He nods straightening himself and setting his sandwich down. “What do I owe the pleasure, Sarah?” There’s a twinkle in his mahogany eyes.
“Listen, Bob. You’re going to stop asking Anne to run your errands or make copies for you or grab you food at all times of the day. Anne is my assistant and just because you go through assistants like pairs of underwear doesn’t mean you get to sniff after mine. Got it, Bob?” I narrow my eyes and crumple my lips.
“Anne is paid for by the firm. She’s fair game.” He takes another wet bite out of his egg sandwich. He chews and smiles, pleased with himself.
“Actually, you’re wrong about that. Part of her salary is paid for by the firm, the other part is paid for by me.”
“Ha, that’s ridiculous. Why would you do that?” He laughs.
“Because I treat people like actual people.”
“What a load.” He shakes his head and continues to chew his oversized mouthful.
“Bob, I’ll tell you what. There’s a partners meeting coming up. If your little assistant stealing games don’t stop, I’ll recommend that you be let go. We don’t need any deadweight around here.” I stand, towering over him.
“You’re the one that’s dead weight.” He narrows his eyes.
“Good one, Bob. Look I’m not in the mood for your petty power-play bullshit so just don’t mess with me on this and do as you’re told for once. Understood?” I take a drink of my coffee.
Bob scoffs at me but doesn’t say a word. He tosses the remainder of his egg sandwich in the trash and pounds his fist on his desk. I see myself out of his office and return to my own. Anne is fielding phone calls at her desk. I give her a wink and a nod, and she smiles back. An enormous bouquet of red roses is sitting in a vase on the coffee table. I lean down taking a big whiff. I can’t help but smile. I look at the card attached to them. It reads:
Sarah, it’s always been you. Love, Adam
“Those are beautiful.” Anne stands in the doorway, admiring the flowers.
I set the card down and turn to her. “Thanks, they’re from Adam.”
“Well, I sure hope they’d be from your husband. Who else would get you flowers? What’s the occasion?”
“Oh, nothing. We’re just trying for a baby.” I give a coy smile.
“What! Oh my God!” Anne practically screams bouncing into the office and hugging me.
“A baby… don’t you mean a knick-knack?” a voice from outside my office says. I recognize it immediately. Matthew stands in the doorway, dressed in a J.Crew knit sweater and chino pants. He looks like a skinnier Brad Pitt, replete with dirty blond hair that is messy in a way that can only be achieved via a two-hundred-dollar haircut. He has dull blue eyes that draw you in slowly as opposed to striking you all at once, so you can savor the spell they create.
Matthew sashays across the room to me with all the poise of a runway model. He turns whatever room he is in into a stage. This is how he commands a room. This is why he is paid a king’s ransom as a lobbyist for a pharmaceutical company that changes from time to time based on who’s paying him the most. Matthew and I have been friends since our days in law school at Yale, but it’s been over a year since I last saw him.
“Oh my God!” Without missing a beat, we are wrapped up in each other’s arms. “What are you doing here?”
“Just got in yesterday,” he says backing up while still holding my hands in the air. “Let me see you.” I give him half a twirl. “Still killing it,” he compliments.
I look to Anne who is standing a few feet from us, one hand holding her elbow as if she was completely out of place. “You remember my assistant?”
“Of course,” Matthew walks to Anne and holds out a hand. “It’s Anna, right?”
She nods and shakes his hand.
“No, Matthew. It’s Anne, not Anna,” I correct. Anne needs to learn to speak up for herself.
“I’m so sorry, Anne. It’s great to see you again.” He waltzes in and takes a seat in my chair. “Still got the biggest office in the building, I see.” He looks around admiring my hard work.
“Would you expect anything less?” I raise an eyebrow.
“No way. Not from Sarah Morgan. But you plan to throw it all away for a knick-knack. Shame.” He shakes his head in dismay.
“A knick-knack?” Anne asks taking a couple more steps toward Matthew. She gets as far as my desk before she stops.
“You don’t want to know. Don’t even get him started,” I say with a laugh.
Matthew crosses one leg over the other and leans forward. “I just have this theory that animals and babies are the knick-knacks of our lives. Nice to look at and fun to collect, but they serve no real purpose.”
“That’s awful,” Anne says with disgust.
“But is it?” he asks. “Why add burdens that slow you down? If anything, I am an altruist, looking out for Sarah’s best interest.”
“I told you, you didn’t want to know. I love everything about Matthew except that.” I take a seat on my desk next to Matthew. I pat his knee. “It’s his only flaw.” I laugh.
“And that I’m gay,” he adds with a chuckle.
“That’s not a flaw.”
“It is for you.” He winks and proceeds to tickle my side.
“Well, I think it’s great that you and Adam are trying for a baby.” Anne smiles.
“Is it? Am I crazy?” I look at Anne and Matthew for clarity.
“Yes,” Matthew says.
“No way! Why would you say that?” Anne questions.
“I don’t know. I’ve never wanted kids before. My childhood was less than ideal.” Matthew nods along to my words. “But it just hit me when I was sitting at this café last week. I saw this woman pushing her baby in a stroller, and I had this pang of jealousy like a need for a child of my own. And now, I think it might be too late,” I confess.
“It’s never too late. There are fertility programs and adoption.” She gives an encouraging smile.
“Let’s hope it’s too late,” Matthew snarks.
I narrow my eyes at him, telling him to stop, while Anne gives him a stern look.
“I’m thirty-three years old. Like, do I even have the energy to be a mom anymore?”
“Are you kidding me? You’re like the damn Energizer bunny, Sarah. You keep going and going. You’re in here before 7am and leave after 6pm nearly every day—sometimes later. That lucky kid isn’t going to have enough energy to keep up with you.”
“That is the only thing I can agree with Anne on. You do have a crazy amount of energy,” Matthew says. I smile at them both.
I’ve done so much in my career and have achieved things that most people never will. I’ve defended crooked politicians, murderers, and money launderers. I run corporate law firm teams, and I’ve helped build this company from the ground up. But for some reason, despite all I’ve accomplished, the one thing that scares me is being a mother, something that should come naturally. “Thanks, Anne,” I say with sincerity. “No thanks to you, Matthew,” I jab.