Conflict of Interest

Chapter Eighteen

Carrie

"Sorry I kept you waiting."

"No worries," Margaret said as always. "You had some calls."

"Hooray, I'm finally popular. Any party invites?"

"Do you call arraignment court a party?"

"Oh, absolutely," I sighed, sitting down. "Tessler case?"

She nodded. "Tomorrow at eleven."

"Wonderful. Anything else?"

"Your brother."

"Fuck," I sighed. I never had called him back. "I'll take that now. Is that all?"

"Pretty much," she said. "Except that you need new pens."

"I what?"

"It took me like, forever to find a pen that works. They're all run out. I'm just saying, I know what you're getting for your birthday."

"Well did you throw them away?"

"I didn't want to overstep my boundaries."

I would have said something vicious and unnecessary, but I'd used up all my vicious and unnecessary comments on Kim that morning, and so I settled on, "That was very courteous of you. Did my brother leave a number?"

"Yeah, he says not to call his cell. He left his work number. He says call anytime."

"Must be nice to be able to chat anytime while you're at work," I considered bitterly, thinking over my caseload and wanting desperately to leave and go to bed. I read the number off the paper she'd taken it down on and started dialing. 

"Rob Everett."

"Your clients call you Rob?"

"Who's this? Your acrimony reminds me a lot of my sister's, but she doesn't call me back anymore so it can't be."

"Maybe your sister's just been busy," I said as a pretty honest excuse. "You should try it."

"Yeah? Is it fun?"

"Exhilarating." 

"How are those student loans doing?"

"Fuck you."

"Anyways. I have news."

"I should hope so. The way you've been harassing me, I'll be disappointed if you aren't calling to tell me the messiah's come."

"You were raised Catholic, Carrie."

"Jesus Christ, Rob."

"That's better."

"Rob."

"Okay, here it is. My boss is pregnant."

I blinked several times, wondering why I'd decided to take this call instead of getting to work on things that were of actual importance.

"Well thanks for calling personally, Rob, that's the kind of thing I just had to hear immediately instead of in the annual newsletter."

"Would you shut up and let me finish?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. There's more?"

"Yes, there's more."

"Twins?"

"Shut up. Look, because she's pregnant, she's leaving the firm to raise the baby. She put in and her last day is in a month and a half."

"I'm missing the part where this affects my life in any significant way."