frown deepening, I looked down at my stomach. “Do I look pregnant or something?”
“No, you don’t look pregnant at all. My mistake. With that husband of yours you could get pregnant just by him looking at you, so I’d say watch out.”
I just stared at her in something close to horror, and she laughed.
“Fine. Pretend I didn’t say anything. Of course I’ll handle it. The lunch rush will be over by the time you leave so we’ll be fine until you come back. Everything all right? Still the cold?”
“Yeah.” I gingerly touched my nose, glad it wasn’t runny at the moment. But it had been when I first woke up. “I think it’s just allergies if not a weird cold. I just need to get a nose spray or something. I won’t take long.”
“Okay. You go do whatever you gotta do.” Her smile turned into a grin. “It’ll give me time to start working on Owen, so great timing on your part.”
As soon as Sally headed to the kitchen, I reached for my phone to read my texts.
Jack: I’m glad I’m considered not too bad to look at.
Jack: Are you free for dinner tonight?
It didn’t seem like he was flirting, because he asked if I was free for dinner every night anyway. My excitement slowly deflated, and before I could type something back, a new customer walked in.
After I walked out of the doctor’s office, I took the train to Midtown instead of heading straight back to Madison Avenue. I was still feeling a little dizzy, but if I was being honest with myself, I’d started feeling dizzy the moment the doctor had started talking.
One time I’d been prescribed antibiotics for my sore throat when I was twenty-years-old, and I’d ended up at the emergency room. As it turned out, I was allergic to penicillin. Giving my blood was a whole other…experience. To say I didn’t like needles, doctors or hospitals of any kind would be an understatement. Because of all that, I could do nothing but feel dizzy, thinking the worst.
As to why I was standing in front of Jack’s building near Bryant Park, I didn’t have a straight answer for that. I walked through security, got in the elevator with six other people, and got off on Jack’s floor. I walked up to the blonde-haired, blue-eyed receptionist, the same one I’d seen the only two times I’d been there.
“Hi. I wanted to see Jack?”
“Hello, Mrs. Hawthorne. You don’t have to stop here—you can go straight to his office.”
Dazed, I nodded and thanked her. I had forgotten I was the wife for a second there. While heading to his office, I bumped into Samantha, who was walking next to two other suits.
“Rose?”
I stopped moving my legs one in front of the other. “Oh, hello Samantha. I’m here to see Jack.”
Her perfectly shaped and perfectly arched eyebrows drew together. “Are you okay?”
I held on to the bag on my shoulder tighter. “Yes. Good. Thank you. Do you think Jack will be in his office?”
“I think he is out, actually, but check with Cynthia and she’ll let you know.” The two suits kept talking and walking without her so she glanced at them over her shoulder then faced me again. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look a little pale.”
Surprised that she sounded genuine, I forced a smile onto my face. “Oh, yeah. Just a little sick. It was nice to see you again.” Without waiting for another question, I walked toward Jack’s office, taking the left turn at the end of the hall. Cynthia was on a call so I cast a quick glance into the office as I got closer; it didn’t look like Jack was in there.
“Hello, Rose. How nice to see you here.” Cynthia’s voice made me turn back to her.
“Hey, Cynthia. I just needed a few minutes with Jack. Is he around?”
“He had a lunch meeting with a client.” She looked down at her wrist, checking the time. “Did he know you were coming?”
“Oh, no. I just dropped by. I need to head back to work soon. If you think he’ll be much longer, I can just leave. I’ll catch him tonight.”
“He should be here in five or ten. You can wait in his office. Would you like me to bring you some tea or coffee while you’re waiting?”
I shook my head and managed to offer her a small smile. “I’m good. Thank you.”
When she pushed the heavy glass door open for me, I walked straight