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think you should sit back down,” Grant said softly, gently lowering her back to the seat.
    She could only nod and let him have his way. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. Everything had been planned out perfectly. Scowling as another wave of pain racked her body, she realized this baby gave two shits about her plans. Charlie had settled in the chair Grant had lowered her into when she felt a popping sensation followed by the feeling of warm liquid rushing out of her body.
    “Oh!”
    “What is it?” Grant anxiously knelt next to her.
    “I don’t think we can wait for an ambulance. Oh, and I’m sorry about the chair.”
    It was a whirlwind of action after that. It was hard to focus on much as she felt as if her body was being rent in two. She tried the breathing techniques she’d practiced in Lamaze, but they were useless. She’d been slammed with a great wall of pain, and all she could focus on was getting to a hospital and making it stop. At some point while they were gathering her up and ushering her out of the building, she heard Robert Carter directing people around.
    “Ms. Fitzpatrick, Grant and I will take Ms. Ambrose to the hospital. Please contact her family.”
    She tried to extract herself from Grant’s arms and breathe as the contractions came hard and fast. Grant’s father’s high-handed manner set her teeth on edge. He was not going to dictate how this show was going to be run. Before she could object, Mary reached over and squeezed her arm.
    “Charlie, this is not the time to argue. Unless you want to have your baby in a conference room, I suggest you get moving. I’ll follow and give your family a call. Are your brothers or dad on call?”
    Charlie was finding it hard to concentrate as she was racked by another wave of pain. Shaking her head in the negative, she allowed Grant to lead her out the room toward the elevator. When he swooped her into his arms, she was actually relieved, because she found it difficult to walk with each new contraction. She could hear the sharp click clack of Mary’s heels as she ran to keep up with Grant’s much longer strides. Once again, she found her friend was right. Now was not the time to put Robert Carter in his place, but once she felt like her body wasn’t being drilled with a jackhammer, she’d let him know he wasn’t going to be able to control her life.
    ***
    Grant didn’t have time to process the initial shock of Charlie trying to deny him his rights as a father before she went into labor. Carrying her to the elevator, he briefly took in the curious stares of the firm’s staff. With his father barking orders into his cell phone and Charlie’s friend Mary following quickly on their heels, his only focus was getting them to a hospital safely.
    The elevator took them to the ground floor, where the driver for the limo service they used was waiting next to a car. He quickly opened the back passenger seat for Grant to lower Charlie into. He could tell she was in a lot of pain, and it made him feel useless. Aside from some quick reading he’d done about pregnancy after he’d learned the news, he had no idea how to comfort her. He sprinted to the other side of the car and quickly got in next to her and held one of her clenched hands.
    The argument they’d had earlier seemed like a distant memory. His only focus was getting her to a hospital and making sure she and the baby were safe. The onset of labor had seemed like a complete surprise to her, and the thought that the stress of meeting with him could have caused problems left him feeling guilty.
    “You’re doing great. Was the baby due now?”
    Grant tried to keep the note of concern from his voice, but when he looked into Charlie’s strained face he couldn’t keep the emotion from his face.
    “The baby wasn’t due for another two weeks. I’d been having false labor off and on, but this is definitely the real deal.” Charlie smiled weakly, then her face contorted into a mask of pain