Mat followed Eve into her office after their conversation with Rachel. Being in deep excitement, he closed the door and sat down at her desk. Eve let herself fall into her chair, being lost in thoughts.

„Eve!!! Oh my god!!! Did this really just happen???“ He squeaked. 

She looked at him without responding.

„Hello? Anybody home?“ Mateo said, waving with his hand in front of her eyes.

Finally she paid attention. 

„Did this really just happen?“ She repeated his words.

„Hell, yes!!! It did!!!“ He squeaked again. 

She made another pause before she responded. 

„Can you imagine running a firm with me, Matty?“ 

„Is this a serious question?“ Mat replied. 

„Of course this is a serious question.“

Mateo turned serious. 

„Eve. You became my closest friend over the past few months. I love you. And I can’t think of any better business partner than you. You’re so talented and passionate about your work. And I admire your for your diligence and responsibility. I have no single doubt you can do this. With or without me.“ Mateo answered.

„Without you?“ 

„I need to be realistic, Eve. I have savings but I can’t tell right now if I can really afford buying the shares. You on the other hand just need to ask Josh and…“ 

„Absolutely not!“ Eve interrupted him.

Mateo frowned.

„Why not? He won’t even notice if 500.000 bucks are missing.“ 

„I’m not asking for his money, Matty.“

„Okay, whatever. Tell me what you think? Are we really doing this?“ 

„Well, I guess we have no other choice. If we don’t get on board, Rachel will look for another partner and you know what happens when there’s a new sheriff in town. Things always change and honestly, I don’t wanna risk that the firm turns into something which I don’t like in the end.“

„So, we’re doing this!!! Oh my god!!! I’m probably becoming my own boss!!! How cool is that!!!“ Mateo cheered. 

Eve smiled. Than she stood up and hugged him tight. He hugged her back, still being out of mind. 

„I can’t imagine a better partner than you, Matty. I trust you, I deeply appreciate you and your incredible work and I simply love you for being you.“ She added. 

„Oh my god… don’t you dare making me cry! You hear me, bitch?“ Mateo complained half seriously, while his eyes were filling with tears. 

Eve hugged him once again. After releasing him, she gave him another smile, but she seemed to be kind of concert as well. 

„Honey, why do I have the feeling, that you’re still having doubts?“ Mateo asked. 

Eve took a deep breath and sat down at her chair again. She looked down and played with her fingers before she responded. 

„I want to run that firm, Matty. I know I can do it and it really feels right, but…“ 

She made a pause and looked at him. 

„But what?“

„The thing is, if I become a boss, I can’t become a mom at the same time…“ 

Mateo mouth got open. He stared at her like seeing a ghost. 

„Eve… are you saying… are you…?“ He stammered. 

„No, I’m not pregnant. But you know, that Josh wants us becoming parents one day. The idea having a baby with him was permanently on my mind since we had that conversation. I was thinking about it very intensively. And one week ago… I let my gynecologist remove my birth control implant…“ 

„Oh.My.Fucking.Goodness…“ Mateo stammered again. 

„Josh doesn’t know, Matty. I told nobody about this. The thing is, removing the implant does not mean I’m gonna get pregnant immediately. It takes time till my body get used to the new situation. But… I wanted to be prepared, you know… I wanted to give it a chance…“ 

Mateo closed his eyes and sighed. Then he stood up and kneeled down in front of her. 

„Honey, I completely understand. This is something you really need to think through carefully. Because if you decide running that baby, you can’t take care for another one at the same time.“

Eve nodded and forced a smile. Mateo smiled back calmly.

„Good news is we have an explanation why you made out with Justin.“ 

She gave him a confused look. 

„What the hell are you talking about?“ 

„Your hormones are running out of control right now, girl. I bet you’re horny all day long…“ He teased. 

Eve smirked. 

„You’ve got a point there, Matty. When I see Josh, my mind is immediately drifting into sex and I’m craving for having him inside of me…“ 

„Uh… lucky bastard…“

Eve was lost in thoughts for the rest of the day. She returned home early, as she was exhausted from figuring out how to deal with Rachel’s offer and Josh’s wish for a baby.

„Hey beautiful. I didn’t expect you being home that early as you missed work on Friday.“ Josh said surprised, when she entered the kitchen.

He was standing in front of the coffee maker, waiting for his cup to be ready. Eve came closer and grabbed her arms around his waist tightly. She closed her eyes and deeply inhaled his irresistible scent. Josh hugged her back and kissed her head.

„Is everything alright?“ He asked, when she released him slowly. 

„We need to talk.“ She replied. 

„About what?“ 

Eve smiled and grabbed his hand. He took his cup and followed her into the living room. They sat down at the sofa next to each other.

„What happened, honey?“ He continued asking. 

„Rachel is getting kind of retired.“ She started to explain.

Josh frowned. 

„What does that mean?“

„She’s with a rich guy and wanna travel the world with him. That’s why she offered shares of her firm to me and Mateo in order to quit working and just being a silent partner.“

„Oh wow! That’s amazing! Baby, this are good news, right?“ Josh said in deep excitement. 

Eve smiled lovingly at him as his reaction was absolutely adorable. 

„Yes, this are good news, hon. I really want this and Mateo is freaking out as well…“

Josh pulled her in his arms and kissed her head once again. Then he released her and looked into her eyes.

„I’m so proud of you, baby. Being your own boss will be awesome. And I bet Mateo will be the perfect partner for this. You two have so much experience in that business. There is no one else who could do that job better.“ He said, with a big smile in his face. 

„But working hours will be unreal, at least until we get used to the whole new situation…“ Eve said.

„Well, that’s how things are. And I completely understand that. Be sure I’ll support you and not blaming you for working late.“ 

„Josh… I don’t know what to say… you are truly too good to be true…“

He smirked, before grabbing her face with both hands and placing a hearty kiss on her lips. 

„It’s you, who are too good to be true.“ He replied.

Eve suddenly started crying. She thought about what happened with Justin and that she just put her career first, instead of starting a family with Josh. She felt incredibly guilty and selfish, being convinced she didn’t deserve a man like him.

„Cupcake, hey. Don’t cry. I know it is overwhelming but there’s no need to worry. We will be good. And you will be an amazing boss. I know it, okay? So, allow yourself being happy and enjoy this special moment.“

Eve sobbed and nodded. Josh placed another kiss on her forehead.

„As we have reason to celebrate, you and me are going out tonight.“ He finally announced. 

Eve whipped away her tears and smiled.

„Oh boy, what an incredible honor to get you out of that house for food.“ She teased. 

„This are special circumstances, so I’m willing to make an exception.“ He joked. 

„Baby, how on earth you got a table at 71Above on short call? This is nearly impossible, even for celebrities.“ Eve asked, sitting next to Josh in his Jeep. 

She dressed up for the night as he asked her to do so, wearing a pretty little black dress and black heels. As she didn’t have time for styling her hair, she just put it into a bun and put on some sexy make up. 

Josh was wearing dark blue suit pants with a light grey button down shirt and a matching jacket. 

He grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers.

„I have connections.“ He boasted with a shady grin.

„You mean, you have Eric.“ She teased.

„Exactly.“

Eve chuckled and squeezed his hand.

„It’s really nice going out, just the two of us. And I don’t really care if it’s a fancy restaurant or not.“

„We can still take the McDrive?“ He joked. 

„Nice try, but no.“

The restaurant was at the 71st floor of a skyscraper downtown, with an incredible view at Los Angeles. When they entered the beautiful dining room, Eve turned speechless for a moment.

„Oh Josh… this is unbelievable…“ She finally said, when they got seated at a quiet table close to a giant window.

She looked outside and enjoyed the mind-blowing panorama. 

„I’m happy that you like it.“

„I’m already convinced this is the best restaurant I’ve ever been, even if I didn’t taste the food, yet.“ 

„Trust me, the food is amazing as well.“ Josh replied. 

„Everybody looks so spiffy in here.“ She noticed as she looked at the other guests.“

„Well, they got a dress code.“ Josh explained. 

„Oh, that’s why you’re wearing a suit tonight, hm?“

„No suit, no food.“ Josh replied and smiled. 

However, you look very delicious, Mr. Chasez. And I can’t wait to help you out of that suit when we’re back home. 

Josh grinned shady. 

„I like that plan.“ 

The waitress appeared in the next moment. They choose some red wine and ordered farmer salads for first course, followed by grilled ribeye steaks with date purée and buttermilk panna cotta with strawberry meringue for dessert. 

As Josh announced, the food was mind-blowing. Eve was sure this was the best dinner of her life. 

„Thank you for bringing me here, honey. This was an incredible experience.“ She said, smiling all over her face. 

„It’s my pleasure, my love.“ He replied. „You know what, I don’t feel like going home already.“

„They also have a bar.“ Eve said, giving him a cheeky smile. 

„I know and it’s really good. But I just realized that we’re pretty close to Pablo’s.“ Josh said.

„Pablo’s?“ Eve asked confused, not knowing what he was talking about.

„Oh, ehm. I mean the Saucelito.“ He corrected himself. 

„Yes, we are! Oh my god, that’s a fabulous idea! We are totally overdressed for the Saucelito but who’s cares, right?“ She cheered.

Josh paid the check short after and they left the restaurant. As the Saucelito was in the same street, they left Josh’s car in the parking garage and made a short walk. 

„Oh, honey. It looks closed.“ Eve noticed, as there was just a low light shining through the big windows. 

„It’s not.“ Josh said, smiling at her. 

Then he opened the door and let her walk in first. 

„Babe… something is wrong. No one is here and there are red balloons and flower arrangements everywhere.“ Eve said.

She also noticed smooth music playing in the background. 

„Trust me, nothing is wrong in here.“ Josh said calmly and took her hand in the next moment.