When she ignores my second attempt, her speech therapist’s voice bounces around in my head.It helps to have her looking at you before you begin speaking.
I grab two new options and tap her on the shoulder.
“Pancakes or oatmeal?” I hold up both boxes.
“I all done.” She pushes away from the table, carrying her bunny by the ear to the couch.
Well, this isn’t going as planned.Myfirst full day of being entrusted with Quinn while Everett is out of town, and she won’t eat anything. I grab a granola bar from the cupboard and stuff it in her backpack for snack time. Tack on ten more minutes of a show and the five it takes her to get from the couch to car at the slow amble she is walking and I’m even more concerned than when she slept in.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
She nods. With flushed cheeks and slightly red eyes, I think she’s about to cry. She missed him at bedtime. Cried herself to sleep, actually. After getting used to having her dad around, maybe she misses him. I can’t blame her. Imiss him too.
“There’s a snack in your backpack,” I tell her as I walk Quinn and Henry to their classroom.
“Otay,” Quinn replies.
“See you after school, okay?”
I can’t count the number of times I’ve said the wordokaythis morning. Nothing feels okay. But maybe it’s me and the pressure my nerves are causing. Another rung on the dependable ladder I’m desperate to conquer. Even Quinn’s leg hug and Henry’s thumbs-up were more of a confidence boost of an average morning than the one I’m attempting to give myself on my commute to Ford Law.Just an average morning.No emergency.
Everett’s event is tonight. The last thing I want to do is derail the concert he’s worked so hard for. I’m still deep in deliberation of whether or not to call him when a voice pulls me from my thoughts.
“Is it true you’re sleeping with Rhett Dawson?”
The doors of the elevator sail back open as Tara and Jasmine shove their way through them. Every morning for the last two weeks they’ve beat me to work. On opposite sides of the building, we rarely cross paths during the day. I select the fifth-floor button again and the doors zip shut. I’m not in the mood for their judgement or drama.
“Yes, Jasmine. Would you like to know his dick size too?”
That shuts her right up. A charged silence shadows us to our top floor destination until we part ways.
Emma’s the one who greets me today with a piping cup of creamer-loaded coffee. She knowsme so well.
“The gossip train has landed,” I warn with an eye roll.
“Let’s get busy then.” Emma hands me a stack of new case files and disappears into her office.
Aside from the usual sorting documents and relaying messages about upcoming cases, my work hours are spent contemplating what’s next for me. I’ve been stockpiling the money I’ve made knowing the day I’d need my own place was fast approaching. Just because I’m fiscally prepared doesn’t mean I’m emotionally ready. The thought of a permanent move for all of us has a crater the size of Mars forming in my heart.
Normally work is a great distraction. Not with Everett out of town. I refuse to be late picking Quinn up from school and exit at a prompt 3:10 with Emma following me to the elevator bank.
“Look at you leaving before nine o’clock at night.” I nudge her as the doors slide wide.
A bald gentleman sporting an expensive-looking gold watch and a tailored suit stands in the opening. He lifts his gaze from the phone clutched in his palm. “Hi, Emma.”
Emma acknowledges him with a nod. “Mr. Ford.”
Her formal greeting surprises me. Emma has mentioned she’s almost made partner. I assumed that meant these two were on fairly even playing fields.
His eyes bounce from her to me. He does a sweep of my body, stopping at the rhinestone cowgirl boots manacled to my feet.
“Who’s this?”
“This is my new assistant, Summer Rogers. Summer, this is Jason Ford, partner of the firm.”
His lips press into a fine line as we exchange a stiff handshake. “Welcome to Ford Law.”
It strikes me as odd that I’ve worked in his practice for over a month, and we haven’t met yet. Probably a good thing, consideringthe disdainful way he’s appraising my footwear, he’s making his disapproval of Emma’s hiring decision clear.
