At about halfway through, this became really good. It was ok, then wow.

Re The Baby Verdict - Cathy Williams does the eighth entry in the Expecting series with this updated office romance.

The h is a lawyer from a very dysfunctional family and fiercely independent. She and the H clash from the beginning as her immediate boss, the H's head legal adviser, is sent on medical leave and she has to take his place.

The H shows up and invades her office in a highly sexist manner to ensure that the h is the right lawyer to defend him in an upcoming product liability case. The H deliberately does his best to goad the h in the most patronizing and chauvinistic kinds of ways.

The h is well versed in handing out the snarky put downs tho, so outwardly the H doesn't intimidate her. The H decides she is capable of defending him and his company, so the h gets his defense underway.

In the interim up to the trial, the H has several encounters with the h. First he calls her over to his office at 8:30 at night, after a twelve hour day, as a reason to get rid of one of his lady buffet samples who is getting a little too clingy.

Then he manages to inveigle his way into the h's flat and gets her to cook a very odd and ends dinner for him, when he once again keeps her at work very late into a dark and rainy Friday night.

The h is perturbed by the H's continual importuning on what is supposed to be her off times and tho she has a lot of snarky banter to ward him off, inside she is slowly succumbing to her treacherous body syndrome.

Which seems to be too bad for the h, because like all CW h's she has zero self esteem in herself outside of her career. She constantly compares herself to the noted members of the H's lady buffet and we get a lot of longing and jealousy as the h thinks badly of herself for several chapters.

Eventually the h does win the H's case and when the verdict comes in, she is struck down with flu. The H shows up at the height of her sniffles, but we get no sponging, just a cup of tea and a soft boiled egg or two.

The H maneuvers the h into accepting a weekend on his private Caribbean island by telling her it is a reward for all fourteen of her staff. In a fade to black moment, the H and h have a few nights of purple passion and then we get a time jump to a few months later.

The h never called the H after their weekend fling, she felt more in control of the situation if it was a one time deal. Not surprisingly, as this IS the Expecting series, the h is preggers and the H comes storming over to her flat after he gets her resignation.

The H demands that the h marry him and the h is trying hard to refuse. Her parents had a terrible marriage and her father was a cheating abuser and to the h's mind, the H shows strong cheating and bullying tendencies himself.

However, the h is feeling the tiring effects of pregnancy and she makes several jokes about pregnancy and amnesia when the H asks if she is losing her mind. The H eventually manages to bully her into a semi acceptance of his proposal, but then he tries to seduce the h and she runs out in front of a car.

The h ends up in hospital and the H finally gets that she really doesn't want to marry him. He tells her the marriage is off, tho they will have to come to financial and visitation arrangements and the h is left to have a mopey moment.

The h is mopeying about because she is in love with the H, but she knows he is a major sampler of the lady buffet and she doesn't want to the only one in love in a one sided, unequal relationship. The near miscarriage and the subsequent stay at the H's house make her rethink that sentiment.

The h realizes that she will probably only see the H once a week and that it will really destroy her when he eventually picks out a new lover. So as the h is pondering which is worse, the H's mum shows up and she is kinda mean at first, she thought the h had got up the duff deliberately to hook her son.

But the h has no problems holding her own and the next time jump is a few days later when the H comes banging on the door of the h's flat late at night. His mother and he had been discussing things and the h is wondering if she should confess that she does love him and now wants to marry him, but the H admits that he is smitten first, to the h's huge surprise.

The H knows he is in love with the h because he can't stop thinking about her and he went out with two other ladies, but couldn't get a lurve club thing going on for them. This pleases the h to no end and she finally admits she loves the H back for the pretty funny HEA.

We get a small epilogue where the H and h are deliriously happy together, they have a seven year old daughter and a baby boy on the way, for a very cute finish to a mostly believable HEA.

This one was pretty fast and some of the H's and h's conversations and snark were extremely entertaining. Where this one failed on the reread was the h's attitude towards her looks and herself, her continual self-disparagement seemed a bit forced and the H was maybe a little too enigmatic.

Overall tho, this was a fun and quick read, for a fairly good and surprisingly funny HPlandia outing.