Gasoline.

10

I'd been working at the firm for nearly four months, and I'd someone already gotten a two dollar raise. It's been excellent. Such a breeze. Some days were stressful, but the days they weren't obviously outweighed the bad ones.

"Alright, no problem. He'll see you then." I hung up the phone; and when I looked up walking toward me right out of the elevator was Anna Oberly. I hadn't seen her in nearly a month. It was a peaceful month. Carter had told me all about her. They dated for three years when they were in college, and when college ended they moved in together, but they drifted apart. Carter said it was because Anna was slightly off her rocker. Since the time she'd arrived in the office they started to casually "date" again, but then they broke it off a month ago. Now, here she is again in her tight plum dress, and matching heels.

I sighed at her presence. She stopped in front of my desk, and peered past me into the glass windows of his office. The blinds were closed. "Carter is with a client, and then has one right after that," I stated. Anna pushed her blonde hair past her shoulder. She seemed calmer than usual. She placed her black suede bag down on my desk, and dug inside. "Give him this." She placed a plastic white stick on my papers. I realized that it was a pregnancy test. "Bye secretary."

"It's Lauren."

"Secretary," Anna winked, and turned around heading back toward the elevator.

I grabbed a tissue, and picked up the test. It was positive. My eyebrows rose in shock. I paged Carter. "I'm in the middle of something Lauren, can it wait?"

"Uh... sure, I guess."

"Great. Just wrapping things up. I'll be right there." What an interesting choice of words to use. I watered a plant, and filed some papers by the time that Carter had gotten out of his meeting.

Carter stood beside me until his client had gotten into the elevator. He placed his hand on my shoulder. "What's up? I've got fifteen minutes until my next meeting, but you have all of it." I pulled up my top desk drawer, and pulled out the pregnancy test that was wrapped in the napkin. I showed it to Carter. He stared at it for a moment before congratulating me. "This isn't mine." He seemed relieved by that.

"Did someone leave it in the bathroom? You know, I did have a feeling that Brenda was pregnant."

"This isn't anyones from here. Anna showed up while you were in your meeting, and she told me to give you this and then left."

Carter placed the test in the trash, and squeezed some hand sanitizer on his desk. "Call down to the front desk. I don't want Anna Oberly in this building anymore." He turned and walked back into his office. I stood up, and followed him. "Do you think it's true?"

"It's a positive pregnancy test. It surely wasn't a prank one, but knowing her she could have easily paid someone off to do that for her," Carter said.

"Well.. could there be a possibility that it's yours?" I asked.

"Of course.." Carter said. He tapped his fingers on his desk. "I thought I got rid of Anna completely a month ago, but then she comes with this shit.." He groaned and punched his desk. It made me take a step back.

"Cancel my next meeting."

"But that's in ten minutes. They're probably finding a parking spot right now.." I explained. Carter shrugged. "Just call Anna up. Tell her to come back." I nodded my head, and left his office.

"FUCK!" I heard him shout when I sat back down at my desk. After I cancelled the meeting, I called Anna Oberly. "Hey, Carter wants you to come back in." Anna didn't say anything, she just hung up on me.

I was so ready to get home already. It was taco night. I had one more hour.

I was pressing my stapler and watching the staples fall out and land on the desk when I heard heels clicking toward me. I pressed intercom to Carter's office. "Anna is here," I said as she walked past me and into his office. She slammed the door shut.