Page 105 of Doctor’s Forbidden Match

“Goodnight, Hannah.”

“Goodnight.”

I hang up and sit there for a long moment, phone still in my hand, already running through exactly what I’m willing to risk to fix this.

I’m done waiting on the sidelines.

Chapter 35

Zac

My phone rings while I’m working through a stack of medical journals I’ve been meaning to read for months.

Jameson.

I almost let it go. Then I pick it up, because I’ve been alone with my own thoughts for long enough.

“You alive?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“Saw the article.”

“I figured.” I close the journal.

“Not asking for details. Just wanted to check you weren’t going mad sitting still.”

“Getting there. Only doing what the lawyers told me to do for now.”

“Good. But you know what pisses me off about it?”

“What?”

“They didn’t even try to make it look like anything other than what it was. Someone handed Peltz exactly what he needed to keep you where he wants you, and the whole town gets to watch it play out like it’s news.” Jameson knows something about being managed by people who’d rather keep you small and predictable—he’s been doing that his whole life with the garage. “That’s not discipline. That’s control.”

I push my laptop away. “Yeah.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know.”

“I assume you’re fighting it if you’ve got a lawyer involved.”

“Yeah, I figured I’d do this formally. I was tempted to walk straight to Peltz’s office though.”

“That would’ve made it worse.”

“I know that now.

“Glad you didn’t. So how are you actually doing? Not the lawyer answer.”

I lean back in my home office chair. “It’s strange being off work. I thought I’d fall apart without the OR and I haven’t. That messes with my head more than the suspension itself.”

“Hm. Maybe the OR was always the easier thing to be sure about.”

Deep down, I know he’s right. “Yeah.”

“We need to go fishing when this clears.”