Vanessa grabbed her tea and followed Bobbie to her corner office. The place smelled faintly of paper, leather and old coffee. It was one of the three largest ones on the floor, with the great view of downtown L.A. Stacks of papers, accordion files and legal tomes covered her desk and two tables, while the shelves were occupied by neat rows of leather-bound books. On the desk by her small laptop, she kept a small, framed photo of herself, her husband and their son. They were smiling for the camera, and the boy looked happy. Bobbie was the woman who had it all.
Vanessa closed the door, then took a seat across from the partner.
“So, what’s going on?” Bobbie said.
“There’s something I’ve been wondering about.” Vanessa wrapped her hands around her cup. “Marriage and motherhood as a female lawyer, you know.”
“Are you getting married?” Bobbie’s gaze dropped to Vanessa’s empty finger.
“No, it’s a friend from Stanford.” Vanessa cleared her throat. “But it got me thinking. I’m not getting any younger.”
Bobbie snorted. “Neither is anybody else. Well, what can I tell you? Husbands aren’t too terrible if they understand the demands of our career. So I’d say generally it’s best if you get hitched to another lawyer or someone similar. As for a baby, I suppose it’s doable, but for a brilliant lawyer with a bright career ahead of her, it can be difficult. Babies are more demanding than any client, and you can’t do a damn thing about it. It’s not like you can give them back.”
Vanessa laughed, and Bobbie smiled.
“Unless you find the lawyer work a cakewalk or you feel some kind of unshakable compulsion to have a child…or your man is okay being a house-husband…I generally advise female attorneys not to do it. It can derail your career. And unfair as it is, child-rearing generally falls on the woman. It’s not easy juggling a child and demanding career.”
“But you have a son.”
“What I had was John’s parents. They practically raised the boy. I’m sure you know how it is. You had nannies growing up, didn’t you?”
Vanessa nodded. She and her older brothers had had a series of nannies, most of them young. Her mother hadn’t kept any of them for long, especially when she suspected they might attract Salazar’s attention. Even though Ceinlys knew about his affairs, having it happen under her own roof was just too much.
“They can make things easier. But still, the actual pregnancy and labor and recovery are all on you, and you might resent the fact that the baby’s in the way, or that your career’s keeping you away from your child. It’s not always logical or emotions we’re proud of, but it’s there. It makes things more complex.” Bobbie’s smile turned rueful. “Any of that help?”
“Yes.” Vanessa nodded. “Thank you.”
“Anytime. My door’s always open.”
As Vanessa left though, she couldn’t help but think her situation wouldn’t be the way Bobbie had described. Justin knew how her job was. And the baby could have all the best nannies in the world—there was a lot of Sterling money, and knowing Justin and Barron, she doubted they’d be stingy.
But she didn’t know where she might fit in. All she had was a sinking feeling that she wouldn’t be in the picture for long.
Chapter Seven
Justin’s jet arrived to pick Vanessa up from the small Long Beach airport. Fresh flowers added a nice accent to the luxurious leather and wood-grain interior. He must’ve had it done specially for the occasion, but she couldn’t relax and enjoy it.
Since their texts about the prenup, he hadn’t contacted her once. Not that she’d been standing around waiting for something
to come through the fax machine. She’d been swamped with work. Solaris Med was an important case, and it was already drawing a lot of media attention with accusations of wrongful termination and sexual harassment flung at the client. It wasn’t easy or uplifting to discredit the plaintiff when she knew they were right.
However, she’d managed to draft a fairly good prenup agreement in her very small amounts of spare time. It wasn’t her specialty, but she had a few to model from, like her parents’ own infamous version. Justin’s assets held little appeal, but she wanted a fair custody arrangement for the baby should they divorce.
Or, given what she’d seen in her own family, when they divorced.
The jet stopped in Chicago to pick Justin up and then flew on toward god only knew where. She couldn’t believe how high-handed and resolute Justin was. On the other hand, what had she expected? This wasn’t just any baby.
The heir to the Sterling & Wilson fortune.
Sterling & Wilson was worth billions and had tentacles into the most profitable sectors of six continents. Justin’s great-uncle, Barron Sterling, had built it into the massive empire from nothing, and he’d hand-selected Justin to lead the company since he’d been a toddler. Barron and Justin had every important person in the world on speed dial, and there was nothing they couldn’t do if they set their minds to it.
It was no wonder Justin had reacted the way he had at the news of her pregnancy. His family tended to be conservative and straight-laced about things. Even if she’d offered to give him the baby no-strings attached, he probably would’ve insisted on marriage. Then there was Barron’s reaction. The man had destroyed people—including some of his own family members—for displeasing him. Vanessa had heard how he’d virtually exiled his own granddaughter Kerri to boarding school for something or other. How would he react if he found out Vanessa wouldn’t marry Justin while carrying his child?
She stared at herself in the small window. Her black skirt suit was positively funereal. She’d never wanted to marry. Ever.
Marriage was the most miserable institution in the world, not only for the couple but for their children.
Maybe Justin thought it’d be a good idea to marry, legally speaking. She didn’t know much about pregnancy, but she knew there could be serious complications. One of the associates at the firm had gotten pregnant last year, and she had to take six months off due to some problems. As her husband, Justin would have more legal rights in emergency situations, and it made sense he’d want to be in charge of her and their baby just in case.