I had a million things to say, but my mouth refused to open. All I could do was nod.
“We had a one-night stand. I know that’s not appropriate to say at work, but I thought you should know that his father isn’t in the picture.”
“Mmm.” The only sound I could make.
Tell her you were that guy.
“So, I really am sorry I said nothing earlier about using your bathroom to pump. I’m new to all this, as I’m sure you gathered from my résumé I don’t have a lot of experience with office jobs. I’m used to working in places where if you complain about anything, you will get fired. I was always replaceable.”
“Is that why you didn’t work at those places very long?”
I wanted to slap myself for chickening out about admitting I was the father.
“You nailed it.”
I blinked. She did not understand how right she was about the nailed part.
“Now with having to look out for Nathan, I want to make sure I screw nothing up. It was fine when I wasn’t a mom. I could quit a job I didn’t like, but I can’t do that now.” Her eyes widened. “I didn’t mean that I don’t enjoy working here or with you, I just meant—”
I chuckled. “It’s all right. I understood what you meant. You need job security. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you and Nathan are taken care of.”
“You don’t have to go out of your way or anything. Geez, I made it sound like I’m some charity case. Guilt you into not firing me.” She stood, waving her hands in front of her. “That wasn’t what I meant at all. Now that we’re talking, I don’t mind telling you about me. As much as I thought you were a perv when we met, I feel I can trust you.” She slapped her hand over her mouth.
“Perv?”
Julia stepped forward, putting her hand on my arm. “No, no. I didn’t mean . . .” She sighed. “Okay, I thought you were a little strange when you came to Nathan’s birthday party. But your brother explained you were stressed about the project you’re working on, so now that I work here, I can see. What you do is stressful.”
There was a chuckle bubbling up my throat, and I couldn't swallow it back down. She was adorable when surprised. And the heat from her hand on my arm was traveling down between my legs.
She winced and drew her hand away. “That’s it, isn’t it? If I wasn’t fired for sneaking into your bathroom and milking my boobs, then you will fire me for calling you a perv and crazy. It was fun while it lasted, Mr. Diaz. I’ll go grab my stuff. My special pen I bought at Castle Office and Hiking Shop. The stuffed animal kitty with the missing eyeball. And my scarf blanket.” She threw her thumb over her shoulder and bent down to pick up her bag.
“Wait.” I bent over to stop her.
The last thing I wanted was for her to think the worst of me. I wasn’t planning to fire her. It wasn’t as if she physically assaulted me. If she did that, I might have had to fire her, even if she was the mother of my son.
But as I was reaching for Julia, she stood. The back of her head hit my nose, and a bolt of searing pain ripped through my head.
“Holy Fran Drescher!” I yelped as I grabbed my nose, instinctively tilting my head back.
If that wasn’t assault, I didn’t know what was.
Chapter 12
Julia
“OH NO, I’M SO SORRY.” I winced and tried to reach for Mr. Diaz, but he jerked away.
Even if he was considering giving me a second chance, I knocked that thought right out of his head.
Wait, what did he say?
“Did you just yell out Fran Drescher?”
He lowered his hand from his nose and blinked a few times.
“What? Oh, yes. It’s a habit I still have from being a kid. My mother told us to say ‘Fran Drescher’ instead of a curse word when we were hurt or mad.”
“That’s smart. I like it. I must remember that when Nathan gets older. In fact, I should learn that myself. I curse like a sailor. One day Nathan will pick up on that.” I was nervous.
When I felt uneasy, I couldn’t stop talking. This was why I never had a career. Too many risks of failure. I never felt bad if they fired me from a crappy, low-paying job. It’s not as if the work was meaningful. Sure, it helped pay the bills, but I wasn’t in love with it.
But I liked working for Monty the past three days. For the first time in my life, when I got up in the morning, I wondered what the day would bring and looked forward to discovering what I’d work on next.
Not that he had given me anything too challenging yet. But convincing Mr. Blackwell to invest in Mr. Diaz’s project during the interview was exciting.
What did it matter now? I was toast.
There was a small trickle of blood rolling down from his nostril. I looked around and grabbed a tissue from a box he had on his desk.
“Your nose is bleeding.” I handed it over, frowning.
His eyes widened as he grabbed the tissue from me, then dabbed his nose.
I guided him back to his chair and then ran over to his mini fridge in the corner. Grabbing my lunch bag, I withdrew a freezer pack. I made my way back to his desk and handed it over. “Here, hold this on your nose to slow the bleeding.”
“Thanks.”
“Since I’m fired, you might as well know . . . the lunch bag I’ve had in your fridge the past few days has really held the bottles of breast milk.”
“Mmm.” Monty watched me with his mocha eyes.
I stood there in silence for a moment, unsure of what to do.
“Do you, um . . . just want me to leave or finish out the day?”
My gaze drifted between him and the door. Which did I want more? To stay or go? Stay, obviously.
Monty sighed and lowered the freezer pack. His nose had stopped bleeding.
Even with a little dried blood under his nose, he was handsome. I watched him as I tidied up his desk, throwing the tissue away.
Monty was the type of man someone like me could only dream of having. That wasn’t to say we couldn’t have a one-night stand. He was hot, and I caught him looking at me a few times. It was the way he watched me that had me thinking he liked what he saw.
But he was a professional, a billionaire who ran his own company. I was pennies, and he was crisp hundred-dollar bills. I didn’t even own a car and had to rely on my sister to drive me to work. I was sure he owned several cars, probably with Italian names I’d have trouble pronouncing.
It may have sounded pathetic, but working next to him felt like I was in a fairytale where I got to rub shoulders with people I only read about on gossip sites.
“Stay.” He looked up and reached over, gently wrapping his fingers over mine. “You’re not fired. But there is something I need to tell you.”
My knees wobbled as sweet relief came over me. I didn’t care if it was inappropriate, I pulled his hand to my chest and said, “Thank you so much. I promise to be honest with you no matter what. You ask and I will tell you. You want to know when I first got my period, I’ll let you know.”
Monty chuckled and stood. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”
“It was when I was twelve in art class, and Jimmy laughed at me because he thought I sat in paint. I hadn’t . . . Oh, you said you didn’t want to know. Sorry, I misunderstood.”