"No. Dad is happy at the clinic and I like being around you."
I cut him off. "Then I'm coming back. I like my doctor, plus I'm not giving up on WJ's quite so easy."
That earns me a chuckle, and he relaxes. Then he reaches over and takes my hand, holding it the whole way into Dallas. Once in the city, I give him directions to my place, a high-rise apartment building downtown. He parks in my parking spot and his truck looks out of place with all the high-end fancy cars. Though being a working day, the ones that are here are the weekend classics that the owners drive maybe once a month.
I head inside and stop at the lobby to get my mail.
"Ms. Bartrum!” my doorman, Frank, greets me. “We were starting to worry about you, but then your dad stopped by and said you were pulled out of town for a while."
"Yes, I'm here for just a day then I have to head back out, unfortunately," I reply with a smile.
"Here’s your mail. Your dad picked up the rest of it and took it to your apartment."
"Perfect. Thank you." I take the small stack and go to the elevators.
Flipping through the mail on the ride up, I don’t see anything important and nothing jumps out as needing my attention. When the doors open, we step into the little hallway. There is only my door and one other on this floor. I hardly ever see my neighbors, who are another business couple I've talked to once.
I open the door and step inside. The wall across from us is floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over Dallas.
"Wow, that is some view," Brice says, walking over to the windows.
"It's what sold me on this place. I work a lot but coming home at night and seeing the city lit up is relaxing."
I go straight to my bedroom and step into my closet, closing the door behind me. When I start to change into a pencil skirt, I realize I can't wear my heels. Do I have shoes other than my boots I can wear? After looking around, I find a cute pair of ankle boots. Great, now how can I dress for the office in these?
Finally, I grab a black pair of skinny jeans and a light pink blouse, with a jacket. Good enough. Then I grab a bag and toss in some clothes. Going to the bathroom, I quickly do my hair and makeup. As I start to toss those items in the bag, I stop. I don't need them in Rock Springs, and I really like that I don’t have to, so I leave them. But I do grab my nighttime face cream and cleaning cloths.
I make sure to take the clothes I wore on the way here and pack up my laptop, just in case. Then I join Brice who is in the kitchen. Though, really, the kitchen, dining, and living room are all one big space that overlooks the large windows with a view.
"You have ready-made personalized meals in here," he says, looking into the fridge.
"Yes, I have a personal chef who comes in and makes stuff I can grab and eat otherwise I don't eat. That reminds me. Here, will you carry these?" I hand him the two bags and then go to the closet I keep boxes in and grab one. I fill it up with the ready-made meals since I won't be needing them, and we head out.
Instead of going to the garage, we go down two floors. There are more apartments on this floor, and I go to the end of the hall and knock. Brice watches but doesn't say a word.
A little old man answers with a huge smile. "Kayla, dear. Come in. Oh, you finally brought a man!"
"Walter, this is Brice. Brice, this is Walter. Now, I have a bunch of meals for you. I’m going to be out of town, but you make sure you come up for air and eat,” I tell him.
"I will, I will. That blasted alarm you set on my phone reminds me every day," he grumbles and follows me to the kitchen.He looks at the selections I’ve brought."Oh, I like that shrimp stir-fry. That's a good one," he says.
"There is some meatloaf and pot roast in here, too."
"Do you have time to chat?" he asks.
"I wish I could, but as soon as I get back, we will have dinner together and I’ll tell you everything. But I can leave you with a juicy hint. This handsome man here is a doctor.” I wink at him, and he chuckles.
"I will wait. As long as you promise all the details and maybe some pizza."
"Deal."
I give him a gentle hug and we say our goodbyes. Once we are in the elevator, Brice asks me the questions I've been expecting.
"Who is that?"
"He is this advertising genius. In his day, he was one of the most sought after advertising experts. Many of his techniques are still used today. He’s retired now, and is writing his own biography. But he gets so into it he forgets to eat, so I set up alarms on his phone for that and his medication."
"How did you two meet?" Brice asks as the elevator opens and we step into the parking garage.