A pregnant pause followed after Nicholas absurd confession, absurd because Kimberly couldn't fathom what strain of madness had hit him in the head.
Her lips slightly trembled as she grinned, but soon she lost it and helplessly threw her head back in a fit of laughter.
Nicholas watched her laugh, not failing to notice the distinctive way at which she did, it was almost infectious, while fighting the embarrassment her laughter stirred in him. "Is that funny?" He asked, his eyes taking in the gold-flecks of her moss green eyes.
Clutching unto her stomach as her body rocked hard with laughter, Kimberly nodded. "It is." She answered as she struggled to pull her laughter to a halt.
"What is this? Did Richard up his ultimatum or did he threaten to dump you in the middle of the Atlantic?"
"No, he didn't," Nicholas rolled his eyes, pleased to know she was having fun at his expense. "But he's threatening something much worse." He added.
The smile on her face slowly vanished when she observed he wasn't joking. She had no idea why she was even seated there and listening to him.
"Look, I'm sorry about what's going on. I have no idea what's going through Richard's mind, and I'll tell you again I have absolutely no hand in any of it—"
"I believe you." He said, cutting her off and surprising her as well.
Kimberly gazed at him, surprise glinting in her eyes. "But I thought—"
"That I was an insufferable fool with no function of his brain?" He arched a brow. There was humor in his voice that left Kimberly much more surprised and wondering what was going on.
"Well, I didn't...You—" she stuttered.
"I'm sorry." Nicholas apologized, once again surprising her.
Kimberly peered at him, keenly. "Wait, what's going on?"
"Nothing. I'm just trying to make things right. I made some assumptions which I shouldn't have made. It was wrong of me and I'm sorry." Nicholas apologized.
Her lashes flitted, and very silently she stared at him. Incredulity and suspicion slowly forming in her eyes, because for some reason she hadn't seen an apology coming, neither had she deemed him capable of doing something as sensible as that.
"I don't know if I should say I didn't see this coming. Or if I should be honest and say I find this suspicious. What do you want, Mr Vice? Because I have a feeling you're not just apologizing." She told him matter factly. She'd be too stupid to buy this act of apology .
"Are you always this blunt?"
"Do you mean if I'm always this capable to assess situations before me?" She asked instead, her arms folding across her chest. "What's this really about?"
She was a tough nut, he'd give her that, and likely stubborn too. He could see why his father had taken a liken to her and not layed her off when they got Brent. And for his sake and hers he really wished she was capable of assessing the situations before her.
"Like I said I want us to get off the wrong foot we started on, and also proffer a solution — a mutually beneficial agreement that would get us out of the situations we're both in."
Kimberly's brows narrowed. "We? If I remember currently you're the one with an ultimatum to lose your inheritance. That has nothing to do with me."
Nicholas nodded. "I agree, but I also know we both are in a situation we'd rather not have anyone know about." He said and something in Kimberly pricked at alert.
"What are you talking about?" She asked in a sharp tone, wondering if by any chance, he knew about her situation.
Sensing that she might get mad and his apology would be thrown right back in his face if he told her he had gone through her stuff and seen the pregnancy result, Nicholas backpedaled.
"What I am trying to say is that my father likes you. And well, I'm sure you'd rather not let anyone know about our first meeting…"
"I beg your pardon?" Kimberly asked harshly as she drew back in her seat, "Are you trying to blackmail me into this?" She asked, her eyes shooting darts at him.
Nicholas raised both hands in surrender. If she was going to get mad regardless of what he said, then he'd rather she got mad for the right reason but at least be reasonable enough to think things through since he was certain she was a logical person.
"I know you are pregnant," Nicholas said and blood drained from Kimberly's face at that.
"What?" She asked in a shaky voice, wondering how he could have known that their one night together had yielded a seed— One that was threatening to ruin her life and all that she had worked so hard to achieve in the last couple of years.
Was that why he was suddenly proposing that she marry him? Because he knew she was carrying his child and he wanted her to be his wife? Kimberly mused as she looked at him, her heart beating fast.
"I have to get married to you to secure my inheritance. You are pregnant, and I don't think there is any man in the picture. Or is there? I'm assuming your baby's daddy is the ex you talked about…"
Hearing that, everything else he said became a blur as it occurred to her that he didn't know he was responsible for the pregnancy.
How then did he know she was pregnant? She asked herself as she tried to focus on what he was saying.
"I believe this is a winwin situation for us both unless you intend to get an abortion. I can provide stability for you and your baby until it arrives. And after I become CEO we can get divorced…" he stopped talking when Kimberly suddenly began to laugh.
Kimberly laughed so hard that tears gathered in her eyes, and the more she laughed the more uncomfortable Nicholas became.
Kimberly couldn't believe the ridiculousness of her situation. The planter of the seed inside her was proposing they get married so he could offer her and the child stability and then get divorced so she would not only be a single mom but a divorcee as well. While he would end up becoming the CEO.
"I didn't realize I said something so funny," Nicholas said as he watched her brush the tears from her eyes.
"How did you find out?" Kimberly asked, looking at him with serious eyes now.
Nicholas looked away from her guiltily, "I admit that I had no right to intrude on your privacy but you can't blame me. You acted sort of suspicious when I walked into your office. I had to investigate what you were hiding. Then I saw the result," he said and anger flashed in Kimberly's eyes.
"You went through my desk?" She asked in a controlled voice.
"I wouldn't exactly call it that. I only…"
"I'm not interested, Mr Vice," Kimberly said as she rose and Nicholas rose as well, "I'm not interested in you, nor in your proposal. I wish you good luck with your ultimatum," Kimberly said, and without sparing him another glance, she walked away, too angry even to return to Richard's room to say goodbye.