Chapter 27 The One with the Pink
THE ONE WITH THE PINK
Favorite movie?
Cole: I rarely waste time watching movies, but I enjoyed Moneyball.
Bridget: I loved Working Girl. Sigourney Weaver and Melanie Griffith were both such badasses. I wanted to be both of them when I grew up.
COLE
Sometime after lunch on Friday, Bridget and I sat in the club chairs in our office, reading through the due diligence report I’d requested for the call center deal.
Silent reading had never been my thing, so I stood and made coffee.
It was blasphemy to adulterate my perfect brew, but after stirring a cube of sugar into Bridget’s mug, I reached into the mini fridge John used to keep his diet sodas in, grabbed the pint of skim milk, and lightened it to her preferred shade.
In what had become our afternoon ritual, I set the mugs on the end table between us and sank back into the chair beside her.
With a grateful smile, she cradled the mug in both hands and lifted it to her lips.
The moment her shoulders lowered and she savored the drink I’d made for her was what I lived for. I raised my cup in a toast and sipped.
Then, because it had been bothering me, I said, “I didn’t like how everyone assumed this deal was my idea. Hell, you presented it with me in the staff meeting.”
She set down the mug and picked up her tablet.
“Honestly, I hate it too. But if I come in now saying it was my idea, I look like a braggart, and people hate self-aggrandizing women. It’s fine.
Our focus should be on whether the deal makes sense and has a strong return on investment, not whose idea it was. ”
“You can’t be serious. Of course it matters. The board has pitted us against each other. You can’t afford to give me this just because it’s good for the company.”
She set the tablet on her lap. “You don’t mean that. As much as I want the CEO position, the thing that matters most in the long run is the strength of the company.”
Frustration clawed its way into my throat. “You’re like that…that Reese Witherspoon character. The one with the pink.”
“Elle Woods from Legally Blonde?” She grinned.
“That’s the one. Always looking at the positive. But it’ll matter to you if they dick you over.”
Her smile fell, and she tugged down her black pencil skirt. I sat close enough to her that I could’ve leaned over and touched that barely exposed knee. Run my fingers up the inside of her thigh the way I’d been dying to all week. But she’d said no, and I had to respect that.
She gazed into her mug, then up at my face. “What if we don’t let them dick us over? What if we come up with a better plan?”
I gestured at my copy of the report on the coffee table. “You mean better than that?”
“No, I mean a better plan for the CEO position. What if we kept going like this?”
My heartbeat sped up. Did she really mean for us to keep going with what we’d started the morning after we’d come back from Costa Rica? “Like…what?”
“Co-CEOs. It’s worked for other companies. Why couldn’t we keep sharing responsibilities? We work well together.”
The hopeful bubble that had risen in my chest popped, leaving me cold. She was talking about work, not our relationship. I kept my expression neutral. “You think?”
“I mean, yeah. Ever since Costa Rica.” Color flared in her cheeks. “You have to admit, that retreat was a pretty sweet idea of mine.”
“Grudgingly, yes, I agree. The team seems to be more cohesive. And you and I…we fit pretty well together. Especially my d—”
“Don’t,” she warned.
“Fine, I—” My phone buzzed angrily on the side table, and I glanced at it. Zara’s name appeared on the screen. “Shit, I’ve got to take this. One minute.”
I stood and walked back to my desk. Facing my framed diploma, I accepted the call. “Hey, Zara, what’s up?”
“Are you almost here?”
“Here? Where?”
“My house. To pick up Caitlyn? Don’t tell me you forgot it’s your weekend.”
“I didn’t, but it’s only…” I glanced at my watch. “Shit, is it really after six?”
“You’re still at the office, aren’t you.” How many times had I heard that not-a-question?
“Sorry. I lost—”
“I know. You lost track of time. Listen, Eli and I have to go to an event for his work. It’s in the city. Why don’t we bring her to you?”
“That would be amazing. Thank you.”
“Just so you know, she’s got a low-grade fever. There’s a bug going around school. Normally, I’d keep her here, but—”
“No, no, it’s fine.” The last time she was sick at my place, she had a stomach bug, and that was the worst. A little fever was nothing.
If she felt up to it, we could mask up and go to the park.
Maybe an easy hike. I could do this. I wanted more custody, and this was my way to prove I could handle it.
“Thank you for bringing her. I’ll meet you at my place. ”
“See you soon.”
I disconnected the call and started shoving things into my satchel. “I’m really sorry, Bridget. I’ve got to go. It’s my weekend with Caitlyn, and I almost forgot. I can call you later, and we can exchange ideas about the report?”
“Or,” she said, “we could meet up this weekend? I don’t want to get in the way of your time with your daughter, but we need to be ready with this on Monday.” She tapped her tablet.
She was right. And she’d offered to spend time with me outside work. Could she be open to rekindling what we had in Costa Rica? I paused to scan her face. “Really? That would be amazing. You could come home with me now, if you want. Though I’ll warn you, Zara says Caitlyn’s got a low fever.”
Bridget closed her laptop. “Between all my nieces and nephews, I’ve been exposed to every germ in the Bay Area. But are you sure? I wouldn’t want to get in the way.”
“Come with me,” I said. “I think she’ll love you.” Who wouldn’t?
Iwished I’d given a thought to what bringing Bridget, Zara, Eli, and Caitlyn together would be like. When we met up in my building’s lobby, it seemed to reveal itself in slow motion: Caitlyn’s confusion, the bitter turn of Zara’s lips, Eli’s knowing nod, and Bridget’s too-high voice.
Bridget held out her hand to Zara. “Hi, I’m Bridget, Cole’s colleague. I’m sure he’s told you all about how much he hates me.” Laughing nervously, she shook Eli’s hand next. Caitlyn clung to Zara’s side, looking pale and droopy.
“Interesting,” Zara said. “You always did like to bring your work home.”
“Zara,” Eli said. He was always so enragingly calm. “Caitlyn, say hi to your daddy’s work friend, Bridget.”
When Caitlyn offered a weak nod, Zara said, “She seemed to get worse on the ride over. She’ll probably just go to sleep.”
“Has she had any medicine?” Bridget asked.
“I gave her some Tylenol when she came home from school. So about three hours ago,” Zara said.
“So she can have another dose in an hour?” Bridget asked.
They discussed a treatment plan like a pair of pediatricians.
I thought I had Children’s Tylenol in my medicine cabinet, but it had been so long since we’d needed it that it was probably expired.
However, I wouldn’t admit to Zara that I didn’t have a full doctor’s kit and an emergency go-bag like she did.
“Eli and I have to go, honey.” Zara peeled Caitlyn from her side, and I reached down and picked her up like I used to when she was five. That she didn’t resist the indignity of being held like a baby proved how bad she felt. “I’ll call to check up on you after the party, okay?”
“We’ll be fine,” I said with more confidence than I felt.
What if Cait got worse, and we had to take her to the emergency room?
My heart raced, but then I caught Bridget’s gaze.
She looked unflappable, like she took care of kids with possibly life-threatening fevers all the time.
Her calm expression boosted my confidence.
We could do this together. “We’ll see you Sunday. ”
With one last, assessing stare, Zara took Eli’s arm and walked out the front door.
My shoulder was hot where Caitlyn’s forehead pressed into it. I stared at Bridget. What now?