“Raymond doesn’t need a compliment nanny. He gives them to himself,” Davida drawled.
“Damn right,” he agreed.
A hush fell over the space around us, which could have only meant one thing: Elliot was here. Davida and Raymond moved to the side of my desk so we could all watch him slice through the air of the hallway like his body was a samurai sword. Swish, swish, he made ribbons of the distance between us, stopping in front of my desk.
“Davida, Raymond.” He nodded to them.
They greeted him in return then made hasty retreats to their desks.
“Good morning, Elliot.”
“Good morning, Catherine. Before we have our meeting, I’d like to show you something.”
“Okay.” I pushed back from the desk and circled around to where he stood. “I’m intrigued.”
He placed his hand on the center of my back and guided me to a door next to his office. He went in first, flipping on the light, and I didn’t understand what I was seeing.
What had once been a storage space was something else entirely now. In the middle of the room was a thick, cream-colored rug and two plush armchairs. In one corner sat a small, stainless steel fridge. A TV was mounted on the wall, and there were speakers in the corners.
“What is this?” I asked.
“A pumping room.”
“But there’s one downstairs. I don’t need anything special.”
He shook his head. “You don’t have to share now. I had the space available. It wasn’t any trouble to convert it into a room for you. If it’s not suitable, tell me, and I’ll have the necessary changes made.”
“Of course it’s suitable,” I rushed out, moving deeper into the room. I sat down on one of the armchairs and sighed. “This is almost as comfortable as my desk chair. You might have to pry my sleeping body out of here.”
I looked up at him, surprised to see the flush rising on his face like it did when I inexplicably pissed him off. I supposed any boss wouldn’t have been pleased to hear his assistant planned on napping during the workday.
I hopped up, smoothing my dress over my hips, which were still wider than prepregnancy. To be fair to my hips, all of me was wider or softer or squishier than before I had Joey, and I was more self-conscious of my body than ever.
“I’m only kidding. I won’t fall asleep in here,” I promised. “Thank you for doing this. It’s nicer than anything I could have asked for.”
“You didn’t ask for anything. I wanted you to have it.”
I sighed. He really had no idea how much this meant to me.
Or maybe he did. His freezer was full of my milk stash, and he’d heard me quietly screaming when I’d accidentally spilled some. He’d even given Joey a bottle when I’d wanted to make sure she’d take one.
“Can I hug you?” I asked.
“If you feel like you have to.” He opened his arms wide. “Make it quick.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes, but I also walked right into him, giving his middle a tight squeeze. “This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me, Elliot.”
“That’s too bad. On the scale of nice things, this is pretty low.” He slid his palm up and down my spine. “After all, I did this for purely selfish reasons.”
“Oh, is that right?”
“Yes. Now you won’t waste time going down to the other level when you can stay right here.”
I nodded. “Right. That makes sense. Efficiency.”
“My most valued quality.”
Laughing softly, I stepped out of his arms even though I sort of didn’t want to. “Well, whatever your motives, I appreciate it.” I nodded to the second armchair. “Is that for you so we can work through my pumping sessions?”
“Is that an option?”
“No.” I shoved his arm on my way out of the room. “Don’t get any ideas, Mr. Levy.”
“Don’t put them in my head, Ms. Warner.” He snagged my elbow before I reached my desk. “Are you forgetting our meeting?”
Reaching out, I picked up his schedule and waved it at him. “I’m not. I just needed this.”
The week was tough, but Elliot kept me busier than normal, so the days flew by. I had an inkling he was doing it on purpose to distract me from missing Joey-Girl.
Then again, I’d caught him watching the cameras on his phone more than once, so I might not have been the only one. That, or he was a control freak, paranoid about having a stranger in his home.