Groaning, she moved a stack of pajamas to the end table and plopped onto the couch next to my suitcase. “Can’t say I recommend having a baby at forty. Danny’s an angel, but my sleep sucks, and I feel more like ninety-one than forty-one some days.”
I shut the door with my hip. “Grab one of those throw pillows for your back and put your feet up.”
Lucie sighed as she leaned back. “Though I guess she’s worth it.” The adoring look Lucie gave her daughter proved her baby was more than worth the toll pregnancy and motherhood had taken on her body.
“Of course you are.” I kissed Mia’s soft cheek.
“Bzzt,” Mia said.
I gasped. “She said my name!”
“Did she?” Tessa’s eyebrows shot up as she unpacked bottles of wine.
“Of course! I’m fluent in one-year-old. Bridge-et.” I pronounced the syllables slowly as I stared into Mia’s round eyes.
“Bzz-it.”
“You’re a genius.” I squeezed her tight. “Want a… Can she have a C-R-A-C-K-E-R?” With the trip coming up, my pantry was pretty bare, and I’d eaten my last banana this morning.
“I brought snacks for her,” Savannah said. She was setting up a buffet on my kitchen island.
“There’s a sippy cup in my bag.” Lucie waved at the giant tote she’d dropped at the front door.
A few minutes later, I sat at my kitchen table with Mia on my lap, a bowl of Cheerios in front of her, and a glass of chardonnay out of her reach.
“Tell us about this trip,” Tessa said, sipping a glass of cabernet.
“There’s two parts to it. We’re spending a couple of days meeting the team at our site in San José. Then we’re going up to a corporate retreat center in the rainforest.”
“So you’ll need business clothes and casual clothes.” Carly moved my suitcase to the coffee table and squinted as she held up my new pair of high-tech hiking pants. “These are hideous, but I guess you’ll need them.”
“I’ve scheduled some activities,” I said. “A hike, kayaking, and golf.”
“Swimming?” she asked, scanning the stacks of clothes I’d brought from my bedroom.
“Maybe? The hotel has hot springs, but I feel weird being that exposed in front of my executive team.”
“It’s a retreat. They’ll expect you to swim, so you’ll need a suit and a cover-up.” She strode into my bedroom.
“How are things with your co-CEO?” Justine asked.
“Not great,” I admitted. “He’s still mad because I made him rescind a deal he was making. And because of this trip. Which is weird, right? I’m the one with the company history, who everyone knows. He should want to get out there to make connections and build alliances.”
“You sound like you’re on an episode ofSurvivor,”Savannah drawled, setting down a tray of crudités.
“You’re not wrong,” I admitted. “This ninety-day thing is nuts, isn’t it?”
“Want me to talk to my colleague who does employment law?” Justine asked, reaching for a carrot.
“Oh my god, no. The company has been good to me?—”
“Have they?” Tessa asked.
“Of course they have.” I stroked Mia’s curls. “I’ve been COO for five years, and now I’m CEO.”
“Co-CEO,” Tessa reminded me.
My scalp prickled, the way it did every time I remembered I hadn’t been good enough to earn it solo. Not yet, at least. “He had the balls to ask if he could bring a guest.”
