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My overly chipper assistant with fashionable silver hair pops into my doorway with a hesitant expression on his face. “Morning sickness?”

I nod as much as I can without gagging.

“I’m sorry. Pregnancy is a bitch.” He says with all the confidence of a man with three kids already.

Oliver has been with me for the past five years and has become like family.

So, when I came into the office this morning after my doctor’s appointment yesterday, looking distraught and overwhelmed, Oliver dragged the news of my pregnancy out of me, and he’s been fussing ever since.

It’s sweet.

It also makes me want to scream.

“I suspected something when you did not return to the office yesterday and went radio silent. Chandler gave me these ginger chews last night.” He says quickly as he rushes off to his desk. I hear him rustling around before his footsteps announce his return. “They’re supposed to work wonders. Xe got the recommendation during our most recent pregnancy. The first two kids were a breeze. But, of course, the symptoms were awful this last time.”

I try to smile in thanks, but the truth is that every act of kindness and support grates against my belief that I should be able to do this on my own.

That’s what I had planned, after all.

“I don’t know how you did it so young.” I marvel as he hands me a can of ginger ale and a bag full of what looks like candies. “You’re what, 30?”

“Yeah, but it was really our only option, given that xe’s ten years older than me. It needed to happen sooner rather than later.” He shrugs. “I was ready to start a family.”

I crack open the can of ginger ale, taking a few slow sips between deep breaths to calm myself.

“I understand.” I sigh, thinking of my struggles for the past two years. “Biology waits for no one.”

“It was right for us. Our first child was a little bit of a surprise, but I was ecstatic when xe told me the news every time.” Oliver says with a smile before he grows quiet. “When are you going to tell him?”

I sigh, regretting telling him the truth about how I got pregnant versus rolling with the lie of using IUI. “I’m not sure how to.”

“You’ll have to do it sometime.” He says gently. “And soon.”

“I know.” I straighten myself at my desk. “I’ll do it this weekend. I just need some time to wrap my head around the idea.”

“I get that.” He says, a knowing silence growing between us.

“Did you send out the reports for tomorrow’s Board meeting?” I ask, desperate to change the subject.

“Yes. I sent those out this morning. They are in your inbox.” He says.

“Thank you, Oliver,” I say calmly.

“Of course.” He replies with a smile before leaving me to work.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t give less of a fuck about the report for tomorrow’s Board of Directors meeting. I try, I really do. But my eyes just scan the same phrase over and over, still not absorbing anything.

Finally, there’s a knock at my door, and a friendly face appears in the entryway.

Selene Solis de Estrella and I met at The Playground Club about a year and a half ago. We hit it off as friends immediately.

However, it took about three months before I fully learned the extent of her background in technology development. Once I did, I stole her from her former employer and made her my Chief Technology Officer here at Coral Crude.

The petite woman with wavy brown locks and a round body and face, similar to my shorter version, always manages to brighten even my worst days.

They say, “don’t work with friends”, but she’s one of the few people genuinely capable of making me feel anything close to joy.

She’s infectiously cheerful.

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