The ride back to the Hong Kong hotel was silent, yet the atmosphere was thick with unspoken observations. Abby kept her eyes fixed on the neon-streaked city outside, but her mind replayed the instant of touch in the lobby. The feel of Liam's arm, hard, warm, and utterly commanding, had been a shocking anchor in her moment of disorientation. He had reacted not as her boss managing a corporate asset, but as a man instinctively protecting someone vulnerable. That distinction terrified her more than any professional challenge.
As the car pulled up to the curb, Liam's hand landed on the door handle, but he did not immediately open it. He turned to her, his profile illuminated by the streetlights, his jaw set.
"I canceled the dinner meeting," he stated, his voice low. "It cost the company a significant opportunity to build rapport. I did it because your value to the final presentation tomorrow outweighs the cost. But I won't accept this level of compromise again, Abby."
"I understand, Mr. Sterling. It won't happen again," she said stiffly, fighting the urge to rub the spot on her arm where his hand had been. The skin still felt hot.
"No, you don't understand," he countered, his green eyes boring into her. "I don't want a promise. I want a diagnosis. You are running on empty. You are pale, you are dismissing perfectly good food, and you nearly fainted. Is this a migraine, jet lag, or something more serious?"
He paused, his tone shifting from demanding to dangerously investigative.
"Tell me the truth, or I'll have my personal physician check you the moment we land in New York."
The threat was real. Liam Sterling had the power to summon a doctor, and that doctor would run blood tests that would instantly reveal her pregnancy. Panic, sharp and cold, seized her. She had to shut this down immediately.
"It's the jet lag, Mr. Sterling," she said, injecting a subtle, dismissive annoyance into her tone. "The flight was long, and my body is overcompensating. As for the food, I have a new, strict diet I'm following for health reasons. It's nothing that requires a doctor or your concern. My work will be flawless tomorrow, as promised."
She focused entirely on the work, the only shield she had.
Liam studied her face for a long, silent moment. She felt her entire life hanging on his decision. Finally, he gave a slow, reluctant nod.
"Fine. But if I see any indication that your health is impacting your focus, I will pull you from the team. Go get some rest."
He opened the door, and Abby practically vaulted out of the car.
Back in the safety of her sterile, expensive hotel suite, she leaned against the closed door, her heart hammering. She had not convinced him. She had simply bought herself time. His protective surveillance had become a new, constant variable she had to manage.
She was an executive hiding a secret from her boss. Worse, she was a mother-to-be hiding her condition from the father of her child, a man whose intense focus was now dangerously fixed on her. She knew, with chilling certainty, that the closer she got to her due date, the more impossible her concealment would become.