After another grueling Monday morning, I get off the phone with a longtime client and buzz Norma. “Yes, Mr. Brideau,” she says brightly.

“Can you have Laura come to my office, please?” I haven’t seen or spoken to her since the night we were together. We fell asleep and woke up for an encore performance. I didn’t want Bella to wake up without me there, so I told Laura I had to leave in the wee hours of the morning. Saturday, I had to tend to some client meetings and got busy. When I called her on Sunday, she didn’t answer.

I came into the office early today, but it seems that no matter where I go, I seem to have just missed her. We have a lot to discuss regarding the proposal, and I hope she isn’t avoiding me because she regrets sleeping with me.

“Oh, did you forget Walter is coming to see you?” I did forget about the lawyer.

“Okay, then tell her to come by in ten minutes. It’s urgent. In fact, tell her now so she can free herself up by then.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Brideau.” A few minutes later, she buzzes me again to let me know Walter has arrived.

Walter has a slow, easy pace. I think of him like a snapping turtle. He moves in a leisurely way most of the time, but he knows when to strike and how much force to assign when he does it.

“Did you get all the paperwork drawn up?”

“Of course.” Walter settles himself into a seat across from me and withdraws the papers from his briefcase. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing here?”

“Of course,” I say. “Let me look at everything and see if anything is missing.”

“What’s missing is your brain, son.” Walter snorts. “I know it’s not my place, but back in my day, things were simpler. You kids know how to complicate things.”

I give him a half grin. “I guess that’s a compliment because you think I’m young.”

“You’re young and foolish if this is your big plan. Smart guy when it comes to business, not so smart when it comes to women.”

“I know what I’m doing,” I argue. My eyes scan the paper. Everything looks to be in order. I just need Laura’s approval.

“Remember when I warned you last time? Remember what happened then?” Walter gestures to my framed photo of Bella on my desk. “Her mom? Ring any bells?”

I sigh and put the papers down. “Yes, Walter. I get it. But this is different. That’s why I asked you to word everything carefully and leave no room for confusion. If she doesn’t agree, she doesn’t agree; case closed. Otherwise, I have a proposition that will be mutually beneficial to us. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

“I can name a few for you,” Walter says with a determined look on his face.

“Spare me,” I say, holding up my hand.

Norma buzzes in again. “Laura is here to see you.”

“Send her in, please.” I watch her enter, and Walter cranes his neck to see her. I watch her just as closely. I know immediately she is uncomfortable with us staring, so I ask her to make herself comfortable.

“Please, have a seat.” I point to the chair next to Walter. I want nothing more than to cross the room, wrap her up in my arms, and drag her back to bed, where I can ask her if she’s doing okay and why she never called me back.

Walter looks uncomfortable and stands up. “You don’t need me, right?” He doesn’t wait for an answer; he scoops up his briefcase and makes his way to the door. I’ve never seen him move so fast in the whole time I’ve known him.

“You can stay,” I tell him. I actually do want him to go so I can talk to Laura freely.

“You can reach me at the office if you want to discuss anything further.” He edges out the door, with a final nod and wave to Laura before he leaves.

Laura plucks at her skirt, and I gather the papers together and present them to her. “Here. I want you to look these over and tell me if you have any questions. Then I think we’ll have a lot to discuss once you’ve read it all.”

Laura eyes me suspiciously, and I look away. There is a lot that I mentioned on Friday at her apartment, but there was even more that I didn’t bring up because I thought it was too soon. Now that we’ve slept together, I don’t see it as a big hindrance.

“Okay. Do you need these back today?” she asks.

“Oh, these aren’t for work, not really. Just read them.”

She reads them quietly, and I see her brow furrow. I excuse myself for a few minutes and come back to see her on the last page of the document. She looks up at me and gets up to close the door to the office.

“Okay, I read it. But I don’t understand this part. What does this mean? Terminate what? Am I being fired?”

“This is what we discussed the other night,” I remind her. “Did you read the whole thing?”

“Yes.” She thumbs through it again, frowning. “I don’t know what you mean about all this. Where did you get some of this information?”

I hired a private investigator as a precaution given the way Bella’s mother turned out to be, but I don’t think it’s time to bring that up. “I did a thorough background check on you, but I’d do that for anyone who’s with Bella as much as you are.” Some of the confusion from her face clears, but her frown remains intact.

“I might need a little more explanation than what you’re telling me,” she confesses.

“Okay, sure. Let’s sit down, and I’ll explain it more thoroughly to you. The basic plan is that we get married.”

Her jaw drops. Okay, she must have skimmed that part, or it didn’t register with her. “Marry?” she squeaks.

“Please, sit back down, and let’s talk. I can explain a lot better than this document can, and you can ask me whatever you want. Put in your own stipulations, if you want.”

“Why are you doing this?” Laura asks.

There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation, I tell her. Bella needs a stable home life like I was telling her on Friday. Since she already gets along with Laura so well, it would be an easy transition for her.

“Okay, but why marriage?” Laura presses me. “I mean, we could do all of this and not get married.”

“Well, it’s just easier for me to explain to Bella. We had a conversation a couple weeks ago about why Sam and his ex-girlfriend weren’t married. She’s small, and these things make little sense to her. I know I can’t provide her the world, but I’ll try to give her something that she so badly lacks.”

Laura stays quiet, and I wonder if she’s ever going to respond to my words. I feel like I have pushed her away with all my talk about marriage. Maybe Walter was right, and I don’t understand women—to a dangerous extent.