Saving Emmy by Rayne Lewis

Chapter 13

Ember stayed in the conference room for a bit while the analyticals continued and the men discussed strategies. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing she had seven men on her six. She really had to pee, so she slipped from the room, no one noticing her make her pee-getaway.

Ember made her way down the hallway to the closest bathroom, thinking about how she was going to set up her office in the space King had given her. Her space was right next to King’s office, and sandwiched on the other side was Slate’s, which gave her a sense of comfort knowing if someone were stupid enough to come to Hellforce to find her, they’d be meeting King before they got to her, and Slate would be right behind him. That is, if they could get past the other six just-as-deadly men in the surrounding offices.

She pushed open the door to the bathroom and was met with a sound that almost turned her stomach. Someone was puking.

Ember stood in the bathroom entrance, not knowing if she should turn back around and give the poor person her privacy, or if she should offer some help or assistance. The latter won out.

“...Um, is everything all right?” Her words echoed in the cavernous space of the stalls. “Are you okay?”

Another gut-wrenching heave came from within the first stall.

Ember stifled a grimace. She waited until the remains of someone’s breakfast emptied into the toilet. “Do you need help?”

Heaving pants came from within the stall. “Nope…” The words were strangled and nasal, “I’m good.”

Ember didn’t think the woman on the other side of the metal barrier was all that good. “Ah, are you sure? It sounds like it’s the opposite of good. I can get someone—”

“No, no...I’m alright. I’m fine.” The sound of toilet paper being spun off the roll was loud in the large space. “Just need a minute.”

Ember paused, waiting to see if the woman was going to empty anything else into the bowl. The voice was clearly in distress, but also seemed familiar. She could be any one of the number of women who worked in the building, so Ember took a chance. “Um, Mary?” She drew her friend’s name out.

There was a lull before a response came. “Yeah?”

Ember let out a breath. “Is everything all right? Did you eat something bad?”

No response.

“Do you have food poisoning?”

“Um...no.” Her response hung in the air.

“Do you need me to get King,? I can—”

“Oh, God, no!” Mary almost shouted. Her voice rang off the tiles.

“Are you sure? You sound absolutely miserable.”

The toilet flushed and Mary scurried until she righted herself, the metal partition forbidding her much room and not nearly enough privacy.

Ember recoiled in her mind when Mary came out from the stall. She looked horrendous. She was sweaty and her face was pale and flushed at the same time.

Straightening her skirt and righting her top in a frenzy of motion and nerves, Mary asked, “How do I look?”

Ember stood and stared.

When her response didn’t come, Mary staggered to the sink and looked in the mirror. “Oh, God…” She franticly tried to finger comb her hair.

“You don’t look...that bad.”

Mary shot her a look through the mirror. Suddenly, one hand flew over her mouth as the other grasped her stomach. She raced back into the stall not bothering to shut the door behind her.

Ember entered behind her friend, reached over her bent posture, and held Mary's hair.

Mary’s dry-heaves sounded guttural and Ember felt bad for her. She didn’t know what to say so she just waited until the heaving stopped.

“Oh, God...I’m going to die,” Mary said with panting breaths, resting her head over her crossed arms. “Oh, God, this sucks!” She pulled a handful of toilet paper from the roll and wiped her mouth. She reached back and took her hair from Ember’s grasp. “Thanks...you’re a great friend.”

Ember moved out of the stall, over to the sink, and wet some paper towels with cold water. Mary emerged, looking even more sickly than before. Ember handed her the towels and waited with her hip against the vanity top.

“Oh, whew...thanks,” she said, taking the wet towels and patting her forehead then her neck.

Ember eyed Mary, waiting for her to talk.

Mary met her eyes in the mirror, but still said nothing as Ember noted the indecision in her gaze. Was she trying to make something up?

“Are you…”

“Don’t say it! Don’t even utter the words.” Mary closed her eyes as she pleaded.

“...pregnant?” Ember couldn’t stop the word from rolling off her tongue before Mary's mournful plea.

“Oh, fuck!” Mary sagged against the counter with her arms locked and head hung. “Now you did it! You uttered the words and now you did it!”

Ember shifted her weight to the other hip. “Um, I’m pretty sure it was King who did it...if my assumption is correct.”

Mary shook her head. “Fuck!”

Ember tried to tread lightly.

“Is this a bad thing?” The question was curious.

Mary filled her cupped hand with water and rinsed her mouth, sipping and spitting, and didn’t answer.

“Is this an unpleasant thing?” Ember tried again.

Mary winced. “No, it’s not unpleasant.

Ember flattened her lips in confusion. “No, it’s not unpleasant? That’s a double negative,” Ember tried to lighten the mood and raised her eyes to the ceiling. “So, two negatives negate each other, so…it’s not a bad thing? But, the not, negates the unpleas…” Ember closed her eyes and shook the rambled grammar from her thoughts. “Um, kinda sendin’ mixed messages, Mare.” She knew her ramblings worked when Mary cracked a grin.

Mary stood, shoulders slumped in front of her friend, with a goofy grin on her face though she also looked like she wanted to sob. Ember waited for her to say something. Between the cryptic sentence and now the mixed facial features, she didn’t know what to expect.

Mary started to sob. It began slowly and then morphed into a shoulder-shuddering cry.

“Oh, it’s okay, hun.” Ember took Mary into a hug and Mary almost fell into her. She didn’t know if it was okay, but she didn’t know what else to say. “Babe, listen, it’s okay. I’ll help you through this. Anything I can do, you got it.”

Mary sobbed into Ember’s shoulder and then uttered the muffled words, “I’m so happy.”

Ember paused, thinking she may not have heard her friend right or maybe this was another cryptic message, because Mary’s emotions were all over the place and definitely sending mixed signals.

She pulled back, noticing Mary had ugly-cried onto her shoulder and now had snot leaking from her nose. Ember pulled a few paper towels from the dispenser and handed them to her. She vigorously wiped her nose and blew into the paper. Composing herself, she stared at Ember.

Ember raised her brows.

“I think I may be pregnant.”

Ember waited for her to continue.

Mary smiled another goofy grin.

“This is good?”

Mary nodded her head, the grin getting bigger and goofier than before. “I think so.”

“And, King? Is he happy?”

Mary’s face fell and she again looked on the verge of tears.

“No, no, no, nooo...not gonna do that again. Happy, you’re happy, no tears.” Ember didn’t want to go another round with Jekyll and Hyde.

“King doesn’t want a baby?” Was this the source of Mary’s tears?

“He doesn’t know.”

“He doesn’t know if he wants babies?”

“No, he doesn’t know.”

Ember shook her head and looked Mary directly in her face. “No, no more cryptic grammar. Look at me, Mary. Are. You. Happy?”

“Yes.”

“Is King happy?”

“He doesn’t know. I haven’t told him.”

Okay, now Ember was getting somewhere. “Have you taken a test or been to the doctor?”

“No,” she looked at Ember and then added, “and, no.”

“So, no test; no doctor?”

“Yes.”

Oh, my God. It was like Abbott and Costello’s Who’s On First. Ember wanted to shake her friend, but then had second thoughts because she didn’t want to hurt the baby that may or may not, be gestating.

Ember drew in a breath and smiled back at her friend.

“Do you need me to go and get you a test?”

Mary nodded.

“Do you want to take it here?”

Mary desperately shook her head no.

“Do you want to take it at home?”

Mary shook her head in the negative. “I don’t want to take it at home. I don’t want King to know.”

“Okay, so not here and not at home.” Ember paused and then asked, “Do you want to come to my house and take it? Give you privacy?”

Mary nodded and wiped her nose again, “Will you stay with me while I take it?”

“If that’s what you want, then, yeah, I’ll be there.”

“Thank you. I’ve been a wreck.”

Ember wanted to say, “No, shit,” but thought better of it.

“When do you want to do this?”

“Right now?” It came out as a question, but Ember took it to mean sooner rather than later.

“Okay, where's your car keys? I’ll grab them while you stay here and...freshen up.”

“I don’t have my car. King drove me in today.”

Shit. That was a problem. She would have to ask Eli if she could use his truck. Damn!

“Okay…” she looked around. “I’ll go get some keys and we’ll head out.” She turned to leave but then turned back to Mary. “Don’t you have to let King know you’re leaving?”

“Can you just tell him we’re leaving for lunch?” she pleaded.

Ember looked down at her watch. “It’s only nine-thirty.”

“Shit.”

“Can’t you tell him you’re not feeling well and need to go home?”

Mary laughed, which Ember liked, because it meant she wasn’t on the verge of crying. “You ever seen him when I’m sick?” Mary laughed a little harder. “Man practically sets up a triage unit in the house to assess my degree of illness and then plays nursemaid until I’m back up to par. I’ve had a hell of a time trying not to puke at home. I hold back until I’m here at work.”

Ember had to laugh because all she could picture in her head was a big, strapping King in a little nurse’s uniform waiting on Mary hand and foot.

“I’ll just tell him we’re having a girls’ day.” She added, “Not a total lie.”

Mary looked relieved as Ember headed towards the door. “Be back in a snap.” She quickly hurried out the door.

* * *

Ember barreled out of the bathroom and collided into a chest of steel. “Whoa!” Slate stopped her from crashing into him and Ember let out a little screech. “Where’s the fire?”

“What’cha doing here?” she asked in a startled breath, steadying herself.

“Didn’t know you’d be gone this long.” He checked his watch. “You’ve been gone for twenty minutes. Came looking...to make sure everything’s all right."

“I’m fine.” The words came out in a rush.

Slate tucked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear. Her red locks were on the verge of frizz because of the hot Texas morning.

“Ya sure? ’Cuz you seem kinda jumpy.”

She tried to relax. “No, everything’s fine. Perfectly normal. Peachy.”

Now, Slate knew something was amiss. He eyed her with suspicion.

Ember smiled a smile she hoped didn’t look too forced. Eli knew her like the back of his hand. She never could get away with lying to him. He could always tell when she was pulling a fast one. She had to say something quickly to keep the questioning off herself. She blurted the first thing that came to her mind. “I need to use your truck.”

Eli loved his truck and never let anyone use it. “Why do you need my truck?”

Ember tried to think of a reason, but her mind was blank.

Slate waited for her to answer. She watched him assess her body language.

“I want to take Mary for lunch.” Oh, double shit!

Slate repeated the gesture she had done with Mary and looked at his watch. “It’s only a little past nine-thirty.”

She could feel a bit of perspiration breaking out on her upper lip and hoped that her forehead wasn’t glistening as well. She was painting herself into a corner. Think, think, think. He’s going to know you’re lying. Her conscience was screaming at her and she was warring with it to shut the hell up and let her think.

“Girl’sday!” Ember blurted out the words so fast they came out as one word. Triple shit!

She knew that he knew she was lying. She had to pull this off. Mary was going to burst into tears, sobs, and possibly histrionics if she failed to get the keys.

“Girl’s day with who?” Eli’s suspicion was palpable.

Stay calm. It’s not a lie.“Mary.” She could do this. She had to keep her calm. She was a former sniper. She knew how to collect herself. She just had to dig into the mindset that this was a mission. Plain and simple. Nice and easy.

“Where’s Mary? Didn’t see her at her desk.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. Stay calm. Tell him the truth.“In the bathroom.” Nailed it!

Eli pointed to the door behind them. “This bathroom?”

Truth.“Yes.”

“Is she all right?”

Panic!“Yes.” Nothing unhealthy about possibly being pregnant, right?

Eli stepped around Ember and knocked on the door. “Mary?”

There was no reply.

He knocked again, this time a little more forceful, the sound echoing in the hallway. “Mary? Are you in there? Is everything all right?”

Shit. His voice was loud and carrying down the corridor. If he got any louder it would bring the guys out of the conference room. That was the last thing Mary needed.

Eli looked over at Ember.

Panic was trying to seep in, but she held it at bay. “Maybe I’ll just go in and make sure she’s okay.” Ember didn’t see any other way to quench this fire. She tried to move around Eli, but he stood his ground in front of the door, not moving an inch. He was a wall.

He knocked a third time, this time so hard she was almost certain everyone in the building heard it. Her heart was beating against her ribs. She wasn’t sure if the sound was coming from Eli’s knuckles or from inside her body. Hell, she could feel every knock as it reverberated in her chest.

“Mary, if you don’t open the door, I’m going to have to come in to make sure you’re all right.”

Shit. Damn. And shit again!

Eli waited no more than three seconds and then pushed open the door.

Mary was standing at the sink, composed, pulled together. Ember let out her breath in a woosh.

Mary turned around and met Eli’s gaze.

“You all right?” He asked.

“Yes, I’m fine.” Mary stayed poised.

“You didn’t answer.” Eli was studying every inch of her, measuring every reaction.

“Kinda hard to answer when you're in the middle of taking a sh— ”

Eli didn’t let her finish the sentence. “Okay, okay. Got it.” He shook his head, probably to clear out the mental image. “You could have at least yelled or something.”

Ember held still.

“Ready to go, Em?” Mary was pulling off this nonchalant attitude so well, she could have won an Oscar.

“Can I have the keys?” Ember held her hand out, palm open, waiting for Eli to hand them over.

“Nope.”

“What do you mean, ‘Nope’?” Ember felt the panic flow again but tamped it down. She didn’t want to prolong this and have Mary possibly burst into sobs.

“First, no one drives my truck, and second, wherever you need to go, I will drive you. I don’t want you traipsing all over town when you’re supposed to be in my protection.”

Shit, that threw a wrench into their plan. Ember tried to think of an excuse but couldn’t conjure anything concrete, so she went with, “How is it a girls’ day if it’s me, Mary and Eli? You have an ‘outtie’ when you need to have an ‘innie,’ for it to be girls’ day.”

Eli looked confused for a moment but caught on to her jest.

“The same way you and Maven have Margarita Mondays. I stay within seeing distance and you girly it up.”

Shit, shit, shit!He had a point. Mondays were sometimes spent with Eli and the Hellforce boys. The boys shot the shit over beers while the women sat at the bar and ‘rita-ed.

“Our girls’ day is at my place. No girly spa or nails, just me and Mare watching chick-flicks on Netflix and eating junk food.”

“That’s fine. I’ll just bring the laptop and catch up on things I missed while being gone this last month. You and Mare can have the living room, and I’ll work in the dining room.”

Fuck!They were screwed. No way Eli was going to let them out of his sight. And, how was Mary supposed to pee on a stick with him hovering at her house? She had to go with it, because if she suddenly changed her mind and told him she didn’t want a girls’ day, his suspicion would skyrocket, and he’d start asking questions.

“That’s cool.” Ember hoped he bought it, because she was using every bit of cool she could muster.

“Okay. Meet you back up front. Just gotta tell the guys I’m taking off.”

He gave her a tight smile, turned and gave Mary a wave, then he was out the door.

Ember and Mary stared at each other, then Mary clapped a hand over her mouth and beelined it into the stall.

Shit!