The Doctor Who Has No Chance (Soulless 11)

Zach turned to Dex. “You must be her…wait.” His eyes narrowed. “Dex?”

Dex’s face was pale as milk, his eyes even more lifeless than before. He stared at Zach with steady eyes that didn’t blink at all, and the subtle outline of the vein in his forehead started to come through.

Fuck, why did Zach have to swing by?

Dex didn’t say a word, as if he was incapacitated at the moment.

“You’re a cardiac surgeon?” Zach asked in surprise. “Damn, I had no idea. That’s awesome, man.” He extended his hand to shake his. “Glad to see you’re doing well.”

Dex hesitated before he completed the exchange. “Yeah, thanks.”

Zach turned to me. “I’m glad you two met. Because if he hadn’t poached you from the Trinity Building, this never would have happened. Funny how things work out like that.” Then he looked at Dex again. “Isn’t it?”

Dex didn’t say a word.

I knew Zach well enough to know he knew.

He knew exactly who Dex was without my having to say it.

I cleared my throat, so tense I thought I might throw up. “Zach, I’ll meet you in the lobby. Dex wanted to—”

Dex immediately turned away. “Forget it. There’s something else I need to do anyway.” He walked away without saying goodbye and disappeared into his office. Then his door opened and shut.

Zach shifted his gaze to me, his eyes victorious. “Ready?”

I gave a curt nod. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Zach sat across from me at dinner, telling me about his day, drinking his wine, acting like nothing had happened. He was his same cheerful self, even pulling out my panties to use as a napkin to wipe away the drop of wine on the corner of his mouth.

I was quiet most of the time, unable to put on the same display.

Zach eventually addressed it. “So that’s the guy who broke your heart, huh?”

I’d told Zach I’d fallen pretty hard for someone, but they dumped me and I was pretty heartbroken about it. I didn’t go into details, and he didn’t ask. The reason why I’d told him was because I didn’t want to be deceitful in any way. Even if this was just casual, he deserved my transparency. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Because it was pretty obvious.” He took a drink of his wine before he grabbed his fork and stabbed a stalk of asparagus and popped it into his mouth. “I’ve always liked Dex. Had no idea he was an idiot.”

“He’s not an idiot. He just… It didn’t work out.”

“Whatever. His mistake worked out in my favor, so…” He took another drink of his wine.

“He’s my boss, and I see him every day…is that a problem?”

He shook his head. “Doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t bother me that you’re still in love with him either.”

He put me right on the spot, but I didn’t deny it.

There was no reaction to my silent admission. “Because I’ll make you forget about him eventually.”

“I thought this was casual.”

“It is. I just mean, sometimes you have to get under someone to get over someone. What happened between you guys anyway?”

I stared at my glass of wine as I considered my answer. I didn’t want to share Dex’s private information with anyone, but since Zach and I were seeing each other, I felt like it was unavoidable. “He got divorced just over a year ago, and it’s basically too soon for him to have anything serious. We decided to try to be together a couple weeks ago, but he found out his ex-wife is already getting remarried, and he just…realized he wasn’t ready.”

“Fuck, that’s rough.”

“Yeah, he deserves better. I wish he would forget about her, not for my own self-interest, but because he deserves to be happy. He’s honestly the best guy I know, and he should be with a woman who thinks he’s the best guy too. Someone who appreciates him. Someone who’s not going to throw him away for something stupid.”

Zach didn’t ask for the specifics and let it go. “That’s ironic.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because you’re the best woman I know, and he didn’t appreciate you and threw you away.” He gave a slight shrug before he grabbed his glass again. “You’d think someone who’s been through that himself wouldn’t repeat history, but I guess not.”

Five

Dex

“What do you mean, you don’t know if you should say something?” Daisy sat across from me at the dining table in my apartment, eating a slice of pizza and washing it down with a beer. “Is this a joke?”

It had been like being punched in the stomach and the balls at the same time. Air left my body when I saw them together, when I saw that handsome billionaire wrap his arm around her waist, intentionally claiming her.

It was so fucking intentional.

Everything I wanted to say had left my brain. The English language left me.

“Dex?” Daisy pressed. “Why wouldn’t you tell her?”