Resist

“No.” She was crisp. “I haven’t even told my husband about the baby.” Her eyes locked on mine.

“Oh.” I placed my pen on the desk and stopped writing. “Did you tell him last night after you were let go?”

She shook her head. “I couldn’t.” She spun the solitaire diamond on her left ring finger.

The conversation was becoming delicate. “Mrs. Foley, if you are asking me to provide legal advice and possible representation for you, then I need to know the factors that led to your release. The first would be how someone at work would know about your pregnancy and not your husband.”

She looked me straight in my eye. “Because my boss is the baby’s father.”

“I see.” I took a deep breath. Complicated did not begin to describe the complexity of this case. There were going to be layers I needed to peel back.

“Mrs. Foley, wait just a second.” I walked around behind her and stuck my head out the door. Meg was writing down the name of the women as they walked into the lobby.

“Meg,” I called her toward me.

“What is it?”

“This is going to take a while.”

Her eyes darted with panic. “But we have all these clients and no Addie.”

“I know. I know. But I can’t rush through this. Will you please field these the best you can? Take as much information down for me and then I’ll have a brief prepared at least when I sit down with them.”

“We are never leaving today are we?”

“Do they have cots in this place?” I joked.

“Don’t ever say that out loud or someone will order them.”

“I’ll do my best, but you’re right. It’s going to be a long day.”

I closed the office door, thankful I had the office to myself today so I could discuss this case without other clients walking in and out.

I smiled at her. “Ok. Mrs. Foley, let’s get started from the beginning and I’ll see how I can help you get your job back.”

“You can call me Lana,” she said. “It seems strange for you to keep saying ‘Mrs. Foley’.”

I nodded. “All right, Lana.” I resumed taking notes.

“And I never said I wanted my job back.”

“But you want some kind of compensation?”

“Yes. Of course.” Her eyebrows pinched together.

“What is the name of the company?”

“Company?”

“Yes. Where did you work?”

She cleared her throat. “In the Senate.”

I blinked. “As in Congress? The U.S. Senate?”

“That’s right.”

I pressed my elbows into the planes of my desk. I felt my stomach turn as I asked the next question.