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"Nick, wait! Won't you reconsider? I happen to think you might be the right guy."
He turned to look at her again. "How do you figure?"
"A man that supports and cares for his family is exactly the kind of person I'm looking for. A good man. You're dependable even though your job history doesn't reflect it. I detect a strong sense of character in you. I like that. It's rather hard to find these days. I like—you. Now, tell me what happened to your father. Why isn't he supporting your family?"
Startled by her shift in subject, Nick hesitated, "I don't wanna waste your time."
"I have to ask, Nick."
Why was he still here, putting up with her nosey questions?
"Please tell me."
"My dad left us. Enough said. A lot of dads walk out. He drank too much, didn't work enough."
"Drugs?"
"Nah, gambling and drinking and other women, mostly."
"I see." Her expression softened on him again, her voice lowered. "How painful for you. Were you very young?"
Her compassion confused him.
He didn't need pity; he needed to get out of here. "No, look, I was grown, okay? He done good to leave, I might have killed him if he'd hung around much longer. Tony was still little. I was twenty one, trying to decide whether to go to trade school or the army."
"And you went to work instead, and supported your family." She cleared her throat, her expression softening on him. Pretty soon she'd be pinning medals on his chest and telling him what a hero he was. She had blinders on.
He didn't want pity or concern, and yet the very fact that she sympathized forced him to rethink his opinion of her—again. This stone woman, a woman who would ask for sperm so casually, apparently cared about people and their troubles. A woman from so different a world, who could understand. So what? That didn't mean he had to get her pregnant, did it?
"Look, Nick, I'm taking the time to find the right man, and I can make it worth your time."
"You'd pay me to go through with these tests?"
"Naturally. At least you won't lose any money being off work, and it might be worth the effort for both of us. As I said, this is strictly business. Contracts will have to be drawn. The money would be sufficient to take care of all your family's needs. I'd see to that."
"What if we don't get along?"
"That's irrelevant. This isn't personal. Please understand that."
He took a step toward her, leaning toward her. "You want to have my baby and that's not personal? You like a person who recognizes responsibilities, but you don't want me to hang around? That doesn't jive."
"Not in the way you're thinking at least. I'd want to get to know you for the child's sake, naturally. She'll want to know what her daddy was really like."
The woman was already determining sex. She'd really preplanned this, maybe down to the last detail. But even she wasn't God.
Daddy, he liked that sound. It warmed him. And a little girl, nice. But it was crazy and he wasn't about to do it.
"What about you?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. What qualifies you to be a mother? And who's gonna take care of you while you're pregnant?"
She chuckled, a heady little laugh.
"I'm quite capable of taking care of myself. My credentials are all over the walls of this office, in case you haven't noticed." She gestured to the walls behind her.
"Nah, I don't care about your credentials," He glanced to the walls and shook his head. "I wanna know who you are. What's behind all this? What qualifies you to be my kid's one and only parent? Don't you have any feelings for the kid? Don't you think the kid would miss a father? Don't you think you are being just the least bit selfish?"
