My cock suddenly had a conscience.
Pieces of what I saw were coming back to me. I seemed to have blocked out everything but the nipples.
She had a black bag. A small backpack. That was weird. What was in that bag? Was it makeup? Why would she need her nipples exposed to put on makeup?
Maybe it had feminine products. Again, why would she need her nipples out for that? I knew enough about women to know that nipples didn’t require much maintenance.
My heart felt like it hit the floor at my next thought. Was it drugs? No, it couldn't be. She just had a baby. She just had my baby.
I had to know. I may not have been there for her or Nathan the past almost ten months, but it didn’t mean I wouldn’t be there now. If she needed help, I would make sure she got it. If it meant giving up on the VR project, I would help her.
She was my family now, even if she didn’t realize it.
The door to the bathroom opened, and out stepped Julia with pink cheeks, her red sweater pulled down, and her eyes glued to the floor.
“Julia, I need you to have a seat.” I waved toward the chair on the other side of my desk.
“Sure. Yes. I mean, I understand.”
She sat in the chair on the other side of my desk, placing the bag on the ground beside her. How was I going to do this? I couldn’t just ask her if she was using illegal drugs or tell her to show me what was in the bag.
I gazed at her for a moment. Her eyes appeared puffy and a little red. She was fiddling with her fingers, obviously nervous that I caught her.
My heart hurt and I had an urge to hold her in my arms.
“Can you tell me why you were in my bathroom?”
She nodded but did not answer. Instead, she tucked hair behind her ear and reached down, pulling the bag closer to her feet.
“A general description is all I require. Nothing in detail. It’s just that the bathroom is executive-only. And I don’t mind you using it, but I would like you to ask first. Just so I don’t walk in on you, like what happened just now.”
“That makes sense. I’m sorry.” She bit her lip. Her eyes flickered up to mine for a second before returning to the floor.
“Was it an emergency, and you couldn’t make it to the one at the other end of the hall?”
“Yes. That was it.” She lifted her head. “Emergency of the lady parts. I had a special situation that needed addressing and your bathroom was the closest.”
I leaned forward, steepling my fingers as I placed my elbows on the desk. “Why do I feel there’s more to this story? And you’re hiding it from me.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because I saw your nipples.”
Dammit. My eyes dipped down to her tits right as I said the word nipples. I didn’t have enough self-control to say that one word without staring at her chest.
“It’s a lady part.”
“Men also have nipples.”
What the hell? My eyes became glued to her chest again. What was wrong with me?
“Yes. That’s true. I think to make this a fair situation, since you’ve seen my nipples, I should see yours.”
I jerked my head back. “I just found you in my bathroom without permission doing, uh . . . something that you obviously don’t want me to know about. And you think I should show you my nipples to make things better?”
Julia twisted her lips together before she said, “Yes. That sounds about right.”
“You know I can fire you for this.”
I didn’t want to say that, and I wasn’t planning to fire her, but she really had some nerve.
She let out a loud sigh, and her chin lowered to her chest. “I didn’t want to complain after my third day here, but I have no place to pump.”
“Pump?”
“Yes, pump.” She then made a squeezing gesture with her hands in front of her chest.
How could I be so stupid? She wasn’t on drugs. She didn’t want me to know that she was pumping breast milk. That made sense. I couldn’t believe I jumped to that awful conclusion.
“What about the women’s restroom?”
She glared at me, and it felt less than friendly.
“There are toilet stalls and two sinks. I’ve had to pump in there this week, but if someone comes in to do their business and then flushes . . . Well, that stuff gets in the air, and I’m in the stall right next to it. I can’t risk getting my baby sick.”
I frowned. She was right. Now I was angry. The mother of my child needed a safe and sanitary place to pump.
“Don’t you worry about a thing, Ms. Nutters—”
“I told you, you can call me Julia,” she pointed out.
Yes, but the problem was, whenever I said your name, I thought back to when you told me it while I fucked you in a dark closet.
“Yes, I understand. But it’s really more professional if I call you Ms. Nutters.” I stood and walked around the desk.
“Fine.” Her round, emerald eyes stared up at me. “Wouldn’t it be refreshing if we called each other by our first names? Modern. You can call me Julia, and I can call you Monty. Or would you prefer Montgomery? A little more formal.”
I swallowed. Hearing my name on her lips stirred my cock. I clasped my hands in front to hide the growing bulge.
“I really think addressing each other formally would be appropriate, Ms. Nutters.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of,” she mumbled to herself, but I heard it.
“Do you not like being called ‘Ms.’?”
“I don’t like my last name. I’m not an old-fashioned woman by any means.”
I agreed with her on that.
“But my last name isn’t something our family is proud of. It’s not just the jokes. Hey, there go the Nutters; I hear they’re crazy. Ha ha.”
I tried not to chuckle because it was a little funny.
“My great-grandfather, Archie Nutters, had two families at the same time. One with my great-grandmother, Betsie, and one with a woman in Richmond.”
“That’s terrible, but it was also a long time ago.”
“You’re not from a small town, are you, Mr. Diaz?”
“No. I’m from a suburb outside of D.C.”
She nodded, the corner of her lip twisting up. “People in small towns never forget. And somehow, our family has been looked down upon ever since. My sister and I can go about our business in town, but there is always gossip about our family. Like somehow, we’re cursed. I was the girl who boys could date but never would consider marriage material. Sometimes I think it’s why my sister left and got a job in D.C. A fresh start. I didn’t blame her.”
“Right, she worked for Lee Wiseley.”
She smiled and had a distant look on her face. “Can I let you in on a secret, and you promise not to tell anyone?” She leaned forward and lowered her voice as if we weren’t alone.
“Whatever you tell me, Ms. Nutters, will be held in the strictest confidence.”
She took a deep breath before she said, “My sister helped me get a job in D.C. this past December.”
My smile faltered as she spoke.
“It was as a coat check girl at a fancy holiday ball. Anyway, I told no one, not even Laura, but that’s where I met Nathan’s father.”