Ashton Scott

I’m already wound tight over this. It’ll be hours till she wakes up and is ready to talk. And in the meantime, I’ll be dealing with Jack.

It’s going to be a long fucking day.

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58

Ashton

I pace the hospital corridor and rake my fingers through my hair as I pull out my phone to call Jessica. It’s just after 3:00 p.m. here, which is around 8:00 a.m. for her in Sydney.

“Good morning, sunshine,” she answers, her flat tone not matching her cheery words.

“I take it you didn’t get much sleep.”

“You take it correctly. Now, are you calling with a directive for me to go see your lovely ex? Or are you calling with news on Jack, or is this strictly work? Just an FYI before you answer that, I’m in the exact right mood to take Cassia on this morning. You could rest assured that job would be done to your high standards. And I won’t even complain about doing errands for you on a Sunday.”

I slow my stride and exhale a long, tired breath. The day has been exhausting, and I haven’t had more than a few hours’ sleep in the last twenty-four hours, but Jessica has managed to ease some of my tension with her humour.

“Jack’s exhausted and asleep. I spoke with his doctor earlier, and if everything goes to plan, they’ll discharge him in a day or so. After that, it’ll be back to regular visits to his psychiatrist for a while.” I don’t have to explain it all to her. Jessica has been down this path enough to know how it goes. She knows how intensive and crucial this phase of treatment will be.

“Okay, good. He copes better when he’s at home rather than in the hospital. Don’t let him get away with any of his shit. You know he can be an asshole during this phase.”

She’s not telling me anything I don’t know, but it’s Jessica’s way of feeling like she’s contributing. “He’s too exhausted to be an asshole at the moment, but I give it three days and he’ll be in full-blown bastard mode.”

I can hear her smile when she says, “Sounds about right.”

Changing the subject, I ask, “Did you receive my email?” I’ve emailed through a list of jobs I need her to take care of today.

“Yes. I’m on it. Did you fix everything with Lorelei?”

“No. But I will.”

“Because I know you don’t check the gossip section of the paper, they printed another piece on you and Cassia today. A lovely double-page spread. And she even went to the trouble of sending them a couple of personal photos of the two of you for it, along with answering some questions. Are you quite sure you don’t want me to go see her and set her straight?”

I contain my rising anger. It seems both Jessica and Alessandra were right about my ex. I should have been firmer with Cassia. I won’t make that mistake with her again.

“She’s on my list to deal with today. Let me know when you’ve finished those jobs. I may have more for you. And Jessica, thank you for working today.” We agreed a long time ago that she would never work on a Sunday. I’m pushing boundaries here, and I appreciate the hell out of her doing this for me.

“I see an extended spa weekend ahead of me. Paid for by my boss.”

I smile. “I’ll have my assistant book it.”

“Okay, go. Hang up. I’ve got work to do.”

I call Alessandra after hanging up from Jessica.

“Do you know what time it is, Ashton?” she grumbles when she answers. “It’s Sunday for God’s sake. I know you don’t have kids, so you won’t understand the significance of Sundays, but for us people who birthed little humans, we try to sleep in on Sundays. Please take note of this for future reference. And please tell me you’re ringing for a good reason and not just a casual chat.”

“That was a lot of words, Aly. Impressive on a Sunday for an exhausted birther of little humans.”

“Birther is not a word, FYI.”

“It is now.”

I hear a lot more grumbling and shuffling, along with Malcolm’s voice before she says, “Okay, I’m sitting up. You’ve succeeded in waking both of us, so hit me with whatever this is about, and then I can lie here and try to go back to sleep while complaining about the asshole who ruined my Sunday morning.”

“Have you seen Mum this week?”