I walk into the coffee shop, my heart racing. I don’t want to be seen in public with Royce, but don’t know what else to do. This will impact my career. How will I recover from it? I want to disappear, to scream, to cry. I don’t know what to do!
Royce is seated in the corner of the shop, near the back where no one will disturb us. I approach the counter and order a peppermint tea, hoping it’ll settle my stomach. Nausea has been bothering me all day and it certainly hasn’t helped being under this new stress. I need to tell Royce as soon as possible, or before things worsen.
“Glad you made it,” he exclaims. I nod, sit down, and give him a weak smile. I still can’t find the words to speak to him.
“Look, I know this is all a shock to you but trust me, I’ll take care of it,” he assures me.
I shake my head. “How can you? The entire world has seen the footage by now. It made headlines this morning, so those who don’t watch the show are bound to take a look at the clip. I’m ruined, you’re ruined, and this whole situation is ruined!”
I fight the tears. He reaches over and puts his hand on top of mine. I fret that someone will see us, but he seems unconcerned.
“I know you’re worried. Trust me; you’ve never dealt with anything like this before. When you are in the public’s eye, you have to be prepared for things like this. Even the best celebrity deals with such things from time to time. If I have to, I’ll take John to court. I have a case,” he says with a soft smile.
“That’s just it, I’m not a celebrity. You might have a case, but that will not serve me. Anyone who watches the show or anywhere I try to work will see this and decline to offer a position. You know our moral code. You and I broke it.”
Two stray tears run down my cheeks and Royce brushes them off my face. “I’ll take care of you. Do you really think I would forget about you? Of course not! I know this affects both of us. I will not let it stand.”
“How will you manage that? John knows what he’s doing when it comes to this scenario. He has produced some of the most controversial shows aired on television.”
“Actually, I didn’t know that. And quite frankly, I don’t care. He’s not getting away with this. When we started, I signed a contract with him and that protected my reputation. There is no solid proof you and I engaged in something inappropriate; he’s breaching the contract. Any judge would throw his case right out of the courtroom for that,” Royce explains with excitement in his voice.
“There is hope, Kayla, you just have to know how to work the system,” he adds.
I shake my head sadly once more. He looks at me, confused. “What’s wrong?”
“There is concrete proof you and I engaged in things we shouldn’t have,” I say with a quivering voice.
“What do you mean? We were in my office when it happened. No one was around; I made sure of that when we left,” he argues.
“That’s not what I’m talking about. I learned this morning I’m pregnant,” I say in a low tone, in case someone in the coffee shop is aware of what’s going on. I’m afraid someone will video us on their phone or snap a photo and put it online.
Royce is silent for a moment. “Are you sure?”
“Completely. But I’m on the Pill. I mean, I missed one of them right before my period. That shouldn’t have put me at that much risk,” I say with another shake of my head. “It’s supposed to be fine if you miss a Pill in the second half of the pack.”
He nods. “I know, but there are times when accidents happen. You never know what your body will do. If you are referring to hormones, it’s even more unpredictable.”
“What are we going to do?” I ask, my voice still shaking.
“Did you test at home? Maybe give it a couple of days and try again. Since you are on the Pill it might have been a false positive.”
I shake my head once more. “I hoped for that. When I got to the hospital this morning, I had it checked with a blood test. The results were the same—there’s no denying you and I are having a baby.”
He curses under his breath. I look down. He puts his hand over mine once more. “I’m not upset about having a child. It’ll complicate things but I’ll take care of you and the baby.”
“Then what it is?” I’m getting angry, frightened, and have no clue what will happen but am relieved that he’s not abandoning me.
“I’m worried they have the records at the hospital,” he says with a sigh.
“Aren’t medical records private?” More annoyance in my voice.
“They are supposed to be but it won’t take much for one of the nurses to mention to John that a test was done. Of course, that’s more ammunition on our part if it happens. That doesn’t change the fact that it will muddy the house scene on the show.” He doesn’t mean to make me feel worse but fear once again grips me as I think of my future.
How can I take care of a child when I can’t get a job? Do I need to drop out of school? Who will hire me now that this has come to light? So many emotions and thoughts run through my mind, I don’t know what to believe.
“I’m ruined!” I sob, burying my face in my hands. He grabs my wrists and pulls them down, then brushes the tears off my face again.
“No, you are not,” he says with a passion. “I told you I’ll look after you and I mean that.”
I sit back in my chair and sigh. I want to believe him but it’s so hard to trust anyone. If there’s anyone who can get me out of this mess, it’s Royce. Let him handle it.
But my fear won’t let go. It tells me to leave. To run far, far away, and never look back.