“Oh, Alisson left early for a medical appointment. Let me check.” The woman took her time. She read what looked like an electronic report, and then turned back to Rachel. “I’m sorry, your name is not on it, Ms. Galloway. Are you representing a company?”
Rachel controlled her desire to ask if her incompetence was real or an act.
“No, I’m not here representing any company. It’s personal,” she replied.
Rachel was standing at the Salmann & Buckend reception desk. It had taken all the courage she had to go see a man who only thought of her is one more name on the list of his sexual conquests, and had made it clear he never wanted to hear from her again.
This time, she wanted to do what was right. She would not hide her pregnancy from him. So she waited until the woman stopped staring at her as though she as deaf just because she refused to leave. She was tired, something that was happening more often, lately. The gynecologist had told her that she was three-and-a-half months pregnant. That she was in no danger, that everything was in order, but that she needed more iron.
She got her first sonogram. She could not hold back her tears when she saw the image of her child on the screen. The doctor had asked her if she’d like a printout, and Rachel had asked if she could have two. The gynecologist had given her what she’d asked for at the end of the appointment.
“Tell him Rachel Galloway needs to see him. And it’s urgent.”
The raven-haired woman with eyes the color of amber gave her a haughty smile. Everything in this office exuded elegance and opulence. Some walls were paneled in dark wood and the floor was carpeted. It was, after all, one of the most prestigious law firms in Chicago.
“You and many more people have urgent matters, Ms. Galloway. Mr. Whitmore is very busy and explicitly ordered that he should not be interrupted.”
“Can you tell him I came by, please?” she said, giving up after trying to have them call up to Michael’s office for twenty minutes.
“I’ll tell him.”
Rachel pursed her lips. She doubted that he would get her message, so she’d go wait for him at his house. She still had a copy of his keys.
“Thank you,” she muttered as she headed to the elevator.
Rachel pressed the button.
The doors closed and she took a deep breath. At least she did not have most of the typical symptoms of pregnancy, except for drowsiness and occasional low blood pressure. But she hadn’t experienced any nausea or morning sickness. She ate normally. Though her bras could not seem to hold her breasts in. They had grown a bit. Her waist was still slim, but she noticed that little by little, the skirts and jeans that used to fit perfectly now felt a bit snug.
Delaney and Piper were ecstatic when she told them. First, they squealed with joy, and then they remembered the story with the baby’s father and insisted that she had to talk to him immediately. Her aunt Ariel had told her she was welcome at the beach house whenever she wanted, and that she hoped Rachel would have a wonderful pregnancy. Aunt Ariel’s words soothed Rachel like a balsam. After all, she was the closest thing Rachel had to a mother.
When she got to the lobby of the building, she froze. Michael was right in front of her, waiting to take the elevator she was exiting. He looked at her with surprise. If there were other people around them, Rachel barely noticed them. Her senses filled up with him.
Michael looked breathtaking in his tailored suit, his hair was slightly rumpled. She imagined that he’d repeatedly run his fingers through his dark hair during a stressful meeting or complicated conversation. It was an unconscious gesture when he was stressed.
“Are you going up?” asked a person waiting to see whether Rachel would leave or stay in the elevator.
She snapped out of her daze, shook her head, and walked out.
A group of people surrounded her to get on the elevator. When the doors closed behind her, only Michael remained. The lobby that led to the building’s three elevators was empty, except for them.
“Hello...” she said at last, with a shy smile.
Michael examined her. She was beautiful. He wondered how late she’d been working. Despite her simple makeup, he noticed dark circles under her eyes. She’d gained a bit of weight, but it suited her.
“Hello, Rachel,” he replied. He had so many things we wanted to say and explain to her. Unfortunately, Dereck and Eugene were waiting for him on the top floor. They wanted to make him an offer to be the partner who opened the new office in New York. They wanted him to transfer there because he was one of the few partners who had taken the bar in three different states. He’d left a meeting at three in the afternoon, and received a call from his secretary reminding him about his meeting at five-thirty.
“I asked for an appointment this morning. And the afternoon receptionist told me you were in a meeting,” she smiled, “but she did not tell me it was out of the office, and that’s why she could not call you. I...”
“The receptionist who is filling in for Alisson today is a mess. I have a meeting right now with my partners,” he said. “Are you all right?”
She nodded.
“I know you told me you never wanted to hear from me again, that I shouldn’t try to see you and...”
“Michael Whitmore, as I live and breathe!” exclaimed a woman’s voice, interrupting her.
Michael and Rachel turned around at the same time.
“Sylvia, what are you doing here?” he asked with a smile. The blonde approached them and gave Michael a hug. And also a kiss, which he returned. “I thought you said you’d never set foot in this building until you had a firm job offer,” he joked.
The beautiful lawyer laughed. She took a step back and called the elevator.
“An issue with some clients of your friend Ferguson. He specializes in labor law. A complicated matter and he represents my client’s husband.”
Michael laughed. Another divorce in Sylvia’s favor, he thought. She was a very good lawyer.
“Well, good luck. He’s not easy to get along with.”
“The legal profession in this country needs more strong-willed women,” she explained with a smile.
Michael turned to Rachel.
“This is Sylvia Bancroft, an old friend.”
Sylvia smiled at Rachel. The latter had become more perceptive, perhaps because of the pregnancy, but the vibes around them were easy for her to interpret. And she would not be surprised by the idea that there was or had been something between Michael and that woman that was more than a friendship between colleagues. She had no right to complain about anything. She needed to remember that she was there to give Michael some news and that she should be thankful that he was even talking to her. Perhaps because he did not have a choice, just as she’d hoped when she decided to look for him at his office.
“Hello, Sylvia,” she smiled, though she wanted to do anything but that.
“Charmed. Are you a lawyer too?” At precisely that moment, one of the elevators opened. “Well, I need to go up, or Ferguson will tear me apart. Are you coming, or going?” she asked Michael.
“I have a meeting with the senior partners.” Damn it, thought Michael. He could not leave Dereck and Eugene waiting. It was not easy for their schedules to coincide. This meeting had been planned three weeks ago.
“What I have to tell you won’t take very long,” Rachel interrupted.
From the elevator, Sylvia gestured to her friend to hurry up. He gestured back with his hand for her to wait a moment.
“Listen, Rachel...” Michael replied, completely disconcerted by the situation, “I have to go to that meeting. I can’t make them wait.”
Rachel wasn’t going to let him brush her off. She’d gone there with one goal, and she had every intention of doing what she came to do.
“I just wanted you to know that I’m pregnant, Michael. And if you have doubts about being the father, I’ll be glad to get a paternity test after the baby is born.” She rummaged in her bag and pulled out that morning’s sonogram. �
�Here you go, in case it’s worth anything when you deny it or tell me to go to hell... again. I don’t want anything from you, or from your family. Nothing. But my baby deserves the Whitmore name. That’s it. And if you’re not willing to recognize it, I’ll take you to court to make it happen. I’ve done my part by informing you.”
Michael stared at her, dazed. He did not react. He’d just had a bucket of cold water poured over him. The photograph in his hand seemed to burn him. He ran his hand over his face and looked at the sonogram. He could not describe what he was feeling.
Seconds later, when he was able to focus his eyes, he realized two things. The first was that Rachel had left the building. The second, that Sylvia had let the elevator go and was by his side with a hand on his shoulder.
“Are you all right? That was some news...”
At that moment, he had an idea. It may not have been the brightest, but knowing Rachel, he thought it was a rational option.
“Sylvia, are you any good at writing prenuptial agreements?”
“So that’s the woman who turned your world upside-down, huh?” she asked without expecting an answer, and then smiled. “We’ll talk about it in the elevator before Ferguson starts to think he has the upper hand. And to answer your question, I’m the best lawyer you’ll find in all of Chicago when it comes to prenuptial agreements.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” he replied.
If she thought that she could drop the news that he was going to be a father as if she were simply explaining a change in the weather conditions, and he’d take it in stride, Rachel was very wrong. He would be a part of that baby’s life. He knew it was his, he did not need a paternity test. Rachel may have lied about her name and her last name, but her body had never deceived him, and he knew that she would not lie about being a mother. She was a proud woman, and he understood, after the way he’d thrown her out of his house, that it had taken a great deal of courage to find him and tell him the news in person. She was not going to escape from his orbit that easily.
He did not think that the idea of marrying someone again would ever be on the horizon for him, not when he’d flatly rejected the thought after Ingrid. But once the word marriage had popped into his head, it increasingly seemed like the best option. He would take his revenge on Rachel in a way she would never forget.
***
Mission accomplished, thought Rachel with shaking legs before she took off her coat and tossed it on the sofa in her apartment. He’d looked at her exactly as she’d expected. Incredulous and indifferent. It shouldn’t hurt that Michael had decided to stay with that Sylvia woman, instead of taking more of an interest in his son or daughter. Though, of course, he probably thought it wasn’t his. She had been right to tell him she was willing to get a paternity test so he could be sure.
That morning she’d had a meeting with her boss. Paul agreed to give her some vacation time. His face when she told him she was pregnant showed no surprise. Paul got up and gave her a hug. He told her she could count on him for anything she needed since she was greatly valued at the company and he did not want to lose her professional input.
He did not ask her anything about the father of her child or make any insinuation about the possibility of supporting her more... personally. Rachel was grateful for that. In fact, just as she’d thought, after the last time Paul had asked her out, he’d never mentioned any romantic interest in her again.
By the end of the meeting, they had agreed that Rachel would take a month off with the vacation days she had saved up over the past two years, but Paul insisted that if there was an emergency, he would need her to work over Skype or Facetime. The company would still owe Rachel a few more weeks of vacation time because she usually took only five days due to the amount of work she had.
Now she was glad that she’d spent so much time at the office. A month would be enough to try to organize her life for her future role as a mother.
“Don’t worry, my darling, you and I will be very happy,” she said, caressing the place where that new life was growing. “Now, let’s go on vacation. How do you feel about that?”
She could manage on her own.
She had a very healthy bank account since she’d saved a lot of money over the years. She could raise a child without depending on anyone, much less a man. But she was ready to take Michael to court if he refused to recognize the child as his own. Feeling fiercely protective of the person growing inside her was new to her, and it was invigorating.
***
“Rachel, open the door. I have a surprise for you,” said Delaney.
Wearing only her bathrobe, she came to the door. Her best friend had the bad habit of rapping on the door with her knuckles and making as much noise as possible, instead of ringing the doorbell.
“I hope you can learn to use the doorbell like a normal person one day,” she replied, giving her friend a hug. “How are you?”
“I should be asking you that since you’re the one with my niece or nephew in there,” she said with a smile. She was carrying a heavy shopping bag in one hand. “Do you know what this is?” she asked as Rachel closed the door behind them.
“Well, you said it was a surprise, so what do you think?”
Delaney laughed at her stupid question.
“Well, we’re celebrating your pregnancy with ice cream, pastries, and a proper dinner at one of the best restaurants in Chicago. I called Piper and she’ll meet us at the restaurant. She could not come over because she said she had to finish an errand.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what’s come over her landlady, but it turns out Piper’s now her favorite person.”
Rachel looked at her friend fondly. She never judged her and supported her unconditionally. It was wonderful to know she could count on her.
“It’s better for my sister to have someone appreciate her and show her she can succeed, than for her to be bitter or worried about her safety or freedom.”
Delaney moved with ease around the kitchen. She pulled out two colorful bowls, spoons, and a serving platter. She put her shopping to one side and started dishing out the treats. Minutes later, she plopped on the sofa and asked Rachel to join her. The latter did not hesitate and started devouring the pastries.
“You’ve got quite the appetite, eh?”
“Lately I crave anything with tons of calories,” she said with a laugh. “I guess I can stop worrying about my figure. In the end, I don’t think the baby will care if its mother rolls down the stairs or stays in shape.”
“You’re so tragic. You need some whipped cream to sweeten your mood,” Del replied with a smile. “I would have like to come with you to the sonogram appointment.”
“Me too... too bad you had to meet with the suppliers for your company today, of all days.” She gave her friend a photo of the sonogram.
“Awww, it’s so exciting, Rachel.” She polished off her raspberry and vanilla ice cream. “Did you take my advice?”
“Yes, but the bastard did not react at all. He stared at me as if instead of telling him he was going to be a father, I’d told him that the Earth was the third planet from the Sun. I gave him a copy of the sonogram.” She sighed. “It doesn’t matter anymore. When my baby’s born, I’ll make Michael’s life impossible until he recognizes the baby and gives him the Whitmore name.”
“I think the man was just digesting the information.”
“Del, do you think that, just for tonight, we can stop talking about Michael Whitmore? Honestly, the idea of eating pastries while we talk about him makes me want to throw all those calories back up.”
Delaney smiled.
“All right, then, I have something to tell you.”
“Really,” she asked with expectation. “A man on the horizon finally, Del?”
She nodded.
“I agreed to go on a date with Fabrizzio.”
“The Italian man with a restaurant in the South Loop area?”
“Yes...” she muttered, blushing.
Fabrizzio Orsini was a
guy from Rome who often worked as Delaney’s supplier when her clients wanted a party with an Italian theme. The man was an angel, but she was so caught up in her work that she did not want to date anybody. Fabrizzio, however, was persistent in the most charming way.
The previous afternoon he’d appeared at her office with white chocolate mousse and a rose, and asked her to give him a chance to convince her that the chemistry between them was real and they needed to explore it. He promised to be patient but asked her to please let him open up to her so she could get to know him better. Delaney could not refuse. And not because white chocolate mousse was her favorite, but because after enjoying her dessert, Fabrizzio gazed into her eyes and romantically asked if he could kiss her.
Delaney had practically melted into his arms. And for the first time in many years, she felt alive. She wanted to explore her emotions with a partner again. And though it might take her a long time to fall in love again, she felt that giving Fabrizzio a chance was what her heart needed.
“That’s wonderful, Del. I’m happy for you!”
“I want to see you happy again, Rachel. In any case, go get dressed now; a delicious dinner awaits.”
“At Fabrizzio’s restaurant?” she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
Del shrugged.
“It’s a good excuse to see him without him thinking I’m too interested.”
With a laugh, the first in the whole day, Rachel went off to dress for the evening. Her vacation started the next day, and she had a flight to catch. But tonight, she planned to enjoy an evening with her sister and her best friend.”
***
From the window of the taxi, Rachel felt nostalgic as she watched the downtown area of her hometown fade away in the distance. The weather was good that morning if that was taken to mean there was less snow. She had a four-hour-and-twenty-minute flight ahead of her from Chicago Midway International Airport to Jetport International in Portland, followed by another leg, on land this time, before she got to Ogunquit. Her aunt Ariel would be waiting for her.
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