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Chapter Sixteen
It had been a rough few days.
Leo hadn’t been sleeping, which meantIhadn’t been sleeping. And because he was tired, he’d been crying.A lot.I was exhausted.
My schedule was completely out of sync. Normally after feeding Leo, I’d take a shower and make myself look decent whilst Lorenzo held the fort, then we’d have breakfast together. But today I just didn’t have the energy. After I’d given Leo the breast, I’d collapsed back on the bed and stayed there until Lorenzo had woken me up to tell me he was going to work.
Even though Leo had finally fallen asleep, that didn’t mean I’d be able to continue catching forty winks. I had work to do.
Despite the fact that it was only 8.45 a.m., our client Viktor had already sent me three emails.Three. I wanted to reply, but my brain was too fuzzy to string a coherent sentence together, so I needed to wait until I’d at least had a coffee or a shower first. Preferably, both.
I checked Leo in his cot. If I was really quiet, hopefully he’d sleep until ten-thirty so I could go through those emails after breakfast. I really needed to express some milk before he woke up too. But first, shower.
Just as I was about to go into the bathroom, my mobile rang.
Dammit.
I raced to answer before it woke Leo up.
‘Hello?’
‘Sophia?’ I looked down at the phone screen to see who it was.
Oh great.It was Viktor. Talk about persistent. Andjeez. What time must it be in Canada right now? Pretty sure they’re nine hours behind Italy, which means it’s almost midnight.What the hell?
Well, I’d answered now, so I needed to speak to him.
‘Yes, hi, Viktor… I was going to reply to your emails, I just—’
‘Can you call me back on this number.Right now.’
‘Yes. Of course. Will do.’
Healwaysdid this. I think he was worried about calling me in Italy because he thought it would cost a lot for an international call. He was worth millions and yet sometimes could be so tight. That was probably why he was so rich.
I wondered how long the call would last. If it went on for ages I wouldn’t get everything done. Actually, I could multitask and use my pump whilst I was speaking to him like I did before. I grabbed it quickly, attached it, propped a pillow up behind me and sat up in bed. That was the benefit of working from home. You could be in your nightdress, with your boob out whilst writing an email or making calls, and the person on the other end would be none the wiser.
Anyway, best call him back quickly. I launched WhatsApp, clicked on his name, tapped on the call button, then rested the phone on my knees in front of me. I needed my hands to be free for the pump.
‘Hi…er, what the hell isthat?’
‘Oh shit!’ I grabbed my phone quickly. I’d stupidly hit the video call button instead of the call button, so he’d just got an eyeful of my breast with the pump attached. Why were the buttons so close together? ‘Um, sorry about that,’ I said, holding the phone up to my face instead.
‘Jesus, Sophia!’ He winced like he’d just eaten a bowl of live maggots.
For crying out loud.Why were people still so offended by breastfeeding? Okay, technically Leo wasn’t on my breast, but it was an honest mistake. And it was only a boob. He always went to a ‘gentleman’s club’ whenever he came to London, so I was sure he’d seen plenty of those before.
Let’s not dwell…
‘My God. It can’t be?’ He recoiled from the screen with disgust. ‘Whaton earthhas happened to you? You look a mess!’
Oh.
I’d just realised. I was holding the phone up to my face. Standard practise for video calling, as I’d told my mum so many times. But definitelynota sensible idea when you haven’t washed your face, combed your hair or slept properly for days and had bags the size of giant spaceships under your eyes.
It would have been bad enough for a friend to see me like this. But for a client, the president of one of the largest beauty brands in the world, to get a close-up when he’d only ever seen me looking like I’d just stepped out of a salon, it wasn’t ideal…
‘Sorry. As you know, I’m on maternity leave right now and, well, Leo,my son, he hasn’t been sleeping, so… anyway, I’m sure you remember what it’s like,’ I chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood. ‘You have two young boys of your own, don’t you?’
