Page 57 of Unexpected Kisses

But when your boyfriend, not that he’s my boyfriend, says we need to talk, that never bodes well. I stand from my desk and pace down the hallway, making a loop around our floor. I can’t sit still as I try to figure out why he suddenly has the need to ‘talk.’

“Hey, Sarah. Do you have a minute?” Lucy asks as I walk by her desk.

“Uh, sure. What is it?”

“Do you think I could take Friday off from work? I want to spend the day with the kids before they go back to school.”

We always check with each other when taking planned leave because we usually step in and do the other’s work when they’re away. She’ll divert her phone and emails to me for the day, so nothing gets missed. When I’m away, I do the same.

“It shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll be here Friday, and it’s always quiet by the afternoon. Enjoy the day with your kids.”

Her smile is instant, the relief obvious. “I feel as though I’ve hardly seen them.”

“No problem. Just let Jeff or Frank know in HR.” I tap my fingers on her desk and keep walking.

As I make my way down the other hallway back to my desk, I think about how I’m going to manage to work full-time with a baby. Obviously, I’ll need to take some time off at first and I’m sure Eric would let me work part-time from home. Hang on. Eric won’t be my boss by then. His grandson, Adam, will be. I wonder if he’ll be as flexible as Eric? Shit. My plan to have a baby couldn’t have come at a worse time with Eric retiring.

“What’s that sigh for, Sarah?” Eric startles me as I take my seat back at my desk. He knows I’m trying to have a baby. Even though he thought it was unacceptable for a single woman to be trying to get pregnant on my own, he still gave me his blessing and promised to accommodate any changes I would need to make to my work schedule. There’s actually a daycare center in the building I’ve looked at. I’ll need to put my name down for a place the minute I know I’m pregnant.

“Nothing. Just thinking. Did you need something?”

His eyes soften. “You’re worried about something. I can see it. We haven’t worked together all these years for me to not recognize the signs.” I slump my shoulders. I shouldn’t put my concerns on Eric’s shoulders. He’s my boss and he’s got enough going on with getting the company ready to hand over. “Talk to me,” he prompts.

“I’m a little worried about my plans to have a baby. What if your grandson isn’t as accommodating as you?”

“Oh.” He waves his hand through the air, swatting away my worries. “I’ll have it written into the changeover documents. You don’t need to worry about any of that. I promise he’ll take good care of you.”

“It seems a lot to ask a new boss when he’ll need me to show him where everything is and help him get used to how this place runs.”

“Don’t worry about it, Sarah. It will all be okay. I know how much you worry when things change, but I’m hoping this transition will be seamless.” He can hope all he likes, that doesn’t mean it’ll be that way.

“Oh, Lucy asked for Friday off. I didn’t think it would be an issue since there’s barely anyone in on Fridays.”

“Of course. The kids will be back at school soon, and she’s barely had any time to spend with her children. They need to have their mother around more.” His forehead wrinkles as he contemplates. “Maybe we should introduce some kind of policy that allows mothers to have the ability to work from home during school vacation.”

I widen my eyes. “You could make the policy to include fathers. I’m sure they’d like to spend time with their kids during their vacation too.”

He slashes his hand through the air. “No. That sort of thing really should be left to the mother.” He spins on his heel and heads back into his office mumbling something.

I love Eric. Working for him has been wonderful for me but he’s a little old-fashioned in his views. Maybe his grandson will be more of a forward thinker in terms of gender roles. We only have two women on staff here and both of us hold secretarial positions. I remember there were a handful of women who applied for the Vice President position when it was available and Eric and Johnathon, the previous Vice President, dismissed them outright without even reading over their applications. Perhaps it’ll be good to have a change in leadership around here, because I get the sense Tony likes to keep women in their place, too.

My phone catches my attention and I realize I haven’t responded to AJ’s message. What does he want to talk about? Is he not happy with the arrangement? He’s got a goddamn app tracking my cycle for goodness sake. He seems pretty serious about following through with my pregnancy plan. But things change. I did say we would reevaluate if he met someone he wanted to pursue. Oh my God. Has he met someone? Is that it?

I pick up my phone and unlock the screen, reading back over our chat thread. The words are typed as clear as day that he’s not going anywhere until I’m pregnant.

Until I’m pregnant.

That doesn’t mean he’ll be around after. I know it was the original arrangement, but things have changed for me. I know I wasn’t supposed to catch feelings for the guy, but how can I not? He’s amazing. Any woman would be lucky to have him.Just message the poor guy, Sarah.

Me:Okay. When would you like to talk?

I place the phone back on my desk and try to concentrate on the email I’m supposed to be drafting, but my eyes won’t stay on the computer screen, instead skipping back to my phone. It lights up and I almost jump out of my skin.

AJ:How about tonight? I can bring dinner

AJ:and chocolate

He remembered I crave chocolate when I get my period. My heart expands, thumping heavily in my chest.

---