Loving Lucian ✅

Chapter Forty Seven

I was working as co-CEO of Monte James, I even had a gold and glass desk plate. I still shared an office with my husband, but he moved the desks so that they formed an L shape, and of course he had to make the room a little more symmetrical, so he made the corner of the L face the back wall, so we were both facing the door and also technically sitting across from each other.

As I got bigger, we got busier. Every five minutes, it was 'Mrs. Montenegro, Mrs. Montenegro, could you blah blah blah'. And I told Lucian not to say anything, because I didn't want my employees to think their bosses were mean and scary. At this point, I was a good six months pregnant.

The door opened, and we both didn't even spare a glance, we were so busy. "Mrs. Monte—"

"Jackson, hi, what can I do for you?" I smiled up at my most determined, but a bit incompetent employee.

Lucian Montenegro

My jaw clenched, I was legitimately annoyed that they were bothering her so much. She'd been having problems with her back lately, and she never complained but I knew that it really hurt for her to get up from her chair and walking made the feeling worse. And on top of that, her feet were swelling and she was getting headaches because of all the stress of work, because she insisted on still doing her job as my personal assistant. She was also bummed out because she wasn't feeling any major movements from the baby yet even though Dr. Hannah said that little kicks and movements may start soon.

"Uh, I need a briefing on the screens, there was an update and I didn't get it." Jackson Elliott was the man I least liked in this whole damn building. He was always needing help with something simple and I'm honestly unsure of how he even earned his bachelor's degree.

"Okay, I'll be there," Peyton grasped onto the edge of her desk and the arm of her chair and pushed herself up with a struggling grunt, placing a hand onto her lower back as she got upright. She took a pained breath, and I couldn't stand it, so I spoke, "Peyton, you really need to rest—Mr. Elliott couldn't you seek help from a tech administrator?"

"This office was the closest to me, and they're busy trying to get the update through to everybody else."

"Lucian, it's really okay, I don't mind. Plus, the day's almost over anyways." Peyton pushed through her ache with a tired smile, rubbing her growing belly, and I instantly knew that she was just trying to not be a burden, and that she didn't want to seem like she was neglecting her employees by telling them to go to someone else. This, was something I was afraid of when I was thinking of sharing the company. I needed to teach her to be assertive. I just sighed and stayed out of it like she said her first day back, and went back to work. I could feel her gaze on me for a solid second, and then she left with Jackson.

It took her an hour to get him to understand the damn designing tablet system update that Peyton enlisted to make digital designing easier and better detailed. When she got back, she started packing up. I could hear her nearly silent whimpers of pain as she would slightly bend over to reach for things on her desk. "I'm...I'm starting to think that having you come back to work was a bad idea."

She glanced at me and bittersweetly grinned. "You firing me?"

"I can't, we're equals. I can only suggest that you take a leave, or go on maternity leave early."

"And that's not happening, because I just started back and I'm needed. I appreciate your constant concern for me, babe, I love you for it, but it's not like if I keep working like this I'm going to go into labor, I'm only 27 weeks. Rory isn't even moving that much, so," ugh, I hated that pitiful little sad look she got, her glowing green eyes bored into my soul and her little pout was so sadly adorable.