One night with her CEO boss left her pregnant—she fled, but he caught her and kissed her weak.
“Oh my god, you know layoffs are coming. Keep spreading that talk and see where it gets you.”
“Me, spreading rumors? You’re the one afraid of getting exposed.”
“Relax, it’s one of those special meals. You know, the ones they give to pregnant women.”
“Pregnant? Are you sure?”
“Oh yeah, my sister’s expecting and she eats those all the time. Claire, let’s see how you handle this, babe.”
“Vic wants to see you in his office. Sit, Miss Kingsley.”
“Always been so meticulous. So how could you make such a mistake during the layoffs?”
“What mistake?”
“Ethan Stark is my brother-in-law. I’m his fiancee’s little sister. We’re practically family. He bought this hotel for me.”
“I knew you were a big shot the moment I saw you. What do you want to do?”
“Well, I might have a little bit of info you’ll find useful. You want to get pregnant just to avoid the layoffs, would you?”
“How would you even know about that?”
“Secrets don’t stay buried long, Miss Kingsley. No boyfriend, and suddenly you’re knocked up.”
“That’s my private life, sir.”
“Still think that baby saved you? Hotel’s cutting costs, starting with promiscuous women who can’t keep their legs closed.”
“Is being pregnant your definition of promiscuous? How do you think you got here?”
“And for the record, the law says you can’t fire me just because I’m pregnant.”
“Let me be straight with you, sweetheart. You sleep with me, I’ll make sure your name stays off the layoff list. Maybe even get you a little promotion.”
“Hey, stop!”
“Oh, oh my god, Claire, what are you doing? Hooking up with your manager to keep your job?”
“Whoa, Claire. Mr. Lane is married, and he has kids in high school. You’re a home wrecker.”
“Well, given how poor her family is, I say she’d do anything for money. Shame on you.”
“If this is the type of person this hotel hires and keeps, that would be unfair to all of us.”
“It’s not true!”
“Get her out of here. Show everyone the kind of woman she is.”
“Boss is here.”
“Boss, hi! Now that you own the hotel, it’s the perfect time to clean house. This kind of toxic behavior is—”
“What is going on here?”
“Deputy Room Manager Kingsley was just trying to seduce her married boss to keep her job.”
“Miss Kingsley, please stop coming on to me. I have a family.”
“Liar! I didn’t do that.”
“Claire, come on, we all saw you making out with him. I mean, you were kind of kissing him like a starving animal.”
“Yeah, no, we all saw it.”
“Miss Kingsley, please explain.”
“I did not seduce Mr. Lane. He threatened me with layoffs. I am the victim here.”
“That is a total lie, boss. Everybody knows she’s twisting the truth. I mean, just give it up, Claire, come on. We all saw the love bite on your neck on Christmas Day.”
“Claire’s a mess. She’s hooking up with her boss. She’s lying to all of us. I mean, she should be fired.”
“It’s not true, I swear! I have a family and I love them very much.”
“Enough. Take the security footage.”
“Still think that baby saved you? And for the record, the law says you can’t fire me just because I’m pregnant. You sleep with me, I’ll make sure your name stays off the layoff list. Maybe even get you a little promotion. Hey, stop!”
“The truth’s clear enough. Abuse of power. Harassment. Fire him now.”
“Yes, sir.”
“No, sir! Sir, I didn’t mean it. Come on, give me one last chance.”
“Get off of me, you lying pig! How dare you trick all of us, Claire? Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, I had no idea.”
“Everyone out. Claire, stay.”
“Thank you for today, sir. You really are a wise boss.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then I’ll get back to work.”
“Wait. We should talk about what you said. All looks, no skill. That’s about 50 bucks, right?”
“You remember that? I was just joking. I thought you were a gigolo, really. I think you’re great. Really sorry for the misunderstanding.”
“Wait, what about the babies you’re hiding?”
“Sir, they’re not yours. They’re my ex-boyfriend’s.”
“Find out who the father of Claire’s children is.”
The Auction of a Daughter
“Doesn’t matter who the father is—some pretty boy or rich man CEO. They won’t be born.”
“Hi there, I scheduled an abortion. I’m here for the appointment.”
“Miss Kingsley, I’m sorry, we can’t perform that here.”
“What? I have an appointment.”
“We’ll refund your payment. We’re asking those cases to go through a centralized review. Please find another hospital. I’m sorry, we can’t assist.”
“Policy won’t allow it. All our operating spots are booked for the next week. I can’t help you here.”
“Why is every hospital in a city? Claire, are you not coming home for my birthday?”
“Oh, good, you’re back. I want you to meet someone. This is Robert Wayne. Fifty, divorced, he has a 12-year-old son.”
“Nice to meet you, Uncle Wayne.”
“Uncle? Don’t be so formal. He’s only slightly older than you. Think of him as your big brother.”
“Yeah, Claire, think of me as your big brother. We’ll be family.”
“Family? You want to be my stepfather? Are you out of your mind?”
“Mr. Wayne’s come to marry you today. This holiday season, let’s make it special and announce an engagement.”
“What? You’re joking. He’s like 30 years older than me.”
“You idiot, don’t you know older men spoil their women? Don’t you know how lucky you are to have such a mature husband?”
“Mature? Right. His maturity smells like an old man’s basement. Let go! How much did he pay you this time?”
“Shut up. We are marrying you into money.”
“Fine, marry him yourself, you piece of shit.”
“You’ll stay tonight and learn some manners from your big brother.”
“Mr. Wayne, I am so sorry, but my daughter has obviously been spoiled. One night with you, she’ll know how to behave.”
“Are we even family? Am I your real daughter, or am I just something you put a price on?”
“That’s enough. Do it.”
“No, plan’s over. I’m pregnant. Can’t marry him pregnant.”
“Pregnant? Fuck, I just blew all that money on some goddamn washed-up bitch.”
“Robert, please, I can fix this. Wait, the test must be fake. She’s infertile, you’ve had me scared.”
“Relax, I’ve got my own children. I don’t need yours. You are knocked up, and I am not raising some bastard’s kid.”
“Oh no, no. If you don’t satisfy me, I’ll turn your fucking birthday into a funeral.”
“Robert, please, I really will fix this. We’ll make her terminate, and then this won’t be your problem at all.”
“Claire, get back here! Claire, come back, you bitch!”
“Take her to the hospital and get that baby out now.”
