ex-wife may be heartbroken for good this time.
"I think," Kay said sagely, "that Amber isn't going to recover from this as quickly as she would any other. This will have a long lasting effect on her."
Though he didn't show it any way, shape or form, Cane had to swallow the nasty bitter taste of jealousy in his mouth. The coffee certainly didn't help.
Daniel watched as Amber entered the office, her face a little green and her usually energetic manner sluggish. She sat down very carefully at her desk, her swallowing hard as if to suppress pain. Her usually stylishly tight clothes were bagging around her ever depleting frame. Glancing around to make sure his mother and stepfather and all their little minions were occupied, he hurried over to Amber. "Look, I know you and I aren't really talking right now but you need to get yourself to a doctor before you waste away."
Sliding him a look of exasperation, Amber took a breath and fought the nausea. "For your information, I have seen a doctor and I'm handling it."
"Well you don't look like it," Daniel pointed out and he lifted the drooping sleeve of her colorful blouse.
"Well I'm sorry I disappointed you," she grabbed her happy face mug and walked toward the kitchen for water hoping Daniel will take the hint and just leave her alone. Her morning bout of throw-up hasn't quite passed yet… possibly not for a little while longer too.
"Amber," Daniel implored as he followed her, "I'm just worried about you. I'm trying to be a friend."
Fighting for control, Amber sat down abruptly and took a deep breath.
"Jeeze," Daniel grabbed her arm, thinking that she might miss the lounge chair and end up on the floor. "You just went about three shades whiter."
"I'm okay," she said after a few moments and when she was sure she wasn't going to be sick on his shoes. "I just need a few minutes."
"Forget that, I'm taking you to hospital."
"Like hell you are," she snapped at him as she pulled her arm away. Seeing the stunned and slightly hurt look on Daniel's face, she relented. She promised herself that she would make peace with everyone – for her baby's sake – she reached out and touched his arm. "I know you're trying to help but there's really nothing you can do. The doctors already know what's wrong with me and I've been swallowing all the little pills they give me and taking the precautions seriously."
"So what the hell is wrong with you?" Daniel asked quietly.
Answering him would mean lying to him, but telling him the truth…
"Hey guys," one of the girls in ads, "the boss wants someone to go over to Newman for the new line designs ad. She says to send one of you."
"I'll go," Daniel said, slanting a concern glance at Amber's pale face. "When is it needed?"
"ASAP," the girl answered tilting her head slightly. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Amber answered with a smile. She did feel better now; the morning bout had finally passed. "You know what? I'll go. Maybe some fresh air would be good for me." She gave Daniel a grateful smile though.
"Amber," Daniel stopped her once the other girl had left. "I… I am just trying to be a friend to you. I've missed us… us as friends, I mean."
Though she didn't want to admit it, she did as well. Her and Daniel had been good as lovers but they had been much better friends. They had been the best of friends and their romance had messed that up. "I've missed us too," she gave him one of her lopsided smiles that was meant to charm, which it often did. "Can we… can we just start over? I don't want to fight any more and I don't think you do either."
He nodded his head and let out long breath, "Yeah, I definitely don't want to fight anymore. I never seem to win," he smiled rather pathetically as she laughed. It was an easy laughter of old. "Starting over sounds like a very good plan to me."
"Good," she got up slowly, testing the waters a little and finding the sea nice and calm. "Now, I'm going to go to Newman and get that new ad. Then you can buy me dinner of fries and a diet coke."
"I see you're taking doctor's order serious," falling into the easy banter of friendship quickly. "I'm serious, you need to…"
"I'm seeing him again this afternoon, Dad? Would you like to see my appointment reminder card?"
Daniel made a face at her. "Just take it easy, okay?"
"Okay," she rolled her eyes and handed him her mug. "Gotta go, duty calls."
Daniel watched her walk away, feeling at peace for the first time in a few months. It was going to be nice having his friend back… he really missed her.
Dropping off the ad at the office, Amber spoke with Phyllis before heading to her doctor's appointment. The elevator was irritatingly slow in coming today and she couldn't for the life of her find her stupid keys. Once of these days she was going to learn not to carry around massive cavernous bags where everything gets lost in them.
Adam Wilson stepped off the elevator and was amused to find Amber upending the entire content of her shoulder bag on the countertop of the nearby console. "Missing something?"
"Keys," she muttered as she continued to shake her bag out. Lip sticks, compacts, loose change, mismatched earrings, half empty packets of breath mints, rolls of Lifesavers, three different bottles of perfume, an entire package of saltine crackers, a half drank bottle of ginger ale, two travel-sized baby wipes, several tissue packets, three prescription bottles, a paperback heavily dog-eared, a bottle no-liquid hand gel and two pairs of sunglass. She had everything under the sun except, "Where the hell are those damn keys? I just had them."
"Hey Amber," Daniel hollered from across the work space. "Keys!" and launched them at her.
Amber shrieked and ducked. Adam caught the two-ton ring of keys one-handed before it smacked Amber in the head. He didn't even wince when several of them jabbed him in the palm. He has yet to understand why some people insist on putting every cute/useful key charm on their key ring.
"Oh shit," Daniel muttered and hurried over. "Amber, you all right?"
"You idiot!" she straightened and whacked him as hard as she could in the arm. "You could have seriously hurt me."
"Sorry," Daniel apologized and made a guilty face.
She rolled her eyes and thanked Adam silently with grateful smile a she took her keys and tried to stuff everything back into her purse. Of course, just like luggage, not all of them fit.
Amused, Adam helped her. "You think you have enough stuff there?"
"Always be prepared, that's what I say," Amber laughed and glanced at him. "Hey, didn't I just leave your office?"
"Yes and my assistant gave you the wrong mock up," he replied easily and handed her a manila envelope. "I thought I'd bring it over since you've already made the trip once."
"I'll take it," Daniel volunteered, giving Adam the evil eye. He wasn't immune to the gossiping whispers around the office. He didn't like the guy and he didn't like him hitting on his mother, Adam's sister-in-law. And Daniel definitely didn't like that fact that Adam Newman… Wilson or whatever the heck he calls himself was smiling rather slyly at Amber. "Don't you have an appointment to get to Amber?"
"Yes I do," she said cheerfully as she stepped into the elevator. "See you tomorrow guys."
"I'll ride down with you," Adam said as he followed her, smiling rather smugly as Daniel stared fumingly at them. Once the elevator dropped down, he turned to the blonde next to him, "He doesn't like me."
She laughed. "No, he doesn't." It was kind of hard to miss. Sudtly was not one of Daniel's more endearing traits.
Raising one brow carefully, "Does he know about…" he indicated by swinging one finger in the space between them.
Rolling her eyes, "No." She shook her head and said nothing more, not wanting to bring up that night. She gave him a look that indicated that she didn't wish for it to go beyond the two of them.
He agreed with a nod. "So he hates me on principle?"
"Pretty much," she informed him. "You might want to try and play nice with your brother and sister-in-law: you know, Daniel's mother," reminding him rather cheerfully. "Maybe Daniel will like you better then."
Adam took a breath and sighed it out slowly. "I'm working on that but they're not exactly making it all that easy for me."
"Try harder," she advised as they hit ground floor. "And it would help if you stop hitting on your brother's wife."
"I'm not," Adam said in defense, "it's just part of my charm."
"Really?" she rolled her eyes, "which part of that charm makes it necessary for you to piss your brother off on a daily basis?"
He held up his hand in retreat, "I'll try harder to behave," amused by her harping.
"Good," she shook her head laughingly at him and headed for her little VW beetle, waving her arm at him in goodbye and not watching her step. Only Adam's quick reflex saved her from taking a spill. Instinctively, Amber dropped her bag and wrapped her arms around her midsection, trying to protect the child she's already in love with. Her gasp of surprise was almost lost in Adam's quick questioning.
"Are you all right?" he watched her a moment, his eyes not missing the fact that she had almost doubled over to protect… herself?
Straightening slowly, taking a deep breath to calm herself, she nodded her head and offered him a grateful smile. "Thank you."
"Anytime," he frowned slightly then bent to help her get her bag. "Are you sure you're all right? You look a little pale now."
"I'm okay, just shock," she smiled as confidently as she could even as her heart race with fear. "I gotta go."
He nodded his head and helped her into the car before heading back to his with quicker steps than normal. He pulled out in time to see Amber's bright cherry red car exit the building. Following her at a distance, Adam couldn't shake the imagine of her doubled over and turning a shade darker than a ghost. Something was wrong.
And that suspicion was confirmed as Amber pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. Adam sat across the street, watching the building for a moment, remembering the last time he saw Amber there and where she had been coming from. He almost gasped as it hit him like a train and he started to count back weeks. The timing would be just about right. Picking up his phone, he called the office. "Hey Janet, I need you get me the name of a private investigator… not Williams or anyone associated with him, especially my brother-in-law. Find someone independent and discreet. I need that name by the time I come back into the office. Yes, I'm coming back into the office. No, cancel all my appointments for the rest of the day. I may not be available for some time. Thanks." He hung up and rested his head against the steering wheel. "This is not happening..."
To be continued…
The usual spiel here…