she said. Julie smiled and nodded before she walked out. As she walked back into the doctor’s office, she felt her phone vibrate wildly in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at it. “ Shit,” she thought when she saw who was calling. She took a seat and looked at Meg. “ Everything okay?” Meg asked as she looked at her. “ Yeah. Just waiting for the results,” Julie said, putting her phone back into the pocket. “The doctor said it would be maybe half an hour.” Her phone vibrated in her pocket again and she pulled it out and hit ignore before putting it back in her pocket. “What if all this was a hoax?” she asked. Meg frowned. “Why would anyone be that mean?” Julie forced out a laugh. “ The world can be annoyingly cruel,” she said. Just then, Meg’s phone rang loudly piercing the silent tranquil room. “ Why is your boss calling me?” she asked as she looked at Julie. “ Because she tried calling me and I ignored her calls,” Julie said before exhaling loudly. Meg shook her head. “Don’t do that. Meg don’t…” Julie said trying to reach for the phone but it was too late. Meg had already answered it. “ Hi Dana,” she said as she gave Julie a judgmental look. “ Meg, hi. Sorry to call you this early. I know that nine thirty is practically the middle of the night for you,” Dana said. Meg smiled. “ If you weren’t so far away I would punch you,” she said still trying to keep the phone away from Julie who was waving her hands wildly trying to send a message that Meg didn’t want to hear. “ I’m trying to reach Julie. She had an early meeting with me but she never made it and she is not taking my calls,” Dana said. “Have you heard from her at all? Or could you maybe swing by her place and make sure she is okay?” Meg looked at Julie and took a long deep breath. “ She is fine.” “ So you have spoken to her?” Dana asked. Julie’s arms dropped to her side signifying that she had given up her fight. “ Actually, I am with her. She wasn’t feeling well and I had to rush her to the emergency room.” “ What? Is she okay?” Dana asked. She sounded genuinely concerned. “ Don’t tell her,” Julie mouthed. “ That’s what we are trying to figure out,” Meg said. She heard Dana take a long deep breath and then exhale into the phone’s mouthpiece. “ Okay…just…tell her I’ll swing by a little later in the day,” she said. “ Will do,” Meg said giving Julie a look that made her realize how wrong she was. “ Is she like…there? Right now?” Dana asked. Meg looked at Julie and shrugged. Julie rolled her eyes. “ Yeah sure. Here she is now,” Meg said quickly before Julie had a chance to think otherwise. She handed the phone to Julie who seemed reluctant to take it. “You don’t have to tell her. Just…she is your friend too, not just a boss,” Meg said as she put her hand over the mouth piece. “ Hi Dana,” Julie said when she took the phone from Meg. “ Hey…are you okay?” Dana asked. Her voice was full of concern and worry. Julie looked at Meg and felt the guilt wash over her. “ I’m fine. I was just feeling really…nauseated in the morning and weak.” “ Really? Could you maybe be anemic or something?” Dana asked. “ Maybe. I’m just waiting for the bloodwork to come back.” “ That’s good to hear. Though I really wish you would have sent me a message or something,” Dana said. Julie felt even guiltier. “ I know…I’m sorry. It’s just that with Steven overseas and everything…” her words trailed off. She literally had no more words in her mouth. “ It’s fine,” Dana said in a low voice. “I was just concerned because we had the quarterly brief today plus there was that client Maura and Paul referred to you…but don’t worry. I’ve got this handled. You just focus on getting better,” Dana said. Julie nodded and ran her fingers through her messy hair. “