Billion Dollar Mistake by K.C. Crowne

Chapter 25

JOLENE

Iwoke up to two things that next morning – a chime from my phone, and a horrible, horrible nausea in the pit of my stomach.

The phone would have to wait. I sprang from bed, rushing to the bathroom and dropping to my knees in front of the toilet, emptying what little was left inside after the vomit session I’d had the night before. Only water and bile came out, my stomach cramping after I was done.

When I felt ready, I pushed myself off the floor, flushed, then washed my face and brushed my teeth.

I was worried. I’d chalked the sickness last night to stress from Sawyer and the murder cases, not to mention the shock of coming home to a bloody apartment. However, I’d gotten a good night’s sleep and felt otherwise fine.

Why the hell was I throwing up?

Whatever the reason, I didn’t have time to waste being sick. I made a mental note to make an appointment with a doctor, then set aside the issue. When I went back into the bedroom and picked up my phone, I saw that the chime was an alert from my bank app.

I swiped the alert off the screen without checking it.

I needed to see a doctor. Luckily, being in the medical field had its perks. I had connections with a few GPs in the area, and pulled one of them, Dr. Amanda Li, up in my contacts and dialed. Sitting down on the end of my bed, I waited as the phone rang.

Although Dr. Li was packed for the day, her receptionist managed to get me an appointment for eleven with an associate of hers. I smiled once the call was done – the first bit of good news I’d gotten that day.

Once that was taken care of, I sent a text to Dave and Megan letting them both know I’d be out of the office for the day. I still had paperwork to finish up for the last victim, but aside from that I had an open schedule.

After forcing down a quick breakfast of instant oatmeal just to have something in my stomach, I took a quick shower and dressed. Then I took my laptop to Sawyer’s huge office, the view looking out over the city. I had to admit, as many problems I might’ve had with our arrangement, I was quite enjoying the amenities.

As I settled in to work, I told myself not to get too used to my new digs. Once the marriage was over and done with, I’d be back in my little house in Whitepeak. Sure, with some money in the bank and my loans taken care of, I’d be able to afford a place a bit nicer than where I was living, but I wasn’t rich, and never would be. Sawyer’s ridiculous lifestyle would, in the grand scheme of things, be nothing more than a fun vacation.

The next few hours flew by, and soon it was time to head to my appointment. I gathered my things, eager to visit the doctor and get a script for whatever bug I’d been saddled with. I had zero time to waste being sick.

Lucky for me, the office was downtown and only a few blocks from Sawyer’s place. It was a brisk, late spring day, so I threw on a military style jacket over my clothes and headed out. Fifteen minutes later, I was in the clean, modern lobby of the doctor’s office. Ten minutes after that I was in an examination room, the nurse, a serious faced forty-something woman, giving me the standard barrage of questions.

One she asked gave me major pause.

“And when’s the last time you had your period?”

I opened my mouth to speak, to toss off an easy answer.

As I searched my mind, I realized that I didn’t have one. I had no idea when my last period was.

“Oh!” I said, remembering with a smile. “It was before I got married. So…nine weeks ago?”

The smile faded from my face as soon as I’d said the words.

The nurse glanced down at my wedding ring.

“And I’m guessing that with you getting married recently, you’ve been sexually active.”

I didn’t need to be a detective to understand what she was getting at.

“Right,” I said. “But if you’re thinking I’m, you know, well, it’s impossible. I’m on the pill.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Have you been taking it regularly?”

Once more, I opened my mouth to give out an easy answer but had nothing to say.

“No, I haven’t. It’s really embarrassing to admit, but I’ve been totally crazy with work, and I just got married and…” I trailed off, realizing it wasn’t doing me any good to come up with excuses.

I knew what was coming next. The nurse told me they were going to give me a pregnancy test. Everything happened in a blur and by the time I finally met with the doctor, who seemed pleased as punch to confirm that the test was positive, I felt like I might pass out.

When I left the office and stepped back out onto the city streets, everything seemed strange and hazy, like I was in a dream. I didn’t know what to do. As if moving on its own accord, my hand slipped my phone out of my purse and typed up a text to Joann.

Hey. Want to do lunch at my place?

The response came moments later.

Sure! My treat. What sounds good?

I couldn’t even begin to think about food, but I needed to say something.

Sushi?

Wow, Mrs. Billionaire’s got expensive taste.A tongue sticking out smiley face emoji followed. But that sounds great. I’ll come by at 12:30.

I thumbs-upped the message before walking in a daze to the CVS on the corner. Minutes later I had a small box, along with a long receipt, in my hand as I made my way back to the apartment. Once there, I sat down on the couch and set the box in front of me on the coffee table.

Joann sent me a text when she was in the lobby. I messaged the front desk to let her in, and soon she was marching through the door with two bags of sushi in her hands.

“Alright, so I can’t remember what you like when it comes to sushi. So, I got a few different special rolls and some basic stuff. And I also got some tempura veggies, of course. What’s that on the table?”

She set down the bags and looked at the prenatal vitamins.

Her eyes went wide as she turned to me.

“No. Freaking. Way.”8

Lunch was forgotten as the tears slid down my face.

I had some big decisions to make.