Nadine lets go of the Open button and smiles sweetly at Trish. “Thanks. I’ll be upstairs ready to help you as soon as you’re done.”
As soon as the elevator starts chugging upward, I hug Nadine. “Thank you.”
“No worries. I would want to be there for my brother too,” she replies and smiles.
I text Winnie and ask her what’s going on. She texts back a second later and tells me Jude just got there and he’s in a room with Zoey and the doctor. They’re all waiting for an update. The elevator opens and Nadine steps off before me, but her step falters as we turn the corner and I bump into her. I look up from my phone screen. In front of us through the glass door that leads to our offices I can see Ann standing with Mr. Carling. Their eyes are both fixed on Nadine and their expressions are so grim it makes my skin prickle with worry.
“Oh no,” Nadine whispers so faintly I almost miss it.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, but she doesn’t answer. She simply walks into the offices.
Ann looks over at me. “What are you doing here, Dixie?”
“I needed to talk to you,” I reply in a voice that sounds as confused as I must look.
Ann looks at Mr. Carling, and he nods and then looks back at Nadine. “Nadine, come with me, will you? We have a meeting in the conference room.”
He walks briskly to the door, and Nadine hesitates but follows him. I have no idea what is going on, and I hate that. It fills me with dread and panic. As soon as the door closes behind them I turn to Ann. “Everything all right?”
“Fuck no,” Ann hisses and I’m immediately on edge. I have never heard her swear at work. “But I can’t get into it right now. What did you want to talk to me about?”
I blink. “Zoey is in labor.”
Ann takes a second to register what I’m saying and then she grins. “Oh my God! Amazing! Is Jude on his way to the hospital? Thank God we weren’t at an away game.”
I nod. “He is, and I was hoping to leave early and be with him.”
Her whole face darkens. “Right now?”
I realize that my ask just became impossible because Nadine is in this mystery meeting and probably won’t be able to help Trish like she promised. I swallow and try not to sound as desperate as I feel. I just want to be with my family. “It’s just Zoey is early, and Jude’s kind of freaking out, and it’s my first niece. Or nephew. And I just…”
Her expression isn’t changing. “I really need you to stay and help Trish with this contest. It shouldn’t take more than an hour with the two of you on it. I’m going to be tied up with this Nadine thing all afternoon.”
I try not to sigh. Instead I just nod. Ann squeezes my shoulder. “I know it’s not ideal, but we need you, Dix. And I’ll make sure Mr. Carling knows you did this. It’ll add to the reasons you should have my job.”
I nod again. She rushes toward the door, off to join the meeting with Nadine and Mr. Carling. “You’ll be out of here in under an hour. Nobody has a baby in under an hour!”
I hope she’s right. I walk over to my desk and sit down, quickly texting Winnie that I’ll be there as soon as I can but I have work stuff to deal with first. She texts back three letters.
WTF
I shove my phone in my desk drawer, swallow down my anger and frustration, and open my laptop. The faster I get this done, the faster I can leave. I can hear my phone vibrating in my desk but I ignore it. Trish walks into the office, sees me and looks instantly annoyed. “I thought you were ditching us?”
“Ann needed Nadine in a meeting, so I’m here to help you,” I reply, trying not to let the depths of my disappointment show.
“Great. So I just did your job for nothing,” she snipes and I lower my hands into my lap so she doesn’t see they’re in tight fists.
“Did you contact the winner yet?” I ask, my voice surprisingly sweet, even though I’m gritting my teeth.
“Yeah. They live in Toronto, so we should make this happen on the road trip next week,” Trish says as she marches by me to her desk. “And they want to meet Eli because their kid is a goalie or some shit.”
I bite my tongue so hard I swear I taste blood. “I’ll book a dinner in the hotel. Are you going with to oversee? Do you want to book your own room or should I?”
I can feel her glare on my skin like she’s thrown acid on me. I look up. “Mr. Carling said you should go. Since it was your idea.”
“Oh.” I swallow and nod and start pulling up the hotel information. I get to travel with the team, which means I get to travel with Eli. This news makes my heart flutter and ache in unison. God, I’m so confused over this boy.
My phone vibrates again and, worried it’s news about Zoey, I open the drawer and look at it. I swear, if she had that baby before I could get there I will burst into tears. But it’s Justin Bieber’s name on the call display, which is what I have Eli’s number saved under. I glance at Trish and hit Ignore. My phone goes silent and then I quickly text him.
