My Babies and Me

“So why are we wasting my valuable time, and yours, discussing it?”

“Because the McArthur boy didn’t do anything wrong, Tricia. True, he was playing soccer instead of softball, but the mask would have broken, probably with more serious repercussions, if he’d been hit with a softball rather than a soccer ball.”

“He wasn’t.”

“No, he wasn’t.” Susan paused, eyed her boss, and started again. “But that boy is still paralyzed because of the malfunction of our equipment.”

“What do you want from me, Susan?”

Susan stood, leaned over the front of Tricia’s imposing desk. “I want us to settle out of court, to fund the boy’s operation—and his physical therapy afterward.”

Tricia stood up, too. “That’s got to be thousands of dollars.”

“The lawsuit could cost you a lot more than that.”

“But we’re not going to lose the suit.”

“I had Jill spend a day with Grady Moses down in production.” Looking around at the motivational posters on the walls, the peaks being scaled by climbers, the shots being made, the rides and runs and jumps, Susan took heart from Ed’s memory. “She found out that there was a malfunction several months ago on one of the machines. Six cases of masks were damaged before the error was noticed. Their hinges didn’t have double sealings.”

“I’m aware of the problem.” Tricia nodded. “The machine was fixed, the cases were pulled.”

“Five of the six cases were pulled,” Susan corrected. “While Grady was at lunch someone used the sixth case to fill an order. The masks had been on back order for weeks and someone in shipping was a little too eager.”

Carefully, slowly, Tricia sat back down. Her eyes never left Susan’s face. “You’re telling me we’re going to have more lawsuits, and somewhere along the way, one of them’s going to be the result of a softball injury.”

And the McArthur incident would come to light giving Halliday Headgear some very bad press.

“No.” Susan almost wished she didn’t have to be honest. “Grady was able to track down the orders and make exchanges.”

Relief softening her face, Tricia spread her arms wide. “Then we don’t have a problem.”

“The men’s club in Valdez had ordered five of the recalled masks. They sent back four damaged ones, but the fifth one they returned was a first-quality mask. By mistake, they kept the fifth damaged one for the boys at their church to use.”

“I see.” Tricia folded her hands on top of the desk.

Breathing her first easy breath, Susan hoped Tricia finally did see, and waited patiently for instructions to prepare the out-of-court settlement.

“We’re certain this is the only mask that escaped notice?”

“Positive.” Susan nodded, perching on the edge of the desk. “Grady checked and rechecked the serial numbers.”

“Then we’ll proceed as originally directed.”

“But...” Susan stood, staring down at her boss. “We know the mask was faulty,” she said, trying very hard not to raise her voice. “We know the boy would’ve been hurt no matter what ball hit him. It’s only a technicality that he happened to be playing soccer instead of softball.”

“And court cases are won on technicalities all the time.”

“You realize that if this information is made known, your chances of winning will drop considerably.”

Tricia’s eyes narrowed. “Are you threatening me?”

“Of course not!” Susan backed away from the desk. “I’ve been with Halliday Headgear since college, Tricia. I’ve always, always seen to the best interests of the company.”

Head bowed, Tricia said, “I’m sorry, Susan. Of course I’m fully aware of how much you’ve done for us, how lucky we are to have you.” She looked up and Susan saw the sincerity in the other woman’s eyes.

“Thank you.”

“Now, was that all you needed to see me about?”

Just like that, Tricia expected this to go away. “I can’t rest the case yet, Tricia. An eight-year-old boy may never walk again.”

Shrugging, Tricia pulled a pile of papers toward her. “I pay you to be thorough, Susan. Keep searching if you feel you must to protect the company, but unless you’ve got something new to tell me, I don’t need to hear about this case again.”

Too furious to do anything else, Susan turned and left the office.

CHAPTER FOUR

IF HE DIDN’T make her pregnant, someone else would.

No matter how many different ways Michael looked at the situation, he always ended up back in the very same place. Susan wanted him to impregnate her, but if he said no, she wasn’t going to give up on this crazy idea. He’d be sending her directly into the bedroom of another man.

By Thursday afternoon he had one hell of a headache. And still no answers. In desperation he turned to the only other person he could possibly call. His ex-brother-in-law, Seth—and, next to Susan, his closest friend.

“What’s up?” Seth asked as soon they’d assured each other they were fine and that both of them had absolutely nothing to do next Sunday but watch the Super Bowl.

“I’m sure you can guess.” Michael was finding it a little difficult to say the words. He was that opposed to the whole idea. Picking up a pencil, he started to sketch a couple of cartoon characters, a man and a woman, jumping out of an airplane without parachutes.

“Susan told me she asked you about the baby.”

“And she told me you think she’s insane.” He dropped his pencil.

“I never said that!”

“No.” Michael remembered the tears in Susan’s eyes. “You told her you didn’t think she’d make a good mother.”

Sounding unusually defensive, Seth said, “And you think she would?”

Swiveling his chair away from his desk, Michael looked out the window behind him. He gained no inspiration at all from the barren tree limbs outside.

“She did all right by you and Sean and Spencer.”

“She didn’t have a career then.”

“She has a career now and she still looks out for you.”

Seth swore softly. “Come on, Michael, you know it isn’t the same thing. A kid deserves better than absences, vague promises, excuses.”

“So, it isn’t her mothering abilities you doubt.” He rested his feet on the windowsill. “It’s her time management.”