The Kings IV I

11

Fred

I rubbed my hands together, stepping out of the elevator. Meredith looked up from her desk and lifted an eyebrow. "You're late."

"Sorry," I said, "Lex and I felt the baby kick."

"And that took," she looked down at her watch, "an hour and a half?"

"Well, when you find a man to impregnate you, maybe you'll experience the same joy. Good morning to you, too."

I shrugged out of my jacket and she stood, hanging it up for me. "You missed a call."

"I'll get it," I said, walking into my office. "God."

Jo looked up from the papers he was looking down at, pulling his glasses off of his face. "You're late."

"I'm aware," I said, "why is she being such a bitch?"

He looked over his shoulder at Meredith, grinning. "She didn't get her morning view of Mr. King."

"What'd I miss?" I asked, falling back in my plushy chair.

"Just a call with Terrance, apparently. And the only reason I know that is because Meredith bitched to me about it."

"What is her problem?" I muttered, looking up at him.

He shrugged, standing up. "No clue. I heard you and Lex felt the baby kick?"

I nodded, covering my mouth with my hand. "It was insane, man. He's going to be a linebacker."

He chuckled, dropping his head. I knew kids had never been on Jo's to-do list, but I felt bad talking to him about the baby. Maybe deep down, he wanted children, and knew it wasn't something that he could have.

"Hey, I, uh, I wanted to keep this to myself," I said, looking up at him, "but Lex and I bought a house."

Josiah King and I hadn't spent a day apart in our lives- I thought I'd seen every emotion, every expression, everything he could ever do.

But I'd never seen this.

"You bought a house?" He asked, a look of shock still plastered on his face.

I nodded, staying on eggshells. I wasn't sure of his reaction, so I didn't want to say too much.

He scratched the nape of his neck. "Are you keeping the penthouse?"

I shook my head. "Lex and our realtor, they're showing it today. The couple seems really interested."

His face contorted a few ways in a matter of seconds. He looked away from me and blew out a breath, shaking his head. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know how you'd react," I said.

He knitted his brows together, his jaw taut. "And this was a better way to spring it upon me?"

I stood up, leaning against my desk. "Jo, we're starting a family."

"I'm not confused about why you got it," he said, shaking his head, "I'm confused as to why you didn't say something."

"Again, I didn't know how you'd react," I said, folding my arms over my chest.

"Well that's a shitty explanation," he muttered, gripping his hips.

"You might not admit it, but you get attached. Even you, Josiah King, like the thought of security."

"Don't flatter yourself," he said, walking towards the picture windows of my office.