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ranging from utilities to medical, crowded her center table. She had
forestalled her job search, wanting to finish out the semester, but now that
classes were over, her bills were piling up and she didn’t even know where to
begin.
    Nate
had made his point loud and clear. Two weeks had passed and still no word from
him. It hurt her but Mia refused to let his callous attitude discourage her. She
was prepared to raise her child as best she could, with or without him. She
would have to put school on pause, which she didn’t want to do, but her baby
came first. She fully intended to go back once her baby was born.
    She
had weighed her options seriously but it all led to one definitive decision. With
Nate keeping his distance, and no job for her to get to, there was nothing
tying her here. She would return home to raise her baby. She would miss Chicago
as it had been her home these past six years, but she wasn’t prepared to do
this on her own and she had more than herself to think about now.
    Mia
placed her hand over her belly and felt the firmness there. A fierce
protectiveness overcame her. The reality that she was now responsible for
another life changed everything. What she wanted didn’t factor anymore.

 
 
 
    Chapter Four

 
    He needed
to see her.
    It
had been about two weeks, and Nate didn’t think he could hold out any longer. He
didn’t care that she hadn’t called first. He just wanted to see her. Now that
he was back from his fool’s errand—the global summit his father had insisted he
attend—Nate was eager to get to the office.  
    When
he arrived at McArthur, Murphy and Company, however, he was disappointed to
find an older woman sitting behind the executive assistant’s desk. Nate strode
into his father’s office and asked without preamble, “Where’s Mia?”
    Charles
looked up from the document he was reading. “Welcome back. How was your trip?”
    Nate
walked up to his desk but didn’t respond. Charles laid down the papers and
leaned back in his chair. “Stop glowering at me and have a seat, Nathan.”
    Nate
fell into the seat nearest him. “Where’s Mia?” he asked again.
    Charles
raised a brow. “You seem awfully concerned about my former assistant.”
    Former? Nate stared levelly at his father. So he knew. Now he
understood why his father had sent him to a summit that had been more of a
glorified networking event. Nate hadn’t gleaned anything resourceful for MMC.
    “Did
you fire her?” Nate asked, his tone devoid of emotion.
    Charles
cocked his head to the side and regarded him closely. “I don’t know what you and
Mia had going on here, and frankly I don’t care, but you could do a lot better
than a barely competent executive assistant.”
    Nate’s
jaw clenched. Charles McArthur was an unbelievable snob. He looked down his
nose at anyone who didn’t fit into his social circle, but Nate had made certain
no one at MMC knew about his relationship with Mia, particularly not his
father. It had been more for her protection than his. If he hadn’t expected his
father to make things more difficult for her, he wouldn’t have cared who knew
about them.
    Charles,
however, had done more than make things difficult for her. He’d fired her for
his own personal reasons. The company may have filed it as a lack of competence
or whatever but Nate knew it had been largely out of spite on his father’s
part. Nate hadn’t missed the look his father had given them when she’d last
been in here and he hadn’t been able to tear his eyes away from her. She had
been only a heartbeat away from him. Nothing had ever been more difficult than
for him to hide his reaction behind his usually cool indifference and not reach
for her.
    “Anyway,
I suggest you get her out of your system,” his father continued. “She’s gone
now, and I don’t need you distracted.”
    Nate’s
eyes flared. His father was the last person who should suggest anything to him
about his relationships. His marriage