“I don’t lie to my husband. I love your father very much. How does this whole thing work for you?”
“We’re trying for a baby. We’re going to make it work together.”
“Do you like him?”
“Most of the time. He’s not a bad guy. Yeah, he has his moments of being an asshole, but don’t all guys?”
“Your father’s annoyed that we didn’t get invited to your wedding.”
“No one did. It was done in a courtroom. Documents sealed, nothing fancy.” There was no elaborate dress. They had both been dressed for work. It had been an office day. In the morning she went in as Anya Miller, PA. When she returned she was Anya Leigh, PA. Strange even to her.
“We wanted fancy for you.”
“I’m not the kind of person to appreciate it.”
“Okay, well, how about him making you happy? Does he make you happy?”
“Yes, he does.” She wasn’t going to go into detail of the ways that Xavier made her happy. Spending so much time with him over the past week, she’d started to see the little things. It wasn’t just about the boys he helped in foster care. He loved them, and his cause, making sure he did everything for them. Late one night, he’d been making love to her when his cell phone rang. It hadn’t been his work phone. He owned a special cell for emergencies only. After he finished making love to her, they had gone in search of a boy who hadn’t come home.
They’d found the kid alone at a park, crying. Her heart had broken for the little boy who had found out that his mother had moved on, and wasn’t coming back for him.
“He’s a good man, most of the time.” She told her mother about the incident with the boys, and her mother fell in love with him.
“How can this man be considered a bastard?” Emma asked.
“He’s not very nice to previous girlfriends, and he tends to cause a few problems.”
“Pfft, he sounds like my kind of man. So, do you think you could be pregnant?”
“There’s a chance. A slim chance I might be.”
“I can’t wait. We’re so excited about being grandparents.”
Anya smiled. She loved making her parents happy and proud.
“We’ll see you this weekend. We have the charity event on Saturday. It’s a major thing here for foster kids. Then we’ll be driving to your place.”
“How about Harold and I come and see him? I’d love to see him in something interesting.”
“I’ll ask him, and I’ll call you back.” She wasn’t sure if Xavier would want to meet her parents while also completing tasks to raise money.
“Call me back. I’ll be doing my pot roast, or if it’s warm enough, I’ll get your father to grill.”
“Don’t let him burn anything, Mom. You know how he can get with that thing.”
“Totally agree.”
She said goodbye to her mother, and hung up.
Making her way up to her floor, she saw Xavier was still in his office, and made her way toward the coffee room to refresh hers. If he needed anything he’d call her. Martha was standing at the machine, and the receptionist smiled at her. “Thank you so much. I can come and get my own coffee now without being stopped.”
“I’m glad.”
She grabbed a cup, and started to fill it with cream and sugar. Sensing Martha lingering, she turned to look at the other woman. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Not really. I just, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Sure.”
“Are you dating the boss?”
Those words made Anya freeze. “I’m sorry?”
“I know. It’s so embarrassing asking you that. There’s been a few rumors going around about the two of you leaving together, and some not very nice things have been said. They believe you're the reason he’s broken it off with Becky.”
“That’s a lie. I’m not responsible for him.”
“So nothing is happening?”
Anya didn’t like lying at all. This was harder than she thought it would be. “Don’t believe everything you hear.” Quickly making her escape, she got to her desk, and just got stuck to work.