Page 33 of Say My Name

“I’m serious.”

Her voice changes immediately. “Okay. What happened?”

I turn my chair toward the windows. “I’m reconsidering the anonymous-donor plan.”

“Reconsidering having a baby?”

“No. The anonymous part.”

She waits.

“Someone offered to be a known donor and co-parent,” I say.

“Is it Dominic?”

My breath catches. I say nothing, letting the silence be the answer.

Olivia exhales into the phone. “Wow. Okay.”

“I haven’t agreed to anything. I just said I’d explore it.”

“He offered to have a baby with you?”

“To co-parent. The first attempt would be clinical.”

“That was a very Elena clarification.”

I wince. She’s not wrong.

“It’s an important distinction.”

“Legally and medically, sure.” She pauses. “Emotionally? You’re considering raising a child with a man you’ve spent four years talking about far too often while insisting he’s only your boss.”

“That is not accurate.”

“Elena, you don’t devote that much detail to people you feel nothing about.”

I press my fingers to my forehead. “Can we focus?”

“I am focused. Do you trust him?”

“Yes.” The answer leaves my mouth before she finishes asking, a single point of certainty in a sea of calculated risks.

“Do you believe he’ll be a good father?”

“Yes.”

“Can you protect your job?”

“We’ll have separate attorneys. He’ll recuse himself from every employment decision involving me, and the protections will be in writing.”

“What does Cliff know?”

“Nothing yet.”

“He’s going to lose his mind.”

“I know.” I can already picture his face—the mixture of hurt and protective anger. It will be the biggest fight we’ve ever had.