Page 115 of Play the Game
It can take a while for first time moms.
Go to the hospital when the contractions are five minutes apart.
Call me if your water breaks.
Seems simple enough.
“Get your shit together, Evan,” I mutter. “You’ve argued impossible motions in court with nothing but luck and a prayer and won. You can fucking do this. Call the doctor and figure out what the hell to do, then text Cooper.”
Feeling better with a plan, I toss back my hair, straighten my skirt, square my shoulders, and leave the stall, washing my hands and then shoving open the door of the bathroom, striding to reception in full badass bitch mode to grab my stuff and get to my phone.
“Evangeline, can I see you in conference room B please?”
I whip around to see Austin standing behind me, arms crossed over his chest and mouth set in a firm line. Everything about him screamsdispleased, and to make matters worse, that smarmy trust fund baby associate Fidget Spinner Kevin is standing behind him, mirroring his pose. Badass bitch mode tries to leave the chat, but I hold onto it for dear life. “Can it wait? I’m a little busy right now, and we have a meeting in an hour.” I have no idea whether I’ll even be at that meeting in an hour, but whatever it takes to get Austin off my back.
“No, Evangeline, it can’t wait. Conference room B. Now.” He spins and starts walking down the hall with the confidence of aman who knows he’s going to be followed. I consider just not going, but then Kevin glances down at my belly, smirking at me and turning to follow Austin.
Oh fuck no.
I’ll hold the baby in with my own goddamn hands before I let this dudebro fuckboy best me. Snatching my bag and files off the counter, I walk to conference room B, striding through the door, trying to project moreconfident lawyer who is not here for your shitand lessterrifiedwoman who might give birth on the conference room floor.
When my stomach clenches again as I go to take a seat, I grit my teeth, white knuckling the conference table and digging my toes into the bottom of my shoes. I fight to keep my face neutral and my eyes narrowed on the men across from me as I try to figure out how long it’s been since my last contraction.
Way more than five minutes.
Probably.
Sweat slides down my spine as I reach into my bag, pulling out my phone and unlocking the screen, opening my messages with Cooper, my thumbs flying across the keyboard.
Me
Conference room B. Now.
“Are we keeping you from something?”
Tossing my phone back in my bag, I look up at Austin, my patience with this man a thing of the past. “So, so many things. Why am I here, Austin?”
He blinks at me, unused to being talked back to, and I feel a shot of satisfaction even as the stern expression slides back onto his face. “It’s come to my attention that you mouthed off to opposing counsel in the Lazarus case, and he is extremely upset.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of victory on Kevin’s face.
“Has it?” I ask cooly, talking to Austin but looking right atKevin. “And how exactly was that brought to your attention, considering it literally just happened.”
Kevin shrugs, and I want to punch him in his smug, stupid face. “The client is an old friend of my dad’s from Princeton. He came up to my office and told me.”
I roll my eyes. “I guess conflicts of interest don’t apply on the golf course.”
“He was simply bringing a matter of grave importance to my attention.”
I let out a sharp laugh. “Grave importance? You want to know what would have been gravely important? Him preparing his client instead of showing up and winging it because he assumed I was too pregnant and too female to properly conduct a deposition. Well, joke’s on him because I may be pregnant and I may be a woman, but I’m a damn good lawyer, and I wiped the floor with both of them. He wasn’t bent out of shape because Imouthed off to him.” I say the words using air quotes. “He was pissed because I made his client—and him by extension—look like an idiot. But that’s his problem, not mine, so I’ll ask you again. Why am I here?”
Before Austin can answer me, the door opens, and I don’t have to turn around to know it’s Cooper who’s walking into the room. The baby currently rolling around in my belly with what I swear is excitement told me all on her own.
So fucking weird. Kind of cool. But also super weird.
“Cooper, what are you doing here?” Austin asks.
Cooper doesn’t spare Austin a glance. Instead, his eyes land directly on me at exactly the same time as another contraction hits, pain gripping my middle like a vise. I don’t react except to clench my hands into fists, but Cooper sizes up the situation in a nanosecond, striding to my side and resting a hand on my lower back, pressing firmly. I bite back a sigh of relief and lock eyes with him.
