Chapter 3No Maternity Leave Till My Water Broke

"Call an ambulance!" Penny's voice cracked with panic.

Mike remained frozen, as if the words didn't register.

Tina was the first to react, clutching her phone and backing away. "I'll do it, I'll do it."

But her fingers shook so violently she couldn't even navigate past her contacts.

The pain hit me in waves now, heavy and relentless. I leaned against the desk, my legs trembling so much I could barely stand.

"Dial 911!" Penny snatched the phone right out of Tina's hands. "You dialed the wrong number! Why on earth are you calling your boyfriend?"

Tina's face flushed red. "I'm panicking, okay?"

Mike finally snapped out of his daze, his voice weak and wavering. "Don't make a scene. Keep working, everyone. Don't crowd around."

Penny turned on him. "Mike, her water broke!"

"I can see that." He rubbed his face, lowering his voice. "Before the ambulance gets here, move her to the conference room. We can't have clients seeing this."

Despite the blinding pain, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Mike, you're worried about clients seeing this, but you aren't worried about me dying in your conference room?"

His mouth twitched. "Kelly, don't be dramatic."

The cleaning lady stood nearby with a mop, her eyes red. "We shouldn't move her. A pregnant woman in labor shouldn't be touched. We have to wait for the paramedics."

Mike looked at the puddle on the floor, then at the crowd of employees watching from the doorway. "Don't you all have work to do?"

Nobody moved.

A contraction bent my spine, and I squeezed Penny's arm so hard my nails dug into her skin.

Tina edged closer again. "Kelly, just hang in there. Every woman goes through this when giving birth. Don't make a big deal out of it. It won't look good for you when you try to come back to work."

"Shut up." Penny snapped. It was the first time she had ever raised her voice at Tina.

Tina's eyes welled with tears again. "I was only trying to help."

"Help? By making her proofread files while she's in active labor?"

The HR Director, Vivian, rushed up the stairs, her face as white as paper. "Where is the ambulance?"

"Six minutes away," Penny replied, her voice shaking as she held the phone.

Vivian marched right up to Mike. "Mike, I forwarded Kelly's maternity leave request to you yesterday. The system clearly flagged that her due date was three days away. Why did you reject it?"

Mike's expression shifted. "Is this really the time to discuss that?"

"Yes, it is," I gasped, leaning against the back of the chair, biting my lip to keep from screaming. "Yesterday, when you told me to wait until my water broke, you seemed to think it was very important."

Tina chimed in quickly. "Kelly, the baby is what matters right now. Let's not argue."

"The baby matters? Is that why you set the thermostat to sixty degrees?"

The office fell silent again.

Penny looked up at the thermostat control on the wall. "Who did that?"

Tina froze. "How should I know? It's always cold in here."

The receptionist raised her hand timidly. "I saw Tina with the remote this morning."

Tina glared at her. "Keep your mouth shut!"

"Enough!" Mike roared, his irritation bubbling over.

The next second, a tearing, downward pressure ripped through my abdomen. My breath caught, and the prenatal booklet slipped from my hand, clattering onto the floor.

Heavy, hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor.

Paramedics rushed in, pushing a gurney.

"Where is the patient?"

As they lifted me onto the gurney, Mike took two hurried steps forward.

"Kelly, you haven't given Tina the password for the project files yet!"

The paramedic looked at him like he was a lunatic.

As they wheeled me out to the ambulance, my phone buzzed in my hand. My husband's name, Liam, flashed on the screen.

I answered it, and his frantic voice came through. "Kelly! Where are you? The hospital called and said you never checked in!"

Before I could answer, Mike shoved his way to the side of the gurney and shouted into the phone.

"Liam, she went into labor at work! The company had nothing to do with this!"