Chapter 2: The Rumor That Burns
Lila Harper stepped off the elevator and froze—her desk was a crime scene. "Gold-digger" was scrawled across it in black Sharpie, with "CEO chaser" and worse slashed over her files. The Kane Enterprises office buzzed with Monday morning chaos, but the stares from her coworkers hit harder than the graffiti. Lila's stomach churned, her pregnancy test's two pink lines flashing in her mind. She'd only told Ethan Kane, her billionaire boss, and Maya, her best friend, about the baby. Someone had overheard her confronting him last week, and now the rumor was a wildfire, torching her reputation.
Tina Brooks, Ethan's other assistant, leaned against the coffee machine, smirking like she'd just won a war. Her blonde hair was pulled tight, her red lipstick sharp as a blade. "Rough morning, Lila?" she said, stirring her latte. "Heard you've been… busy."
Lila's hands clenched, her nails biting her palms. "You know anything about this, Tina?" She nodded at the desk, her voice low but sharp.
Tina shrugged, her eyes glinting. "People talk. You know how it is."
Lila wanted to grab the marker and write "backstabber" across Tina's forehead. She'd bet her paycheck Tina was the leak—probably eavesdropping when Lila told Ethan about the pregnancy in his glass-walled office. But she couldn't prove it, and starting a fight would only make her look guiltier. Instead, she grabbed a wet wipe from her drawer and scrubbed the desk, ignoring the whispers from the cubicles.
"Gold-digger, huh?" one intern muttered to another, loud enough for Lila to hear. "Bet she's after Kane's money."
"She's not even that hot," the other replied. "Must've been desperate."
Lila's face burned, but she kept scrubbing, her jaw tight. She'd spent two years clawing her way up at Kane Enterprises, a tech giant that owned half the West Coast's data. She wasn't some scheming fling—she was the assistant who kept Ethan's life from imploding. But one drunk night at the Aspen retreat had changed everything. Now, at 28, pregnant and alone, she was fighting to keep her job, her dignity, and her sanity.
By noon, her phone buzzed with a text from Maya: Office gossip's saying you're trapping Kane. Call me. Lila's stomach dropped. Maya was a bartender, not a corporate shark—she wouldn't have heard this unless it was spreading beyond the office. Lila ducked into a stairwell and dialed her.
"How bad is it?" Lila asked, her voice echoing off the concrete walls.
"Bad," Maya said, her usual sarcasm gone. "Some suit at my bar last night was laughing about 'Kane's assistant with a bun in the oven.' Said you're after his cash. Lila, how the hell did this get out?"
"I told Ethan," Lila said, her throat tight. "Just him. And you."
"Shit," Maya said. "Either he's got a big mouth, or someone's playing dirty. You gotta shut this down."
"I can't," Lila said, pacing the stairwell. "I need this job, Maya. I've got no family, no savings. A baby's expensive, and I'm already drowning."
"Then make Ethan fix it," Maya snapped. "He's the one who got you into this mess."
Lila hung up, her pulse racing. Maya was right, but Ethan had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her or the baby. She headed back to her desk, only to be intercepted by Karen, the HR manager, whose perm and fake smile screamed trouble.
"Lila, a word," Karen said, her voice syrupy. "Now."
The HR office smelled like stale coffee and regret. Karen sat across from Lila, her hands folded over a file. "We've received complaints about your behavior," she said. "Anonymous, of course, but serious. The rumors about you and Mr. Kane are… disruptive."
Lila's jaw dropped. "Disruptive? Someone trashed my desk, Karen. I'm the one being targeted."
Karen's smile didn't budge. "Workplace morale is our priority. These allegations—about a personal relationship with the CEO—are affecting productivity. We need you to resolve this, or we'll have to reconsider your position."
Lila's heart pounded. "You're threatening to fire me because of gossip?"
"I'm saying you need to maintain professionalism," Karen said, her eyes cold. "Clear this up, Lila. Fast."
Lila left the office, her hands shaking. Tina had to be behind this—anonymous complaints were her style. But proving it was impossible, and fighting HR without evidence was suicide. She needed to talk to Ethan, but the thought of facing him after his denial made her sick.
She found him in his corner office, pacing, his phone pressed to his ear. "No, Derek, you don't get to dictate terms," he snapped. "The merger's my call." He hung up, tossing the phone onto his desk, and finally noticed her. "Harper, what now?"
She shut the door, her voice low. "The office thinks I'm a gold-digger trying to trap you. HR just threatened to fire me. You need to fix this."
Ethan's jaw tightened. "Fix what? I didn't start the rumors."
"Your office is glass, Ethan," she said, stepping closer. "Someone overheard us last week when I told you about—" She stopped, glancing at the door. "The baby."
He ran a hand through his hair, looking cornered. "I didn't tell anyone. I've been putting out fires with Derek Voss all week. He's trying to tank the merger, and now he's got this to throw in my face."
Lila's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, 'he's got this'?"
Ethan hesitated, then sighed. "Derek called last night. Said he heard about your… situation. He's using it to paint me as reckless, says it'll spook the board."
Lila's blood ran cold. Derek Voss, Ethan's rival since business school, was a snake who'd do anything to win. If he knew about the pregnancy, the rumor wasn't just office gossip—it was a weapon.
"So what, you're just gonna let him?" Lila said, her voice rising. "I'm the one losing everything here. My job, my reputation—"
"What do you want me to do, Lila?" Ethan snapped. "I told you, I'm not built for this. I don't do kids."
"You don't get to just walk away," she said, her voice shaking with rage. "You're the reason I'm in this mess."
He stared at her, his eyes hard. Then, like a switch flipped, he leaned back, his voice calm but calculated. "Fine. We shut down the rumors. We tell everyone we're together—dating, serious, whatever. It kills the gold-digger narrative, saves my image, and keeps HR off your back."
Lila blinked, stunned. "You want to fake a relationship?"
"It's not perfect," he said, shrugging. "But it's better than you getting fired and me looking like an idiot who can't control his staff."
She laughed, bitter. "You think I want to play house with you after you denied your own kid?"
"You want to keep your job?" he shot back. "This is the deal. Take it or leave it."
Lila's stomach twisted. She hated him—his arrogance, his coldness, the way he thought he could fix everything with a plan. But she needed the job, needed the money, needed to survive. "Fine," she said, her voice ice. "But this is for me, not you."
He nodded, already turning back to his laptop. "Start acting like my girlfriend tomorrow. We'll figure out the details."
She walked out, her chest tight, hating herself for agreeing. She wasn't just carrying his kid—she was now pretending to love the man who'd turned his back on her.
That night, Lila was in her tiny apartment, staring at a pile of bills, when her phone rang. Unknown number. She almost ignored it, but something made her pick up.
"Lila Harper?" a woman's voice said, crisp and no-nonsense. "This is Claire Kane, Ethan's sister. We need to talk about that baby."
Lila's heart stopped. "How do you know about that?"
"I know a lot of things," Claire said. "Like the fact that Ethan's not who he seems. Meet me tomorrow, 8 p.m., at the Blue Moon Café. I've got a secret about my brother that'll either save you—or bury him."
The line went dead. Lila stared at her phone, her pulse racing. Claire Kane was a lawyer, sharp and ruthless, and if she was reaching out, it wasn't to play nice. Whatever she knew about Ethan, it was big. And it might just change everything.