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That she’d been willing to wake up without him asking, especially because he knew she wasn’t an early riser, had meant a lot to him. And while he’d rewarded her in the shower—twice—he wanted to do something else for her, but he wasn’t sure what.
Even with their shower sex, they were still able to leave the house by six-thirty, which he appreciated. Last night’s phone call from Parker was still in the forefront of his mind.
On the drive, he brought up her volunteering with ARF again.
“I think you should do it, baby. Instead of waiting around for me at night, you could go help them. Or, when you’re working from home, your schedule will be more flexible so you could go whenever it suited you.” He tried to sound casual as he asked, “When do you think you’re going to start staying home?”
While yesterday he’d thought he was against it, in light of new developments, he had to admit that would solve a lot of problems.
“Technically I could start anytime. I just need remote access which should be easy enough to set up.”
“Maybe that’s something you should look into.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me already?” She was smiling when she said it, so he knew she was teasing. But there might be more truth to it than he wanted to admit.
Liam pulled into his parking space and shut off the car. He should have had this conversation with her last night. Doing it in the parking garage before they were about to start their work day was a bad idea.
So, he avoided it by pretending to look for something in his briefcase.
“You go ahead. Have a nice day.”
She paused before opening the door, but didn’t say anything other than, “You too. Will I see you at lunch?”
Liam shook his head. “Not today, baby. I’m not going to have time.”
“Oh.” Her disappointment was obvious by her frown. He liked that she was bothered not seeing him in the middle of the day. “Then I guess I’ll see you after work.”
Utah opened the door, and he warned, “Make good decisions, little bee.”
She leaned back into the Mercedes wearing a smirk.
“Of course. I represent you, Sir.”
“So sassy,” he muttered with a grin as she blew him a kiss and shut the door. He looked forward to making her pay for that.
He waited a few minutes before exiting the car. Anyone paying attention—like the greeter at the customer service desk—could probably figure out they rode together by the short time span between their arrivals, but he was betting on most people being too busy to spend much time in the lobby.
He may have to rethink letting her drive herself.
Kathy was already at her desk when he walked in at seven o’clock. She was the best assistant he’d ever had, and he made damn sure the hospital compensated her. There was no way he could afford to lose her. So, when she wanted to leave early to go to her grandkids’ soccer games, or take a long lunch, or whatever the fuck she wanted, he never said a word.
“Hi,” she said with a cheerful smile as she stood to greet him. She held the brown leatherbound portfolio she used to take meeting notes against her chest. “I didn’t know what time you’d be in today, so I didn’t get your coffee yet. Let me go grab it, and I’ll be right in.”
“I appreciate that.”
He opened his briefcase and waited for his computer to fire up, and a minute later she walked into his office with a cup of coffee that he could see the steam billowing out the top of.
“Thanks, Kath.”
She took a seat and opened the leather case. But instead of her pen poised, like usual, she closed the folder with a soft thud. He knew what she wanted to discuss; he’d been expecting it after his talk with Parker last night.
“I know what you’re going to ask, and I think plausible deniability is your best strategy, so I’m asking you not to ask what you’re about to. That way I don’t have to lie to you.”
“You don’t need to lie to me. I have no problem telling people my boss’s personal life is none of my business—or theirs—and meaning it. You just need to be aware of what’s circulating.”
He let out a long sigh. “I heard and have already been thinking of ways to mitigate the rumors. What’s on my calendar for lunch or dinner the rest of the week?”
She opened her portfolio and skimmed the printout of his schedule that week.
