The FIRE in You

Chapter 49: She's fucking pregnant?

Lawrence's POV

I arrived at the Annual Achievement Awards ceremony looking sharper than I usually did. It was a special day after all so why not.

I bet Aubrey won't be able to take her eyes off me. I remembered how I used to turn her on just by looking at her and even when she was pissed at me one whisper in her ear about what I was willing to do if she forgave me made her crumble right in front of me.

The thought made me smile as I walked off the red carpet after posing for some pictures.

I walked into the ceremony hall and it was lively as usual. It made me smile. I went to the bar and took a drink then started networking.

There were a lot of people I hadn't seen before so it was easy to get mixed up in conversations. Being number 3 on the list made it even easier. Everyone wanted to hear what I had to say and how I made it so it didn't take long for me to be the center of attention.

"Well well well. I hear you've had a rough year Columbus. How are you holding up?", Fitzgerald asked making me give him a fake smile as I stepped aside so he could join our cocktail table. "I'm doing great besides, what's the beauty of doing business if you don't get challenged every once in a while?", I asked back making him chuckle. He greeted the rest of the people I was standing with and the conversation moved from me to the market trends.

As time went by I felt my heart race. I knew Aubrey would arrive any minute now even though being late was not her style.

"Lawrence! It's good to see you... how are you?", Netherenes said with a huge smile as he approached me at the bar.

I needed to move. Standing in one spot and having to tolerate Fitzgerald's bragging was starting to piss me off. Who knew doing that would make me meet an even bigger moron.

Back to the number 1 billionaire... Why was he being nice to me?

"Netherenes. What do you want?", I asked trying not to show that I was irritated by his presence but failed miserably. "Relax Lawrence, it's not time for you to get a heart attack yet", he said sarcastically but his words told me I was screwed. "Being the lead in the industry that has nothing to do with you is not something you should be proud of Netherenes. We both know you're gaining nothing by joining the renewable energy industry. It's playing dirty and you know it", I said making him smirk.

"I wish that was what I was talking about", he said then pointed at the door. When I turned my heart almost ran out of my chest.

It was Aubrey... 

She had arrived, and she was holding onto the Fire Boy's arm as they walked in. She looked amazing in a nude sparkling dress. It made her dark chocolate skin, brown hair, and brown eyes look a shade lighter if that was even possible.

Perfection.

My eyes fell on her belly and it was huge. I mean she is a 5.2 ft woman, size 18 and curvy but...

FUCK!

"And there it is. Need a chair? You don't look so good", Netherenes said in a low voice as if he didn't want people around us to hear then chuckled as he walked up to them. He gave the Fire Boy a bro hug then kissed Aubrey's forehead and moved to Aubrey's VP who had a woman by his side. Judging by the level of respect Netherenes showed her, I bet she was McGlen's wife.

Disappointment.

Frustration.

Anger.

It was overwhelming.

I'm gonna kill him.

He had no right to take it this far. 

"Control yourself. You're attracting too much attention", Father's voice reached my ears as he pulled me in a hug. I had no idea he had arrived. I hugged him back then took a deep breath and put on a plastic smile that always got me out of anything.

"Thanks", I said then turned to greet Lloyd who looked like he had seen a ghost. I followed his line of sight and saw he was looking at Aubrey's PR Manager. I furrowed my brows. "Lloyd? You know her?", I asked and he nodded. "Yeah...", he said then turned to the bar and ordered a drink.

I knew he was hiding something but I was too focused on Aubrey to care.

"People are looking at you. You need to control yourself and go say hi to them", Father said but there was no way I was going to do what he wanted. "I'd rather die", I said with my smile still intact.

I turned to the bar and decided to focus on Lloyd. I was about to ask him about the PR manager when someone stepped next to me. "Hello Mr. Columbus, the world is so small don't you agree?", I turned to see Aubrey's PA looking at Lloyd with a huge smile. "And you are?", I asked pretending not to know her. "Oh come on, let Mason Smith have some dignity will you?", she teased making me smile.

She was the best PR in the business for a reason, I would have been surprised if she didn't know about Mason. "Lydia is it?", I said trying to see what she wanted. "Yes, thank you for noticing. I honestly thought you were one of the CEOs who send people to poach without knowing the people you want but I stand corrected", she said then passed a white envelope with the Forever Bright logo on it. "Thank you for reaching out but I love to do what I do with loyal people. The day you know what that means, give me a call", she said with a wink then left.

"She hasn't changed, huh!", Lloyd said then took a sip of his whiskey. "And how would you know?", I asked hoping I would finally understand why he was being stingy when he saw her. "Maybe because she's the one that got away", he said then finished his whiskey in a go. My eyes went wide with shock.

I was about to confront him when I saw Alfred and Fire Boy at the other end of the bar. They looked like they were having a deep conversation. When my eyes met Alfred's he nod then went back to talking to Fire Boy.

I couldn't believe how a low life like him could take my woman and my friend.

What the hell was happening?

I released a breath then decided to use the opportunity to look for Aubrey and try to reason with her even though that would mean taking care of the bastard's child too. I was ready to do anything to get her back at this point.

I looked around and saw her talking to a couple of board members of the event. I knew half of them so I decided to go join them.

"He's amazing I tell you. You should check it out. Their ribs are to die for", "Aubrey, that's a huge bet you're putting on the table are you sure this diner is all that", "I'm positive. Talk about forgetting knife and fork at the entrance and really digging into the whole thing", she said and they laughed. "I agree with Aubrey. I joined her once and I have to admit the food was amazing", I said making them turn.

They looked surprised but welcoming while Aubrey looked bored. "If Columbus has green-lighted it... I'm in", one of them said and they all laughed.

We continued talking for a while which brought back memories of when Aubrey used to accompany me to such events. To be honest she blended in nicely unlike Maya.

I made the mistake of taking Maya to one event I had to attend and she didnt even survive half of it. I had to call an Uber for her.

Aubrey could command the crowd and make them listen. She understood corporate politics and knew her way around such events. With her by my side, it was easy for me to be taken seriously but now. 

Nobody cared.

"Aubrey, can we talk for a second please?", I asked when I managed to get closer to her.