She pressed her lips tightly together.
“Cancel it.”
“I’m not going to do that.”
“Then I’ll fire you.” I pushed to my feet and tossed my chips aside, turning on the woman who was supposed to be my right-hand.
She got to her feet too, and instead of folding like she should, she actually glared at me. “No.”
My eyes narrowed on her face.
“I believe in you. Firing me isn’t going to change that. If you really want Mr. Torres not to come into the office, you’ll have to do it yourself. Because I sure as hell am not going to cancel that appointment.” She turned away and walked out of my office, her head held high. At the door, she turned back, her eyes steely with resolve. “Sometimes we need someone to push us when we think we aren’t ready, to force us out of our comfort zone, someone to push us into progress. I’m not just your assistant who fetches you lunch and files your paperwork. I’m your friend—a friend who will never give up on you.”
23
Sicily
I showed up to work the next day like nothing happened.
He could fire me a million times, and I still wasn’t going anywhere.
He was at his research position at the Kline Clinic, and now that I had the necessary clearance to go into the facility and his office, I scanned all the papers sitting on his desk and dropped off lunch, hoping he would finish his work at a reasonable time and see it.
He didn’t text to apologize for his behavior.
I’d expected him to—and was disappointed when he didn’t.
I went to the Trinity Building afterward to see Cleo, and it was nice to catch up with Matt and Carrie. There was a lot of action at the coffee cart, people sitting at the tables and enjoying their coffees and whatever snack they’d picked up.
I remembered when Dex got me something to eat on my first day, sweet and unexpected.
Cleo looked up from her computer when she spotted me. “Hey, Sicily. How are you?”
“Good, good. What about you?” I pulled up a chair and sat beside her.
She closed out of the files on her screen and then locked her computer. “Great. You wanna get a coffee?”
“Absolutely. I miss those lattes, especially because they’re free.”
She chuckled, and we grabbed something from the barista before we took a seat at one of the round tables in the lobby. Her hair was pulled back in a slick ponytail, and her blue eyes were bright, especially since she’d left her glasses at her desk. “I’m so glad to hear that Dex had a good week.”
“Yeah, I expected it to take a while, but the change was instant. He’s buried in his work like he can’t look away for a second because it’s too enthralling. I didn’t see him interact with his students, but he said good things about it. Everyone seems really happy to have him there.”
“I bet. Dex is a unicorn.”
“A unicorn?” I asked.
“Yeah. One in a million, basically.”
I didn’t want to tell her about the fight I’d had with Dex yesterday because it either made him look bad or it made me look bad. She might be annoyed with me for crossing the line and taking matters into my own hands, or she might be annoyed that he ran away from his responsibilities like a child. “It seems like all your kids are unicorns. Dex was telling me that his older brother is a rocket scientist who works with NASA, and that his sister is a brilliant doctor. I mean, it’s pretty incredible that all your kids are these high-achieving, world-renowned professionals.”
There was definitely pride in her eyes, like that compliment warmed her all the way down to her bones. “Yes, I’m very proud of all my children. Deacon and I weren’t married when we got pregnant with Dex, and I was so happy because I wanted to have Deacon’s kids the moment I met him. I hadn’t even been that enthused about having kids in the first place, but I fell in love with Deacon pretty much overnight, and this biological instinct kicked in where I wanted to have his babies. And here they are…absolutely unbelievable people.” Her eyes softened as she dropped her gaze. “But honestly, I’m more proud of who they are as people. Highly successful people are usually poisoned by their egos and arrogance, but not my kids. They’re just like their father, only focused on making the world a better place. They’re kind, generous, full of integrity, and just really good humans.”
I nodded in agreement, knowing Dex fit that description perfectly.
“Well, when I have kids, you’ll have to give me some pointers.”
She smiled. “Marry a good man. That’s all you need to do.”
It was simple and sound advice, but also unachievable. Because men like that didn’t exist, and if they did exist, they were already taken by some supermodel. Maybe I would just go to a sperm bank or something.