“Hi, James. Hi, Allie,” she said. “I'd like you both to meet Eva.”
I came around to see the most adorable little girl sleeping in her car-seat. She was dressed in a frilly pink dress with a matching pink hat. Little cherub cheeks and a perfect cupid's bow mouth pouted in her sleep. She was perfect. Absolutely perfect.
I couldn't wait to have one just like her.
“She's beautiful,” I whispered. “Absolutely beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Pride filled Audrey's voice. “I know she's still too little to know for sure, but I'm pretty sure she's brilliant. She's already smiling and tryin
g to laugh.”
“Can I hold her when she wakes up?” I asked, my hands itching to touch the small bundle of pink.
“Of course,” Audrey assured me. “She'll probably wake up in the next half hour or so to eat and you can hold her after I feed her.”
“Let me get your chair for you,” James offered, pulling out a seat for Audrey. She smiled and sat down, her hand still protectively on the car-seat. She never stopped the gentle rocking motion.
“I saw the headlines today. It's all over the Internet,” Audrey said, looking at the two of us as we took our seats. “I had no idea you two were an item.”
I glanced at James, but he just nodded. “We are,” he said matter-of-factly.
“I'm happy for you, James,” Audrey said, then looked at me and smiled. She turned back to her baby almost immediately. “Oh, she just woke up.”
Reaching into the car-seat, Audrey pulled her daughter out and cuddled her for a moment. She was so tiny, I could barely believe it. Tiny and absolutely perfect.
“Do you mind if I feed her here?” Audrey asked, already throwing a blanket over her shoulder.
“Not at all,” James responded. I smiled inwardly, glad that he was so cool with it. It would make feeding our child that much more comfortable.
“Thanks.” Audrey tucked her daughter under the blanket. Her face twisted for a moment and then relaxed as her daughter started to nurse. “Anyway, I was terrible to you in high school, Allie. Really, really terrible. But, I think that the two of you make a great match. You complement one another well.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly. A small blush filled my cheeks, and I fiddled with my menu.
“But, you didn't come here to discuss your love lives with me,” Audrey continued. “Why did you want to meet with me?”
“I need your help,” James said. He put his elbows on the table and leaned forward, looking incredibly professional. “I'd like to offer you a job.”
Audrey's eyebrows arched up. “A job?”
“I need a new secretary.”
“And you want me?” She laughed. “James, I have a newborn baby and almost no skills. Why do you want me?”
“Because you've held up your non-disclosure agreement,” James replied. “In addition, I saw what you've been doing with the child payments. You know what you're doing.”
“I should have known you'd see my investments,” Audrey said. She shifted her position and closed her shirt before pulling her daughter out from the blanket. “That still doesn't solve the problem of me being a single mother. My hours are rather limited, and I get the sense that you work twenty-four seven. Did you still want to hold her, Allie?”
I nodded, a greedy smile on my face as she carefully stood and handed me her daughter. The little girl's eyes were closed and she had a pleasant “I just ate” expression on her face. She felt right in my arms, as if I were made for holding children. I gently moved her to my shoulder and tapped gently on her back. I loved holding her so much, I thought that there was a chance that I wasn't going to give her back. Audrey handed me a burp cloth to protect my shirt.
I looked away from the baby long enough to see James smile at Audrey. It was his business, wheeling-dealing, grin. Audrey was as good as hired. She hadn't flat out said no, so now it was just the negotiation that needed to happen. “What do you want?”
Audrey mimicked James' posture and hand placement. “I want to be hourly so I can earn overtime. And I want the ability to work from home when feasible.”
“Done.” James shrugged. “Anything else?”
“I need childcare. Either in office or at home.” She narrowed her eyes. “And if you want me at your Boston office, I want both. And moving expenses.”
“The Boston office already has a child care center and moving expenses are a given,” James replied, waving her concerns away with his hand. “As for the in-home child care, that would be on your own dime.”