Chapter 16 -- Return of the Queen
The next morning I made it to the office ahead of everyone, except Leslie. I stopped by her office on the way to my own. She was reviewing a document on her desk when I stepped into her doorway.
"That was one killer lesson plan you had last night," I joked.
"It's never dull around here," she laughed.
I didn't stay around for small talk; I simply turned and proceeded to my office. I was working on the finances of the firm as the morning progressed and the office filled up, both with our team and several clients in for meetings. I stayed quiet and laid low, knowing my role on days like these.
The afternoon saw the office clear out. Leslie was in court again, while Brooke was off showing several properties. Penny called it a day early but stopped by to see me before she headed out.
"Hey, Emma needs you to help her when Nikki leaves," Penny informed me.
"Sure, just have her yell when she needs me," I assured her.
"Great," Penny responded. "Be sure and give her your best effort. See you at home later, much later."
I had no idea where that remark about my 'best effort' was coming from or what it was intended to mean. I was confused but by the time I raised my head to look at Penny, she was already on her way out of the office. I let that comment stew in my mind for the rest of the afternoon. I was trying to determine what it might mean and in the process I was driving myself crazy. Finally the torture came to an end.
"I'm leaving for the day," Nikki said as she entered my office around 4pm. "Monica has a doctor's appointment and I am going to take her."
"How are you doing with everything," I asked her.
"I am adjusting," she revealed. "I understand what happened and how it happened. I am upset about pieces of it but I love Monica too much to let this stop me. So, we have agreed to work around it as best we can. I want this baby and so does she, but I worry about the impact it will have on us. It will make or break us. I know it. I am just going to work very hard to ensure it makes us and forget the other option."
"Nicholette, you are a wonderful woman," I complimented her. "It is a pleasure to be around you."
"You are too sweet," she said as she turned to leave. "Emma needs you now."
I nodded in response as she made her way out of my office and headed for the front door. I watched her go and then got up from my chair. I walked carefully towards Emma's office. We were the only two in the office now so I did not want to startle her if she was deep in thought.
I reached her doorway and stopped. I stared at her as she was reading two documents on her desk in front of her, apparently comparing them. I did not move or make a sound, but somehow she sensed that I was there.
"Come in and sit down," she instructed without looking up from her documents.
I did as I was told and entered. I made my way to the chair in front of her desk and sat down. Emma's office was much larger than my own. She had a small table with two chairs near the door, a flat screen television with a built in dvd player on the far wall, a couch on the near wall and two visitor chairs directly in front of her desk. This was the office of someone important. It had that ultra-executive feel to it.
"So, I need your help," she began.
"That's why I am here," I replied. "I am part of the team."
"So you are," she reiterated. "But this really isn't a big deal. I just need you to compare the six depositions from the Harbaugh case. They are on the table behind you. Just compare version 1 in the white binders to version 2 in the black binders. It shouldn't take all that long."
"That's interesting," I postured. "Penny made it sound like I would be here for a while."
"Stay as long as you like," Emma stated. "But that is all that I need your help with. Nikki got a lot done today."
"I am glad to pitch in however you need me," I said.
I began to get up out of my chair but then thought better of it and sat back down.
"Is there something else you need," Emma asked when she noticed that I did not get up.
"Well, since we are the only ones here right now, I was hoping we could talk," I revealed.
"If you want to talk about what I think you want to talk about, then the answer is no," Emma declared.
I again thought about pushing the issue, but decided not to. I stood from the chair and filled my arms with the binders on the table. I headed back to my office and got to work. It was a boring, mundane exercise but it was the contribution that I was asked to make, so I did it without complaint. I thought of Emma, hard at work at her desk and I wished I had asked her about Sienna and what she gave up to get Monica out of the game for the term of her pregnancy. I knew Sienna had leveraged it, she is the type of person that would, simply because she could. I really wished that I had asked.
I had a splitting headache by the time I was done comparing the 6 depositions. My eyes were blurry and I was tired. I could not believe that it took as long as it did, as I noticed that it was now well after 6pm. It was an exhausting task, but not incredibly difficult. I collected the binders and returned to Emma's office.
I deposited the binders back on the table that I had collected them from. I turned to leave Emma's office without a word but decided that was not good enough. I walked to the front of her desk and deposited myself into one of the guest chairs yet again.
"Let's talk," I said.
"I will assume you are done with the depositions," Emma responded without looking up at me.
"That's a safe assumption," I confirmed. "Now, it looks like you could use a break from working for a minute and I have some things I want to discuss with you."
"Oh really," Emma postured as she finally looked up at me.
Her eyes were big with fake surprise as she removed her glasses and laid them on her desk.
"Let me guess what is on your mind," she mocked. "You want to know what I did to get Sienna to allow Monica to sit out during her pregnancy. Right?"
