The Boss Project by Vi Keeland

“Yes.”

“I’m Dr. Rosen. I’m the neurosurgeon who operated on Ms. Evans.”

“How is she?”

The doctor put his hands on his hips and sighed. “I wish I could answer that question. As you know, Ms. Evans suffered a severe head injury. She was brought in with a fractured skull, several cracked vertebrae, and some pretty significant cranial swelling and bleeding. All things considered, the surgery went as well as could be expected. We were able to perform a craniectomy to stop the bleeding and make room for the swelling to avoid even more compression damage. She’s alive, and her vitals are amazingly stable after such an immense trauma and difficult surgery. But when we tried to bring her out of the anesthesia, she didn’t wake up. That’s not to say she will not regain consciousness at some point, but it’s obviously not a great sign. So at this point, all we can say is that she seems to be holding her own. It’s going to take some time to know how extensive the damage is.”

He paused and looked me in the eyes. “But I think you need to brace yourself for the possibility that she might not make it through the next few days. Or if she does, that she could wind up with some pretty significant deficits.”

I sat down in the chair behind me. “Can I see her?”

Dr. Rosen nodded. “They’re finishing cleaning her up now, and then she’ll be moved to the ICU. Her face is very swollen, which is common after a head trauma, and we’re going to leave the top of her skull off for a while—her brain needs the room. But yes, you can see her when we’re all done. Just be very careful moving or touching her.”

“How long will her head be open?”

“It’s hard to say. We’re going to freeze the bone flap we removed so it can be reattached in the future.”

It was difficult to breathe, so I swallowed. “Okay.”

“Ms. Evans filled out a health care proxy when she was here for another procedure.”

I nodded. “She had her appendix out last year.”

“That form names you as her agent—the person who makes health care decisions for her when she’s unable to make them herself.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “She doesn’t have contact with any of her family.”

He nodded. “I’m sure once everything sinks in, you’re going to have a lot of questions. I’ll stop back in the ICU once she’s settled in and examine her, and we can talk again.”

“Thank you.”

He started to walk away, but then turned back. “I’m sorry. I got so wrapped up in her neurology, I didn’t even mention that the baby seems to be doing well. We have an order in for an OB to come examine her while she’s in the ICU, but the pregnancy appears intact at this point. It’s pretty incredible.”

“Pregnancy?”

The doctor’s eyes narrowed. “Amelia is at least a few months pregnant.”



• • •



“Would you like to hear the heartbeat?” The obstetrician smiled at me. “It’s very strong. I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now, but I find a baby’s heartbeat often instills a sense of hope in parents.”

I looked at the screen, at the life growing inside Amelia. “Sure.”

The doctor fiddled with a dial, and a sound echoed in the small glass ICU room. Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub. “It’s fast. Clocking in at a hundred-forty-seven beats per minute. Right where it should be.” She clicked a bunch of keys on the keyboard and moved the wand around Amelia’s belly some more.

How had I not noticed the small bump? I felt guilty, at least until the questions the right side of my brain asked were answered by the left.

Because she rarely let you see her naked anymore.

Because she was fucking some other guy.

Holy.

Fucking.

Shit.

Was it even mine? How had I not even given that any thought over the last hour since the first doctor had told me Amelia was pregnant?

Is that why she didn’t tell me?

Just when I thought I might be able to start to digest it all...

The doctor interrupted my thoughts. “The baby is measuring about seventeen weeks, so we’re in our second trimester. We usually do a sonogram at about eighteen to twenty weeks and can see the sex at that time. But your baby’s anatomy is pretty clear. Would you like to know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

What I wanted to know was if it was mine. But she was waiting for an answer, and all I had were questions. I shrugged. “Sure.”

The doctor smiled. “You’re having a girl. Congratulations, Daddy.”





CHAPTER 26

Evie



“Do you want to talk about what happened inside?” I’d finished putting my purchases in the trunk and clicked my seatbelt into place in the passenger seat.

Merrick’s eyes closed a moment and he sighed. “Not really.”

I thought he probably just needed a little time and space, so I nodded. “The landlord is having my new apartment painted today. He said I could drop things off while it’s being done. Would you mind stopping there so I can deliver all this stuff I bought?”

“Sure.”

He was quiet during the ride. When we pulled up, Merrick double parked out front and helped me get everything inside.