Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
He stared at me with narrowed eyes, like he wasn’t sure if he’d heard me correctly. “They did what now?”
“And it’s furnished and ready to go. I was just waiting for the right time to tell you.”
He stepped into my apartment and pulled his hands out of his pockets. “I guess that doesn’t surprise me.” He rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes distant as his mind processed what I said. “Send me the bill tomorrow. That way, I know how much I owe them. With me working again, I should be able to pay them back in a reasonable amount of time.”
I thought it was sweet that his parents swooped in and took care of their son within a heartbeat, and I also thought it was sweet that Dex never took advantage of them and insisted on standing on his own two feet, even after he lost everything. I was so curious to know what happened in his divorce, but I refused to ask him something so personal. I did look online to see if there was something there, but I couldn’t find a single article. His family must have pulled some strings to remove them, and maybe everyone had signed NDAs to not publicly discuss the divorce. “Yeah.”
He slid his hands back into his pockets, then turned to the door. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You want me to reschedule you tomorrow? Have you come into the lab at a later time?”
He turned back to me. “No, don’t worry about it. I’ve got a lot of stuff to do.” He turned away again.
“Dex.”
He turned back to me again, his hand on the door, his eyes lidded because he was so clearly tired.
“I know this is a weird thing to say, but I’m really proud of you.”
His lips curled up in a gentle smile. “It’s not a weird thing to say at all.”
I got to his office at Kline Clinic and put a cup of coffee on his desk along with a breakfast sandwich. His desk was messy with the papers he’d left behind the last time he was there, so I grabbed everything to organize.
He walked in a moment later, right on time, dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved sweater. His jaw was cleanly shaved and his short hair was styled, so he didn’t just roll out of bed and take the subway here. He was a whole new man just by looking at him. There was a hint of exhaustion in his eyes, but it was masked by the excitement he felt to be there. He gave me a quick glance-over before he approached the desk. “Morning.”
“Morning.” I smiled, feeling that thrill every time I saw him, like I was in the presence of true greatness.
He moved to the coffee on the desk and grabbed it. “Is this for me?”
I nodded.
He took a drink then licked his lips. “Thanks. I didn’t have a chance this morning. Chose to keep sleeping.”
“That was a good choice because I can always get that for you.” I was so eager to please him, so eager to bring him joy. It wasn’t because I wanted to keep my job or get a raise, but because it was such a pleasure to make his life better. “When you move in to your new place, I can have it ready for you before you even wake up, and you can enjoy it on the drive.”
He took another drink. “Now I’m starting to feel like the Queen of England.”
More like the King of Hearts. I pulled out a piece of paper from the folder held in my arm and set it in front of him. “This is your schedule for today. You’re in the lab for a couple hours, but then you have a lunch meeting with your colleagues to give an update on all the projects. Then later in the afternoon, I thought we could take a tour of your new place, so I can get started with the move.”
He stared down at the schedule on his desk before he picked it up and examined it. His fingers automatically brushed over his bottom lip, gently rubbing it as he processed the words on the page. Whenever he was deep in thought or focused on work, he turned into a different person, a serious person, someone who reminded me of his father and brother. “Alright.”
“I’m always around if you need anything, so just send me a quick text, and I’ll be there. I’ll be working in your office here for a bit to organize your data, and then I’ll head back to the medical office to update some paperwork for the patients coming in this week.”
“I’m scheduled for patient care?” He lifted his gaze from the paper and looked at me.
“Yes. I wasn’t kidding when I told you that before.” I smiled.