Chapter 1

I, Olivia Stone, did the dumbest thing anyone in this company could ever do.

I slept with my boss, Alexander Shaw.

It wasn't consensual. We were both set up.

Afterward, I rushed out to buy emergency contraception, thinking that would be the end of it.

Three months later, I threw up right in front of the entire board of directors.

The city's richest man was sitting right across from me.

He was my boss and the father of my unborn child.

Alexander slowly closed his folder and lifted his gaze. "Meeting adjourned."

As I tried to sneak off to the hospital, I saw his car parked right in front of the obstetrics and gynecology department.

His long fingers pinched my registration slip, his voice colder than the late autumn wind. "Olivia, where do you think you're taking my child?"

Later, I realized how crazy Alexander really was.

During the day, he signed multi-billion-dollar merger deals without batting an eye.

At night, he'd crouch by the crib, negotiating with our three-year-old son. "Jamie, Daddy's offering three lollipops if you go back to your own room tonight."

Jamie clung to my arm, his voice soft and childish. "Mommy's mine. Daddy, go away!"

Alexander's forehead vein twitched as he turned to me.

His eyes seemed to say, "Can you do something about him?"

*****

The projector's blue light washed over the conference table, the quarterly revenue bar chart jumping up bar by bar.

Alexander sat at the head of the table, his dark gray suit perfectly pressed, his long fingers idly spinning a pen.

I sat in the back corner, my notebook open, taking notes.

Suddenly, my stomach lurched.

I thought it was because I skipped breakfast.

I took a deep breath, trying to swallow the queasiness.

The CFO's voice droned on, "Net profit for the third quarter is up seventeen percent year-over-year, and we project—"

A fresh surge of nausea crashed over me.

It was ten times worse than before.

I slapped a hand over my mouth, my nails biting into my palm.

No way.

Nope. I couldn't take it anymore.

I jumped up so fast my chair thudded against the carpet.

Everyone in the room turned to stare at me, including the man at the head of the table, whose gaze was unfathomably deep.

I couldn't worry about anything else. Practically crashing through the conference room door, I rushed down the hall to the restroom.

I clung to the sink, throwing up so hard I thought I might pass out.

I splashed cold water on my face and looked up at my ghostly reflection in the mirror.

Inside, my mind was screaming.

No way.

I took the pill.

Right after that night three months ago, I'd rushed to the pharmacy and grabbed a morning-after pill.

High heels clicked outside the door.

Emily Lane, our team's secretary, pushed the door open, her face a mix of gossip and concern. "Olivia, are you okay? Mr. Shaw ended the meeting."

I gripped the edge of the sink.

Was the meeting over?

Over twenty execs in a quarterly meeting, and it all got called off because I puked?

"What was his expression?" My throat was hoarse.

Emily thought for a moment. "Honestly, I couldn't tell. He only spun his pen, said 'meeting adjourned,' and everyone walked out."

Couldn't tell.

Honestly, not being able to read him was way scarier than any expression he could've made.

With Alexander, one never had a clue what was going on in his head.

But one thing was for sure. Pissing him off, and there was only one outcome.

Death.

I leaned against the wall as I made my way back to my desk, where the pregnancy test lay quietly in my drawer.

I'd taken it this morning at home.

It was positive.

Clear as day.

I closed my eyes, my fingertips tingling.

I was done for.

I was totally screwed.