The paper salesman

The fight

"I can offer you free shipping." I nodded, talking on the phone to a client as I rested a hand against my bump.

"Okay, so to clarify, your order is 500 reams of white paper stock for $10.50 a box. Thank you, sir, I'll get that down to shipping. And you, thank you." I smiled before hanging up.

"Just made a sale?" Pam asked.

"Just made a sale." I nodded, making her smile as I held my hands against my bump. Suddenly my phone started to buzz against the desk. I looked at it and smiled to myself as Jim's face appeared on my phone as it rang. I picked it up and put it to my ear.

"Hey honey, what's up?" I smiled.

"Hey babe, just checking in to see how the pregnancy is treating my beautiful wife and how my gorgeous daughter is." He spoke, making me smile as I rested my hand against my bump.

"I'm okay, your son is starting to kick a lot, and your daughter, I think, is on the brink of saying daddy." I admitted.

"Oh my god! I have to see that, can you film it if she says it and I'm not there?" he asked.

"I'll try." I nodded.

"Do you know how to record on your phone?" he asked.

"Jim, I'm 29, not 80, I know how to use my phone." I scoffed.

"Y/N, I love you but your camera skills aren't the best." He chuckled. I looked down.

"Maybe you should come home a week early. Just to make sure you don't miss her calling you daddy for the first time." I spoke.

"I'd love to, but we're about to bag a big investor and I really need to be here right now." He responded, chuckling slightly. My smile disappeared.

"Oh, um, okay." I nodded to myself.

"We still on for dinner the night I get back?" he asked.

"Yeah, course, mom has agreed to have Cece for the night and I booked us a table at that really nice Italian on fifth street." I spoke.

"Wow. I didn't think I could love you any more than I already do, but here we are." He chuckled, making me smile and look down.

"I've got to go, but I'll call you tonight. Say hi to Cece for me. I love you." He spoke gently.

"I love you too, Jim. Talk tonight." I nodded, smiling slightly before hanging up. I sighed and put my phone down.

"What does it feel like to be abandoned and pregnant?" Angela asked as she walked past my desk. My eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" I scoffed.

"I'm just saying, he's been gone for a month now." She shrugged before walking off. I sighed and gulped before looking down at my bump and gently running my hands over it.

"Don't listen to her. Your daddy hasn't abandoned you, or your big sister, or mommy. He's making a better life for you." I mumbled before sighing.

"Jim and I are kinda having issues right now." I admitted, gulping as I cupped my bump.

"It's the first time in three and a half years that we've had real issues. I just, I'm being pulled so thin with being heavily pregnant and looking after Cece alone, and he's so stressed due to his work and he's never home, it's just a perfect recipe for constant fights." I nodded, tears pricking my eyes.

"I find myself talking to the baby a lot about it, since I can't talk to Jim. I tell him things that I pretend are to reassure him but they're actually to reassure myself." I admitted before looking down.