The Baby

five

kalani depradine

I overslept. Between binge watching Money Heist and eating an entire bag of skittles before bed, I didn't actually fall asleep until two. I was now suffering the consequences, scrambling around my apartment so I can be at work by nine. My breakfast was nothing but a cliff bar and this baby growing inside of me meant I can't have coffee. Today is going to be a long day.

Just when I was about to leave my apartment, I opened the door and found a handy man about to knock.

"Hi, I was sent here to fix the fridge," he gestured inside my apartment. I stood here frozen in complete shock because I never arranged for someone to fix my fridge.

"I think you have the wrong apartment. I definitely cannot afford a repair man. Thank you though," I smiled at him, expecting him to leave but he didn't. He searched through this bag full of tools and pulled out sheets of paper.

"It's been paid for ahead of time. We have a credit card on file for..." he looked at the papers in hand. "Grayson Astor," he read the last name I expected to hear. Grayson arranged for my fridge to be fixed.

"Oh," I said being taken back.

"If it's incorrect, I can leave," he offered before I stopped him. Grayson hadn't even informed me he was sending this man over. I hadn't realized he was so bothered by me fixing my own fridge.

"I'm on my way to work. But the door locks automatically on your way out," I informed him as I opened the door wider for him to come inside. He nodded and entered my apartment. I searched my handbag for my phone and immediately texted Grayson to confirm this repair man is actually real and won't steal all my belongings.

kalani: hi, a repair man just arrived at my apartment?

Knowing Grayson's busy schedule, I didn't expect for him to reply so quickly. But I was on my way down the elevator when he replied.

grayson: good. he should be taking care of your fridge. i charged everything to my card, so don't worry about the expenses

I smiled as I got into my car in the parking garage.

kalani: that's really sweet. thank you

-

My workspace is more of a cubicle. I've learned to love it, but that's definitely taken time. Two years to be exact. The people I work with help make the environment a lot more enjoyable. Once a week we hold a meeting and our boss—Joshua—calls it a mental health update where we get to vocalize some of our personal strengths and weakness and how we plan to do better for the next weeks to come. For a man in his early thirties, I can tell he's genuinely passionate about his job.

I looked up from my laptop, staring at my work phone when it started ringing. I don't normally get many calls but if I do they're almost always the secretary who works the front desk—Helene.

"Hello?" I brought the phone to my ear. On the other end there seemed to be sniffles as if someone was crying. That's when I questioned whether this could potentially be a prank call.

"Hi, there's someone on their way up to see you. They didn't mention a name and when I told them we don't allow guests in the building he threatened to fire me. I'm sorry," Helene apologized like she was doing everything possible to hold back her tears. My eyes widened, not believing what she was telling me. Who would threaten her job like this and why would they want to see me of all people?

"Oh um...do you know what they look like?" I asked as my eyes went to the elevator doors pinging open.

A wave of discomfort came over me when I watched the tall, broad man in his suit walk through the office space like he belonged here. He attracted the attention of others. People either wondering why he's here or purely being mesmerized by his attractiveness. That's the thing about Grayson. His stoic presence is scary to look at, but everything about him makes you want to stare and admire him.