Chapter Ten
“ I have to pee.”
Christa tried to stand, but I grabbed her wrist. “Don’t you dare. Don’t even think about peeing unless it’s on a stick.”
“But I’m going to burst. Let me just deflate my bladder a little and then I’ll take the test.”
“Dammit, Christa.” After she’d admitted it was time, it still took her another half hour to make a further move. At least it gave me time to read the directions. First-morning pee was best, so I guess that worked out.
“Okay, okay. I’m not ready, but I’m ready.” Her lower lip quivered a bit and all those emotions slammed back into me. I was fucking terrified for her. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have a good job or couldn’t take care of it. But not knowing who the father was threw a whole new level of chaos into the mix. “Hold my hand?” she asked.
I nodded. At least she didn’t ask me to hold the stick. “Are you sure you don’t want any privacy?”
She rolled her eyes. “As if you haven’t seen me pee before.”
“Just checking. So, which one do you want to try first?”
Her eyes dropped to half-mast. She looked how I felt. “Whatever, Perry. It doesn’t matter. Pick one.”
I chose the fanciest-looking one, thinking it’d be more accurate because it was digital. What the hell did I know about these things? I pulled it out of the box and handed it to her.
“Now, promise me that you’ll keep some pee inside. Don’t let it all out on the first one so we can double check the results.”
“How am I supposed to promise that? It’s practically running down my legs right now.”
“Promise me, Christa. I promised I wouldn’t leave and I didn’t. So you can do this.”
“All right.”
“It says to pee on the stick for only three seconds. No more, no less. Got it?”
“What the fuck kind of crazy shit is that? What does it matter how many seconds?”
“How am I supposed to know? I didn’t create it. Just follow the directions.”
I hopped around, ready to burst myself, but I sucked it back in. I was exhausted and hungry and crabby and worried as hell for her.
She sat on the toilet and held the stick under her while I held her hand and counted for her. “One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, stop. Stop! Stop! ”
“Sorry. I really, really tried. Honest. It hurt so bad, I couldn’t control it. I left some in there, though.” I narrowed my eyes at her. I shouldn’t be upset, not one bit, but it all went back to the exhausted, hungry, crabby thing. “I’m sure an extra few seconds won’t make a difference,” she said.
“Then why do they bother putting a time on it if it doesn’t make a difference?”
“Well, so what happens if someone has a tiny bird bladder and only has one second of pee in them?”
“I don’t know, Christa.” Why did they have to make these things so fucking complicated? As if having an unwanted pregnancy wasn’t stressful enough. I scrubbed my face. We needed some air. I cracked open a window.
“Now how long are we supposed to wait?”
“Three minutes.”
She shut her eyes, and at exactly three minutes, I said, “It’s ready.”
“I’m not.”
“Do you want to look together?”
“No. I want you to look first and then tell me it’s good news.”
God, my hands were shaky. She was my best friend, and I’d support her in any way I could, but…. I looked down. “What the hell is this?”
She peeked open an eye. “What? Holy shit. It’s bad, isn’t it? Oh God, just tell me.”
“It’s… a question mark?”
“A what?
I scanned over the directions again, then tossed them aside. Are you shitting me? “It’s inconclusive.”
“How can that be?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Christa. Maybe because you peed for an extra three seconds .”
If the room was big enough to pace, I’d definitely be doing it.
“Hand me another one. I’ll do it right this time.”
I had to get ready for work very soon, but what if it was positive? I couldn’t exactly just leave her all day alone. I couldn’t call in when it was only my second week either.
I scanned the back of the other two boxes again. Stupid, stupid me. My mind was just not functioning right. Neither of these tests had time limits. Why did I have to go with the fucking pretty one?
I pulled them both out of the packages. “Okay, here’s the deal. Pee on both of these at once. There’s no time required, so just go nuts and finish it all off. Another three minutes and we’ll know.”
I waited for her to ask why I didn’t just give her one of those to begin with, but she just nodded and took them from me. She looked about ready to fall over, and I was no better. My eyeballs were starting to pound.
She peed, I set the timer, and then we waited again. I think I must’ve fallen asleep in that time because the shrill beep made me want to stomp my phone into pieces.
I didn’t ask what she wanted this time. I just looked down at the two sticks sitting on the sink counter. Holy shit . The minus sign was clear as could be on the one. The other had a single faint line that grew darker by the second. Holy mother of God, thank you, Jesus, holy motherfucking shit. After all that… but it was worth it for the end result.
“You’re not pregnant.”
She took one look at me and cracked open the bottle, chugging down a hearty swig. Then she passed out.
I wasn’t sure how I’d managed it, but after I put Christa to bed, I showered and made it into work on time. All I could do was take it second by second and hope I didn’t mess up any multimillion-dollar systems since my brain was a worthless lump.
Kate wasn’t in yet, so I took those few extra minutes to plop down on my chair and rest my head back in silence before the busyness started. I gave myself a pep talk. I could do this. In less than ten hours I’d be comatose on my pillow, frolicking happily in la-la land.
“Wow, rough one, huh?” Adam’s face was suddenly inches from mine. “Not that you could ever look like shit, but if you could, it’d be today.”
“Thanks.”
“I can’t understand why you like those girlie drinks so much. The hangovers are brutal.”
“I’m not hungover. I just didn’t sleep yet.”
It wasn’t as if I hadn’t pulled an all-nighter before. I had, and plenty of them. But this one had been different. It’d been mentally draining, and I felt like I’d been flattened by a steam roller.
“We need to get you some coffee or you’ll never even make it through the first hour.” He tugged on my arm. “Get up and let’s go to the cafeteria. The ladies love me down there.” He winked. “I’ll have them make you an extra strong cup.”
“But I have to log in soon.”
“Nah, it’s fine. We got some time. Come on, my treat.”
“Donut too?” I’d scarfed down my bag of emergency gummy bears on the drive over, but it wasn’t enough. My morning needed more sweetness. And fried dough.
“Anything for you, darlin’.”
That sounded like a plan. I should be in motion anyway, not lounging in my chair, tempting myself to fall asleep. Maybe I’d even try to work standing up to keep alert. I clamped onto the arm rests and hoisted my body up. Caffeine and sugar were summoning me.
“Since you’re so eager to please, Adam, you should have no problem making the run yourself and bringing Perry back whatever she wants.”
I ignored the ache when my head whipped around and spotted the owner of the voice. That voice. Who needed a donut? He was a dose of liquid candy injected directly into my veins.
“Stephen?” My jaw dropped a bit as I tried to process what he was doing standing right in front of me. This wasn’t his building. “Um… I mean, Mr. Davidson.”
“Stephen’s fine,” he said.
I rubbed my eyes. He was wearing a frickin’ suit that looked way too good for my brain to handle that morning. It was messing with me big-time. Not fucking fair. I wasn’t coherent enough to deal with his hotness yet.
“I was planning on taking Perry with me,” Adam said. “We have the time and she needs some coffee.”
“I can see that, but I need to speak with her before the shift starts. I know you wouldn’t mind picking her up something and bringing it back.” He shifted those eyes to me. “Perry, how do you take your coffee?”
I opened my mouth but Adam beat me to it. “Oh, I already know exactly how she likes her morning coffee.” He winked at me. “Extra sweet, touch of cream. Isn’t that right, honey?”
I nodded, chomping my cheeks. It didn’t help because a giggle escaped anyway. Adam should not have been acting inappropriately in front of Stephen, especially in light of the recent nonfraternization reminder. It was so wrong, but I couldn’t help finding it funny. I was too giddy and light-headed.
Stephen’s jaw clenched but he didn’t comment. Instead, he waved me towards the glass-walled office. “We’ll be in here,” he told Adam.
“Do you still want that donut?” Adam asked.
“Yes, please.” I’d changed my mind again. Who couldn’t use more sugar? “Something big with gobs of frosting.”
“You got it.”
“Tell them to charge it to my account,” Stephen said.
Adam waved his hand. “No, that’s all right. I’m taking care of it.” Then he took off, leaving Stephen not looking too pleased.
We went inside the manager’s box, and he shut the door, gesturing to the chair. “Have a seat. You look like you could use one. ”
I realized I wasn’t making the best impression. “Sorry, I don’t usually come in like this. Roommate crisis.” The same roommate you turned down.
“I hope everything’s resolved.”
“Yes.” I glanced around as Stephen made himself at home behind the desk. “Um, where’s Mr. Krismer?”
It dawned on me all over again that this man was right here, sharing my space, and filling my head with all kinds of thoughts I didn’t want to have. The unease crept back in. I’d been so confident the day before, but now the fear of losing my job had come back with a vengeance.
“His wife is sick, so he’s taking a leave of absence to take care of her. I’m filling in while he’s away.”
Uh… filling in? As in working the same department as me? As in me reporting directly to him? As in him being my freaking boss?
“Something wrong, Perry?”
“How long is the leave?”
“That’s undetermined at the moment.”
“I thought you headed up programming or something. In the other office.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Well, isn’t this worlds different here? I mean, it doesn’t seem like something you’d be… qualified for.” Shit, that hadn’t come out right.
He raised an eyebrow. “I can assure you I’m qualified to take over as acting manager until he returns.”
“Okay. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.” I wrung my hands together. I was really discombobulated. I was starting to wonder if I was just hallucinating the whole thing. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me. It was distracting. But maybe I was imagining that too.
“So.” He leaned forward, clasping his hands together. “Have you enjoyed your first couple weeks at FiTech? It seems like you’ve been fitting in well. ”
Hmm… was that a trick question? I was going to tell him that I liked it just fine when the rap on the door startled me. I jolted, then willed myself to chill out already. Adam stepped in a second later and handed me a jumbo-sized cup.
“Your coffee, milady.”
“Thanks so much, Adam.” I took a long sip, closing my eyes. Mmm. So good.
“My pleasure.”
I raised my lids to see them both looking at me. Adam was smiling. Dammit. I probably looked like I was loving that sip a little too much.
He set down an enormous chocolate monstrosity on the desk. God, it was fantastic and appeared very, very messy. I wanted to dive right in but decided to wait until I wasn’t being inspected.
“Thank you, Adam. That’ll be all,” Stephen said. “If you’re not in the middle of anything, I’d like to speak with you next after I’ve finished with Perry.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Adam saluted him and went back out to the main floor.
Something felt very weird to me. “Am I in trouble?”
“Why would you be in trouble?”
Okay, if he wasn’t going to mention anything that had happened so far, then I’d be smart to keep my mouth shut as well.
“No reason. I just feel like I’ve been called into the principal’s office.”
His lips curved, and maybe it was the coffee making me bold, but I just had the strong urge to tell him to fuck off. His mere presence was throwing me something fierce. I didn’t want to be dealing with this every work day. We were only supposed to have contact with each other occasionally, dammit.
“I trust you’ve familiarized yourself with all the company’s policies? ”
“Like the one you sent out yesterday?” Stupid mouth. That wasn’t being smart at all. I should have just said a simple yes and been done with it.
“Yes, like that one.”
“Yep. All caught up, Stephen. No worries there since I don’t believe in office dating anyway.”
And you know damn well that I’m with Dre since you’ve butted into my life on more than one occasion already, so this should be a non-issue. But since I don’t know what I can or cannot say to you right now because you’re my temporary boss, I’m screwed. In other words: Fuck off.
“It’s not only that, Perry. These policies are in place to also protect against harassment. Since you’re the newest member of the team, I’d like to make sure you know that you’re working in a safe environment. If you feel threatened in any way, you can come to me, and the matter will get resolved.”
“Again, no worries. I feel perfectly safe here and everyone has been wonderful so far. Very friendly.”
I swore I saw his jaw tick again. “Good to know, but if that ever changes, my door is always open.”
“Thank you. Is there anything else?” It was getting too fucking hot in there. Slamming half a jumbo coffee while sitting so close to him certainly didn’t make the temperature more appealing. I scooped up my donut and stood, ready to bolt.
“No, that’ll be all. Unless there’s anything you’d like to say?”
“Only that I wish Mr. Krismer’s wife a very speedy recovery.”
I heard him laugh behind me as I exited the office. What. The. Fuck?
“What the fuck?” Kate mouthed as I made my way back to my station. Her eyes were darting between me and Stephen, who was clear as could be sitting at his desk through the glass walls.
“Don’t ask,” I mouthed back, shaking my head .
I sat before my computer, and she scooted her chair over. She was going to ask anyway.
“What happened in there?” she whispered. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. Did you know he’s filling in for Mr. Krismer?”
She nodded. “I read the memo this morning. It was supposed to be someone else coming in, so I was surprised to hear it was Stephen. He never comes here. Now how am I supposed to explain to my husband why I’m going through so many damn pairs of underwear?”
I broke out laughing and had to cover my mouth. I wasn’t expecting that. Her phone rang and she rolled back over to her spot. “Hey, bring up your chat when you log on. It’ll be easier to talk.”
I made sure all my applications were up and ready to go before I brought up the interoffice chat. I also checked my e-mail for the memo Kate mentioned, and yes, it was sent out early that morning. Effective immediately: Stephen Davidson acting as Operations Manager for Pete Krismer. Ugh.
Kate Lambert: Hey.
Perry Sommers: Hey.
Kate Lambert: So, what’s going on between you and Bossman?
Perry Sommers: What? Nothing.
Kate Lambert: Why did he call you into the office?
Perry Sommers: Because I’m new. He wanted to make sure I was getting along okay.
Kate Lambert: I bet.
Perry Sommers: Shut up.
Kate Lambert: Did you spend the night with him?
Perry Sommers: OMG. No!
Kate Lambert: Then why do you look like you were rode hard?
Perry Sommers: WTF?
Kate Lambert: Sorry. Just jealous.
Perry Sommers: Christa was going through a personal crisis. I was up all night with her and didn’t sleep .
Kate Lambert: Is she okay now?
Perry Sommers: Yes, thanks.
Kate Lambert: So, what’s going on with you and Bossman?
I glared at her, then exited chat. Did no one take me seriously when I said I had a boyfriend? It would’ve been easier to convince people that I had a unicorn for a pet. I noticed Adam out of the corner of my eye strolling into the glass office. Stephen’s office. Temporary office. I wished I could be as casual as him about everything.
It took extra effort for the rest of the day to handle both my job and my lucidity, but it kept me busy and made the time go faster. Stephen didn’t talk to me again, but I could sense him. Whoever designed this room sucked ass. I hated having my back towards him, wondering if he was watching me. Paranoid much?
My phone chimed in my purse just as my chat window flashed. I ignored it, assuming it was Kate, then pulled out my cell.
I got my period!!!!!!!!
Before I could respond, another text came through.
Thanks for everything, Perry. You rock. P.S. Why didn’t you make me take the test sooner?
I rolled my eyes. If it weren’t for the turmoil she’d gone through this week, I would’ve drop-kicked her. I definitely envied her right then. She was probably well-rested and swimming in vodka.
I clicked on the chat to see what shit Kate was talking about now when Adam’s name popped up.
Adam Zepecki: Almost made it to the end. How’re you holding up?
Perry Sommers: I still have a job, so I guess I’m doing okay. Thanks for the coffee and donut this morning. That was very thoughtful of you.
Adam Zepecki: No problem. I look forward to serving you again, especially in the morning ; )
I laughed. He was such a goof, but unfortunately, his playfulness would probably end up getting his ass fired one of these days.
Perry Sommers: You need to be more careful about what you say from now on.
Adam Zepecki: Why?
Perry Sommers: Because I like you and don’t want to see you get in trouble.
Adam Zepecki: Aww, she likes me.
Perry Sommers: And also about what you type. Can’t the company look at our messages?
Shit, it should’ve gone without saying, but it just hit me then. I needed to take my own advice and be more careful with Kate too.
Adam Zepecki: Of course they can. But they don’t, not unless they have a good reason to. Wait, you’re not bringing up porn over there, are you?
Perry Sommers: No!
Adam Zepecki: Then we’re good.
Perry Sommers: But what about the no-frat policy they have?
Adam Zepecki: Not worried.
Perry Sommers: You always say that.
Adam Zepecki: Do you know how many people have dated here over the years? There have even been plenty of marriages. That policy is not enforced.
Perry Sommers: Then why have it?
Adam Zepecki: It’d only come into play if the ranks were really unbalanced. Say if a head manager were messing with a reporting employee, then I could see it becoming a problem.
A problem? Yeah, right. I glanced over my shoulder to see Stephen staring in my direction. A tingle flew through me before I could contain it.
That wouldn’t be a problem. That’d be a royal clusterfuck.