P.S. You're Intolerable (The Harder They Fall, #3)(23)
Please let me know if you need anything, and I’ll be happy to provide it.
Yours,
Elliot
I was preparing to leave for a meeting at the Rockford building when Catherine’s reply came in. It had only been twenty minutes. I was surprised and eager to know what she had to say. I sat back down in my chair and opened the email on my computer so I could read it on a bigger screen.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Elliot,
Only you would praise me for my efficiency in childbirth. I wish I could take the credit, but I had no idea what I was doing, so I think we can both agree it was just luck—and there was nothing goddess-like about it.
I am cringing thinking about which pictures Davida might have shown you. There weren’t any of me, were there? I’m really hoping you’ll tell me you only saw my Joey-Girl. Please tell me she didn’t send you any pics of the emergence. I’ll never be able to look at you again if she did.
Thank you for saying she’s lovely. She really is, isn’t she?
Yours,
Catherine
P.S. I’m sorry if I’ve said anything unprofessional in this email. I’m running on no sleep and might be slightly delirious. Please disregard anything that might get me reported to HR.
I was supposed to be heading out the door. Instead, I replied to her.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Catherine,
The album was entirely made up of “the emergence.” Is that not good?
Don’t panic. I’m kidding. There were no shots below the waist, though there were plenty of you. I looked at those with only one eye, though, and barely saw them. Don’t worry.
I was surprised by your quick reply (but should I have been? You are known for your efficiency). I hope you’re resting up and they’re taking care of you and Josephine.
Just so you understand how vital you are to me as my assistant, I’m running ten minutes late for a meeting because I chose to write you an email instead of getting in the car waiting for me downstairs. You never would have let that happen.
By the way, you forgot to let me know if there’s anything you need.
Yours,
Elliot
In the car, I should have been reading the designer’s notes for the meeting I was headed to. Instead, I refreshed my inbox thirty times. On the thirty-first, Catherine’s response arrived.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Elliot,
Were you aware babies sleep a lot? As I am efficient with my time, I’m using Joey-Girl’s nap to send emails and watch TikToks of a woman who’s a singer on a cruise ship.
I’m…actually shocked you’re running late. Is this the first time in your life that’s happened? How does it feel?
People who work in the hospital keep calling me “Mom.” When that happens, I look over my shoulder to see who they’re talking to.
It’s me. I’m still wrapping my head around that.
Yours,
Catherine
P.S. if you saw even a hint of my emergence, I’ll scream!
Grinning, I scheduled flowers to be delivered to Catherine’s house for after she arrived home, along with a gift card to an online store that had everything since she hadn’t answered me with what she needed.
I could have waited for Daniel to do it tomorrow, but it felt like something I had to do myself. Besides, I had time during the ride, so why not make good use of it?
Efficiency.
Chapter Ten
Catherine
To me, there was nothing beautiful about birth. The things that came out of my body had been truly shocking, and I’d been terrified out of my mind.
But then, her.
Josephine March Warner.
The prettiest girl to ever land on this planet.
I would never forget the events that came before her, but her very presence made the pain, grossness, and terror fade into a distant memory. I would have done it a thousand times over to relive the moment I got to meet my girl.
We’d been home for six weeks, and she was my only up. The rest had been down, down, so fucking far down, I had no idea how I’d claw my way back to the surface.
First of all, Liam was a thieving motherfucker.
I’d learned this the day after Joey and I had come home from the hospital. The contractor Liam had hired had knocked on my door, demanding payment for the work he’d done and materials he’d bought.
“Sorry. I can’t continue working until you pay the next third.”
He didn’t sound sorry. There was no sympathy behind this man’s hard, black eyes, even as I bounced my fussy, hungry baby on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry. Can you explain what you mean? Liam paid for all of it. I gave him—”
“He paid for a third of the estimate. The second third was due a month ago, but I gave some leeway, seeing as you’d just had a baby. Leeway’s over. Need the next installation so I can continue the job.”
I shook my head. “No. That can’t be right. Do you have a contract I can look at?”
To make everything easier, I’d given Liam the money for the renovations. Since he hadn’t completed it on his own, he’d used it to pay the contractor he’d hired without consulting me.