Alpha Billionaire Series

BROOKE

Isat on my bed, staring at a pile of scrubs that needed to be put into the laundry. I didn’t want to go to work, and I didn't want to see Mark. I didn't know if he was going to be at work today or if he had taken another few days to stay at the lake house. My parents wouldn't be home until midweek.

This past weekend had been hell. I had to sit there and watch Mark flirt with Mimi and bite my tongue. I couldn't tell her to back off. I couldn't tell him to stop looking like he was putting in an effort, he was supposed to be with me.

But that was something we weren't sharing with others. It sucked.

And then on top of everything else Mom was on my ass about getting to the lake in time. At first, I honestly thought she just wanted me to hurry up and relax. But that wasn't it at all. She wanted me there to work. Angela and I arrived in time to “hel with dinner” Which was Mom-speak for doing all the work so she could have a cocktail with Mimi.

My feelings for Mimi were something completely different. I wasn't her kid, and I resented her treating me like a child. When she wasn't treating me like a kid, I was the help she was ordering around.

I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Fortunately, Angela had my back and was willing to leave with me.

And now it was Monday, and I had to get ready. I didn’t want to. I wanted to roll over and go back to bed. I felt so sluggish and defeated. With a resigned sigh, I got up, found clean scrubs, and got myself ready for work. I counted my blessings that I did not see Mark all day.

Any blessings that were keeping me going evaporated the next day.

“Excuse me, could you tell me what floor Dr. Mark Bryant— oh, Brooke it's you. I didn't recognize you looking all professional with your hair back like that. Don't they let you wear makeup?”

My stomach clenched with every word that Mimi spoke. She was condescending. I had makeup on, just not very much. Hell, I hadn't worn makeup while up at the lake. Then again, she had commented on it that time as well. I did not like that woman. was tempted to send her up to the wrong floor.

“Aren't you a little old for an appointment with Dr. Mark?” I really wanted to say something way more out of line than that already was. I wanted to say something like throwing her legs up in the stirrups and showing off her p***y wasn't going to ge his attention.

She tossed her hair and laughed. “Oh, you're so funny. It's not that kind of appointment.”

told her the floor and gave her a fake grin. I tried not to glare at her back as she waited for the elevators.

I wanted to kiss the little old lady who occupied all of my attention when I caught a glimpse of Mimi walking out the door with Mark. She trailed her hand along his upper arm. They didn't stop to say anything to me, and Mark hadn't tried to catch my eye.

I felt weird. Was this heartbreak, or was I coming down with something? I suddenly felt woozy. I made it to a trash can in time. I must be coming down with something.

“Hey, Terry," I started as soon as she picked up the phone. “I think I need to go home. I'm throwing up.”

I got to leave early. No chance of seeing Mark when he got back from his lunch date.

The next morning, I called in sick and stayed in bed. Mom and Dad hadn't come home yet, so I had to make my own chicken noodle soup. I decided to look up my symptoms. I kept throwing up. I didn't actually feel bad other than that. Did I have an ulcer, or something worse?

According to the internet, I either had cancer and was going to die at any moment, or I was pregnant. I couldn't be pregnant. We were careful. Mark used condoms. I was more likely to believe that I was going to drop dead from some rare stomach cancer than I was possibly pregnant.

I was pretty crap when it came to tracking my period. I expected it to be there, and then it was. Or it showed up within a few days, or it showed up before I realized it should. I really hadn't thought about it. And I didn’t have any records to look at to see if I could figure anything out. Maybe it was time to look into one of those tracker apps for my phone?

I slurped down the canned chicken noodle soup as I continued to look up information. There was no way I was pregnant. However, condoms failed at an alarming rate, and I was showing several signs.

“Fuck” I tossed the bowl of unfinished soup in the sink and headed back upstairs to get dressed. I couldn't eat anything else until I knew for certain. I made it to the drug store and back in record time. It took more time to wait for the results than to buy the test.

I didn’t believe it the first time. That could not be right. I was not pregnant. I refused to be. I took the second test. I wanted i to be wrong too. I didn't want to believe those two stupid blue lines. I sat on my bed and cried. I didn't want to be pregnant. certainly didn’t want to be pregnant with Mark's baby. After this weekend, I simply didn't feel like I could trust him. How was supposed to trust him with a child?

I tested Angela. “Are you available for lunch?”

“I am. Burritos?”

“Sounds good. What time?”

I confirmed that I would be there when she suggested two. I was really happy Angela agreed to meet me for lunch. We met a our regular burrito shop.

Iwas a weird combination of starving, but I also didn't feel like I could eat anything. My stomach was in knots. I only had a few spoonful's of soup for breakfast. Part of me wanted to get the biggest burrito they had, but I didn’t want to puke it up later, so I settled for a regular with all the fixings.

“I haven't heard you talk about your secret doctor lately.”

I scoffed. “Well, I think that ship has passed. He seemed a little too eager to keep me a secret, and the other day I saw him on a date with another woman."

I didn't mention anything about how much attention he paid to Mimi while we were at the lake. Angela didn’t know that Mar was my secret doctor. And I wasn't about to give away who he was now.

“Oh, Brooke, that sucks.”

“Yeah. So, if he was keeping me a secret, how many other women was he dating?”

“Shit, you don't think he's married, do you?"

I'shook my head. “At least I know for certain he's not married. But I don't know how many side chicks he's juggling. And I did not agree to be a side chick, and that's what it looks like I've been this whole time.”

Angela looked sad for me.

Iwas sad. I took a deep breath, preparing myself to spill the news.

“Okay, I don't want you to be mad at me, but” She started before I could say anything. “I've been accepted into a graduate program. It starts in August. 'm moving to Chicago.”

The bottom dropped out of my world for the second time that day. I had been counting on Angela to be my support system. I blinked a few times as I continued to stare at her in shock.

“But we just sent in those applications,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, about that." She looked off to the side with a sheepish expression. “I've been sending in applications for a while. I could help you apply to this program. I bet you could still get in."

“Chicago?” I asked. I didn't want to be left here. I would be totally alone. There was no way my parents would be supportive of this situation I was in. And I never wanted to see Mark again.

“What if I don’t get in?"

“You could still come and work in Chicago. You're always trying to get away from here. Hell, you went to college in a different country just to get away.”

Iscoffed. “Yeah, two different countries.”

Angela laughed. “I totally forgot about that semester in France. Look, Brooke, let's finish and I'll come home with you and show you the program's website. You can put in your application tonight”

“What about the essay part? And getting references?”

“Use the essay we just worked on. And they haven't asked me for any references. It would be so much fun. We can get an apartment together. We can be study buddies.”This is property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

I smiled and felt hopeful for the first time since I saw the double blue stripes on my pregnancy test.

Angela wouldn't get mad at me for getting knocked up. She would understand and help me figure it all out. But first, I had to move to Chicago.