now wasn’t the best time for this meeting. “I can come back later ...”
“Sit,” she barked, getting up from her chair. I wanted to cringe as she came around her desk toward me. Fortunately I resisted the urge to scream don’t hit me . Not that it mattered, because she continued on to her private bathroom.
Whew. I relaxed. That was close. At least now I knew that if Lydia ever got angry at me I should invest in a one-way ticket to Siberia and hope she didn’t track me down.
When she reentered the office five minutes later there was no sign that she’d ever been upset. Her complexion was creamy again and her hair the shiny smooth cascade it always was.
“Give me your report,” she said as she sat down and crossed her long, silk-encased legs.
I blinked a couple times. Can we say schizo? “I made great progress last week. While I don’t have a long list, I believe the quality of the candidates makes up for the quantity.”
“Let’s see it.” She held out an elegant hand that had a whopping sapphire on it.
Instead of thinking about the hefty down payment I could put on a house with that stone, I opened my folder and pulled out my spreadsheets. “I have a comprehensive report on each potential donor. Granted, they aren’t as detailed as I’d like, but the initial information is accurate and gives a good picture of the positives and negatives for each one.”
Lydia took the papers and flipped through them casually. I tried to read her expression for a sign of approval but I only saw frosty calculation.
I cleared my throat. “And I’m still amassing data, so this isn’t the final gene pool to select from. Since I have another two weeks, I thought—”
“You have only one more week.” Lydia handed the spreadsheets back to me. “I want to make my decision by the third week, which means you have until next Friday to amass your list. The last week I’ll meet with the men you’ve lined up and make my decision.”
I almost fell out of my chair. “Next Friday?” That was seven days away.
She arched a perfect blond eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”
Hell yeah, it was a problem. “No, not at all.” I hoped I sounded confident instead of like I was going to throw up. “Next Friday is doable.”
“Good.” She opened her laptop and began clacking at an insane speed. I type fast but not that fast. Oh, the work I could get done if my fingers moved at the speed of light.
But even the lightning-quick tapping of Lydia’s digits didn’t distract me from the burst of panic that shot through me.
Okay, I didn’t have room for doubts. I needed to make more money, especially after the tidy sum I’d given my dad earlier this week. Earth was created in six days, right? Two weeks had to be long enough to find a sperm donor.
Besides, look at what I’d accomplished in one week. I didn’t have a ton of names, but the ones I’d collected had potential. Especially Joseph—my gut told me he was the one.
Lydia glanced up. “Was there anything else, Katherine?”
“No.” Silly me for not realizing I was dismissed. I gathered up my papers and arranged them in their proper order again. “I’ll have the final list for you next week.”
She gave me another cold look before returning to her work. I tiptoed out of her office so I wouldn’t disturb her, easing the door closed behind me.
Jessica looked up and her eyes narrowed again.
I shook my head. “I can give you the number for my optometrist if you’d like. He’s really excellent but inexpensive. Did you know about one and a half million Americans have glaucoma but don’t know it? Tell you what—I’ll e-mail it to you.” I smiled at her and headed for my closet—um, I mean, office.
On my way down I made a mental list. First, I needed to call Luc and ask him to take me out again. Two more outings and I should be set.
Then I needed to start my expense report—going out was costly. Good thing I wasn’t a social creature—I couldn’t
“Sit,” she barked, getting up from her chair. I wanted to cringe as she came around her desk toward me. Fortunately I resisted the urge to scream don’t hit me . Not that it mattered, because she continued on to her private bathroom.
Whew. I relaxed. That was close. At least now I knew that if Lydia ever got angry at me I should invest in a one-way ticket to Siberia and hope she didn’t track me down.
When she reentered the office five minutes later there was no sign that she’d ever been upset. Her complexion was creamy again and her hair the shiny smooth cascade it always was.
“Give me your report,” she said as she sat down and crossed her long, silk-encased legs.
I blinked a couple times. Can we say schizo? “I made great progress last week. While I don’t have a long list, I believe the quality of the candidates makes up for the quantity.”
“Let’s see it.” She held out an elegant hand that had a whopping sapphire on it.
Instead of thinking about the hefty down payment I could put on a house with that stone, I opened my folder and pulled out my spreadsheets. “I have a comprehensive report on each potential donor. Granted, they aren’t as detailed as I’d like, but the initial information is accurate and gives a good picture of the positives and negatives for each one.”
Lydia took the papers and flipped through them casually. I tried to read her expression for a sign of approval but I only saw frosty calculation.
I cleared my throat. “And I’m still amassing data, so this isn’t the final gene pool to select from. Since I have another two weeks, I thought—”
“You have only one more week.” Lydia handed the spreadsheets back to me. “I want to make my decision by the third week, which means you have until next Friday to amass your list. The last week I’ll meet with the men you’ve lined up and make my decision.”
I almost fell out of my chair. “Next Friday?” That was seven days away.
She arched a perfect blond eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”
Hell yeah, it was a problem. “No, not at all.” I hoped I sounded confident instead of like I was going to throw up. “Next Friday is doable.”
“Good.” She opened her laptop and began clacking at an insane speed. I type fast but not that fast. Oh, the work I could get done if my fingers moved at the speed of light.
But even the lightning-quick tapping of Lydia’s digits didn’t distract me from the burst of panic that shot through me.
Okay, I didn’t have room for doubts. I needed to make more money, especially after the tidy sum I’d given my dad earlier this week. Earth was created in six days, right? Two weeks had to be long enough to find a sperm donor.
Besides, look at what I’d accomplished in one week. I didn’t have a ton of names, but the ones I’d collected had potential. Especially Joseph—my gut told me he was the one.
Lydia glanced up. “Was there anything else, Katherine?”
“No.” Silly me for not realizing I was dismissed. I gathered up my papers and arranged them in their proper order again. “I’ll have the final list for you next week.”
She gave me another cold look before returning to her work. I tiptoed out of her office so I wouldn’t disturb her, easing the door closed behind me.
Jessica looked up and her eyes narrowed again.
I shook my head. “I can give you the number for my optometrist if you’d like. He’s really excellent but inexpensive. Did you know about one and a half million Americans have glaucoma but don’t know it? Tell you what—I’ll e-mail it to you.” I smiled at her and headed for my closet—um, I mean, office.
On my way down I made a mental list. First, I needed to call Luc and ask him to take me out again. Two more outings and I should be set.
Then I needed to start my expense report—going out was costly. Good thing I wasn’t a social creature—I couldn’t
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