Going through the entire presentation for the AI development project had taking every bit of the nine hours at the office Liz had allocated. Checking and double-checking geographical surveys, evaluating this new technology impact and recalculating estimated financial budget to ensure everything was right – it all took time.In the end, though, she knew the staffs responsible for this project were ready.The investor would actually be at the meeting, and she was a little worried about that. After what happened last time with his associates who’d come to seal the deal, it would be the first time that she’d be meeting the investor himself.She’d heard he was a real hard-ass about cost-savings, but the solutions she and her team had proposed were the right ones, so were the terms and conditions mentioned on the contract. Maybe not the cheapest solutions and ideas, but her team clearly agreed they had identified the best options.Rolling up the final set of plans, she tucked them into the

The moment Adrian saw Liz when he sneaked into her bedroom; he knew something was wrong, seriously wrong. It wasn’t just the frown on her face or the dark circles under her eyes or the streaks on her cheeks that told of recently shed tears.The spoon and half gallon of ice-cream in her hand, and the big glass of water sitting beside her on her bedside table said a whole lot, too.He’d come right after he’d gotten her text message. She’d left the main door open for him.Seeing her in such a wretched state, his stomach dropped and he went right to her, taking the ice-cream out of her hands and pulling her into his arms. He had an idea why she was so upset – her grandpa.He knew that she had a dinner meeting with him and seeing how her grandpa has recently been pretty pissed off and ignoring her, anyone could have guessed that dinner didn’t end well.He didn’t say anything, and when she opened her mouth to speak, he stopped her with a kiss.She dropped the spoon to the floor with a clatt

“Liz,” her grandma stood in the doorway of her bedroom. “What’s the matter, my child? Why do you look so upset lately? You didn’t go at work today?”The worried-looking expression on her grandma’s face made her sad. She closed the short distance and held her hand. Gently pulling her toward her bed, Liz sat her down on the edge of it before taking a seat beside her. “Grandma, I need to tell you something.”“What is it about? Tell me,” the old woman softly said as she squeezed Liz’s hands reassuringly in hers.“I’m – I’m pregnant.” Liz hesitated for a moment, fearing her response.She closed her eyes and waited, too afraid to look at her grandma’s reaction.Her heart pounded anxiously, her chest heaving and her breath uneven. She felt a lump forming in the back of her throat when her grandma’s hands slipped from over hers. She mustered up some courage and opened her eyes to look at her.Her grandma was frozen in shock, staring into space but with the lines that had formed across her for

“Don’t you realize what you’ve done, and what you’re on the verge of throwing away? If I ever had a daughter and made her feel half as crappy about herself as you do, or ever gave one tiny hint that I wasn’t overjoyed to have been blessed with my child’s presence in my life – no matter what their sex – I’d go right out and jump off a bridge.” Adrian ground out.He was breathing hard, feeling the heat in his face, and glowering at the older man, so it took a second before he heard the clapping. Casting a quick glance at Liz’s grandmother, he saw her applauding and nodding in agreement.As for Mr. Walters, he was so red in the face he looked like his head was about to pop off. His mouth kept jerking, and his head shaking, like he was forming an entire count of scathing retorts, but couldn’t come up with just the right one to lead off the assault.Liz was watching in silence, tears streaming down her face.And Adrian had just had enough. He’d kept quiet this whole time believing it would

The paramedics had gotten Logan out on a back board and loaded him into an ambulance to take him to the closest hospital – St Richard’s.Liz had tried to help as much as she could, but eventually she’s realized she was just getting in the way and so she’d stood back and watched, feeling very strange at the turn of events.Had she not listened to her grandpa and stayed in her office, things might have not escalated this far. She would have stopped Adrian. She would have stopped them both from fighting.Logan’s state wasn’t good. His pulse was very weak.Now, she stood in the hospital corridor, feeling at a loss as to what to do next. Feeling stunned… the enormity of what had just gone down in the office was slowly sinking in.“Liz!”She turned at the sound of his voice, feeling a rush of relief, a surge of relief in her heart at seeing Adrian again, standing there waiting for her. Some police officers were taking his statement.He looked ruffled and stressed, and his hair was going eve