I rolled my eyes. “Exactly what I said. I’m not going to be there. I live in Chicago with Malcolm. There will be no more coming home for your whims. I’m going to move my entire business here if I need to.”
She scoffed. “You wouldn’t dare. Where would that leave me and your father?”
It wasn’t any of my concern where it left them. Sure, they’d raised me, but they’d done a shit job of being loving adults in my life. “At this rate, I don’t care. At some point, I need to start worrying about myself and my future. That starts now.”
Mom said nothing, and then I heard the click of a disconnected call. I knew she would be upset with me, but her not even acknowledging what I’d said and hanging up on me was the last thing I’d expected.
That only left the task of calling Audrey, but talking to my mother took a lot out of me. Malcolm was none the wiser to the phone call I’d just made, still sleeping soundly across the room. I set my phone on the arm of the chair and made my way across the room to him and slipped into the bed behind him. Things would still be there later.
As the sun sank below the horizon, the sky became painted pink and orange, while I gathered my thoughts. I hadn’t intended to sleep for so long when I’d lain down with Malcolm, but we were still lying there, curled up on the bed together.
“You awake?”
I hummed as I looked up at the man who was smiling down at me. The swelling in his face had gone down a bit, but the bruising would take a while to go away. “I am, and what a wonderful thing to wake up to.” I nuzzled into his side, which caused him to squirm a little.
“Stop that. I need to pee, and you’re pinning me to the bed.”
My arms dropped from around Malcolm’s waist as he crawled from the bed. He still looked a little unsteady as he made his way to the bathroom.
Every fiber of my being wanted to shoot up and help him, but he needed his independence and to find his footing again, though I had my eye on him if anything happened. Maybe it was a little weird that he left the bathroom door open, but he mighthave had the same thought process. It would be easier to get to him if he ended up falling over.
Malcolm came back to the bed and sat on the edge, not quite getting in. “We should probably eat something again.”
I snorted a small laugh before sitting up and kissing the side of his head. He was so damn adorable, but also correct. We’d basically slept the day away, but he needed it for recovery, and I’d done it out of boredom.
There was a binder on the bedside table that had a menu for room service. We’d already had food from the hotel once today, but Malcolm was in no shape to go out and about. I pulled the menu out and opened it for both of us to read. Every time I caught him looking at the prices, I’d nudge his shoulder and remind him not to worry about it. Once we ordered our food, we sat back to relax. Eventually, I’d have to tell him about the phone call I’d made while he was sleeping, but now was not the right time.
Chapter 37
Malcolm
It took a good week before I felt like I looked presentable enough to be out in public again. David had ventured to my apartment to bring me some clean clothes and empty my refrigerator of food that had gone bad. With each passing day, Mr. Thomas got more and more agitated with my inability to return to work. It only reaffirmed that I’d made the right decision to put in my notice when I finally got in.
And that day was today. I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, readjusting my tie for the tenth time, when David slid in behind me.
“Do you want me to go with you?”
At first, I’d thought it would be a bad idea, but after he’d spent the last week taking care of me, I no longer cared what my boss thought was happening between the two of us. It was all true, and it wouldn’t matter soon enough.
“It’s not like I’m clearing out my desk today, just giving my notice, but yeah, I think I’d like to have the added support.”
David smiled, giving my shoulder a squeeze before he shuffled back out of the bathroom. It would be nice to see the outside ofthis damn hotel. At least the place was fancy, and the bed was comfortable. The food had been outstanding, even if I felt guilty every time I ordered something. I knew David could afford it. That wasn’t the problem. I wasn’t used to being spoiled that way, and I wanted to be able to contribute in return.
Hi. I’m still Mr. Never Had A Relationship This Long.
The wind blowing off the lake was downright frigid, and when we stepped out the front door of the hotel, David handed over a large wool jacket. I pulled it on, grateful for something to keep me warm. People stopped to look at me, since there was still a little residual bruising on my face, but I couldn’t do another day indoors. I couldn’t hide forever. Sure, airbags were there to save your life, but that fucker had done some damage at the same time.
Having to use a rideshare was weird. I liked having the ability to get myself from one place to the next, but until I could go car shopping again, this was my only choice. My insurance company offered me a rental car, but most places were fully booked because of the upcoming holidays and a car theft problem in the area. My poor Caddy was a total loss. I knew she would be, but it didn’t make it sting any less.
Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait in the cold for long, and our ride pulled up. David held the door open for me before sliding in on the other side of the car. The driver seemed friendly enough. He was a middle-aged man with slightly gray hair and a full beard. He smiled at us in the rear-view mirror before he pulled up our destination on his GPS and started driving.
The ride was awkwardly silent, only broken up with intermittent mechanical directions through the speaker system. I would have given anything to take my mind off what I was about to do. Instead, all I could focus on was how tight my tie suddenly felt. It was annoying because I’d redone the thing so many times that if I went to adjust it again, David might actuallyblow a fuse. My fingers twitched with the urge to do it anyway as my breathing quickened.
“Are you all right?”
I jumped at David’s question, only to realize the car had stopped at a stoplight. We were almost at the office, which did nothing to ease my anxiety.
“Nervous.” I chuckled half-heartedly, finally giving in to the urge to fuck with my tie. The second my fingers wrapped around the silk, David knocked them out of the way.
