Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
“Oh, hey!”
“I just got a text from Jace. He let me know you arrived.”
“I did.”
“Let me guess. He was super helpful and took extra time getting you settled in.” Her tone is dripping with sarcasm.
“Something like that,” I chirp.
She sighs. “I promise his bark is worse than his bite, and he’s a sweetheart once you get to know him.”
“He seems great,” I reply, and she laughs again, probably because she knows I’m lying through my teeth.
“I’m going to call you with the video option, so just accept it when you see the icon pop up.”
“All right.” I don’t have to wait long before what looks like a video camera shows up at the bottom of the call, and as soon as I touch the arrow to it, Christy’s smiling face fills the screen.
“Awww! Look at you all dressed up for work.” She grins, and I roll my eyes.
“You could have told me the dress code is that there is no dress code.”
“Sorry, I totally spaced it, but you look beautiful. And I love your hair up like that.”
“Thanks, but my feet hate you right now.”
She laughs, then her eyes widen when a sharp cry comes from the background.
“Shit, I think I woke Ivy. Give me one second.”
“I’ll be here,” I tell her, and she quickly gets up and disappears out of view of the camera.
Grabbing my bag off the floor, I take out my water bottle, placing it on the desk, then dig through it for my cell phone and check it to make sure there are no missed calls or texts from my mom. There aren’t any, but then again, she was out late last night with my aunt. The two of them went into Manhattan to watch The Lion King on Broadway, so who knows when she will even be up. Since she got to New York, I’ve hardly heard from her, just a text or a call to check in. But besides that, I’ve only really kept track of her through social media, where she’s been posting all the things she’s been doing on her trip.
“Okay, I’m back.” Christy appears on the screen, holding Ivy against her chest, and my heart instantly melts at the sight of the tiny pink bundle in her arms. “Sorry, I figured I had at least fifteen minutes before she was up again.”
“Don’t apologize.” I watch her adjust Ivy in her hold and then flip down the top of her tank.
“Ouch.” I cringe when Ivy latches onto her nipple and Christy flinches.
“Tell me about it. My nipples are so raw they ache. I do not get how those moms breastfeed for years, even long after their kids have teeth.” I take my eyes off her feeding daughter and focus on her tired but happy ones.
“It’s supposed to be the best thing for her.”
“Millions of babies have flourished without breastmilk. She will be fine when we transition to the bottle in a few weeks.” She takes her eyes off Ivy once again to look at me. “Plus, it will be nice for Jack to be able to take over nighttime feedings for a while. I mean, don’t get me wrong—I love being a mom. But I could do without feeling like a milk factory that’s on-call twenty-four hours a day.”
“I bet,” I agree, because I can’t imagine being the sole source of nutrition and care for a tiny human.
“Okay, enough about me and my boobs. Tell me how you’re feeling and what you need to know.”
“I guess the first thing would be, how am I supposed to answer a call when it comes in?” I ask, and she laughs, then fills me in on how to properly answer the phone, how to transfer a call, and what I need to say when responding to emails.
By the time I hang up with her, I feel a little more confident that I’ll be able to handle things. But that feeling only lasts until I open my inbox and see there are over fifty messages waiting for me.
Lord, it’s going to be a very long few weeks.
Chapter 3
Righty Ho
With a latte in one hand and my bag in the other, I push through the front door of Ellis Technologies at 6:50 a.m. The ten minutes I have to spare will leave me just enough time to scan my badge and drop my stuff in my office before I have to track down Jace for the morning meeting.
One thing I’ve learned over the last few days is the guy never stops moving. He’s always on the run, going from one meeting to the next. And although that works for me, since it means I don’t have to spend much time in his presence, it’s also annoying constantly searching for him when I need an answer to something. I swear, I’m going to pick up a tracking device this weekend and slip it into his pocket without him noticing so life will be a little easier.