Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
I nod. “Yes. It was frightening before you came in.”
“You did well, though,” he says. “She’ll be fine and so will the baby. The doctors who work for us are experts in their fields.”
“That wasn’t Sarah’s worry,” I tell him and I start laughing when I remember what she said.
“What was?” he says.
“She was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to face her coworkers after they’ve seen her in all her glory,” I say, laughing.
Jace laughs too. I like the sound of his laughter. It’s unexpectedly loud and contains none of the reservations of his normal persona.
“I can see why that would be a concern,” he says.
Rosie brings our food and sets the tray on the table. She glances at the lanyard with my name. “Welcome to The Anderson Clinic, Olivia,” she says. “Come down for a coffee any time.”
Everyone is so kind and welcoming that I’m seriously starting to doubt whether the reader tip at the magazine was correct. I don’t see how such nice people could cover up something as serious as fertilization issues. In the next instant, it dawns on me how naïve that is. Guilty people don’t go announcing to the whole world what they’re covering up.
Mr. Anderson is having an omelet and toast for breakfast. He sees me eyeing his breakfast. “Change of heart?”
I make a face. “Not at all. I’m not a breakfast person.” I sip my coffee.
“Do you want to make a bet?”
“What?”
“First of all, I think you should call me Jace, after what we just went through. We brought a baby into the world.” His eyes twinkle as he speaks. Being so close to him makes my pulse rate go up.
“Hardly,” I quip and he laughs.
Jace. I try out his name in my mind. I love the sound of it. “A bet?”
“Yes,” he says a twinkle in his eye. “Whether it’s a boy or a girl.”
“Okay,” I say, enjoying the moment. “I say it will be a girl.”
“In that case, I go for a boy.” He grins and for a moment, he resembles a mischievous little boy. “Whoever wins has to take the other for dinner.”
“It’s a bet,” I tell him.
He grins again. “It’s a nice excuse to celebrate the birth of Sarah’s baby.”
“I guess it is,” I say and I can’t stop smiling. I try to remind myself of the purpose of my being at the clinic but none of it matters at this moment. I’m having too much fun. I never expected my first day to be like this.
Jace is good at keeping the conversation flowing. He gives me the numbers of the children who have been born at the clinic since its inception. “Most of these parents are people who would otherwise have not had children,” Jace says. “They come to us because they can’t conceive naturally.”
The number is staggering and The Anderson Clinic is one of many in the country. It seems that conception is a huge problem and doesn’t come naturally to a lot of people. My interest is piqued and we talk and lose track of time.
“More coffee?” Rosie asks, appearing at the table.
We both shake our heads. I glance at my watch. Shit. We’ve been at the cafeteria for an hour. Jace pushes his chair back at the same time as I do. We’re quiet on the way to the office.
“Will you be able to handle things alone?” Jace asks me before he enters the office.
“Yes.” I smile at him, hiding the trepidation I feel at the thought of doing this alone. The plan had been for Sarah to train me for a week. We didn’t even manage a whole morning.
“Good. If you need to know anything, feel free to ask me.”
“Thanks.”
He disappears into his office and I’m left fantasizing about how it would feel to be held in his arms. The phone rings, rousing me from my fantasy. The morning flies by in a whirlwind of activity. As the CEO, Jace is unbelievably busy. Everyone seems to want an appointment to see him and I manage to squeeze them into his calendar for the week. At noon he has lunch with a young professional that he’s mentoring and I have a sandwich at my desk.
After lunch, it’s more meetings and phone calls and I wonder how he keeps up with it all. At two in the afternoon, Jace emerges from his office with a grin on his face. My heart skips a beat.
“The baby is here,” he says, his eyes gleaming. “And guess what? It’s a boy.”
A thrill shoots through me at the news. “Sarah is okay?”
“She’s completely fine and relaxing with her new family. We can pass by and see her in the evening,” he says.
“I would love that.” In the short time that I’ve known Sarah, I’ve come to like her. She’s a nice woman who takes her job very seriously. When she was interviewing me, all she cared about was finding the right person to fill her position and do a good job. I’ll do a good job and still accomplish my objectives.