Katherine's POV
I decided not to think of what happened to me with Melissa. It left a bitter taste in my mouth and I didn't want that. I stretched as I got up from bed, popping my bones back into place.
I used to be tired in the morning ever since I got pregnant but I felt extremely tired this morning. I wondered if I needed to call the attention of the doctor or it was because I slept late the previous night pondering on how Melissa could be so audacious.
I didn't want to be a chicken, running to the clinic every time but I also didn't want to ignore how I felt in case it was serious. I didn't want anything to happen to my baby.
I decided to go to the hospital after work today. I called the hospital and booked an appointment. It wasn't yet time for my antenatal appointment but I didn't care.
"Good morning," I smiled at my colleagues as I walked into the office.
"Katherine, good morning." May responded. "You look different."
"How?" I frowned.
"You used to look happy for some time now that I wondered if you won the lottery but now you look like your world just got shifted right under your feet."
I sighed. Was it that obvious what I was going through?
"I'm fine." I said and forced another smile for her sake. "You don't have to worry about me."
"If you say so." She shrugged and walked away.
I walked into my office and exhaled as I settled on the chair. It was time to work. I needed something to get my mind off my complicated relationship.
Ten minutes after getting settled, I had a call on my phone from my boss.
I sighed and headed to her office. I leaned in and stared at her.
"Can I come in now?"
"Sure." She said, moving away from her chair behind her desk and settled on the couch in her office. "Sit." She pointed at the couch before her.
I did as she said and waited for her, wondering what made her call for me this early in the morning.
"Is there a problem?" I asked.
I had been here for five minutes but she hadn't said anything. It wasn't normal for her to stall and waste time.
She nodded and crossed her legs. "There might be a problem but it depends on you. I called you in here so there won't be a problem."
I frowned. She was making me worry. I wanted to tell her to spit it out. Was there a way to tell your boss that without sounding rude?
"I want you off the Osten project, Katherine." She blurted out and looked away.
I went still. Of everything I had been expecting her to say, it wasn't that. I stared at her but she wasn't looking at me. She had moved her eyes away from me and I wondered if she was ashamed to face me or because she felt bad.
She should feel bad. She ought to.
I had worked my ass off on the Osten project, built it from scratch and made it into what it was at the moment, even at the expense of my health. She couldn't just take me off the project without a reason. It didn't make sense.
"Why?" I croaked.
She sighed and forced herself to look at me. "I got an offer and it's not something I can ignore. As a business owner, I would be a fool to let go of that opportunity."
Opportunity. Business owner. Offer. Ignore.
All what she said made sense but I couldn't focus on that. All what I heard was her telling me that I wasn't good enough to stay on the Osten project.
"Can I know more about why I'm being taken off the case? You know how hard I've worked on the case and how much it means to me." I was close to tears at this point. "You can't do this to me."
She sighed and shifted in her seat. "I don't want to do this to you too but a top strategist offered to work on the project. I'm not insulting your skills or intelligence, Katherine, but this is someone I feel can be of a huge help to the project. You will agree with me too when you meet the person. I'm sure there is a lot you can learn when you are working together."
"Working together?" I frowned in confusion.
She arched her eyebrows at me and chuckled. "You didn't think that I was taking you off the project completely, did you? No. Of course not, Katherine. I can't do that to you."
"You are making me step down."
She shook her head. "You don't have to call it that. Katherine, you are only working with someone else on the project. Isn't that what matters?"
"But I'm not in charge anymore."
She winced at the obvious hurt in my words. "You will be the second in command still. Don't let that get to you. What matters is that the project becomes a success and I'm sure that is what you are also after."
I sighed at the way she slyly delivered the words.
Would I say that I wasn't interested in the success of the project? She knew I wouldn't say that and I didn't think she was ready to apologize to me.
I decided to let it go.
I nodded and stood up. "Can I leave now if you are done? I should get back to work."
"You should." She said and waved me off.
I left her office and went to the rooftop where I spent a good fifteen minutes screaming. I headed back to the office after that and worked like a robot.
I got to the hospital and checked in with the doctor. My baby was doing okay and I breathed in relief. I needed some good news after what Jennifer dropped on me today.
I stepped out of the hospital and went still as I walked straight into Lisa.
"Katherine?" she called as if she couldn't believe I was the one she was staring at.
I groaned and rolled my eyes. Today was a rollercoaster of bad luck for me. I should have just stayed home in bed all through the day if I had known what I was going to deal with.
I smiled, pretending I was happy to see her here. "What are you doing here?"
She snorted. "No. I should ask you that. What are you doing here? Are you sick? I came to check on a sick colleague and didn't expect to see you here."
I felt tempted to tell her that I was sick but that would cause problems that I didn't want to deal with.
She would call Agatha and hover over me like hawks surrounding a kill. Not that they she wouldn't call Agatha even if I didn't tell her anything but I didn't want to deceive them anymore.
I decided to come out with the truth.
"I came to check up on my baby." I whispered, feeling shy about the words.
"Your baby? What are you talking about?" she frowned in confusion, looking at me. "You are pregnant?" she gasped, running toward me.
I winced at how loud she was. "Hush, Lisa."
"You are pregnant." She said again, muttering in disbelief. "I can't believe it." She suddenly scowled and narrowed her eyes at me. "Is that why he proposed? Are you getting married for the baby? Does he love you?"
"No, that is not it." I sighed, denying that he proposed because of the baby.
I couldn't bring myself to answer the other question and I hoped that she didn't notice. I wasn't about to lie that he loved me.
She winced. "I'm sorry. I probably sound like it's impossible for him to love you."
I winced and waved her words off with a wave of my hand. "I understand. You don't have to apologize for that." I smiled at her.
She sighed. "Let's get you home." She said, wrapping her arm around my neck and walked me home like she discovered I was dying of cancer instead of being pregnant.