9

(The following week:)

Jane had all the interns standing around the conference table in silence as she went through each of the designs they had in mind, cancelling the ones that didn't meet the requirements for the client's request. She was having trouble choosing between the last two; Crusé or the Brauile. Both had exquisite style which was what their client wanted.

The CEO, James Paul, came in minutes later and they all greeted him respectfully, Jane not taking her eyes off the pamphlets yet, not that he minded anyway as he began talking.

"I'm sure you're all very excited to be taking part in this grand opening of the hotel," he said which earned him hoots and applauds from the young and vibrant graduates. It has been the talk of the shows and the media has been covering every second of the planning process leading to its opening in just a few days time.

"Jane, your team will have their travelling papers finalised this afternoon, do pick them up latest tomorrow before your flight, obviously," he said which earned laughter from everyone. She smirked and gave him a playful eye roll.

"Tomorrow is too soon though, Sir. We still have to choose which agency we're going with and make all the last minute phone calls to make sure everything is in place before the grand opening-"

"And that is exactly why I called in an extra pair of hands that have been in the 3D side of this hotel," he cut her off with a smile, motioning to the door.

She did a double take when she realised it's him standing by the door, casually leaning on the wall with his hands in his pockets. To her surprise, he must have been there for quite a lot of time. Has he been watching me? She wondered, turning her head away when she realised she's been staring impolitely.

She tried to lost past the way his eyes lit up when they made eye contact and focus on the task at hand. They've worked on buildings well in the past. This was just another one of those. She couldn't deny that her heart was beating a little faster because of the way he was looking at her. It took her back to the first day they met and the way he stared at her when she bumped into him outside the bathroom.

Oh, how she wished they were again and not in this mess.

"Mr Surogiv, please come in," James said before motioning to the group. "Everyone, this is the architect and director of our partnering company. As most of you all know he's the one that designed the hotel and will now be working alongside Ms Scott to oversee that it comes to life. It's a pleasure to have you on board with this project."

"Thank you for inviting me, Mr Paul. I look forward to having a fun time with you all and hopefully we get more collaborative projects in the near future, yeah?" he asked politely, smiling when he saw how all the interns' eyes agreed with him before he faced Jane who was doing a good job at avoiding him. Looking down to what she was studying intently, he whispered. "By the way, I like the Crusé better."

He watched her ear tips go red. She's blushing, he shrieked in his head and wanted to hug her and kiss her to no end. But not now, he reminded himself.

"Thank you," she said softly, closing the portfolio of the other design. "You're all dismissed," she instructed the interns and without hesitation, they all quickly and quietly filed out of the room. James followed right after. She packed up her documents and tried to make a smooth exit but he quickly put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

Her eyes shot up to his hand resting on her shoulder and she subconsciously put her other hand on her belly, using the portfolio to cover to the hand that was softly rubbing small circles on it. She avoided looking at him. What if he saw right through her what she's been trying to cover? What if he doesn't want her to keep it?

"Perhaps we can go out for some coffee and talk about the final preps we need to make for the hotel?" He said, his thumb drawing slow circles on her shoulder. She passed him a warning look and subtly tugged his hand off of her before walking away.

"Perhaps," he heard her mumble lowly.

***

He arrived before her at the restaurant and chose a table that was secluded. He knows that she didn't like to sit in the centre nor by the window. She valued privacy and wouldn't be comfortable sitting in the middle of other people while trying to have a good time.

He was busy skimming through his mail notifications when his eyes went up on their own accord and spotted her at the far end, patiently looking around for where he was. He got up and walked up to her all the while ignoring the stares of women seated with their dates. She smiled a little when she spotted him and for a moment he felt as though it went back to the way it was before.

But this wasn't a fantasy and he wouldn't have his happy ending. Not yet anyway. And he understood and respected that he needed to earn her trust from the beginning once again.

"I'm glad you made it," he said as he put his hand on her lower back and led her to where they were spending the evening.

"I almost cancelled on you."

His mouth formed a small 'o', he wondered why. "You aren't feeling well again?"

"No, I just didn't want to see you," came her reply but the small smile on her face reassured him that she was just joking.

"Now why would you deprive yourself from seeing this handsome face?" He joked as he pulled her chair out for her before taking his seat.

"Handsome?" she repeated.

"You look gorgeous by the way," he said as his eyes trailed from her face, taking notice of the small diamond earrings she had with a necklace to match, slight makeup and the lightly dubbed perfume he got a whiff of when he walked close to her. He noticed her satin dress and what he imagined was lace and polyester underwear. He remembers that those are her favourite materials.

"Thank you, I like how you cleaned up," she said as she noticed he shaved his growing stubble.

"How long do you think it'll take us to have everything in place?" He asked and just then the waitress came to take their order.

"For the hotel? I already have that taken care of. Fifty six hours should be sufficient if we work from 7a.m. to 9p.m. We only have four days to get this done and after that it's the invitation and sitting arrangements in one of the conference rooms, plus getting a finalised list of people who will be attending. Those that aren't sure also need to have provisions made for them just in case they show up. It's an invites-only celebration."

"Seven to nine?" He asked, thinking he misheard her.

"That's all you picked up?"

He scoffed. "I'm sorry but I don't think that's considerate. Who wants to wake up at seven o'clock and go to bed again at nine?"

"What do you suggest?" she raised an eyebrow.

"That we wake up at 8a.m., get there by nine and sign off again at 6p.m.. Give the interns an early night. It's Cuba we're talking about, who wouldn't want to have a fun night?"

"We're going there for work."

"And they need to learn that by having a good time as well. Give them an early night and they'll to do their best the next morning. We can also give ourselves a break," he winked.

"But that's like what, ten hours? What will we achieve in nine hours, Nate?" She asked, feeling quite upset that they might not have everything done by the deadline.

Their food arrived and they took the time to think this idea through. Once the waitress was done, he looked at her again. He sensed her unease and placed his hand on hers and smiled when she didn't pull away. Even though she kept looking down at their hands like she wanted to.

"Relax, I'll draw up a schedule with what we'll do at what time and the people responsible for getting that done," he promised. He had the advantage of making sure they spent as much time as possible together with this schedule he'll draw tonight.

When she nodded he sighed with relief and went back to his food but looked up again when she covered her nose with the back of her hand. "Nauseous?"

"Kinda. It's the corn," she said as she glared at it, her stomach unwell. He scooted his chair closer to hers and motioned to his dish.

"Wanna trade?" He offered. He didn't mind eating the corn even though it was his least favourite vegetable.

"You sure?" She asked and pushed her plate to him when he nodded. He scrapped the corn in his plate and exchanged it with spinach and mashed potato into hers. She almost grinned when he offered to trade some of his food with her even though he expressed his hate for bright vegetables when they used to live together.

"Thank you," she said, rubbing her stomach under the table. He took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly.

They ate their dinner that way; a light and fun-filled conversation about everything. For once they forgot the mountain standing between them and she wanted to tell him there and then that she was carrying something partly his but she didn't want to ruin the evening. Who knows when else she'll get to be this close to him and not think of the way they ended things?

They laughed and teased each other for the remainder of the night. His hand frequently touched hers and she figured he wasn't even aware that he was doing that.

"I had a fun time with you, Jane."

"Me too, Nate," she said as she stood by her car and reached for her door but he beat her to it and held it open for her. "Thank you. For tonight and-" everything she wanted to add but stopped herself. It was just one night to forget everything that happened and laugh with him. It wasn't a sign that she was forgiving him already.

"It's no problem, really," he said, knowing that she needs time. He motioned for a hug which she hesitantly fell into, patting his back lightly. His arms snaked around her waist as he held her firmly against him. Close enough to feel her chest rise and fall and feel her breath against his neck. She froze, feeling extremely self-conscious.

What if he feels the baby? she wondered, but as he sighed into the hug, she allowed her walls to come down for a millisecond and all the feelings resurfaced. Her heart ached at the remembrance of the affair and she felt tears pool in her eyes. Even though it cut her deep, a part of her still ached for him.

"I miss you."

He creased his eyebrows when he heard that. He was sure he didn't say anything out loud. He pulled away slightly, enough to see her face and see that she had unshed tears in her eyes as she stared right into his soul.