Chapter 2

It wasn't easy, being told off by your friends for so many scandals with your name on them.

Alexander Parr knows the feeling. He had just been the subject of online scrutiny again—a photo of him and a girl in fishnet stockings and miniskirt being on every online news article. He groans, as Kyler Wood, his best friend and Head of Sales, taps his foot in front of him. His eyebrow raised as he crossed his arms. "Anything to say for yourself?"

What was there to say? He needed to relieve himself so he found himself a "distraction" for the night. It wasn't that deep. "Oh, please," Alex groans, "as if you've never gone out and got laid before."

Kyler simply rolls his eyes. He can't believe his best friend. He just can't. You'd think after getting the company passed on to you, you'd earn a bit of maturity and decency. Apparently, that isn't the case with Alex. "For fuck's sake, Al. Can't you lay low? For once—just once, I'm begging to be mature enough—or at least, even a bit discreet, about these things," Kyler practically begs. Alex, being Alex, just shrugs it off. His best friend looks ready to gouge his eye out at any moment, pulling at his own hair as he groans. "I swear, one of these days I might actually kill you for being so insufferable."

"Aw, come on," Alex smirks, "you can't live a day without me."

Kyler could only sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just please," he looks at Alex, pleading through his eyes. "Please just lay low. Not forever, just until the article dies down?"

Alex decides to have mercy on his friend and sighs. "Alright, fine," he says, raising his hands up in defeat. "I'll lay low for now. No hookups, no public "dates". Just li'l ole' me in my lonesome," he continues, settling down in his office chair. Kyler nods triumphantly at that. "Good."

The man turns to walk out of the office, but stops midway and turns back to look at Alex. "You're not really serious, are you?"

"Nope," Alex smiles widely, finding it amusing how the man caught his bluff. Kyler clicks tongue and glares. "Alex--," he starts before he hears his phone ring. "Hello?"

He proceeds to walk towards the door, sending one last glare towards his best friend as he steps out the office. Alex rolls his eyes and sighs. There's no point dilly-dallying, especially since he's left alone again. He boots up his computer to some paperwork and check his e-mails. Ticking each one he deems insignificant and adds them to his trash.

He takes a break an hour or two later, stretching his arms up and yawning. Looking around, it seemed so lonely in his office. He didn't mind it--it's been this way for a long time. It's the same thing at home, anyway. Nothing new.

Checking his clock, he beeps up his secretary, asking her to pick up his lunch from the restaurant nearby. "Get something for yourself, too, while you're there," he says through the coms. "Yes, sir," was the happy reply. He knows his secretary, Grace Pole, had been ecstatic the entire day but he doesn't know why. He planned to ask her when she returns. They usually eat lunch together.

Grace had been his uncle's secretary for over two years, and became Alex's own when he inherited the company after his uncle officially retired. She's been with Alex for nearly four years now. If you think about it, Grace nearly acts like an older sister would. Scolding him, caring for him, looking out for him--he couldn't have asked for a better secretary who's so thorough with their work.

He cracks his sore knuckles from all that typing and cracks his neck side-to-side, feeling the soreness from sitting up straight the entire time.

A few minutes pass and Grace arrives, paper bag in hand. She sets his lunch on the coffee table where they normally eat. Her smile not once fading from her lips. They settle down and begin eating, Alex slowly studying Grace from his seat on the office couch.

"Alright, spill," Alex frowns at her. Grace looks up at him in surprise. "What do you mean, sir?"

"Don't 'sir' me, G," he raises a brow at her, putting down his food and crossing his arms. "Why are you so happy today?"

Grace puffs out a chuckle. "What? Can't I be happy just because?"

Alex's frown deepens in confusion, he just shakes his head, thinking this was just another one of those days where Grace doesn't make sense. He takes a bite, Grace sighs, and looks at him with a smile. "I'm pregnant."

Alex suddenly inhales a slice of steak, the piece going down the wrong pipe just a tiny bit. He has a coughing fit as Grace raises her brows in surprise. She had half-expected that, but it still surprised her.

She hands her boss a bottle of water, which he chugs down. He wipes his mouth after he calms himself. "You're--," a cough, "--pregnant?"

Grace beams, hand landing on her tummy. "Oh, wow. Holy--just... wow," Grace can't help but chuckle at Alex--his reaction is just too priceless. "Well, at least you didn't faint," she says, taking a bite of her pesto. Alex looks at her, eyes wide, a grin forming. "Did Jonathan?"

Grace laughs and nods. "Oh, yeah," she says, shaking her head. "I showed him the tests and he just fell on the spot," her laughter dies down a bit. "I thought he didn't want it, but the second he woke up, he begged me to say that it wasn't a joke," Alex smiles at his friend, listening intently to everything she has to say. As she told him everything that went down, they ate and laughed, like they always did.

"I'm planning on extending the house, you know? Add a little baby room, connected to the masters' bedroom. It would be easier to get to the baby," she muses. In Alex's head, he's already looking up the best architects and engineers that could help them, and thinking of the best toy stores and baby shops to buy baby things. "That would be nice. Then you can just close it off when they older, or reserve it for the next one."

Grace smiles at that thought. The next one. It would be nice, indeed.

Alex had a skip in his step the rest of the day. Not even Kyler's constant reminder could annoy him at this moment. He was going to be an uncle. He liked the sound of that. His smile grows wider as he types away in his computer, back at work and stacked with paperwork. But he didn't mind.

At least, not for today.