The Girl Who Always Wins (Soulless 13)

He was still proud that I was sitting there.

After the match, we had dinner at the bar because you could get a steak and a scotch anywhere in Atlantic City. We sat side by side, and I talked about the match play-by-play. “I’m usually pretty accurate, but sometimes I lose count…especially when I’m distracted.”

“Didn’t mean to distract you.”

“Who said you did?”

“Come on, look at me.” He leaned toward me, elbows on the table, wearing that arrogant smirk.

I gave him a playful smack on the arm. “I’ve been distracted every day at work, and you’re nowhere in sight.”

That smirk dropped instantly, like a punch to the stomach.

“Your job isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be…”

“Be careful what you wish for, huh? You’re great with patients. So doing paperwork all day, no matter if that means you decide who’s admitted to the clinic, isn’t the most suitable for you, even though I’m sure you’re great at the job.”

“So…how about you take your job back?”

He gave a slight shake of his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“We’ve never had a problem working together—”

“That’s not why.”

“Then why? Because you loved that job.”

He looked down into his glass before he took a drink. “I’m spread too thin. I thought I could wear multiple hats, but…there’s just not enough time in the day. I need to choose, and since Dr. Hamilton intends to have me take over, that’s where my focus should be. Our research has intensified as of late, a lot going on…”

“Are you ever going to stop calling him that?”

“No,” he said with a chuckle. “Besides, I want a marriage and a family someday. Can’t do that if I’m working all the time.”

“Well, I work a lot.”

“We’ll both have to make sacrifices, then.”

I was young, driven, ambitious…but finding the right guy made all those perspectives change. I cared about my work, but that success didn’t mean much when I wasn’t happy, a lesson I’d learned recently.

“You think you might step down?”

I gave a shrug. “Not sure. Kinda embarrassing to leave a job after just a month…”

“If you don’t enjoy it, you should give it to someone who does.”

“Yeah.”

“And you could take on more patients.”

“Yeah, I miss that. Paperwork is tedious and time-consuming, not challenging. There’s nothing that makes me happier than someone dropping a big-ass folder in front of me, saying, ‘This guy can’t be fixed. Have fun wasting your time.’ And then I fix him.”

His eyes turned serious, as if he were thinking about himself.

I looked away and ate the last of the baked potato on my plate.

“I’m sorry I didn’t understand that before…”

“It’s okay,” I said quietly, miserable every time I thought about our time apart. “You’re not…open to that idea at all?”

A deep breath was drawn.

I immediately looked at him, afraid I’d incited his wrath again.

His eyes were closed, and he gave a shrug. “I…I really don’t want to go through that again. It’s easier to accept the fact that it’s not an option for me than to hope I may get a different answer…and then not.”

I gave a slight nod in understanding.

“Is that okay?” He looked at me.

“Of course.” My hand went to his, and I squeezed it.

Relief moved into his eyes, the awkward conversation finally put to bed. “You wanna get out of here?”

“Depends. You want a lap dance from Shimmer?”

He looked over his shoulder then back at me, quizzical. “Who’s Shimmer?”

“You’re looking at her.” I flipped my hair. “That’s my stripper name.”

He chuckled as he threw the cash on the table. “How much is this going to cost me, Shimmer?”

“Probably a car and a mortgage.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him from the bar. “But trust me, I’m worth it.”

15

Atlas

I lifted the goggles from my eyes to rub at the sleep in the corner. We’d returned from Atlantic City last night, but we ended up at her place, and I wasn’t sure when we actually went to sleep. I was exhausted when I should be rested for the job, but it kinda just happened.

When Dr. Hamilton walked inside, his eyes were immediately on me, like the answer to his questions would be written on my face. He tossed his notebook on the counter and looked at me.

I lifted the goggles from my head entirely.

“I’m sorry to pry, but—”

“We’re going to work it out.”

He gave a nod, and then a smile emerged. “Good.”

“I watched her match, we had some fun in the casino, and then we came home late last night.”

“Did she win?”

“Won her first. Lost her second.”

He gave a shrug before he lowered himself onto the stool. “Can’t win them all.”

“I think she was a bit distracted…”

“I’m sure.” He opened his notebook and got to work.

That was the end of it—and it felt a bit anticlimactic.

“Have you reconsidered Daisy’s proposal?” He flipped through his pages until he found what he searched for.