Laurie could hear a baby crying in the background when Stephanie answered the phone.
“Hey. I can’t talk long,” Steph said. “How’s your first day going?”
“I’d rate it somewhere between stubbing the same toe twice and a bad stomach virus.”
“It can’t be that bad. What happened?” The baby’s cry turned into a soft coo, with a few gurgles.
For some reason, Laurie had never told Steph about her problems with Finn, so she decided to leave his part out of the rundown.
“For starters, I went to the gym this morning and discovered my heart is about as healthy as a Twinkie.”
Steph chuckled. “I’m in the same boat. But at least you went to the gym. You’re doing better than I am.”
“Then, just as I was trying to get oriented, Jarrett comes in and announces he’s leaving New York to take care of some medical issues.”
“Oh, no! He didn’t say what was wrong?”
“No, and I didn’t ask him. But that’s not the worst.”
“There’s more?”
“They expect me to fly… in an airplane.”
“That’s better than flapping your arms,” Steph said sarcastically.
“You know I’m afraid to fly. Somehow, I missed it on the job description. It’s too late to tell them I have a phobia about flying. I should’ve told them that before they hired me.”
&n
bsp; “I bet you’ll get used to it after a few trips. It’ll be even better when you’re on a private jet. You can get up and move around.”
“You don’t understand. I’m not just a little nervous. I can’t fly. I tried. I even bought a ticket and checked my luggage in once. But when the time came to board the plane, I hid in the bathroom, hyperventilating, until it was long gone.”
“Hang on a second. Let me put you on speaker, so I can change a diaper.” After a few seconds, Steph’s voice returned. “Listen… we’ll figure something out. Maybe therapy. Or hypnosis. Or you could take a sedative.”
“I don’t think so. I’m lightheaded just thinking about it.”
“Then you’ll have to travel some other way.” Suddenly, Steph yelped, and a baby’s giggles filtered through the phone.
“What happened?” Laurie asked.
“I didn’t get the new diaper on fast enough. Ford just peed everywhere. And he thinks it’s really funny. Sorry. Gotta go. Call me later.”
Laurie disconnected, thinking she’d rather clean up gallons of baby urine than fly on a plane.
Her phone dinged to remind her about her lunch meeting. She pushed away from her desk and forced her body into a standing position. With her head swirling and heart thumping, she walked toward the door, moving like a zombie in a B-rated movie.
I think I’d rather die on an airplane than face Finn Anderson.
“I don’t really have time for lunch, today.” Cole’s eyes remained glued to the computer screen, as his fingers flew across the keys. “I was planning to order food and keep working. With Jarrett gone, I’ve got even more to do. Right now, I’m trying to figure out how Research and Development blew through two million dollars without completing a single project. I swear, heads are going to roll on this one.”
“But, Laurie’s going to be there.” Finn had been counting on Cole’s presence at the meeting to diffuse their toxic interaction.
“That’s great,” Cole mumbled, scribbling with a pencil on a yellow legal pad.
“Lunch would probably go a lot smoother if you were there.”
“You guys need to get over yourselves so you can work together,” Cole said, absently, pausing to frown at something he’d scribbled.