Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
I took a drink of my wine and watched Dex turn his gaze out the window, looking into the darkness, the neon lights from the shops across the street, intermittently blocked by the traffic passing on the street. I didn’t know Dex that well, but I used to see him at work all the time, so I was accustomed to the different expressions he made. When I had a hard time, he comforted me, and now I wanted to do the same—but I suspected he didn’t want me to.
My date looked over his shoulder to follow my gaze. “You know him?”
I didn’t realize my stare was so obvious—and rude. “Yeah, we used to work together. He’s going through a hard time.”
He turned back to me and took another drink of his beer. “So you, like, wait on the rich and famous?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“What kind of famous people?”
“You know, actresses, directors, people like that.”
“I mean specifically.”
“Oh, I’m not allowed to say.” If I ever shared that information, it would probably never be traced back to me, but I would honor the NDA I signed. I liked my job and would never jeopardize it.
“Come on. Who am I gonna tell?”
I shrugged and glanced at the table. Dex said goodbye to his friends, exchanging those bro-like hand clasps. Then the guys left their beers and cash behind and walked out of the bar. Dex didn’t join them and chose to stay behind—even though it looked like he didn’t want to be there.
My date noticed my stare once more. “You want to go over there?”
My eyes shifted back to him, and even though I was being so rude to this guy, I couldn’t help it. “Do you mind? I’m sorry… He’s a friend of mine.”
“Sure.” His tone indicated it wasn’t fine at all, and he threw his money on the table without saying goodbye to me. It probably wasn’t fun to have a date with a woman who kept looking at another guy—a super-hot guy. So that was fair.
After he walked away, I grabbed my glass of wine and headed over to Dex.
That was when I noticed another woman headed his way—clearly to make a move.
Damn, she didn’t waste any time.
I raced her to the table and purposely cut her off so Dex wouldn’t be able to see her behind me. “Mind if I join you?”
He turned away from the window and looked up at me, and a nice smile spread over his lips, the first genuine one he’d shown that night in the bar. His eyes lit up too, even though it didn’t last long. “Please.”
The woman behind me released a loud and exaggerated sigh so I would hear her before she walked away.
I ignored her and fell into the chair across from him.
He looked me over before he took a drink, as if he were checking me out but didn’t care if I knew what he was doing. “Here with some friends?”
“A date, actually.”
He nodded slowly. “I’m guessing that date didn’t end well.”
I shrugged it off. “He wasn’t my type anyway.”
“What is your type?”
I stared at him for a few seconds, looking into those stunning rich brown eyes, seeing the inherent kindness in his gaze, his good heart. “Um…a good person.”
He grabbed his bottle and took a drink. “Good answer. I don’t hear that often.”
After sleeping with a married man, I had very different priorities. “How are you? How’s the lab?”
“It’s fine.” He took another drink. “Normal hours and good pay.”
It didn’t sound like he enjoyed the job at all. “No plumbing problems?”
He chuckled, his expression relaxing at my joke. “That’s a major upgrade.”
“What kind of lab work do you do?”
“Chemical titrations, mixing solutions for medical-grade products, just a bunch of mindless mumbo jumbo.”
That didn’t sound mindless to me at all, but I thought it was sexy that he never took himself too seriously. My date acted like he won a Nobel by opening his own construction company and couldn’t stop bragging about his success, but Dex was interested in topics outside his livelihood. He was the humblest guy I’d ever met. But a lion didn’t know they were a lion, right?
“It’s not the same without you.”
“Cleo will find my replacement overnight. Hopefully, the residents lay off the viruses for a bit before that happens.” He grabbed his beer and took another drink, his eyes slightly melancholy like something popped into his head. Underneath his collar, a thick vein ran up his neck, like everything underneath his clothes was so hard and tight that veins bulged everywhere.
“She’s been down lately.”
He lifted his chin and looked at me again, his eyes freezing on my face. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Really down. I didn’t ask her what’s wrong because it’s none of my business, but she’s not herself. I think it’s something personal because when her husband comes to her desk, they hardly say two words to each other. They just aren’t the lovey-dovey couple they usually are.”