7. Sutton
Sutton
As I spat my toothpaste into the sink and turned off the tap, there was a knock at my door. I grabbed Sophie out of the playpen in my room, letting her pull on my hair as she babbled away happily.
Our routine had settled, and I think she could tell that I was happier. Life wasn’t so hard when you only had one job, earned good money, came home every day at a reasonable hour, had weekends off, and felt like you weren’t failing at everything.
Today Sophie was wearing the new navy onesie with white polka dots that I was able to buy her the other day, and she looked damn adorable. I didn’t even panic when I saw the price. I thought it was cute, and grabbed it.
Big steps.
I pulled the door open with a smile that instantly dropped when I saw Iris.
“Are you okay?” I took a step toward her but she held up a hand and coughed.
“I’m fine, dear, I just caught a cold. I don’t think I should watch Sophie today though. I don’t want her to catch this. The stuff I’m hacking up should not come out of her body.”
“Of course! Please don’t worry about us—just take care of yourself.”
And I meant it, even though I was instantly panicking about what to do with Sophie today. Quinn was out of the country so I couldn’t exactly call in sick—she was depending on me to be there. The list of things I needed to do had piled up in her absence.
“Why don’t you take her with you?” Iris got out around a fit of coughing.
“What?”
“Your boss said you could bring her into the office.”
Thank God Iris listened to me. I’d kind of forgotten about the offer. It was even better that Quinn wasn’t there so Soph wouldn’t be in anyone’s way.
“You’re the best. Can I get you anything before I go?”
Iris waved me off and pulled her robe tighter over her chest. “No, dear. I just need to sleep it off.”
“Okay, well, call if you need anything.”
She nodded as she walked away. I waited until her door was closed before I closed my own. I’d pick her up some soup and cold medicine on my way home.
For a few minutes I stood in the entryway to my apartment, bouncing Sophie on my hip and staring at the phone, working up the courage to do what I needed to do.
“Okay, baby girl, I guess we don’t have another option.” I huffed out a breath and hit dial on Quinn’s name. She told me to call her if I needed anything. I wasn’t sure if this counted but I needed to ask her first.
“Hey, Sutton!” She answered on the third ring, sounding happy and relaxed.
“Hey, how’s the vacation?”
“Amazing! We’re just about to leave my mom’s and head to the coast. Is everything alright?”
Sophie babbled beside me just before she shoved her thumb in her mouth.
“Iris, my neighbor slash babysitter, has a cold and I don’t know what to do with Sophie. I know you said it was okay but I wanted to check if—”
“You don’t have to ask, Sutton! I told you, Sophie is welcome at the office whenever you need. I’m a little sad I won’t be there to meet her. Maybe you could bring her in just for me when I’m back or we could hang out after work so I can meet her?”
A warmth spread through my chest at the idea that someone was excited to meet my baby. I had created this little bubble for us and I wasn’t used to letting people into our lives. But maybe it was time to start.
For both of our sakes.
I chewed on my lip for a moment. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. You could also work from home if that’s easier. It is a Friday.”
“No, no. I need to be in the office. I haven’t routed the phone to my cell and I don’t know how to do it remotely. I just don’t want to overstep—”
“Sutton,” she said, cutting into my rambling, “I didn’t have a single mom, but Theo did and we’ve talked about it.
I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it was on her so I will do anything I can to help you.
You can use my office today—there’s more space in there and you can close the door if you need to feed her or put her down for a nap. ”
Her soft tone and the kindness in her words was making my eyes tear up. I wasn’t used to people wanting to help me.
“Love!” I heard Theo call on the other side of the phone.
“I have to go but text me a picture of Soph in the office!” She hung up without a goodbye.
“Alright, Sophie.” I looked down at my girl. “Guess you’re coming to work with Mom today.”
It was early afternoon and we’d been making it through the day better than I expected.
Sophie’s pack and play was on the floor and she had been swapping time between there and my lap.
She’d been a little fussy when I tried to put her down for a nap, since I put her in her car seat, but eventually she’d settled and managed to sleep.
I didn’t bother setting myself up in Quinn’s office—it felt wrong. Plus, without Quinn here, no one really came to this back part of the office so Sophie and I had mostly remained undisturbed.
Overall, my girl was kicking ass at her first day at work. She was quiet while I was on the phone, kicked her legs whenever I spoke, and tapped her hand against my cheek if she was on my lap.
She was happy and unbothered by the sounds and people moving around. I always tried to get her out of the house as much as possible but with the weird shifts I’d been working it had been hard. This made me feel like I hadn’t socially stunted her completely.
I answered the ringing phone. “Maria Knight Memorial Fund, Sutton speaking.” As always, the person on the other end was asking for Quinn.
“Miss West is unavailable. I can take a message for you.” I pulled out my notepad to take down the message, but I got distracted when someone knocked on my desk.
Looking up, I tried to hide my surprise.
Asher was standing in front of me. He was in a charcoal gray suit, white shirt underneath, the top buttons undone.
Damn, this man could wear a suit. It showed off his toned arms and I was pretty sure it was hiding a six pack.
“When will I be able to speak to Miss West directly?” the caller asked, but I was too distracted by Asher’s amber eyes, which were currently locked on Sophie sitting in my lap clapping her hands together softly. “Hello?”
“Sorry. She’s away for the remainder of the week.” My voice sounded weird. Did I always talk so high-pitched? “What were you looking to speak to Miss West about?”
“I have a partnership idea I want to discuss. I would also like to sponsor an upcoming event.”
“I’ll take your number down and have one of the staff do an initial intake call with you. Miss West will follow up after that.”
I bit my lip as I took down the information, repeating the number back to ensure I got it right since I was a tad distracted, then thanked the caller and hung up.
Asher looked at me the moment I finished.
“Hey… You know Quinn’s not here…” I assumed he would know that already since they were friends, but I didn’t know why he would be here otherwise.
He grunted. “She left an envelope for me on her desk.” His British accent was thick, his voice low and grumbly.
I nodded and stood up, bringing Sophie with me. One good thing about always carrying Soph in my arms was that my muscles were stronger than they had ever been before.
“Who’s this?” Asher asked as he came around my desk. The man towered over me. I made it to just under his chin.
“This is Sophie.”
She screamed a little in excitement and reached toward Asher. Before I could take a step back and tell him to ignore her, he reached out his hands.
“May I?” He paused for a moment, looking down at me, giving me a chance to say no.
“Um…sure.”
He took her from me, and she went happily. “Hi, sunshine,” he said in a low voice as my daughter reached up and patted his face.
She squealed a little again, kicked her chubby legs, and then rubbed his chin.
I was assuming the rough texture was drawing her in.
I was a little shocked at how easily she went to him.
I could understand her sentiment though—he had scruff along his jaw and it was sexy as hell.
I wouldn’t mind running a hand over it myself.
I cleared my throat. “I’ll go grab that envelope for you.”
My ovaries were busy exploding at the sight of the big grumpy man looking at my daughter with light in his eyes. I needed to distract myself.
“Is this why you couldn’t come out last Friday?”
His question made me pause.
“Yeah, she’s my reason for being busy every Friday.”
I smiled as Sophie leaned her head on Asher’s chest, putting her thumb in her mouth. She suddenly looked tired, which made sense since she’d slept less today. The car seat wasn’t ideal for her nap and I had been keeping her busy all day. I was sure she was a little overstimulated too.
She nuzzled into him and let out a sigh.
“Just you?” He moved slightly from side to side, almost like it was a natural instinct.
She was clearly content in his arms. Not that I could blame her. His muscles weren’t visible but they filled out the arms of his jacket so nicely, you could basically see the definition through the material. I was sure being wrapped in his arms would feel pretty incredible. Maybe even safe.
I shook my head to get those thoughts out.
“Yeah, just me.”
He nodded, a serious look on his face. “Quinn said you were going to be in her office.”
“Did she tell you about Sophie?” I asked, biting my lip.
I was fine with people knowing, but getting pregnant accidentally by a man you thought you loved, only for him to go and abandon you, wasn’t something I wanted to shout for the world to hear.
Quinn hadn’t asked why I was alone yet but I was sure the question was on her mind.
He shook his head and looked down at her. “Just mentioned she told you to use her office. Thought it was an odd comment till now.”
“I know but I have all of Soph’s stuff and it seemed easier out here.” I knew it was a lame reason and I could tell he thought the same thing. But I didn’t want to say I felt weird sitting in her office. Taking up her space.
“You brought all this shit?” His eyes darted around.
I crossed my arms, suddenly feeling uncomfortable, and pushed my thumb into my bicep to try and help me relax.