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“For what?”
“It’s not too late to announce it and hand out cigars. You’ve got an hour and a half before five o’clock. I’ll go buy cigars or candy or whatever you want. You call a meeting for the whole company.”
His face brightened. “You really think I should? It could be fun, I guess.”
“Let’s do it!”
*****
Spencer was nervous when he got the notice about the company-wide emergency meeting at four thirty, with only an hour’s notice. Did this have something to do with the newspaper story? He was relieved Gherring hadn’t blamed him, but he still felt responsible. Gherring had been angry, as expected. What he hadn’t expected was how frustrated Gherring was. He thought someone as rich and powerful as Steven Gherring would’ve been able to fight the paparazzi and send some heads flying. But evidently that wasn’t the case.
Sam found Spencer, and she pulled him to the side. “This is really weird. We’ve never been called together for a last minute meeting before. Maybe he’s going to close down a branch and lay some people off.”
“Why would he do that? Is the stock doing badly?” He wondered if the tabloid speculation could actually hurt Gherring Inc. financially.
“No. No the stock’s up, actually. I don’t know—I’m worried because this isn’t normal.”
The noisy group fell completely silent as Gherring entered. His face was stern as he looked over the large group, standing awkwardly and craning to see. He motioned to the side. Emily and Gherring’s secretary approached him, carrying two large boxes. Gherring stood up on a chair.
“I’m sorry we don’t have a conference room large enough to accommodate all of you. I have a very important announcement to make.” He paused, and the audience waited in uneasy silence.
“The timing on this is a bit awkward. We didn’t really want to make this announcement until we were closer to the actual time, so we’d be sure it would actually happen.” He paused again, and the group began to murmur. Suddenly Gherring’s face changed. His dimples flashed, and mouth stretched in a huge grin.
“I’m going to be a dad!”
There was a moment of shocked silence, and then the whole group started cheering and clapping, sending out shouts of congratulations. Spencer could tell the employees really liked Gherring and were genuinely happy for him.
“And!” Gherring shouted over the crowd noise, “I’ve got cigars and candy for everyone so we can celebrate. But please, remember no smoking at the office.” He chuckled with the employees.
“But… there is more,” he added, with a more somber expression. “Anne’s having some serious complications, and the media got possession of some pictures... To make a long story short, we’ve got a television interview about it tonight. But we didn’t want you to be the last to know.”
Sam whispered, “I thought she didn’t look well this week. And she’s so thin—that can’t be good.”
“She’s already considered a high-risk pregnancy,” Gherring continued, his face lined with worry. “And she has a condition called hyperemesis gravidarum. Anne and I would both really appreciate your prayers.”
He reached out to Emily and caught her hand, giving it a squeeze.
“But we’re not going to let that stuff take away from how excited we are.” He grinned sheepishly. “We’re pregnant!”
*****
“I saw your mom and dad on the news tonight,” said Grace as she and Emily made their way toward the art class. “It sounds really scary. Are you worried about her? I thought she was really brave to go on television like that, but she looked really thin. Has she gained any weight at all?”
Emily giggled as Grace prattled on. How on earth would she ever answer a question? Grace never stopped talking long enough for her to say anything. But she enjoyed her new friend’s enthusiastic chatter.
“I’m so excited you’re going to this class with me. Just wait until you see the art teacher. He’s so hot! And he’s mysterious and sort of, I don’t know, sultry.” Grace gave a little shiver to emphasize her words. “But he’s got this strict policy of not dating students. Which is too bad, because I’d love to lock lips with the guy. His voice is even romantic, and he talks so... You’ll have to meet him to understand.”
“How old is he? I pictured the art teacher as being about fifty for some reason.”
“Oh, he’s older, but not that old. He’s like thirty-two I think. And the whole class is girls. I think there’s maybe one guy out of twenty. And the girls all flirt with him and try to get his attention, even though he says he won’t date a student.”
“Well I won’t flirt with him—I’m going to this class to improve my technique.”
“Me, too. But I’d like a chance to improve my technique with him in other areas in addition to art.”
“My, oh my! What would your brother say if he heard you talking like that?”
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