Page 83 of Better Daddy

“Have you had the chance to talk to Will about Yoga Jess?”

My heart sinks.

That’s what she was gearing up to say.

I hate to let her down, but I haven’t spoken to Will since our dinner. I can’t. Not until I figure out what the hell to do about my job. But how do I explain that to her without telling her about his ultimatum? Her reaction will be a lot like Sully’s, I imagine, and once again, I question whether I’m ready for that shitstorm.

Then again, she’s my best friend, and keeping this all bottled up isn’t getting me anywhere.

So, heart in my throat, I ease into it. “I haven’t, actually.”

She tilts her head in surprise. “Oh, I thought you wanted to help.”

“It’s not that I don’t,” I say quickly. Then, before I can back down, I admit the truth. “I’m just not sure how much help I can be.”

Mouth tugged in a frown, she straightens in her seat. “Why?”

“I’m really fucking up at work,” I admit with a sigh. “Like daily. Between this pregnancy and being so out of the game after so many years off, I feel lost.”

“It’s probably just your nerves,” she says. “Or maybe it’s because everyone at that firm is so awful.”

I sigh, my chest deflating.

One shoulder lifted, she says, “Tellme I’m wrong.”

“You’re wrong.” My words lack the intensity that would come with them if I really believed them, though, and she knows it. “Never mind. I’ll talk to Will.”

Her eyes narrow as she scrutinizes me, seeing far more than I’d like her to. “What aren’t you telling me?”

My heart stumbles. This is it. My opening. So I go for it. “The other night at dinner,” I say, lowering my gaze to the pink rug between us, “it wasn’t a work meeting.”

She frowns. “Then what was it?”

“A surprise date?” I say, though the statement sounds more like a question.

“A surprisewhat?” Her eyes bulge. “How does someone surprise date another person?”

“Exactly.” I throw my hands up. “That’s what I’m saying.” Feeling vindicated, I lean forward. “But it was clearly a date. And while we were there, Will laid out exactly what he wants from me. What, you ask, might that be? Well, it isn’t that he wants me to work on more cases with him. That’s for sure.”

Lo snorts. “Let me guess: he wants you naked, spread out on his desk.”

I look away, cringing. Defeat overrides the anger brewing in me when she puts it that way. “I guess.”

“Oh my god,” she shouts. “That ass. What did you say? What did Sully say?Jesus.” With a hand to her chest, she sucks in a breath. “To be a fly on the wall when he knocks Will out.”

I still can’t look at her, so I study the lava lamp and the way the blobs continue to morph.

“No,” she hisses. “Sloane, look at me.”

With my face screwed up, I obey, bracing for her to yell.

“Please tell me you told him to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.”

“He’s my boss,” I protest weakly, my eyes stinging.

“Yeah, and your boss has no right to talk to you that way.”

This time I’m the one who snorts. “Right, because I’m sure your boss doesn’t talk to you like that.”