by Kira Blakely
“Why,” he asked. “You got some free time in your schedule?”
I narrowed my eyes, but couldn’t resist a half-smile at just how audacious he could be. It was almost a relief to know that the Connor Rex who thought he could get away with anything was alive and well.
“No,” he said, “I wanted to know if you wouldn’t mind looking after Hunter while I’m at work. It’s too short notice for Eliza and I don’t want to have to take him back to his friend’s if his parents are fighting again.”
“Are you serious?” I asked. “I’m, like, the least kid-friendly person on the planet. I have no idea what to do with them.”
“That’s what everyone thinks before they actually spend time with kids. You’re already doing great with him—just take the little dude to the comics shop and grab a slice. I won’t even mind if you plop him in front of the PlayStation when you guys get back. It’ll fly by before you know it.”
Anxiety formed a tight knot in my stomach. I’d arranged my life to not have children be a part of it in any way, and now here I was, getting enlisted to be a damn babysitter.
But Hunter seemed like a pretty cool kid. And if it meant Connor and I could finally start on the interview, I supposed I was in.
“OK,” I said. “But next time I’m going to need a little more notice before you have me playing Mary Poppins.”
“Sure,” he said. “I’ll even get a flying umbrella for you.”
With one more smirk, he headed back into the apartment. Without thinking, my eyes latched onto his ass, my mind occupied with thoughts of just how good that ass looked last night. A little tinge flashed from my pussy outward through the rest of my body, and I had to shake my head to focus my attention.
It was going to be an interesting day, that was for damn sure.
Chapter 13
Connor
“Dr. Rex?” called out the receptionist as I strode through the lobby of the clinic floor.
“Let me guess,” I said. “The board wants to see me?”
The nurse flashed me a knowing look as I turned around on my heels and headed back to the elevator.
Once on the way up, I found myself wondering if the performance last night did the trick. True, Alice did get a little…carried away when the subject of our past was brought up, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this likely made the whole thing easier to swallow. After all, we did have a history, so it’s not as though she and I had to do much pretending.
But this brought its own problems, ones that would have to be addressed.
The doors slid open and moments later I stepped through the doors leading to the boardroom. Lionel, Earl, and Wendy were seated on one side of the table, and to my chagrin, Richter was seated on the other side.
“Morning, all,” I said, playing it as cool I could, despite realizing that this meeting likely involved a decision that they’d made regarding the promotion.
Sliding into the high-backed chair across from the board and next to Richter, I knew that I was about to get some very good news, or some very bad.
“Richter,” I said, giving my competition a little nod.
“Connor,” he said, his voice prim as he looked straight ahead.
“Everyone’s here,” said Lionel, folding his hands on the lacquered surface of the table. “Good. First of all, I’d like to thank you, Connor, for inviting us over for such a lovely evening. It was wonderful to meet your fiancée. She struck us all as a lovely young woman.”
“And so pretty!” said Wendy.
Earl added a nod.
Relief blossomed out from my stomach. This meant that they’d bought the lie. Good.
“As you both have likely guessed, we’ve brought you both here today to let you know that we’ve reached a decision regarding the promotion.”
I couldn’t help but lean forward in my chair.
“And…we’ve decided to go with Dr. Rex.”
It took all the restraint I had not to fist pump right then and there.
“What?” shot out Richter. “He puts a ring on some girl and now he’s qualified to be the head of a surgery unit?”
“That…had nothing to do with our decision,” said Wendy. “As pleasing as it is to see Dr. Rex finally settle down.”
Little did she know, I thought, my eyes flicking to Lionel for a brief moment.
“He’s simply the one we most easily see in the role,” said Earl. “But that doesn’t mean your future here isn’t going to continue to be bright, Dr. Delahunt.”
Richter glowered, seemingly unaware that his sour attitude likely wasn’t endearing him to the board. He’d always had a hot temper and the bad kind of competitive streak—two qualities that don’t exactly make one a good fit for a position as lead cardiac surgeon.
“But,” said Lionel. “There’s a little more to the job, as we just found out.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “You going to put me in charge of the ENT wing too?”
The scowl I spotted on Richter’s face made it clear he didn’t think that my joke was particularly funny.
“No,” said Lionel. “We’ve actually been in touch with Evergreen Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles regarding a possible exchange program between the two facilities.”
“A what?” I asked.
“Something to bring fresh blood into our two hospitals—so to speak,” said Earl. “In short, we’re looking to send them one of our best surgeons to head up their cardiac unit for a time, and they’re going to be doing the same for us.”
It began to dawn on me just what this meant.
“So…you’re going to be sending me to LA?” I asked.
“That’s the plan,” said Wendy. “We all think it’s be a lovely idea. You’ll have a chance to make a fresh start in a new city with your new wife.”
“But I don’t want to make a fresh start,” I said. “I’m perfectly happy here in New York.”
“Well, to put it bluntly,” said Lionel. “You’re getting to be too prestigious, not to mention expensive, of a talent for us to keep on board here. They’re not just sending us one doctor in your place, but two. Between them and Dr. Delahunt, they’ll be heading up the cardiac unit here.”
“But none of us will be the official head of the department?” asked Richter.
“That’s right,” said Earl. “Cost-cutting measures, you see.”
Richter clearly wasn’t happy about this.
As for me, the news of my being transferred went off like a bomb. I couldn’t believe that I was expected up and move, just like that.
“You’ll be well-compensated for your trouble, of course, Dr. Rex,” said Earl. “You’ll find that once you’re settled in, this will have been more than worth it.”
“A whole new city to conquer,” said Lionel. “This time with a loving wife at your side.”
“Not to mention that I’m sure she’ll vastly prefer the sun of California to the gray and grime of New York,” said Wendy, a bland smile on her face.
I wanted to argue, I wanted to make it clear just how unhappy I was about all of this. But I’d gotten what I wanted—I was going to be the new head of the cardiac unit. Just not at my hospital, and not in the town that I’d called home for nearly a decade.
“When does this all go down?” I asked.
“You have a month to get your affairs in order and to prepare to hand things off to Dr. Delahunt and the rest of the staff.”
A month, I thought. I took a deep breath and held in my protests.
“Will that be all?” I asked.
“That will be all,” said Lionel. “And congratulations.”
I thanked the board and hurried out of the room.
“The golden boy wins again.”
I turned around and there was Richter, staring at me with those slivered eyes set deep in his gaunt face.
“Doesn’t feel like much of a win to me,” I said, letting my guard down for a brief, regrettable moment.
Richter rolled his eyes, making it clear just how much sympathy he had for me.
“Sorry that your promotion isn’t what you hoped it would be,” he said as the two of us made our way back to the elevator. “I can only hope that the increased salary will provide you with some cash you can use to dry your tears.”
“Green’s not a good color for you, buddy,” I said as we stepped into the elevator.
Richter ignored my barb as the elevator doors shut.
“It was a pleasure meeting your fiancée last night,” he said. “You two seem to have quite the history together.”
“She’s a great girl,” I said.
“She must be,” said Richer, “if you proposed to her so soon after happening to meet her again. Though, I did seem to notice that your recollections of how that particular meeting took place were a little…fuzzy.”
“It’s just been a crazy month or so,” I said, keeping my tone calm and cool.
“I bet it has,” said Richter. “And I couldn’t help but notice how quickly Lionel was to name you for the promotion as soon as he found out you were engaged. Old-fashioned guy like him probably feels a lot better with a family man for a job like that, I’d imagine.”
I wanted to scowl, but I kept my face as impassive as possible. Richter may have been a prick, but he wasn’t stupid.
“Who knows?” I said. “Just happy that things turned out the way they did.”
“I’m sure you are,” said Richter as the doors slid open. “Let’s hope that things continue to turn out so fruitfully for you.”
With that, he stepped out into the lobby, leaving me wondering just what he knew, and what, exactly, he was planning to do with that information.
Chapter 14
Alice
“This one! And this one! And…um…this one, too!”
The kid was like a tiny tornado as he rushed through the aisles of the comic shop in Midtown, snatching comic after comic off the shelves.
“You sure your dad is cool with you getting all of these?” I asked, my eyes on the colorful covers of massive, muscular men in skintight outfits standing tall and proud on nearly every one of the comics that Hunter picked out.
“It’s new comic day,” said Hunter, now walking carefully in front of the shelves, his mind fixed in a careful, studying expression. “Dad says that I can get five comics as long as I’ve been doing all my school stuff.”
Not a bad little arrangement, I thought, always finding myself slightly amused at how often good parenting seemed to incorporate the occasional bribe.
“Oh!” shouted Connor. “The new Omega Man!”
He reached for a comic on a shelf at my eye level, standing on his tip-toes in a way that I couldn’t help but find really cute. His little hand struggled to get a grip on the comic, but he just wasn’t quite tall enough.
“Miss Alice?” he asked, turning toward me. “You have really nice shoes.”
“Huh?” I asked, glancing down at my flats.
They were pretty basic casual shoes—nothing that special. Then it hit me: He was buttering me up for a favor.
“You are such a little charmer,” I said, grabbing the comic off the shelf and handing it to him. “You’d better be careful with that. Your Dad’s got it and it’s pretty much a superpower.”
“Talking to girls isn’t a superpower,” said Hunter. “It’s easy. Most of the time.”
“I’m a girl,” I said as the two of us walked down the aisle toward the register.
“No, you’re not,” said Hunter, not missing a beat. “You’re a lady.”
“There’s a difference?”
“Yup,” he said. “Girls are my age and like it when you tease them. I mean, they pretend like they don’t, but then they think it’s funny.”
“Sounds like a few girls my own age,” I said as Hunter stacked the comics on the counter.
“That’s quite a haul,” said the girl behind the counter, a cute, college-aged girl with pink streaks in her hair and emerald-colored eyes set behind cat-eyed glasses.
Hunter didn’t say anything, instead making sure that the comics were lined up on the counter properly, his eyes fixed intently.
“I like your hair,” he said, finally looking up. “It’s cool. It makes you look like you’ve got electricity superpowers.”
I let out a bright laugh as Hunter lay down the charm once again. He was such a chip off the old block that it was almost surreal to watch.
“Thanks, kid,” said the girl, raising her eyebrows and looking at me, as if to say, “Get a load of this kid.”
I tilted my head as if to say, “Don’t I know it.”
“What’s your name?” he asked. “I’m Hunter.”
“I’m Cassandra,” she said, sticking out her hand for him to shake. “Nice to meet you, Hunter.”
Hunter shook her hand and flashed her a charming little smile that I could just tell was going to be the death of just about every girl in his high school in a decade or so.
“You want to come get pizza with Miss Alice and me?” he asked as I slipped out the credit card that Connor left for me and handed it to Cassandra. “I bet she’ll let you get two slices.”
“Unfortunately, kiddo, I’m stuck here till five. But thanks for the offer.”
“OK,” he said, totally nonplussed by the answer. “Maybe some other time.”
“Maybe,” said Cassandra, giving me a playful wink as she ran the card.
Minutes later the two of us were headed down the wide sidewalks of Midtown Manhattan, the day traffic zipping past us in the street as we weaved around tight knots of pedestrians. During our walk to the pizza place, Hunter went through all of the new comics he’d bought, letting me know in great detail what his favorite heroes had been up to.
I couldn’t get over what a cool, charming kid he was. I’d never thought of myself as the type to get along with children, but Connor was right—once I got out of my own head about it, chatting and having fun with the little guy just came naturally.
“…and this is Ronin,” said Hunter as we sat at the tiny table near the window of the pizza parlor, the city busting outside of the window. “His power is to turn his hand into a sword. Look.”
Hunter turned the book around showing me, sure enough, a man with his hand turning into a Japanese-style sword. My eyes lingered on the superheroes in the comics. With their square jaws, tall, solidly-built bodies, and intense eyes, they all seemed to remind me of Connor. He was like my very own superhero, one with the power to save lives.
I shook my head, surprised at my own thoughts and reminding myself that we weren’t actually engaged. Still, the idea didn’t sound entirely unpleasant…
After our lunch, Hunter and I headed back home where he made himself comfortable in front of the TV with his comics. I flipped through the channels, settling on one trashy reality program or another, finding myself hoping that Connor would be back soon. Not just because of the interview we had to, but because I was looking forward to seeing him.
These were dangerous thoughts, and I knew it. I’d already crossed the line of mixing business with pleasure in a sexual way, and now I was running the risk of doing it in a romantic way, too.
The afternoon went on and by the time the sun started to descend outside of the windows, the elevator doors opened and out stepped Connor. He slipped his white doctor’s coat off of his shoulders and tossed it onto a nearby chair.
Hunter rushed up to him and wrapped his arms around his dad’s legs.
“Hey, champ!” said Connor, mussing Hunter’s sun-blond hair. “You guys have fun today?”
“Yeah!” said Hunter. “We went to the comics shops and had pizza and went to the park and…”
He went on with the litany of activities that we’d done during our little afternoon together.
“He didn’t give you too much trouble, did he?” said Connor, as he stepped into the kitchen and poured two glasses of red wine.
“Not at all,” I said a
s Connor set one of the glasses on the kitchen counter and slowly pushed it toward me. “It was actually…pretty fun.”
“You sound surprised,” he said.
“I don’t know. I mean, like I said, I’ve just never thought of myself as a ‘kid person.’ But he was easy. I just listened to him talk about what he was into, and kept him busy. And he seemed happy about it. Maybe he’s just an extra-good kid.”
“Nope,” said Connor. “That’s just how it is with kids—not that hard at all. And unlike adults, they’ll always tell you what they want—for better or for worse.”
“I guess it’s not until the kids grow up that they decide on their own unique ways of being hard to deal with.”
“I’ll drink to that,” said Connor, raising his glass a bit, and then taking a sip.
“OK!” I said, clapping my hands down on the kitchen counter. “I think I’ve more than fulfilled my end of the bargain up to this point.”
Upon saying this, my eyes locked onto my ring, and I was briefly fixated on it for a moment.
“I’d agree with you on that score,” he said. “Why don’t we head out to the balcony and get started?”
I nodded.
“Let me get my things and I’ll meet you out there,” I said.
“And I’ll bring the wine.”
With that, I headed to my bedroom and grabbed my laptop and notepad out of my suitcase. Hunter and I swung by my apartment while we were out, so I didn’t have to spend the entire weekend in my party dress and heels.
Equipment in hand, I took a moment and stood in front of the bedroom mirror, regarding my reflection. I was finally going to get to the heart of what made Connor tick, and for reasons that I couldn’t explain, anxiety pooled in my stomach, radiating in tingling waves. I took a deep breath and swept my loose hair behind my ears, then headed out onto the balcony.
Connor was already there, seated at the long, glass table, the wine in his hands and the city stretching out into forever. His outline was backlit by the city lights, and his poise was as calm as ever. I stopped short at the door, my eyes locked on him.
“There you are,” he said, slowly turning his gorgeous blues onto me. “Shall we begin?”
