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Shaking, she sat in her bathroom at home and stared at his card that she had left on the bathroom counter. She wasn't sure she should call him or not. She could afford to take care of a baby without his help, but she felt like he had a right to know.
Now what? She wasn't prepared for this, she always assumed she'd be happily married and might even quit her job to raise kids for a while before going back to the work force. Now it looked like she'd be a single mom, working full time to provide and missing out on some of those moments she always thought would be invaluable to be there for.
And what about the father? Ethan should probably be told.
Worried how he'd react, she started to cry. She didn't want to tell him. He'd probably accuse her of trying to trap him, and get her pregnant on purpose. He'd texted her a few times after that night and she'd avoided him, not wanting to let things develop further. Her job was important to her, and as a special client to her firm, she just couldn't risk it.
Now, she was pregnant. With his baby.
Crap.
Torn between telling him and just having a total freak out meltdown, she picked up her cell phone and called her mom instead. Her mom always had the right answers for everything, and when she didn't, she at least was reasonable and supportive.
"Nyla?" Her mom replied when she answered the phone.
"Hi, Mom. I'm sorry I'm calling so early, I haven't gone to work yet." Nyla said, her voice cracked and she grabbed some tissues to blow her nose.
"Are you okay? You don't sound very good," Her mom asked her sounding concerned.
"I'm pregnant, and I don't know what to do," Nyla set the pregnancy test on the counter and didn't bother to pull her pants up, instead she just sat pathetically on the toilet with them hanging around her ankles.
"I'm assuming you're keeping it?" Her mom asked quietly.
"Yes, I am calling because I need some advice," She told her mom and took a deep breath to explain. "The father is a client of the firm. A very big client, the kind that could get me fired for being involved with him, kind of big. It was a one night stand kind of a situation, I avoided him after, and we used protection. This shouldn't even be possible, but now I have to figure out how to tell him. Or, if I even should. I'm worried he'll accuse me of being after his money mom, I don't need his money. I don't want his money, I just don't know what to do!"
"I know you don't sweetie, but he has a right to know since he's the father, give him the decision to walk away if he wants, that's going to be up to him. If you don't need the money, then give him a way out if he wants it. Sometimes offering a man the ability to walk away shows him that it really is his choice and you're not trying to trap him. Of course, he might also be offended, but depending on how well you know him, you'll have to decide how to handle it. I'm so sorry you're in this position honey, I know you always wanted kids, but I know you always believed in a two parent family." Her mom said, then sounded distracted. "Do you want me to come over today?"
"No, I'm okay. I just needed to hear your voice I guess," Nyla said and then started laughing in a high pitched, hysterical, not funny type of laugh. "I'll figure this out, I just needed you to tell me it was the right thing to do."
"I definitely don't think you should keep this a secret, but I do trust that you'll get through this, and I'm always here if you need me," Her mom told her. "Honey, I hate to do this, but the air conditioning repair man is here, it stopped working last night and it's supposed to be over a hundred today. I need to let him in so he can take a look. Do you want me to call you back?"
"No, I'll be at work. I'll call you this weekend and let you know how things are going and what happened." Nyla said and took some deep breathes, "Love you Mom, I'll talk to you later."
"Alright sweetie, good luck!" Her mom clicked the phone off and Nyla sat there staring at the phone in her hand.
Picking up the number, she went to call him and then realized she couldn't. Instead she texted him, asking him if he'd meet her for lunch today.
She set her phone on the counter and cleaned herself up and pulled her work pants up. She needed to get her briefcase. She didn't have to be in court until this afternoon, but she still had to prepare for it, and she had a client she was supposed to be meeting this morning.
Splashing her face with water, she cleaned off the smeared makeup and redid it until she looked semi passable. She then grabbed her purse and brief case and got into her car to go to work.
She started her car and then realized she left the test on the counter in the bathroom, running back into the house she grabbed it and carried it out to stuff it into her purse. If he needed proof, she would rather have it with her so he didn't ask her to pee on another stick.
She drove to work feeling kind of numb. She tried to focus her thoughts on work, she had a client today who'd planned a meeting and her assistant hadn't told her the name, just that she had a last minute addition from the partners to see at ten a.m. and needed to be on time.
Driving the thirty minutes to work she got there at just a little after nine and walked in, apologizing to her assistant for being late. Normally she always got there before nine, she blamed it on the traffic.
"Do you want your normal coffee?" Her assistant, Julie, asked her. She was a bright paralegal who was a valuable asset to Nyla, and she shook her head no.
"Thanks, but no, I had coffee before I came," Nyla fibbed. In reality, her stomach was queasy from the smell of coffee and she'd rather not throw up in the office. She took a deep breath and went into her office to start going over files for her court date this afternoon.
Nyla lost track of time and didn't realize it was just after ten when a knock came on her door.
"Come in," She called, not looking up from the files she was reading. She was handling a case where the woman was suing her boss for sexual harassment. There were video evidence of his grabbing her breasts and ass at work, and threatening her job if she didn't let him. It should be a shut and dry case.
She set the file down and looked up as the door clicked close and almost jumped out of her chair when she saw Ethan.
"What are you doing here?" She asked in a strangled voice.
