2. Chapter 2 #4
“You’re Pregnant.” These are the words that come out when I suddenly wish I could kick myself in the balls.
I learned that in that moment, there are clearly parts of my brain that I wasn’t even aware of because the words I just relayed weren’t said by the person with two degrees.
They are nothing but a fraud, along with Harvard, where I studied, because clearly, I lack the intelligence to call out the obvious.
“Holy shit, that’s why I’m so fucking fat.
” Macy declares in a sarcastic tone. Whilst I, being the dumb fucker I am, just turn pale.
Utterly embarrassed that I’d said something so stupid in front of an employee, so much so that I barely registered that she just swore in front of me.
Coming into work tomorrow was going to be a pain in the arse, putting up with being the forefront of water cooler gossip.
This was a terrible idea. Why didn’t Nigel try to stop me? I’m going to kill him. I make a mental note for later, as I didn’t have time to dwell on the words of the past; I push forward, snapping back to my regular self and acting as if nothing just happened.
“I am looking for an after-school Nanny for my son. Do you have any recommendations?” I ask, clearing my throat, proud that I got the whole sentence out without an issue, but the look she gives me doesn’t relieve the frustration I’m feeling right now.
“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” she asks in disbelief, making it clear she wasn’t paying attention.
While I was out of commission for a minute or two, she used that time to analyse my body language, wondering what other out-of-the-blue information she could gather about me.
As she and all my other employees were far too interested in wanting to know more about their boss, who kept his cards far too close to his chest.
But could you blame me?
If this never went the way I wanted it to and blew up in my face, I really could kiss my carefully crafted privacy goodbye.
No one at the company knew about Theo apart from the founders and Nigel; none of my employees even knew my middle name, and I had done everything in my power to keep Theo’s identity safely hidden away, for both our sakes.
However, this was one of those times when that wasn’t an option; it’ll be fine; I just need to stay calm and do what I do best. Regardless of how this goes, I plan on getting Nigel to make Macy sign an NDA before she leaves tonight, meaning she sprouts a word of our convo to anyone, she’ll be fired and blacklisted from working in any law firm across the world before she can make it to lunch tomorrow but still, telling someone something that is entirely business and my business alone, drove me on the urge of throwing up.
Though Macy had never given me the impression that she was the gossiping type and always remained completely professional before today, if she could see how sickly I felt, given she was about to become a parent herself, I hope she can understand my predicament.
I took a deep breath and repeated my question, but again it looked like she didn’t hear a word.
“Are you asking because I’m pregnant or because I’m the only woman here?” Expressing how offended she felt.
Dear god, I somehow made it worse. The phrase Oliver Walters is a misogynistic prick will be travelling through the grapevine tomorrow morning.
I clearly haven’t learnt a thing with all thirty-one years I’ve lived on this earth. How dare I call myself a man who supports feminism when I just single-handedly cornered this poor woman and insulted her by assuming she knows everything just by the fact that she’s female.
“What fucker gave you a child?” At first, I blink rapidly out of shock, not because I’m offended. I’m not careless when it comes to sex, and the idea of having a child before Theo came into my life was something I refused to let happen, but what shocked me was the way she spoke.
Then again, I did not attempt to correct her when she swore the first time or for using sarcasm towards me earlier, so her informal speech was my fault.
For letting her think this was okay to do.
But this could be my way of getting my answer out of her, so I’ll play along until I get what I need, then set her straight again.
When Macy realises I wasn’t going to feed her curiosity, she stares at me for a few seconds, shifting from one eye to the other.
“I don’t have any recommendations, sorry,” she states.
I try not to look disappointed, then she adds.
“I just got approval to work from home when I’m ready to go back to work, so I will be raising my baby on my own, with the occasional help from family.
This is my first child, so I have no knowledge of nannies or where to find one,” she finishes, giving me a sympathetic smile.
Giving me information I already know, but at least I gave it a shot.
Her request not to come back to full-time work straight away came through about a month ago, and although I wasn’t happy about losing my best paralegal here at K&B, I’m the one who approved and signed the request, although it doesn’t seem like she’s aware of that, nor do I plan on telling her.
Things run a lot smoother here when everyone thinks I’m a rich arsehole who only cares about himself, and it also allows me to avoid things like getting personal or making friends in the workplace, two things I do not need.
“Very well,” I nod. “Regardless, thank you for your insight on the matter. I am afraid you’ll need to sign an NDA before you leave for obvious reasons and will arrange for Nigel to have one waiting for you at the front desk on your way out,” I declare, while she nods in response.
I then turn to leave, but the crease in her brows stops me.
It looks as if she wants to say something else, and I end up watching her talk herself out of it and take my leave. I have no idea what I’m going to do now, but the universe can’t fault me for trying something new, no matter how awful it made me feel.
Once again, Nigel and I are back to the drawing board on the nanny front, but we can figure the rest out later. My main priority now is to get back up to Theo and get him to bed.