Chapter 12

4th September, Sunday

8:30 pm

"Are you mad?"

"No"

"Yes, you are" Michael called her out on it. She didn't even look at him when she answered. She just kept braiding her hair while he was standing at the doorway of the bathroom.

"Why did you have to say no?" Nikita huffed but still didn't look his way.

"Because that leaves out Sean and Ryan. We can't have dinner with Sonya and Birkhoff just to tell him the news. It's better to wait and gather up everyone for it" Birkhoff had called Michael and Nikita earlier and invited them over to his house for dinner. They did that somewhat regularly. Nikita thought it was the perfect opportunity to tell her nerd that they were having a new edition to the family. However, before she could accept Michael turned the idea down. He had already been working with Alex behind the scenes organizing family dinner for the coming Friday. It was a surprise for Nikita so she didn't know. Apparently, Alex had forgotten to loop in Birkhoff and Sonya. Michael swore Alex told him that she had talked to Sonya. Maybe Birkhoff was the one that was in the dark.

After the phone call, Nikita stopped talking to Michael the whole afternoon. She barely said a word at the dinner table and she wasn't even looking at him now. At least she was talking to him though. That was some positive progress.

"But we have no plans to do that anytime soon and since when have you cared if they are left out or not and also you forgot Sam" She was ready to argue now and release everything she had been holding in.

Michael tried not to laugh at the comment about Sam. He could hold off on the jokes about Sam for later. "I didn't know it would make you that upset. I thought you would want to tell everyone all at once"

"Yes I want that but not when I have to wait a month at best" Family dinners were super hard to organize with everyone's busy schedules. Their last family dinner was only a few weeks ago so the chances of having a repeat so soon were slim.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't really consider that" Because we are having everyone over on Friday.

"You didn't even ask me" Nikita huffed again. She didn't know why she was so upset but she was. She had been excited to tell the rest of her family.

"Are you crying?" Michael could see her eyes starting to tear up. He didn't know what was going on. He didn't even know how all of this started.

"No, I'm not" Nikita harshly sniffled and moved to get out of the bathroom. Michael blocked her way. He looked at her sweetly and beamed.

"What the fuck are you smiling for" That pissed Nikita more. She was trying to have a serious conversation with him and he was finding it funny.

"You are having your first pregnancy tantrum" Nikita wasn't the emotional type. Not for situations like this one. Michael thought about it more and everything aligned. She hadn't slept well through the night. The medication from the doctor stopped her from being sick but she was still nauseous. She tried to take a nap earlier only to fall asleep and have a bunch of nightmares. Then the phone call with Birkhoff happened. He had said no to something she would have looked forward to after a bad day. And on top of that, she had to deal with raging hormones every second of the day. He would have lost it too at some point if he was in her place.

"A pregnancy what?" Nikita stopped in her tracks. Did he actually just say that?

"A pregnancy tantrum'' Michael tried to say it as gently as possible. It wasn't made like an insult. Or to be understood as one of those comments that people make towards women when they are on their period or pregnant.

"And that makes you happy because?" Nikita had to hear that one. It better have been good or else she was sending him straight to the couch that night.

"Because you are pregnant" It was simple. Michael would take all the tears, attitude and yelling without hesitation. Nikita was carrying their child. She could walk on him for all he cared. He wouldn't say a single thing. It was all a blessing. It meant she was okay and their baby was okay.

"You are a jerk" Nikita hated how he could always flip their arguments like that. She wanted to laugh but she wouldn't. Instead, she smashed her face in his chest and hit him lightly on the shoulder with her fist. That made him laugh though. He instantly wrapped his arms around her and rocked her gently.

"I love you and I'm sorry for making you upset. I should have talked to you first." He kissed her temple and continued rocking her. She took a few deep breaths and lifted her head "I'm sorry I didn't talk to you and then yelled" Even though she was annoyed at what Michael did she shouldn't have reacted so over the top. They could have just talked about it after the phone call.

"Eh, I kind of deserved it" Michael joked. He should have handled things differently. He became so panicked though when Birkhoff offered. There was no way the surprise was going to get ruined.

Nikita chuckled and hugged him back. She was fine now, perfectly content in his arms.

"How about I make it up to you?" He didn't want to just make up. She had had a hard day. Nikita needed something to make her happy.

"How?"

"We can get in bed, put whatever you want on. I can give you a massage. Help you braid your hair better so you have nice curls tomorrow"

"Hey! I didn't do such a bad job" Nikita was going to the office tomorrow with Michael. She didn't want to wake up early to get ready though so she decided to wash her hair and braid it damp so that it would be wavy in the morning.

"No, the braids are great. It's just that those types of braids are not going to make it that wavy." Michael had used the same method for Haylee all the time. He was an expert at that point.

"Okay but I want one more thing" Nikita was satisfied with all of Michael's suggestions but if she had this one thing her evening was truly going to be perfect.

"What is that?" Michael was ready for whatever she wanted.

"Sprite"

"Sprite?" Okay, maybe not that.

Nikita nodded.

"We don't have Sprite" Nikita and Michael weren't big soda drinkers. The only thing they kept stocked at their house was Coke and that lasted them a good while.

"I know.." She whispered. Nikita had wanted a Sprite ever since they had their dinner. For some reason, it sounded so good to her even though it was never her choice of soda.

"Did you just have your first pregnancy tantrum and your first pregnancy craving at the same time?" Michael busted laughing.

"Stop with this" Nikita couldn't help it and started laughing as well. "I'm serious"

"I know you are. Of course, I will go get you some. Anything else?" If he was going out he might as well spoil her some more.

"Can you get me from that strawberry ice cream we had last week" Now that she thought about it she wanted some of that as well. God, what was happening.

"Okay, but I will take a bit longer for that because they only sell it at one store" Michael had no problem with it but it was going to make his trip to the store like 20-30 minutes longer.

"Okay, then just the Sprite" Nikita was absolutely not going to make him get her ice cream from the other end of town at 9 pm on a Sunday.

"No, I'm going. I'm just letting you know" It was too late. She already told him she wanted it and there was no way he was going to deny her request.

"Thank you" She leaned in and gave him an appreciative kiss. Just one wasn't enough for him. Michael got a few more. Nikita giggled through the 'attack'.

"Okay, I'm going now. I will take Archie with me so you don't have to worry about him"

"Noo leave him with me" Nikita wanted a cuddle buddy while Michael was out.

"Okay, okay" Michael chuckled and followed her wishes. Soon he was out the door, leaving his loves tucked into bed safely.

5th September, Monday

7:30 am

"You look gorgeous, my love" Michael saw Nikita staring at herself in the mirror for an unusually long time for her. They were just about to head out the door. He was crouched down, tying up his shoelaces. Nikita was all ready and was waiting for him. While she did that she started obsessing over something about her appearance.

"When do you think I will start showing?" The thought popped into Nikita's mind when she was getting dressed earlier. She didn't know if she was excited about it or terrified.

"Uhm, I don't know" It took Michael a second to realize what she had asked him. He was too busy wrestling with his shoe. He looked up at her and smiled. He observed her while she turned at different angles to see if there was some difference already. She was adorable with her concentrated face and pout.

"I think it's still a bit early poppet"

"When then?" Nikita wasn't satisfied with that answer

"It's different with every pregnancy I think" He couldn't give her more information than that. They just had to wait and see. "We can take pictures if you want. Every two weeks or so to compare them. People do that. And it's a nice memory to keep."

"I'd like that yeah" Nikita loved the idea. Michael stood up and wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his head on her shoulder. "What?" Nikita looked at him through the mirror.

"Do we have to go to work today" Michael chuckled and buried his face in her hair. He wanted to stay home and be with her alone for a little longer. He didn't want to go back to reality.

"Yes. I haven't been in the office in two weeks and the last week I was on vacation so yes I do need to go. You can stay here, you know"

Michael made a grimace. Nikita laughed and caressed his cheek. She knew that he would have that exact reaction. He loved the days when she was at the office with him. He wouldn't miss them for the world.

"It's settled then. Now, go get Archie because we are going to be late" Nikita urged Michael to start getting in the car. They had to drop off Archie at a local pet care for the day. They had started doing that a few months ago since Archie was getting lonely at home when they were gone all day. Now he played and interacted with other dogs while they were at work. They didn't have to worry about him.

They got all in the car and headed to start their day.

"Nikkiiii" Birkhoff busted through the door, startling Nikita.

"Fucking idiot" Nikita crumbled up a piece of paper and aimed it his way.

Had she not been so focused on what she was doing on her tablet she wouldn't have gotten so scared.

Birkhoff ducked just in time and the paper ball missed him. "You miss me?" The hacker laughed and went to give her a big hug. Nikita rolled her eyes but hugged him back. "You know I would have been nice and said that I did but I clearly forgot what a jerk you are"

"Yeah yeah" Birkhoff smirked. He forgot how much fun it was to mess around with her. "Anyway, where is Mikey?" Nikita refused to have her own office in the building so she always used Michael's when she was there. Michael had no protests. He loved it. And it was rare to see her there without him.

"I forgot my tea at home so he went down to the cafe to get me one" Nikita sat back down on her chair and tried to bring back her focus. She wanted to get a lot of things done.

Birkhoff sat at one of the chairs in front of the desk and curiously asked "Tea? You sick or something?" Nikita always had coffee in the morning. She couldn't function without it.

"Why do I have to be sick to drink tea?" Yes, it was unusual for her to drink tea in the morning, but she still had tea somewhat often. She was surprised Birkhoff noticed the change so fast, but they did live together for a long time.

"No but…" Birkhoff shrugged. He guessed she was kind of right. There was no argument to it. And luckily there were not going to be any more discussions about it because Michael returned. "Here, baby. Got you a bagel too"

"And that's why you are my husband" Nikita made grabby hands toward the goodies Michael got for her. He chuckled and handed them to her.

"How come I'm not getting such a warm welcome" Birkhoff eyed Michael up and down.

"The cafe is on the 3rd floor if you need directions" Michael teased the nerd and sat next to him.

"That's how you treat me after saying no to my invite last night? Seriously you had what? Three nights alone? That wasn't enough" Birkhoff wasn't bitter about it. He just found it strange. Nikita and Michael were always down for last-minute plans with him and Sonya.

Nikita and Michael threw brief looks at each other. Michael wanted to punch his best friend. He had to talk to him and shut him up somehow. He couldn't ruin the surprise "Aww you missed us that much" One way to make Birkhoff back down was to joke with him and annoy him.

"Don't get flattered. I was just bored" The hacker scoffed. He had wanted to do something fun with his friends. It had been a while. Nikita and Sonya were in Greece for a whole week, then he and Michael had a major problem on their hands and then he had to go away with Sonya for a few days. Just a lot.

"Mhmm" Nikita added. Honestly, she didn't mind telling him right now that she was pregnant but she had to respect Michael's wishes as well. They had agreed on telling everyone at the same time.

"Now I want to talk to you about that last email I sent you. Let's go" Michael had to get his best friend out of the room before he said more.

"You can do it here if you want. I'm leaving in a little bit to find Sonya." They didn't bother Nikita. She could shut them out easily and continue working.

"No need, we are going into a meeting soon anyway. I love you. Have a good day" Michael leaned in and gave her a kiss goodbye. They had to get out fast before Birkhoff protested that he didn't know about any meeting. There was no meeting.

"I love you. Have fun" Nikita kissed him back and smiled.

"As if you are not going to see each other in an hour" Birkhoff murmured. Michael smiled back at his love then turned around and punched Birkhoff's shoulder.

"Asshole. Bye Nikki" Birkhoff got annoyed that he didn't see it coming and headed out the door first. Michael followed shortly after, leaving Nikita laughing after them.

"We don't have a meeting in the morning as far as I know and you also haven't sent me any emails" Birkhoff had sensed that Michael was hinting at something else when he urged him to go talk somewhere else. That's why he didn't say anything in front of Nikita.

"Well two things" Michael closed the door to Birkhoff's office and started. "Don't mention anything about having dinner together or hanging out in the next week. We are all having a family gathering on Friday" Michael explained. He had to get his best friend up to speed fast.

"What? Why? And am I finding out last again!" Birkhoff was confused. He hadn't heard anything about that. They usually started to prepare their family dinners well in advance so the fact they were all gathering together this week and he didn't know, shook him.

"Well there was an opportunity for us all to get together so Alex and I decided to surprise Nikita. That's why we haven't really talked all together. Sonya should know"

"Okay but why surprise?" It wasn't Nikita's birthday. There was no significant date approaching. Why was it a surprise?

"Uhmm she has been having a hard time with her anxiety this last week so Alex and I thought it would be nice" It was true. Michael just couldn't share the reason for that recent anxiety.

"That sucks. I'm on board then. What's the second thing?" Birkhoff knew how much Nikita had struggled the last few years. He will do anything to support her.

"I haven't told her anything yet" Now they were getting into the hard part.

"Yeah, I can clearly tell" Nikita would have been in such a horrible mood if she had learnt. She wouldn't have even thought about work.

"Why are you hiding it still? Mikey, you have to tell her like today or tomorrow. This cannot go on for this long. Miller will find another way to talk to her and that would make it so much worse" Birkhoff wouldn't put it past the private investigator or the Carters to follow Nikita and wait for the right moment to approach her and tell her everything.

Birkhoff was right. Michael knew he was right. But his best friend didn't know one key thing - Nikita was pregnant. She was worrying about so much currently. He didn't want to bring this chaos into it.

"You are not telling me something" Michael was holding something back. He was overprotective of Nikita but not to that unhealthy extent.

"All I can say to you right now is that there is a reason why I haven't told her yet. It's not just that I don't want to because it would hurt her. " Michael was desperate to tell her. Deep inside he felt like he was making a big mistake. And it was true. He and Nikita had promised each other years ago that there wouldn't be any more secrets between them, They had to face things together no matter what. Michael was currently breaking that promise.

"Can I help?" Birkhoff wanted to help his best friend. He could feel Michael's internal battle. There was more going on in his head than he was letting on.

"Help me get Brian Miller off my ass" Michael scoffed. The private investigator was stressing him out so much. He wasn't leaving him alone.

"Have you talked to him since Nikki got back?" Yes, that guy was kind of nuts but if Michael had totally shut him out it was understandable to an extent.

"No, but he has been blowing up my phone and my email since Wednesday. Not only that but he sent Allen to our house again on Wednesday when we were getting back from the airport." It was time for Michael to loop in his best friend on the latest developments.

"What?! And you didn't think about telling me" Now that was something Birkhoff couldn't excuse. These people didn't even give Michael a chance to tell Nikita first.

"I handled it. Nikita didn't see or talk to him. " Michael caught up with Birkhoff on everything he had missed.

"Michael, he will try something else if you keep ignoring him." Maybe if they confronted the guy again. Explained to him that it was going to take time or at least ask for some time he would get it.

"I know he will. I even went out on a run with her the other morning so that she didn't go alone in case someone was ready to follow her." In the last couple of days, Michael had become extremely paranoid. He barely let Nikita go anywhere alone.

"Michael, it's getting out of hand. Whatever it is that is stopping you I'm assuming won't go away soon. You are only making it worse for yourself. The more you wait the more hurt she is going to be" If Nikita found out that they had been sitting on this information for a week now…

"I know, I know. I will try and do it before the family dinner so at least she has some support if she hates me for a while"

"That is…okay but you have to do it Wednesday at the latest. I'm not having you two not talking to each other at the dinner table. She is not going to hate you

but… " Nikita had to find out now so that she could process it first on her own.

Michael hoped it wasn't going to be that bad. He knew a part of her would understand him but that will come well after the fact.

"Let me make some calls, send some emails and see if Miller backs off a little. And you have to get your shit together" Birkhoff could handle everything else. The only thing Michael had to do was tell Nikita.

"Damn, you are getting old if you are giving me this lecture" The tables had really turned around.

"When are you going to learn to thank me properly" The hacker returned the punch to the shoulder from earlier and urged Michael to get going so that they could actually get something done.

1 pm

Nikita was having lunch at Michael's office alone. Her friends and husband were all running around the building doing something so they couldn't join her. She thought about calling Michael to see if he had some free time but she knew that if he had Michael would have already come by to see her. She was stuck on her own.

The phone on the desk suddenly rang. That was going to entertain her for a bit at least. It was odd since it almost never happened. Nikita had even thought the phone wasn't even on, to begin with. Everyone from the office reached Michael and Nikita on their personal phones.

"Hello?" Nikita didn't know who to expect on the other line. All the different sectors had different codes and she hadn't bothered to learn them. She didn't really need to.

"Hello, Mrs Bishop. It's Jane from the front desk."

"Oh, hi. I'm sorry I didn't know who to expect. This thing never rings"

"Yeah, I didn't know if you were in a meeting or not so I thought I would try that one first. I have a man here wanting to talk to you. His name is Edward Carter. He is not on the schedule or anywhere in the system. Are you expecting him and it's just not on the calendar?"

"I have no damn clue who that is. Did he say anything more?" The name didn't ring a bell at all. Nikita didn't have appointments or meetings with people outside the company. She never expected anyone.

"He said he wanted to talk to our graphic designer. The one that does all the logos and designs for the company. And since-"

"And since I am fulfilling that role you called me. Okay well…have him meet me at the conference room there. I'll be down in a few minutes." Nikita was the graphic designer or whatever the title was, of everything from the big things like the logos to the really small things. She never wanted her name on anything though so it wasn't a well-known thing outside of the company, That didn't stop anyone from coming and asking though. And it wasn't forbidden for the receptionist to give that information. Maybe she had to change that fact.

"Okay. I will have someone escort him there"

"Thank you" Nikita huffed tiredly after hanging up. She sent Michael a quick message, hoping to see him afterwards and convince him to leave early. After that, she was on her way.

"Hello, Mrs Bishop?" As she walked into the room an older tall man stood up from his chair and greeted her. He looked smart, dressed in a full-on suit. He was rocking some grey hairs and black square glasses.

"Yeah, nice to meet you. How can I help?" Nikita still had no idea who he was or what he wanted to talk about. She was pretty sure he had requested the wrong person and she was going to have to call in someone else.

"I'm Edward Carter. I was hoping to discuss some business with you" The man smiled and reached to shake her hand. She did the same but again had no idea what he wanted to discuss with her specifically.

"Okay. Have a seat, please. What kind of business are you looking for here?" They both took a seat.

"Well, not here. I wanted to talk about a possible project with you specifically"

"Me? I am not sure there is anything I can propose to you." That was a first.

"No there is actually. I have been very impressed with everything you have done for this company. The logos are brilliant. The colour scheme is fantastic and the designs of the promos and trailers and all of that are just outstanding. From what I understand you are the person behind all of that or is there a team?"

"I do all the designs yes and I have a small team that does the extra stuff like editing and putting everything together. What is it that you are interested in?" Nikita definitely couldn't manage everything alone. Yes, the ideas were mostly hers but the execution was all a team effort. She wasn't going to claim otherwise—still, no idea what he needed that information for.

"Well I was hoping if I could hire you to help me do the rebranding of my restaurant I think-"

"Oh, okay, no, no, no. There are a few problems with your proposition. First, I am not a professional. I do this because I enjoy it and also because it's my friend's company. Second, I am not doing this kind of work for anybody else" She wasn't a freelancer or even looking to grow in the kind of work she was doing. It was simply something she enjoyed and thought it would be nice to take on. Not too much stress. She was her own boss and was the one organizing how everything had to be done. It checked all her boxes.

"Well, that's a shame. You've got some serious talent"

"Thank you but I will have to decline. I am sure you can find plenty of other people who can do an amazing job with rebranding your restaurant" That was the most random request she had ever heard. Since when does someone walk into a company (a tech one above all else) and ask for the graphic designer so that they could rebrand his restaurant? It sounded a little insane.

"They are all the same. I was looking for something more…special"

Nikita did not buy that. London was just 2 hours away. It was full of creative people that had much more experience than she did. "Special how?"

"I want Edion to have this feeling about it that translates through everything we put out."

"Wait, wait. You are the owner of Edion?" Nikita was beyond confused. What was he doing here?

"Yeah" The man smiled.

"That restaurant doesn't need a rebrand. It's fantastic. You'll ruin it" Not that he didn't ruin her experience by coming here and making her feel weird. Besides that the restaurant was great. It was one of her favourites.

"I'm so happy to hear that but I do have some things that I am unsatisfied with"

"Yeah sure but a whole rebrand? It's completely unnecessary in my opinion" No place was perfect but the restaurant had literally been open for less than a year. Why was this guy so desperate?

"Are you a regular there? I could really use some feedback"

"Well if a regular means that every time that I'm in London I go there then yes I guess I am" How did this meeting turn into her giving him feedback as a customer of his restaurant?

"What are your thoughts?"

"Are you actually asking me to give a review to your restaurant?" Okay, they were actually doing this.

"Yeah. I am the owner I have to care about what my customers think of the place"

"The food is great. I love the vegan and vegetarian menu. The location and the venue are done amazingly too. The staff is lovely. Overall a great place so therefore you are blind" Nikita didn't hold back and honestly she wanted to end whatever this was now. She couldn't help the guy and for some reason, she had a weird gut feeling. She couldn't put her finger on it. She just wanted to get out of the room.

"Yeah. Well, I wanted to develop it more. Make a website, grow the social medias, create more entertainment for the guests"

"You could totally do that, yes but I am not the person that can help you with those things" Did this man realise that she actually had a job? That was a whole project to take on and on top of that, she wasn't even interested.

"Can I really not change your mind?"

"No, I focus all my creative work here and that's how I preferred to be" Can you leave now?

"You could be doing a lot more with that talent you know?" He did not just say that to her. And that almost mocking tone or whatever it was. What an entitled son of a bitch.

"I am doing a lot"

"Sorry I didn't mean it like that"

"Yeah you did. Relax, if that was everything I gotta get going" She was done with the conversation and with his fucking restaurant.

"Uh, yeah of course. Thank you for your time. Let me know when you visit the restaurant. I am almost there every day. Would love to meet again"

"Will do" Absolutely not.

"If you do change your mind or just want to talk some things out here is where you can reach me" He handed her a business card.

Nikita took it and started walking toward the door with him to make him leave faster"Thank you. Bye" Nikita then watched the man leave and wondered What the fuck was that. That last comment really rubbed her the wrong way. She wasn't asking for his advice on her life.

Nikita decided it was stupid to think about too much. She should instead find Michael and laugh about it. He wouldn't believe it.

She found him in an empty conference room gathering up his things. He beamed when he saw her walking in and started spewing out apologies. "Hey, I'm sorry. I saw your text but the new interns are driving me crazy and I couldn't find a moment to even respond and then-"

"Hey, hey, breathe." Nikita could tell that her husband was agitated and was having a stressful day. "It's fine. I completed my to-do list for the day, had lunch then a spontaneous meeting with you can't guess who"

"I thought you didn't plan on having meetings today" Nikita had wanted to just hall up in his office and do some work on her own. That was at least what she had told Michael. That's why he hadn't returned to his office. He didn't want to disturb her.

"Yeah, but then Jane called" Nikita moved to sit at the table and tell him everything.

"From the front desk?" Michael was intrigued. Usually, he was the one coming to her to complain about something work-related. She always made fun of him for choosing this job in the first place. It was lighthearted of course and it also helped Michael relax. He had to do the same thing for her now.

"Mhmm. You know Edion, right? The restaurant I beg you to go to when we are in London" Michael took a few seconds to register. This was not happening. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe he misheard or it wasn't actually Edward but someone else.

"Yeah, what about it?" He tried to keep his voice as steady as possible.

"Well, the owner of the restaurant came looking for me" Nikita didn't notice Michael's weird behaviour yet. She was too focused on retelling the meeting.

The room suddenly fell extremely hot and Michael felt like he was going to be sick. How did he miss this? How was Edward able to get to Nikita so easily? He was supposed to protect her and prevent this from happening. Yet this man was able to walk into this building, their building, and have a meeting with Nikita just like that.

"Why?" Michael turned around and pretended to look for something. He couldn't look Nikita in the eyes. She will be able to instantly tell that there was something.

"He wanted to hire me for the rebranding for his restaurant. He said he was impressed with the work I have done here so he came to talk"

"Hmm and what did you say" Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck me. If Nikita said that she accepted Michael swore he was gonna pass out right there on the floor. She wasn't one to accept these kinds of offers so she mostly likely declined but there was still a chance.

"Of course, I said no. Yeah, I like his restaurant a lot but I am not looking for a new job to take on. And especially now that things will be changing" Nikita had established a nice balance between her personal life and work life. She didn't need to add more stuff to her plate and now that they were going to have a baby and start a family, it was absolutely out of the question.

"Did you tell him that? Like exactly that" If Nikita had told Edward that she was pregnant or even hinted at it they were totally fucked. The Carters and Miller were desperately trying to claim Nikita as theirs and Michael didn't even want to think about what they would do if they found out Nikita was pregnant.

"Are you asking me if I told him I was pregnant? Of course not. Yeah, I would totally tell a stranger before I tell my family. That sounds like me" Of course she wouldn't do that. That was something very dear and personal to her.

"And you know what he said to me?" Nikita hadn't even gotten to the best part of the conversation.

"What?" Michael suddenly turned around ready for Nikita to go off. This was it. Edward had to have told everything. Michael was to blame for that. He deserved everything that was to come in the next few moments.

"That I am basically wasting my talent and time here. Can you believe this guy? I am refusing his proposition and he suddenly starts judging me. He then asked me to give a review of his restaurant and all these other things. Like how weird is that?"

Huh, Michael could not believe what Nikita was telling him. Why would Edward go through all this trouble of coming here and talking to Nikita for that. He hadn't told her anything. Michael was so relieved. He definitely had to tell Nikita tonight. Tomorrow at the latest. That was an extremely close call and he wasn't waiting for a second one.

"What a dickhead" He tried to have a normal reaction fitting for what she told him without the other context he had. He was pissed for not being able to read Edward well in the beginning. He was just as bad as Anh and Miller.

"Yeah. Are you okay? You look really pale" Nikita didn't care about it anymore. Her focus shifted to Michael. He didn't look okay. He was sweating quite a bit. It wasn't hot in the room. His face was…she couldn't even read it properly. There was something.

"Oh, I haven't eaten or drank much water today. That's probably why" Michael quickly provided an excuse. It was true on top of everything in his personal life he also had to deal with a lot at work.

"See another big reason to go home early. You are doing way too much lately." She noticed this weird change when she came back from Greece. He was on his phone and his computer way too much doing whatever "work" meant.

"I have a few more things that I need to get done today. I will be in my office so you can hang out with me for a few hours. " Michael didn't want her to go home alone. Not after this incident. "I can get you more snacks from the cafe"

"No, you mean you are going to sit down to have lunch and I will be keeping you company" Nikita dragged him by the hand out of the conference room and straight to the cafe downstairs. She also had to take care of him. He was not going to be starving all day on her watch. Nikita was there for him the same way he was there for her.

Thank you so much for reading!

I have started to write consistently every day which I am so happy about. It does take me quite a while to finish a chapter though and hope you guys don't mind that they are getting longer.

Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews! I can't even describe to you how much they mean to me. You guys are amazing and I appreciate your support so so so much! xx