Here? She was going to do it here? Now? With Jules right outside her office? Fuck. Oh fuck. Jules did not want to be here when Vivian came out of that restroom. Vivian probably wouldn’t want her to be either. Should Jules leave? Would that be the best thing to do, and tomorrow they could pretend like nothing had ever happened?

Even as she thought about it, Jules knew she wasn’t going anywhere. And so the minutes crawled by. She finally looked at her watch and realized Vivian had been in the restroom for twenty minutes.

What the hell was going on in there? Had she fallen and hit her head? Was she trying to drown herself in the sink?

Just as Jules was wondering if it would be a bad idea to check on her, the door opened and Vivian emerged. One look at her face told Jules everything, but before Vivian could meet her eyes, Jules bent down and pretended to study the surface of her desk.

Vivian returned to her own desk.

Jules didn’t look up.

“Julia.” Her voice was thick.

Jules headed on unsteady legs to the door of her office. “Yes?” she whispered.

“Tomorrow,” Vivian said, staring vacantly into the distance, “schedule an immediate appointment with my doctor. And contact my attorney as soon as his office opens. Eight o’clock. Sharp.”

“O-of course.”

“Call my driver.” Vivian rubbed her forehead again. “Let’s go home.”

Right. It was past time to call it a day. Jules helped Vivian put on her coat and walked her to the elevator, where she stood stock-still in the car, not speaking.

What the hell did you even say to someone at a time like this? Congratulations? Condolences? She didn’t even dare look at Vivian.

“I don’t believe this,” Vivian said.

Jules froze.

“I don’t,” Vivian repeated.

Jules finally turned to look at her, just in time to see Vivian close her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Then Jules heard herself blurt out, like a total idiot, “You know, whatever I can do—of course I’ll…”

Vivian ignored her completely. “Wait until Mark Tavio finds out,” she muttered, then laughed bitterly. “Well. If our chairman thinks he can use this to get rid of me, he’ll get to know my lawyers on a personal level.”

Jules bit her lip.

“What?” Vivian demanded.

“Nothing.” Jules shook her head.

“Say it.”

Okay, then. Okay. “So…you’re going to keep it?”

Vivian was silent for so long that Jules wondered if she’d heard. Then, just before the elevator doors opened at main floor, she spoke, sounding bewildered. “I don’t know.”

They stepped into the lobby. Vivian headed for the exit, apparently without noticing that she’d just become irrevocably human to Jules at last.

Once they’d reached the car, Jules held the door open. “I’ll make all those calls as soon as I get here tomorrow,” she promised.