Page 34 of Better Than Baby
“We can do that…eventually. But we don’t want a huge houseful of guests during flu season with a newborn infant at home,” I’d explained.
She’d grudgingly agreed that made sense, and then she’d dropped the Mom-bomb. “I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for anyone sniffly while I stay with you boys when the baby comes.”
Aaron read my mind.
He pulled a yikes face as he sat up, ghosting his hand over Lena’s belly. “Matt’s mom wants to stay with us after the baby’s born. A lovely offer, but the open-ended terms need to be negotiated. Right, lawyer hubby?”
“Definitely,” I huffed as my cell buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to silence it, and did a double take at the name on the screen. McElvy, Holstead, and Reyes. The firm was familiar, and yet I couldn’t figure out why.
“Everything okay?” Aaron asked.
I smiled. “Yep. What were you saying about my mom staying for two months?”
Aaron faux fainted on the mat much to Lena’s amusement as well as a few parents-to-be in hearing distance.
Monique smirked. “Allez, Daddy needs zee breathing, eh?”
We all laughed, but hey…this new skill set might come in handy.
I waded through the dense verbiage on my screen with a fine-toothed comb. The contract for licensing rights to a blockbuster soundtrack from the eighties was due this afternoon. A remakewas in the works, and while everyone agreed it was Hollywood’s worst kept secret, confidentiality and punctuality were crucial on our end.
And…I didn’t want to leave anything important on my desk over the holidays.
Buzz buzz
“Ron McElvy from McElvy, Holstead, and Reyes on line one, Matt. He claims this is his third call this week,” Colleen reported through the intercom. “This is his first call to the office, though.”
“Uh…”
Why did that sound familiar?
“Shall I take a message?”
I raked my fingers through my hair. “Yeah. I need to concentrate on what I’m doing. Is Hughes still here?”
“Affirmative, but if you want to catch him, let me know. He’s leaving for the airport in an hour.”
“Yes, please.” I spent another thirty minutes reading the dry-as-dust content and pressed Send just as my partner, Trey Hughes, knocked on my door.
Trey was a handsome Black man in his midfifties—or was he older? I couldn’t remember. Some days it felt as if I’d known the guy forever. I’d worked for Hughes as an intern before he’d taken me on as an associate, and he’d been my biggest advocate when I was a candidate for partner. Now we collaborated closely with our LA office regarding studio projects.
“Hey, Matt. I’m off to LA. I’ll think of you while I’m sipping a martini poolside on Christmas day.”
“That’s cruel,” I huffed. “I sent the contract off. I’m assuming I won’t hear from them now till January.”
“Safe assumption. They’ve scheduled meetings for us in late January, which is ambitious on their part. I think they’ll end up postponing until February and?—”
“The baby is due in February,” I intercepted, absently glancing at an incoming email on my monitor.
“That’s right.” Trey grinned. “Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll handle it.”
I chuckled. “Thanks. Hey, one more thing…do you know McElvy, Holstead, and Reyes?”
“Yeah, they handle adoptions.” He tapped the doorjamb once and waved. “I’m off. Happy holidays, Matt.”
“Happy holidays.”
McElvy, Holstead, and Reyes wasn’t the firm we’d gone through, but maybe someone at the agency had referred us to someone they represented. Any other day, I’d be curious enough to return the call, but a week before Christmas with a baby on the way…not so much.