Laura tapped her chin. “I don’t even know. I’d ask HR about that.”
I groaned. Troy, the HR guy I had to deal with this week, was rude. At one point I asked where the restrooms were located, and you would have thought I’d asked him for a kidney. He told me it was above his pay grade, whatever that meant.
“I don’t want to bother them.”
“But you need a place to pump. It’s the twenty-first century, Julia. It’s not too much to ask.”
I waved my sister off. “I’ll figure it out. Mr. Diaz has a private bathroom, and he won’t be here until after lunch. I’ll just use that for now.”
She sighed. “If you’re okay with that. But I think if you speak with HR, they’ll be of some help.”
I stared up at my sister and wanted that innocent hopefulness for myself. There were people in this world who held power, not even extensive power. It could be as small as someone who worked at the job a few months longer than you. But they could make work an enjoyable experience or the most miserable time of your life.
I had found through the many jobs I had worked, some of the people in HR pretended like they cared about your wellbeing, but really, they only cared about the bottom line. A new hire complaining she couldn’t find a place to pump breast milk seemed like something they’d offer for cost-saving measures to make their bottom line more attractive for their bosses.
I couldn’t lose this job. Once I saw how much it paid and the benefits, there was no going back. Nathan would be easily cared for on what I made at The Blue Spot.
No more hourly jobs that required me to wear uncomfortable uniforms. I would tolerate hiding in executive bathrooms while they weren’t around to pump if it meant I kept my place here.
“That’s a temporary solution, Julia. Keep that in mind. Talk to Monty about it.”
My eyes widened. “The man nearly had a heart attack when I showed up to the interview with Nathan. I couldn’t imagine how he’d act if the words ‘breast’ and ‘pump’ came out of my mouth.”
My lips curled into a smirk. It would be fun to watch him squirm, but not enjoyable enough to lose a job over.
When his eyes fell on Nathan in the car seat, I thought he froze to death. The man wouldn’t move. He stared at Nathan as if he was witnessing a corpse at a funeral suddenly sit up and wave hi to the crowd.
“Monty is a great guy. You’ve just seen the rare moments when he wasn’t having a good day.”
“So, every day this week and on Saturday? Either he’s like that all the time, or I’m the problem.”
I frowned as the words came out of my mouth. I never considered that I was a problem. Sure, I had spunk, as my sister reminded me often, and not everyone liked that, but it wasn’t as if I’d spent a lot of time with him. I wondered if it had anything to do with me being a mom?
Laura told me his parents died when he was young. Maybe he had issues with his mom, and now any mother was a problem for him.
Laura came around the desk and placed her hand on my shoulder. “I don’t think it is you. Rock told me he’s stressed trying to find funding for some VR tech he’s working on. You just entered his life at a stressful time, that’s all.”
I nodded to appease my sister. She wanted to see the best in people, and that was sweet. But it wasn’t always the truth.
“I have to get back. Stop by The Blue Chip for lunch. I’ll whip you up a delicious grilled cheese sandwich and sweet potato fries.”
My stomach rumbled at the idea. “Yes. Right now, I’d marry grilled cheese if it were legal.”
I thought my cravings would stop once I gave birth, but no. Everything was so much worse. And I was constantly hungry as if I were a sixteen-year-old boy and not a thirty-year-old mother.
She shrugged her shoulders as she turned to leave. “You never know. My grilled cheeses are magical. It might get down on one crust and produce a ring.” She snorted at her own joke.
“Stick to your day job,” I called out after her with a grin.
I leaned over and grabbed my cell. My arm lightly grazed my right tit, and it hurt. These puppies were about to burst unless I did something.
My desk was situated right outside Mr. Diaz’s door at the end of a hallway. I was near a few other offices, but their doors were all closed. It was only ten-thirty in the morning, and I knew Mr. Diaz wouldn’t be back for several hours.
I had time to quickly pump in his bathroom before he returned. I reached down and opened the bottom drawer to my desk. Inside, it contained a black backpack that housed my pumping equipment.
Once I was done, I’d store the breast milk in the small refrigerator in his office. He let me put my lunch in there once this week, before Laura insisted I eat at The Blue Chip.
I’d tell him it was my lunch since I kept the bottles in a storage bag. He’d never be the wiser.
After grabbing the bag, I swiftly moved into Monty’s office and closed the door. He kept the office tidy, and I made sure not to knock into anything for fear he might figure out I had been in here.
“No snooping today, Julia,” I whispered to myself.
I scurried across the gray-carpeted floor and in the corner, behind his desk, was the door to the bathroom.
It too was small, not much bigger than my bathroom at home. But instead of a tub and old pink shower curtain like I had, there was a walk-in shower with sleek blue and gray tile.
The sink had a small counter that I placed my bag on. Pulling up my thin red sweater, I unclasped the front of my maternity bra, exposing both my nipples.
Once I removed the pumps and attached the bottles, I had everything set. Right as I was about to turn on the machine, I leaned over to listen for any noise.
All was quiet. No one was around. Not even a phone ringing.
Good.
I flipped the switch, and the rhythmic machine sounds of the pump began.
It took about ten minutes, but I filled two bottles. That was a first. It had been too long since I last pumped before I left for work this morning.
I removed the pump and cleaned it before placing it back in the bag. Then I froze.
I heard a noise. I didn’t dare zip up the bag for fear the sound would alert someone I was in here. I stood there for what felt like minutes but was only a few seconds, listening.
Silence.
Either it was my imagination or just someone in the room next door.
I zipped up the bag when I felt a gust of cool air. Lifting my head, I gazed with a startle at Monty Diaz.
My boss held the door to the bathroom wide open and was staring at me. His dark, chocolate eyes were fixed on my chest. Specifically, my nipples, as I had yet to hook my bra back into place and lower my sweater.
I cleared my throat. It snapped him out of staring at my exposed nipples and turned his gaze up to my face.
He nodded and said, “Right.” Then he took a step back and shut the door.
Shit.
I was fired. I was so incredibly fired that there probably would never be a firing as epic as mine.
Chapter 11
Monty
HER NIPPLES. I SAW Julia’s nipples. I had sex with that woman. Mind-blowing sex, but I had never seen or felt her nipples.
And then to witness them at work in my bathroom was odd, but no less enticing. It confused my cock. It wanted to be erect, but the moment didn’t warrant its attention.