Positive
Charlotte POV
I look at the two pink lines... Two lines that I actually didn't want to see at all, two lines that are going to turn my whole life upside down.
I throw the test in the trash and walk to my bedroom where I collapse on my bed, throw my arms over my head and scream. Normally I am someone who can keep her emotions in check, I am definitely not a short-tempered person. But at the moment I can't suppress the screams of frustration and just let it all out.
This pregnancy couldn't have had worse timing...
Two weeks ago my relationship with Harrison ended, and yesterday he left on a mission to God knows where. Harrison and I were in a relationship for two years, of which I think we only saw each other physically for 1 year.
Harrison works in the army and is often away from home for long periods of time, which is also one of the reasons why things no longer worked between us. I loved him... Sure. But his work was very important to him, and he didn't see himself stopping anytime soon. It's not that I expected that from him, I would never ask someone to give up something that they love. But I had more trouble with his absence than I had anticipated, in the beginning I missed him... But after a couple of weeks it just became... Normal, and I started to just, not miss him.
I never really expressed this to him, I just accepted it. And when he would come home I really was happy, but that spark was just... Not there. Not like how it was in the beginning.
We last had sex six weeks ago when he had just returned home from a short mission, and apparently it was a hit right away because it hasn't happened since. In the weeks that followed, we both agreed that a relationship was no longer possible, but that we wanted to keep in touch with each other. Luckily we hadn't moved in together yet, or it would have been even more complicated.
I look on my bedside table at my radio alarm clock, and see that it is 8 o'clock.
"Shit" I mumble as I pull myself out of bed and get ready for work. 15 minutes later I close my front door behind me and walk to the car. and 20 minutes later I walk through the doors of the office of Blackwell Coffee and Tea.
I take the elevator to the 9th floor and then make my way down the hallway towards my office. Along the way I am greeted by a number of colleagues and we agree to have lunch together at 1 o'clock.
Before I walk to my boss's office, I first go to my own office to grab today's schedule and start up my computer. With a tablet in my hand I walk to my boss Lester's office, I scroll through the schedule and see to my relief that he is having a relatively quiet day today. I am secretly very grateful for that because I don't know how well I can focus today.
"Good morning Mr. Blackwell" I greet my boss as I walk in and he looks up from behind his laptop.
"Good morning Charlotte, tell me the damage for today" he says with a small smile and I sit opposite his desk to bring him up to date.
"A relatively quiet day today" I say with a wink and he sighs with relief, we laugh and he gives me his full attention.
"You have a meeting at 10 o'clock with Henry Lockett, the British millionaire who would like to invest in the company in the hope of expanding the company to Great Britain" I start and Lester groans and rolls his eyes dramatically.
"Terrible man, thinks he can buy anything... Anyway, keep going" he says and I giggle at his dramatic answer.
''At 12 o'clock you have lunch with Joshua, it says here that he will provide the lunch. Then at 2 o'clock you have a meeting about the new packaging of the coffee beans and at 4 o'clock there is a board meeting'' I look to see if I missed something but see that this is it, a relatively quiet day without too many meetings, This means that we can work on overdue work.
Lester rubs his face with his hands and I can tell he looks tired, which he has been doing a lot lately.
"Are you okay Lester?" I ask carefully and he looks at me in surprise, normally I always call him Mr. Blackwell even though he regularly tells me that I can call him by his first name.
"I could be better, it's been busy lately" he says and I agree.
Blackwell Coffee and Tea has grown in recent years from a small family business to a large family business. The coffee and tea they make has become extremely popular in Canada, North and South America and the company moved to this huge building in the middle of Phoenix 4 years ago. There is also an office in Montreal Canada, where Lester's 35-year-old son James runs the business. Lester's other son Joshua, 30, is often at our office and works in the HR department, I believe he is working towards becoming an HR manager at the moment. He is an amiable man who doesn't actually take life too seriously, the only thing he does take seriously is his work.
"These have been busy times, maybe it's time for a couple days off?" I say as I get up to go back to my office.
"That'll happen.. eventually" he mumbles and I shrug my shoulders.
"Coffee?" I ask, I'm craving a big cup myself and I know Lester loves coffee as much as I do. He shakes his head and mumbles a later, I frown in confusion because he never turns down coffee.
I walk out of his office and go to the coffee corner, which is of course equipped with Blackwell coffee and tea.
Around 10 to 10 I walk back to the coffee corner and make two cups of coffee for Lester and Mr. Lockett. I don't know how he likes his coffee so I bring him some coffee milk and sugar if he needs it. I walk into Lester's office and put the coffee on the table, then I grab some cookies and take with me the information I had to print for this meeting.
''Charlotte? I received a call that Henry is in the elevator upstairs, would you like to receive him there and bring him to me?'' Lester asks as he continues typing quickly on his laptop.
"Yes, sure" I answer and walk at a fast pace towards the elevator, knowing that it is probably already there. And as I expected, Mr. Lockett just walks out of the elevator and gives me a charming smile.
"Good morning Mr. Lockett, I'm Charlotte, Mr. Blackwell's assistant" I say kindly as we shake hands.
“Henry Lockett, nice to meet you” he says in a deep British accent and I wave him into Lester's office.
"Mr. Blackwell, Henry Lockett is here for the 10 o'clock meeting," I say professionally and Lester waves him in.
I let the men do their thing and continue with my work myself. An hour later, Henry leaves Lester's office, waves goodbye and thanks me for the delicious coffee and cookies. I continue working on processing the notes from meetings from yesterday until Joshua walks past my office and says hello.
"Ah Charlotte, looking fabulous as always!" he says cheerfully and I lift my head from my work to greet him kindly.
"Joshua, nice to see you showing your face again" I say with a wink and he rolls his eyes.
"Yes, yes, I am aware that I have to make rounds through the departments more often" he mumbles and I laugh.
"You know I like to remind you of your shortcomings, Joshua" I say and he shakes his head, laughing.
"I have lunch for my father, has he finished his meeting?" he holds up three plastic bags and I nod.
"Yes, you can go inside... Isn't that a lot of food for two people?" I ask as I look at the bags.
"James is coming to lunch as a surprise, he flew here this morning without telling my father" Joshua whispers out loud and I know Lester will be very happy about this. I have never met James as I have only been working here for 6 months, and James has not been to Phoenix in recent months.
"Oh I think Lester will absolutely love that, he often tells me he misses him" I say enthusiastically and Joshua nods in agreement.
''Yes, my big brother is a workaholic, but he has had great success in Canada so it pays off. I'm going in, James will be here in 15 minutes if all goes well'' he says and he walks into Lester's office.
The smell of his food wafts into my office and a wave of nausea hits me, reminding me of the test I took this morning...
Positive...
Shit...
I put my head in my hands and try to focus on the lump that comes up, I feel my hands sweating but I manage to keep it in.
"Are you okay?" a deep voice takes me out of my trance and I have a moment of difficulty focusing on the man standing in the doorway.
There is a man in dark blue trousers and a white shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair is dark blonde and is neatly combed back, he is very attractive and suddenly I realize that it is probably James. He looks a lot like Joshua in a more ruggish way.
"Oh, you must be James I assume?" I gather myself and give him my most professional smile.
"Sorry I didn't hear you coming, I was just... Thinking" I mentally kick myself for my stupid excuse, but I hope he leaves it at that.
He frowns and looks at me intently, I walk towards him and shake his hand. His grip is firm and he smells fresh, and I'm very glad he doesn't wear heavy perfume. He is gorgeous though... Very...
Wow, this must me the hormones talking... Get a grip Charlotte.
"I'll let Mr. Blackwell know he has a visitor" I say quickly but he shoots out his hand and stops me.
"Leave it up to me, then I can surprise him." The corners of his mouth turn up a little and it makes his face even more attractive.
I take two steps back and gather myself, I smile and nod.
"Have a nice lunch Mr. Blackwell" I say and he walks past me to Lester's office.
"James" he says looking back at me, and I look at him with a frown.
"Just call me James" he says seriously and all I can do is nod, he responds back with a small nod and disappears into Lester's office.
I hear Lester talking out loud and it's clear he's happy that James is there, I'm happy for Lester that his family is with him.
He's been pretty down lately and I was starting to get a little worried, but maybe this is just what he needs.
