Maybe Baby Lite

by ANDREA SMITH

  “Why does Trey have more clothes than you?”

  “Probably because he has a job where he needs to look professional and because he can afford them,” I replied.

  “That’s just wrong on so many levels,” she commented. “Hey—what does a lawyer get when you give him Viagra?”

  I rolled my eyes at her, “What?” I replied.

  “Taller!” she shrieked, bursting into a fit of giggles.

  I tried not to smile but Gina’s giggling was contagious.

  “Promise me you won’t tell any lawyer jokes around Trey!”

  I really wanted Trey to like Ian and Gina. He hit it off with Ian but Gina already rubbed Trey the wrong way.

  “Yeah, yeah,” she called from the master bathroom. “Check you out girlfriend,” she squealed, “the Hot Nazi knows his way to your heart, I can see that!” She whirled around in the massive bathroom, enthralled.

  “Hey Gina, I start a job tomorrow at Trey’s firm,” I said, “won’t that be great?”

  “Oh yeah?” she was inspecting the music on Trey’s iPod. “Whatcha going to be doing there?”

  “I’m not really sure,” I replied, honestly, “Trey calls it a gopher job.”

  She whirled around to face me, “Shut. Up. Tell me that he did not put it that way to you!”

  I nodded. I'd let that slip on purpose. I wanted to see her reaction to make sure that I hadn’t been acting ‘hormonal’ as Trey had been suggesting of late. I knew that I was right to feel insulted. “It’s no big deal, Gina. Don’t say anything I just wanted to see if you thought it was as rude as I did.”

  “No shit!” she agreed, wagging a finger. “Now, what are you going to wear?”

  “I’m not sure. Would you help me put a few outfits together?”

  “You got it girlfriend. You’re gonna be the hottest fucking gopher at that firm.”

  Gina and I spent nearly an hour in my closet. I tried everything on to make sure it still fit. She picked out my jewelry and helped me decide how to wear my hair.

  “I got to tell you Ty,” she said, “pregnancy agrees with you. You still are hot and don’t let the Nazi think otherwise.”

  “Gina, it’s not like that. Trey and I can hardly keep our hands off each other. Speaking of which, he found your Christmas present to me.”

  “Yeah and so?”

  “He thought I may have complained to you that he lacked prowess or something,” I replied, blushing.

  “He’s such a Republican, isn’t he?” Gina laughed. “I bet he knows one position and one position only,” she tsk’d at me.

  “Gina,” I protested, “Trey fucks me seven ways from Sunday and it’s hot!”

  “I see,” she said, smiling, “I get it. It’s all good.”

  “What?” I pressed, still annoyed.

  “You love your man and your man loves you. It’s all good. I’m happy for you, sweetie.”

  "Okay then," I replied giving her a look.

  Gina and I made our way back out to the living room. Trey and Ian had finished their third round of beers. The coffee table in front of the couch was cluttered with empty bottles.

  “Hey babe,” Trey said standing up as I passed by him on the way to the kitchen, “come here,” he directed.

  I looked over at Gina and she smiled. I walked over to Trey and he put his arms around me, swaying with me as we embraced. His lips kissed my hair and neck, our reverie was broken by Ian.

  “Get a room you two!” he shouted, putting his empty bottle down on the coffee table. Gina ‘shushed’ him like the best friend that she was and handed them two fresh beers. I went into the kitchen to check on my chili.

  “Tylar,” Gina said almost apologetically, “I can see how much Trey loves you. I’m so sorry for what I said. I totally misjudged what you two have going.”

  “Gina,” I said, stirring my chili and clicking the oven on to preheat. “It’s no big deal, okay?” She nodded, coming forward to give me another hug.

  Twenty minutes later we all sat in the living room eating and watching the final minutes of the game. I was happy to see Trey bond with Ian. No matter how Trey felt about Gina, I knew that he’d work to overcome it because of Ian.

  When the evening ended, Trey and I stood at the front door of our apartment and said ‘goodnight’ to them. I felt like part of a couple for the first time. I knew that we were going back to reality tomorrow, and the reality was that we would be living and working together, an exciting and uncharted territory for us.

  CHAPTER 45

  It seemed as if I'd just drifted off to sleep when I felt Trey waking up. I sat up in the bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

  “It’s 6:30 Tylar, do you want me to set the alarm so that you can sleep longer?” he asked.

  “No, I want to get up now. I have to fold that last load of laundry in the dryer and then get ready. Trey, I’m not sure how to get to your office from here.” It had finally dawned on me to ask.

  “No worries,” he replied, smiling down at me, “the office is less than 10 minutes from here. I’ve arranged for a cab to pick you up in the mornings and take you home in the afternoons until you're comfortable making the drive. Traffic can be a real hassle at the time you go in.”

  I shrugged. The arrangement was fine with me. Realizing I was still naked from the night before, I stayed under the sheets.

  “Your cab arrives at 8:45; the doorman will ring you, okay?”

  “Okay, and I just ask for Janice Landrick when I get there, right?”

  “Yep,” he said, kissing me, “have a good day, Tylar.”

  “You too, Mr. Sinclair,” I replied in a very businesslike tone.

  “Oh, and keep your phone with you in case I need to touch base with you,” he instructed over his shoulder as he shut the door.

  As soon as he left I jumped out of bed, excited to start my day. An hour later I was fully showered, dressed, and accessorized for my first day of work at the law firm of Pierce, Harmon, Richardson & Sinclair. I wore a black pencil skirt that fell above my knees. My top was a classic white shirt, with a sharp collar and long sleeves with wide cuffs. I left the top two buttons undone. I wore a black double-breasted vest that matched the skirt. The open white shirt collar splayed across the shoulders on the vest. Gina had insisted I wear smoky grey tights with my three-inch plain black pumps. My hair was pulled back tightly into a high, skinny ponytail. I wore small silver hoop earrings and a delicate silver chain around my neck. I'd applied some light grey eye shadow, with dark charcoal eyeliner, and a bit of lip gloss and took a final assessment. I decided I was presentable for my first day of work.

  Déjà vu swept over me when I stepped out of the elevator and onto the familiar marble floor that led to the receptionist’s station. A fleeting look of recognition crossed Debbie’s face as I approached her.

  “Good morning, Debbie,” I greeted her, “Tylar Preston to see Janice Landrick, and yes she is expecting me.”

  “One moment, please,” she replied, pushing a button then talking into her headset. “Yes, Ms. Landrick, there is a Tylar Preston in reception to see you. Very well, thank you.”

  “Have a seat please, Ms. Preston. Ms. Landrick will be with you momentarily.”

  Janice Landrick greeted me warmly upon her arrival at reception. She escorted me to her office, which was just around the corner. She closed the door, inviting me to take a seat across from her. “We have some standard paperwork for you to fill out, Tylar,” she said, handing me an envelope with my name on it. “You don’t have to fill it all out right now, but if you could have it completed and returned to me tomorrow when you come in that will be fine. Your hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the exception of Wednesday when your hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. You have an hour for lunch every day except Wednesday. Your total hours are 28 per week. Anything beyond that will need to have approval by myself or one of the partners, okay?”

  “That’s no problem, Ms. Landrick,” I replied.

  “Call me Janice. W
e’re not overly formal here, thankfully.”

  “Okay Janice,” I smiled warmly.

  “Tylar, what you'll be doing here at the firm is a little bit of everything. You're what we call a ‘floater.’ You'll spend time in Central Filing where the cases are filed and retrieved as required for the attorneys and paralegals. You'll help with meeting preparations and conference scheduling, mostly clerical and administrative stuff. There may be occasions where a particular attorney’s administrative assistant requires your assistance in mailings or making copies, so you'd assist in those tasks too.”

  “It sounds very interesting,” I replied.

  “You'll be busy, so at least you won’t be bored,” she assured me. “Today you'll be working with Leah, Mr. Harmon’s personal assistant. There is a settlement conference at 11 a.m. that will likely run until 3 or 4 p.m. Leah can fill you in on the details.” She led me down the marble hallway, past Debbie again, and down several more hallways until we reached Mr. Harmon’s suite. Janice introduced me to Leah, wished me luck, and left.

  Leah was probably in her forties, friendly, and I liked her immediately. She said that she'd been with the firm for 15 years, always working for Mr. Harmon, who she described as a “doll” to work for. She showed me where to stow my things, then toured me around Mr. Harmon’s wing. She pointed out the restroom, the filing area, and the kitchen. She explained that a lot of the lawyers and paralegals had occasion to work long hours and some weekends, so the firm tried to make things as comfortable as possible.

  Leah showed me to the copy room, which doubled as the mail center for this wing. I didn’t spot Trey’s name on any of the mail trays. His office was apparently in a different wing; the law firm occupied the entire top floor. Leah jovially introduced me to employees as she gave her tour. Thankfully, everyone wore nametags, which she explained were programmed to allow access to certain locked areas based each employee’s security clearance. When we circled back to her office area, Leah settled me into an empty desk in the corner. She spent time showing me how to use the firm’s complicated phone system, and then she set me up opening and date-stamping the mail. When she saw that I was a quick learn, she excused herself for a few minutes to go to Central Filing (wherever that was). She told me that Mr. Harmon was over in Mr. Richardson’s office and to pick up any calls that came in.

  That reminded me to check my cell; I smiled as I read a text from Trey:

  “I hope things are going well on your first day at this very prestigious law firm, Ms. Preston. I forgot to tell you this morning: I love you.”

  My heart did a flip-flop when I read Trey’s text message. I realized that I'd forgotten to tell him the same thing. I hit reply.

  “I'm guilty of the same thing Mr. Sinclair. I love you! I'm working in Harmon’s wing…is that close to yours?”

  Trey replied. “Harmon’s wing is at opposite corner. I'll be over there later for a settlement conference. I look forward to ogling you then. I know you'll make me hard”

  Blushing, I texted him back.

  “Mr. Sinclair, ‘sexting’ at work is not appropriate! I look forward to seeing your hardness. I know you'll make me wet”

  Leah returned just as I'd finished sorting the mail and highlighting the case numbers on the correspondence. “Thank you, Tylar,” she said appreciatively. “Now you and I have to prep the conference room for the settlement conference. There will be six attorneys total: three from here and three from the firm of Littleton, Dexter, and Klein out of Houston. Oh, and Barry will be there observing, so that makes a total of seven people.”

  Leah and I went back and forth between the kitchen and conference room carrying coffee carafes, pitchers of water, and an ice bucket filled with ice. There was a credenza against the back wall where we arranged it all. Once everything was laid out on the credenza, Leah asked me to make sure that I placed seven legal tablets and pens on the conference room table.

  “How will we know if they run out of water or coffee?”

  “Don’t worry; none of them are shy about asking.”

  I followed Leah back to her desk where she opened one of her drawers and pulled out a stack of menus. “They are having a working lunch, so put one of these at each of the places on the table. We need to have them filled out as soon as they get here so that you can call and place the lunch order,” she advised. I nodded and started around the corner. When I finished that task, I set to work on the lunch order spreadsheet.

  Just then I heard Trey clear his throat in the hallway. “Good morning Ms. Preston.” His eyes fell on mine.

  “Good morning Mr. Sinclair,” I replied, “The conference room is ready.”

  I stood up; Trey scanned me from head to toe, his eyes smoldered. I didn’t get a chance to say anything further to him as the phone on Leah’s desk rang and I reached for it. I winked at him and Trey disappeared around the corner to the conference room. It was Debbie calling to say that the three attorneys from Littleton, Dexter, and Klein were in reception. Leah hadn’t returned from her errand so I told Debbie I'd be right there. Luckily, I found my way in the maze of cubicles to reception and introduced myself to the three gentlemen, all of whom were wearing Stetson cowboy hats. They politely removed them, placing them against their chests as I greeted them.

  “If you gentlemen would please follow me, the attorneys are awaiting your arrival in the conference room.”

  “Anywhere, darlin,” one of them said in his Texas drawl, “you lead the way and we’ll follow you anywhere.” I was glad that they were behind me and couldn’t see me rolling my eyes. I led them to the conference room standing inside the doorway, as they filed in once again removing their hats as they passed me.

  “Thank you, little darlin” one said, nudging his partner, “they sure don’t grow ‘em like that in Texas, huh Del?” He winked at me then turned his attention back to three of the attorneys from Pierce, Harmon, Richardson & Sinclair, one of whom was glaring angrily at the flirtatious Texan. I flushed, turning to exit and passing Leah outside of the conference room.

  “Tylar, are you okay?” she asked, seeing my flushed face. I nodded. “Did you get their lunch orders?” she asked. Damn. I'd forgotten. I didn’t want to go back in there with Trey and the cocky cowboy lawyers from Houston. Leah read my reaction and saw that I was uncomfortable.

  “That’s all right, I have to give Mr. Harmon a message before they start, and I can do it.”

  “Watch out for those Texans,” I warned her in a whisper.

  A few minutes later Leah returned to our office area shaking her head as she set the stack of filled out lunch orders on my desk. “Boy you were right about that,” she said, “they're something else, aren’t they?”

  I laughed eyes wide and nodding.

  “The partners will have their work cut out for them today trying to keep those three good ‘ole boys on track. Sinclair looks like he’s ready to kill one of them already.”

  Oh geez, Trey let it go.

  Leah had instructed me to fill in the spreadsheet already set up on a fax form for their lunch order. I started inputting the data and stopped when I got to Trey’s order. He'd requested a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a smiley face drawn next to it. I chuckled.

  “What?” Leah asked looking over.

  “Oh, uh…Mr. Sinclair ordered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” I said. “I can’t imagine one of the partners eating a P.B. & J.”

  “Mr. Sinclair is the youngest attorney ever to make partner here,” she said, “let alone senior partner. He'll certainly make a great catch for some lucky girl.”

  I finished with the lunch order and faxed it over, requesting delivery at 1 p.m. as instructed. Just to be safe, I called the deli 10 minutes later to make sure that they received the order and instructed them the P.B. & J required strawberry jelly.

  Leah told me to take my lunch from 11:30 to 12:30; she would cover the phones and respond to any requests from the conference room. I retrieved my purse and went to the kitchen
, getting a yogurt and juice from the vending machine. I sat at one of the tables and checked my phone. Trey had texted again.

  “That asshole Littleton will be lucky if my size 11 shoe doesn’t end up lodged in his colon before the afternoon's over! You look great by the way. I’m going to fuck you when I get home. Then we'll discuss your office attire, Ms. Preston. Are you taking good care of our baby?”

  I hit reply,

  “Chill about Littleton, okay? I look forward to the fuck-fest! My office attire is fine! I’ve received several compliments on it! And yes, taking good care of our baby! Having yogurt and juice like a good girl.”

  I finished my yogurt and went back to the vending machine for an apple. When I returned to the table, I had another text from Trey. Damn! He's texting me during the settlement conference?

  “I’m sure you have, Ms. Preston."

  The tables had turned. It was Trey’s turn to be jealous about the attention I drew. I hit reply:

  “How can you be paying attention to this very important conference while texting me???”

  I finished my apple and downed the rest of my juice before I heard my phone beep again.

  “It’s called multi-tasking, Tylar. I do it all the time when we’re fucking or haven't you noticed?"

  I giggled while reading his text at the same time Debbie walked in to refill her coffee mug. She looked around to see if anyone else was in the kitchen. I picked up my phone and purse and headed to the restroom. Once inside the stall, I replied to Trey’s text:

  “I've noticed with great pleasure baby! I'm heading back to our office to relieve Leah for lunch. I'll be serving you your P.B. & J. soon.”

  I texted Gina while I was in there asking her if she had any clothes she wanted to get rid of. She responded quickly, saying she would dig through her closet and drop anything off before she went to the club with Ian tonight.

  Leah left to take her lunch when I returned to my desk. She said she would cut it short if I needed her back at 1 p.m. to help serve lunch. I assured her that I could handle it. She gave me a stack of messages. Trey’s personal assistant, Tonya, had brought over several messages for him. She asked Leah to make sure that Trey got them when lunch was delivered. I was glad I was out when Tonya came by because she might suspect my relationship with Trey; P.A.s were privy to a lot of information concerning their bosses.